Netflix halts supporting Samsung and other televisions from 2010 and 2011

by Hilbert Hagedoorn on: 11/11/2019 08:15 AM | source: myce | 42 comment(s)

Samsung issued a warning that smart TV owners of a 2010/2011 model that staring December no longer be able to use the Netflix application. The support has been dropped. This also applies to a number of Roku media players, Panasonic Viera and Vizio televisions. The issue is related to digital rights management (DRM) limitations of older TVs.

A spokesperson told News.com.au said that the technical limitations caused the discontinued support for old systems. The report clarified that the restrictions were caused by the “DRM protocol used by earlier televisions that have since been superseded and can’t be upgraded.” reported myce.

DRM offers a way to prevent piracy and protect intellectual property by “restricting what copyright works can be viewed in which places and on what devices.” The report emphasized that DRM is a divisive issue as critics point out that it only inconveniences users and does not have a real impact in preventing piracy.

Most devices affected include Samsung and Panasonic models. Samsung released an announcement saying that TVs from 2010 and 2011 will no longer work with the app. To know if a unit is compromised, the company said that models with codes containing C or D after the screen size are affected. However, Samsung guaranteed that Australian consumers with Samsung TVs are not involved in this move.

On the other hand, Panasonic said that Viera smart TVs, which were released in 2013 or earlier, will suffer from the restrictions.

News.com.au warns that while old Samsung and Panasonic units are guaranteed to be affected, models from other brands can also suffer from this limitation.

In addressing potential problems for customers, the spokesperson said that they have “notified all impacted members with more information about alternative devices we support so they can keep enjoying Netflix uninterrupted.” Consumers who wish to use the service with their televisions can use alternative devices that let them stream. This includes streaming-enabled game consoles such as PlayStation and Xbox, streaming sticks and boxes, as well as Blue-ray players.

When asked about the number of users affected by this move, a spokesperson said that “a small number” will be involved, reported TechCrunch.

Netflix’s announcement came after the company warned consumers that streaming players from Roku will also lose access to the app. Roku devices that are affected include models 2050X, 2100X, 2000C, HD Player, SD Player, XR player, and XD Player.

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ontelo
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Posts: 74
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#5730188 Posted on: 11/11/2019 12:26 PM

Guess all those users of these older TVs will now have to resort to piracy. Good job DRM. You always make such compelling arguments!

Or just buy chromecast. Works better anyways than crappy builtin software on old tvs.

Alessio1989
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#5730196 Posted on: 11/11/2019 01:03 PM

lol limewire

fantaskarsef
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#5730201 Posted on: 11/11/2019 01:43 PM

There isn't any PC solution in the world that can replace an app on the TV

Damn, that's ultimate laziness right there.

IMO - the best way to watch any content is a TV connected to a PC.

Right now, I have 4k Samsung 55 inch connected to my PC via HDMI.
Watch any content you want, when you want and not a single advert.

Slap on top of it SVP and you have 4k content running at butter smooth (in my case) 144fps.

I have to say, this time I side with @Netherwind for the following reasons, in my situation which is as follows:

So I have an HTPC, 1080p capable (ryzen 2400G), hooked to my old (1080p) and new TV via HDMI. This year I bought a new LG 4K TV, technically a 100Hz panel.
My old mainboard is not capable of HDMI above 1.4, meaning I can't display full 4K with colors and framerates, as far as I understand. Also, the 2400G's IGPU is not performant enough since I tried to use 4K but was limited by my options there, or I did something else wrong, which is a possibility.

With the HTPC I have to turn on the HTPC, then the TV, use more power that way, have to have the right standards for the connection to make use of high res content.
Whereas an integrated TV app on the smart TV just... starts at the push of a button. And shuts down just as fast. A single sleep timer if you're even somebody fancying using this.
Also, technically you can't get more out of the Netflix content than with the latest TV anyway, no matter how good your PC is. Best Netflix does is 60fps HDR / Dolby Vision. No matter how high you set your PC, the source content's not better than a good TVthese days.

If I'm wrong on anything of this, please let me know. Until then, I share Netherwind's opinion. Although I have to admit, I am already wondering when I'll make use of my TV's alleged Freesync compatability, or that they now are said to be supporting "Gsync ready" equivalent usage. Only that my mainboard only has one PCIe slot which is taken by my DVB-C card, which originally did the recording.... but lately, "analogue TV" (as in digital TV but with normal channels like we grew up with) is really, really not worth the hassle... 50% of it is commericals except one TV station I'd like to watch, which does not offer me the APP in my country of origin.

(ARTE tv for those from France or Germany, which does have an app for my TV, which is just not supported in Austria... bummer, so far for no borders in Europe and no geoblocking. :mad

Richard Nutman
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#5730203 Posted on: 11/11/2019 01:52 PM

Paltry numbers - who even owns a teevee from that era, deep in the past of history? They didn't even have colour back in those days...

While my Samsung smart TV is not that old, it's getting on a bit (2013). But I still have zero reason to upgrade. Over in UK, terrestrial TV still tops out at 1080i unless you have some super expensive sky package. Hell most of our channels are still broadcasting in SD!

The lack of progress in terrestrial tv specifications is surely holding a lot of people back.

asturur
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#5730217 Posted on: 11/11/2019 02:52 PM

The point of this news article is that those old TVs can today be used for piracy because of some kind DRM non compliance they have.
Is unclear if is missing this kind of implementation on the inputs, that would make those TV not usable with netflix also with external players.

fantaskarsef
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#5730218 Posted on: 11/11/2019 02:53 PM

Isn't it like, technically, an older HDMI cable or an older browser version already invalidates the latest DRM standards? I've had this when using my HTPC to play SinCity 2 via amazon prime, it simply refused to play due to DRM issues.

airbud7
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#5730219 Posted on: 11/11/2019 03:01 PM

4k fire stick

problem solved.

fantaskarsef
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#5730221 Posted on: 11/11/2019 03:10 PM

4k fire stick

problem solved.

If only we could get all those with one device in Europe... here in Austria, I'd only get amaon prime, youtube and netflix right now (all of which have apps in my TV already), and possibly Disney+ in March 2020. No signs of HBO, hulu, would love to have those, even without any synchronisation.
Also, sadly, you buy a new kick ass TV for hundreds of € or $ or pounds, and yet you need another device to play those.
Which is quite poor in regards to the TV companies and their software efforts.

0blivious
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#5730222 Posted on: 11/11/2019 03:10 PM

Smart TVs weren't that common back then, were they? I feel like they took off a couple years later. The smart functions would be punishingly slow to use in 2019.

I don't think our first Roku is quite that old either. It's already a bit obsolete anyways.

As Airbud just posted, just get a fire stick or a roku. Done.

warezme
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#5730224 Posted on: 11/11/2019 03:11 PM

I'm surprised it took this long for this to happen. Smart TV's were a gimmick. The smart part is just an embedded iOT device that will eventually like all iOT devices become obsolete and vulnerable. Unless the manufacture built in some sort of upgradeable over the air firmware to maintain the device it becomes a liability to the consumer not to mention it will lose performance over time compared to newer devices. The best solution for all televisions is to just get a cheap external device that you can toss when it becomes old or vulnerable, rinse and repeat.

Richard Nutman
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#5730229 Posted on: 11/11/2019 03:27 PM

Pretty much all Samsung TV's have upgradable apps, have done for years. Mine certainly are. It's still easier to use it for Prime and iPlayer than a second device.

fantaskarsef
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#5730232 Posted on: 11/11/2019 03:35 PM

Pretty much all Samsung TV's have upgradable apps, have done for years. Mine certainly are. It's still easier to use it for Prime and iPlayer than a second device.

This, what @Richard Nutman said. Practically everything on a smart TV is upgradable these days, software wise. This is planned obsolescence to some extent.
I can imagine older smartTV models not being fast enough to decode 8K (let alone the panel not having it etc.), but honestly, they should just offer access with lower resolution in such a case.

airbud7
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#5730234 Posted on: 11/11/2019 03:41 PM

Cool video about subject

Loobyluggs
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#5730247 Posted on: 11/11/2019 04:31 PM

4k fire stick, problem solved.

Everyone knows how I feel about STB's and their runty children - but I would think that if someone has a teevee from that long ago and wants netflix, I think they probably have already upgraded to a new teevee that does not require some sort of dongle anyway.

Panasonic with Mozilla is pretty good, lots of devs are using this platform.

Netherwind
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#5730249 Posted on: 11/11/2019 04:35 PM

@fantaskarsef Thank you! Finally someone who agrees with me. Ok, I'm not sure how the other guys live but I personally have the computer in the office and then I have a big screen TV in the living room and got a HDMI cable connected from the PC to the TV. Still, it's much quicker and more convenient to use the TV for some things and the PC for other things.

If someone is young and has one room I get it that they would use the computer for everything but if someone has a larger flat or house, there is no need to dictate the a TV is something obsolete, on the contrary. I like to play games like AC:Odyssey on the big screen TV with a controller laying down comfortably on the sofa and no gaming chair can beat that.

I'm surprised it took this long for this to happen. Smart TV's were a gimmick.

This comment sounds like something that a person not owning a Smart TV would say. 3D was a gimmick, Smart TV is a pretty good thing if you ask me since a few of those apps are really convenient to use and tailored to be used with a remote controller. It may not have a ton of uses but anyone streaming stuff like YouTube, Twitch or Netflix/HBO and so on would see the benefit.

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