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Netflix? Yes....I know

R

RedCroissant

Suspended
Original poster
Aug 13, 2011
2,268
96
Hello everyone!

Before I get swamped with people telling me that PowerPC Macs can't stream Netflix, I am aware of that and I mainly have questions as to why PPC Macs are left out of the Netflix loop.

According to Netflix, the minimum system requirements are Intel CPU and the ability to run MS Silverlight, right? That would of course be the minimum system requirements for a desktop of laptop computer running a desktop OS.

Netflix as most people know can stream to all sorts of devices and I know that not all of those devices have Intel CPUs or the same amount of RAM and GPUs required to stream it. With iOS, Netflix is an app and as far as I know does not utilize Silverlight; if it does then ok.

My main question is: is there a way to install a mobile version of Netflix onto a PPC environment that would work in pretty much the same way? With all numerous devices that can run Netflix, I'm surprised that a PPC with enough RAM and CPU speed just simply can't in some way. Thanks in advance.
 
Lil Chillbil

Lil Chillbil

macrumors 65816
Jan 30, 2012
1,322
99
California
because no developers give a crap about powerpc processors anymore the newest ones are early 2005. Even intel processors from that time are being phased out. And no there is no way to run a mobile version of Netflix on old powerpc hardware.
 
P

phr0ze

macrumors 6502a
Jun 14, 2012
513
0
Columbia, MD
RedCroissant said:
Hello everyone!

Before I get swamped with people telling me that PowerPC Macs can't stream Netflix, I am aware of that and I mainly have questions as to why PPC Macs are left out of the Netflix loop.

According to Netflix, the minimum system requirements are Intel CPU and the ability to run MS Silverlight, right? That would of course be the minimum system requirements for a desktop of laptop computer running a desktop OS.

Netflix as most people know can stream to all sorts of devices and I know that not all of those devices have Intel CPUs or the same amount of RAM and GPUs required to stream it. With iOS, Netflix is an app and as far as I know does not utilize Silverlight; if it does then ok.

My main question is: is there a way to install a mobile version of Netflix onto a PPC environment that would work in pretty much the same way? With all numerous devices that can run Netflix, I'm surprised that a PPC with enough RAM and CPU speed just simply can't in some way. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Get an apple TV, wii, xbox, ps3, bluray, or just about any peice of hardware made in the last 5 years and you can watch netflix.
 
R

RedCroissant

Suspended
Original poster
Aug 13, 2011
2,268
96
roxxette said:
Apple tv or any other media streaming box, very cheap these days mate.
Click to expand...

The thing with that is that I also don't have a TV and can't afford one. I do have an Intel iMac that I use primarily for TV-like entertainment, but I was also hoping that there was a way to make my iBook G4 stream stuff.
 
roxxette

roxxette

macrumors 68000
Aug 9, 2011
1,507
0
RedCroissant said:
The thing with that is that I also don't have a TV and can't afford one. I do have an Intel iMac that I use primarily for TV-like entertainment, but I was also hoping that there was a way to make my iBook G4 stream stuff.
Click to expand...

Any chance for old monitor you might have ? or maybe a family member have around house ?

Its posible to emulate ios/android apps on mac and windows but the problem is i doubt such have suppor for ppc :(
 
R

RedCroissant

Suspended
Original poster
Aug 13, 2011
2,268
96
roxxette said:
Any chance for old monitor you might have ? or maybe a family member have around house ?

Its posible to emulate ios/android apps on mac and windows but the problem is i doubt such have suppor for ppc :(
Click to expand...

No luck on either of those. Had to sell my TV, iPad2(plus accessories), AppleTV2, 15" i7 MBP, 80 GB BC PS3 plus all the accessories and games, and entertainment center b/c of a crazy financial period. So in order to maintain mobile computing for school, I bought an iBook G4 and an iMac G5 for my kids(Total for both was $296). The funny thing is that having the iBook and iMac G5 has made my 2009 intel iMac seem like a brand new computer every time I get to use it after my kids are asleep.

And you're right about iOS emulators not being available for PPC, but it also seems like you need the source code as well to even be able to run it; so no luck. Luckily, Netflix is nowhere near to being a necessity.
 
Intell

Intell

macrumors P6
Jan 24, 2010
18,955
509
Inside
I've discovered one way to get Netflix streaming working on a PowerPC Mac, Plex. On your Intell Mac, install the Plex Media Server and configure your Netflix account on it and install Silverlight if you haven't already installed in on your Intell Mac. Then find and download the latest version of the PowerPC Plex branch. Link it to the PMS on the Intell Mac and navigate to the Netflix channel and play a movie. PMS will transcode the video for you from Netflix and send it in a PowerPC friendly format to your machine. Note: This requires a fairly powerful Intell Mac and at least a 1Ghz+ G4 PowerPC to work nicely.
 
MisterKeeks

MisterKeeks

macrumors 68000
Nov 15, 2012
1,833
28
Intell said:
I've discovered one way to get Netflix streaming working on a PowerPC Mac, Plex. On your Intell Mac, install the Plex Media Server and configure your Netflix account on it and install Silverlight if you haven't already installed in on your Intell Mac. Then find and download the latest version of the PowerPC Plex branch. Link it to the PMS on the Intell Mac and navigate to the Netflix channel and play a movie. PMS will transcode the video for you from Netflix and send it in a PowerPC friendly format to your machine. Note: This requires a fairly powerful Intell Mac and at least a 1Ghz+ G4 PowerPC to work nicely.
Click to expand...

Cool! I saw a while back that people were able to run Netflix on Ubuntu using WINE. I assume that this wouldn't be possible on PowerPC as the Ubuntu version is emulating Windows, whereas this would have to emulate a processor.
 
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