Netflix streaming problems
Unlike other posters who describe crashes while trying to stream Netflix due to Silverlight issues, the movies will in fact stream, but so slowly they are unwatchable. The audio keeps going but the video freezes and then skips. This has only begun to happen with the last 1 or 2 Firefox updates, and the last update is what has made Netflix unusable. I've spoken to Netflix tech support and their suggestion was to install Google Chrome and use it to stream Netflix. I will do this if I must, but would prefer Firefox if you folks can come up with a fix for this.
All Replies (9)
Update your Flash Player Version 19.0.0.185
https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html
Note: Windows users must download the “Internet Explorer”
and “Plugin-based browsers” installers.
Note: Edge on Win10 does not use ActiveX version but its own Flash.
See if there are updates for your graphics drivers https://support.mozilla.org/kb/upgrade-graphics-drivers-use-hardware-acceleration
Thanks for these suggestions. Flash is indeed not updated in my system, and I will check for graphics drivers updates, although given the age of my laptop (10 yrs) I'm not optimistic, as pretty much everything pushes the envelope with this dinosaur (running XP). ;-)
You can try to disable hardware acceleration in Firefox.
- Tools > Options > Advanced > General > Browsing: "Use hardware acceleration when available"
You need to close and restart Firefox after toggling this setting.
You can check if there is an update for your graphics display driver and check for hardware acceleration related issues.
This is a very late update but wanted to close this thread. The problem is that my computer is too old for today's streaming technology - specifically my video card/graphics driver...no updates available. So I'll have to get a cheap tablet just for streaming until I'm ready to update my main system. Thanks to all for your suggestions.
Modified by AnnElk
What type of video card do you have? Any Northwood Pentium 4 system from 2001 or later with a 32MB video card should have no issues running NetFlix. I know because I have done it.
By the way, the current version of Flash is 21.0.0.197 (yes, even for XP). However, Flash is not used for Netflix. Silverlight is.
The current version of Silverlight is 5.1.41212. Yes, this also runs on XP.
Thanks for the additional suggestions. I became aware of the need for Silverlight some time ago, and did have it installed (I think Amazon streaming prompts for it if you don't have it). However, it didn't seem to help things, and i later uninstalled it. But after reading your post I investigated a little further - the current version of Silverlight is incompatible with Windows XP Professional.
http://www.microsoft.com/getsilverlight/Get-Started/Install/Default.aspx
But to answer your question, my laptop has the following -
Intel Pentium M 1.60 GHz, 1.23 GB of RAM
Intel 82852/55 GM/GME Graphics controller version 6.14.10.3775, 64 MB
Did you actually try to install it? Just because Microsoft doesn't support XP anymore doesn't mean it doesn't work.
You can't take Microsoft's word for it just because XP isn't listed as a supported operating system! They obviously want you to upgrade and that's why it's not listed.
I have the current Silverlight 5.1.41212 running on my IBM ThinkPad T40 with XP Professional Service Pack 3 myself. My configuration with Pentium M is similar to yours.
The last time I was messing with the problem, I had Silverlight installed, but an older version. A Netflix tech's idea was that I should try using Google Chrome instead of Firefox (said it worked better with Silverlight), but that didn't help things. An interesting new development is that I rented a DVD of a film released in the last year, and also experienced the same problem. I could download the new version of Silverlight and have a go at it, but still suspect that the issue is my graphics controller. What vintage is your Thinkpad? My Dell Inspiron 700m is from 2004. I really hang onto things until they just don't work for my purposes any more. Still have a flip-phone, too. :-) Thanks for your input, I'll try the new Silverlight and see what happens.
My ThinkPad was manufactured May 2003, and has a dedicated 32MB ATI Radeon 7500 GPU. I know all about using things until they wear out; this laptop was around $3,000 when new.
If you were unable to watch a DVD, you need a program like VLC which can decode the DVD. I have recommended this program for over 10 years. Media Player included with Windows usually cannot play DVD because it does not have the appropriate codecs.
By the way, it appears that the latest driver for your video card was released by Intel in 2012: Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator Driver for Windows XP
"This file is written specifically for the Intel® 852/855GM, 915G, 945G, 945GM, 915GM/GMS, 910GL, and 910GML chipsets and will not function with any other product. "
Modified by Stephen Fox