Netflix was Re: Accessible tv tuners from the cli?

Chris Brannon chris at the-brannons.com
Thu Oct 27 08:23:04 EDT 2011


Janina Sajka <janina at rednote.net> writes:

> The famous name in this space, of course, it Net Flix, but they're
> supposedly not so accessible.

Due to DRM, Netflix isn't usable at all under Linux on the desktop, not
even for sighted people.  Thank Hollywood for that.  In Linux-only
households, the only way to use Netflix is via a "Netflix-ready" device.
The vast majority of those aren't accessible at all.  They're "consumer
electronics", so go figure.  Lots of folks go for the Roku streaming
player, which is recommended by Netflix.  Are you ready for a laugh?
The Roku device runs an embedded Linux!  There's no reason that it
couldn't provide some spoken feedback, but it doesn't do so today.

For a blind person, the AppleTV might work.  It supports Netflix, and it
is accessible using VoiceOver.  I looked at one late last year, but I
decided not to buy it.  For one thing, I suspect that you have to manage
it with iTunes.  I don't own a Windows machine or a Mac, so this is a
show-stopper for me.  Second, it only supports HDMI output.  If you're
using an older TV, as I was at the time, you're out of luck!

-- Chris



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