Netflix in the UK?

WD Legacy Products WD TV Live Hub Discussions
1

At long last Netflix has lauched today in the UK.

As part of their announcement they mention how to access the service and they clearly mention WD Live devices. Unfortunately both my Live Hub and original Live don’t have Netflix listed under ‘services’.

When can we expect this to be available?

2

My GUESS is that you won’t. 

The UK version of the HUB doesn’t have the DRM hardware that NetFlix requires.  It has a different chipset than the North America / Central America / South America versions that already support NetFlix.

3

Then why is Netflix even an option on the UK version?

I’d very much like to know if and when WD plan on unlocking this option, as today’s launch of Netflix in the UK was one of the reasons I bought a WDTV live.

4

Thanks for the quick reply. As paul asked I’m not fluent with the technical details with regards to the unlocking of the  service. Will the service, or rather the DRM Hardware be unlocked and the the service made available via the boxes?

Or is this something that is not technically possible same reason it was one of the reasons I purchased a wd product?

Again thanks for the time in responding. :slight_smile:

5

Okay, looks like Netflix is not supported on models outside of the US. The version you would need for Netflix would be  WDBHG70000NBK-HESN which is the US version.

I have to say I’m very disappointed! 

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6

No, that’s NetFlix *US*.   

There’s no guarantee that the US version will work with NetFlix UK…

7

I’d love to know about this too, I have two WDTV Lives (They are the UK version). I am not sure I agree about the DRM arguement, my UK Wii now has netflix (added in the last few hours) and Netflix definately mention the WDTV as a supported device.

M

8

 I am not sure I agree about the DRM arguement… 

We see these kinds of threads every time NetFlix adds service to a new region.

All I’m saying is, don’t get your hopes up…  

9

Rest assured I wasn’t getting my hopes up! Was just saying that I am not sure the DRM is an issue, like I said my 3 year old wii now has UK netflix! :slight_smile:

10

Wii is a bad comparison, though.

The Wii doesn’t have HDMI; all it can do is is 480p NetFlix, which is protected with Macrovision… a whole different thing.

Even on the Hub, if you use Component video, all you get is 480p NetFlix; no HD is allowed.

Besides that, all the other DRM components (the DECRYPTION, namely) are handled in the Wii’s high-powered GPU in software.

The WDTVs don’t have enough CPU horsepower to do Software-based DRM; it is done at the hardware layer … hence the specific requirements for specific hardware.  

11

Well, looks like I was wrong!

Netflix UK is now working on my (UK) WDTV Live!

Great stuff

12

Unfortunately nothing with regards to the netflix service is showing up on my wdtv live hub. Is this the same box as yours paul? From what was said in the other thread I created it sounds like I will have to purchase another box which doesn’t inspire me with confidence if I want to subscribe to other services that’ll eventually roll out in the uk will I have to purchase additional boxes each and everytime.

Was there something you did to get the netflix uk service to show up or was this a case of it automatically showing up?

Sorry for all the questions paul but it’s primarily the reason I purchased and went for a western digital product since i knew upon purchasing netflix was coming to the uk and now that it’s here I’m not able to stream from the hd box.

13

Nothing on mine either… I was hoping it would turn up in the internet media option. 

Mine is a WDTV Live HD…

Hope did you get it to “turn” up? :slight_smile:

14

The Netflix option is located in Services. Do you have the latest firmware?

15

I don’t even have a services menu option. I am running the firmware 1.06.15V 

I guess we must have different boxes!

16

Arse, turns out I have the plain WD TV Live HD… sooo…

No grunt for the DRM :frowning: Looks like it was indeed a hardware inclusion in later devices. 

The Sigma SMP8655 chip inside the Live lacks the DRM mechanism necessary for Netflix / Blockbuster, etc.

That’s why WD produced the Live Plus, which features a Sigma SMP8654 (as does the Live Hub).

Netflix can not be added via firmware update.

17

Mine is a UK WDTV Live SMP (the latest version) on 1.05.18 firmware. 

The Netflix option was always in the services folder, but only today did it start connecting to Netflix.

Hope that helps!

18

Sorry for any confusion. I’ve just realised mine is technically a SMP, and everyone on these forums seems to call it that. 

I think WD could have done with a more logical naming convention!

19

Oh bottoms - I just signed up to Netflix, only to find out that my silly old WDTV Live doesn’t support it. 

On ebay for the WDTV.  Would be nice if they did a version that supported the BBC iPlayer, Love Film, Netflix, 4OD and ITV - ok I was joking about ITV, no one watches that drivel.

20

I have a UK Live Hub and Live HD and Netflix is not in the Services menu (running the latest firmware). Surely this would require a firmware update to ‘unlock’ it if it’s not present?

Why on earth would Netflix state that their service is available in the UK via WDTV boxes if we can’t see it? Madness and somewhat frustrating.

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