> don't disagree with what you say, but it's possible to see EME as a pragmatic inevitability, assuming that browsers want to get rid of plugins
Or browsers could just collectively get rid of plugins, and the media industry could whine ineffectually at the lack of DRM. They're not going to build their own browser, and people wouldn't use it if they did. Netflix wouldn't go away; millions of people would complain if it stopped working.
>Netflix wouldn't go away; millions of people would complain if it stopped working.
The Media industry would likely rally behind a platform that decided to play ball (like HBO Go), which would then implement some frankenstein DRM solution. "Get rid of plugins and the studios will adopt non-DRM solutions" seems about as useful as "Get rid of Limewire and people will stop pirating."
Windows 7 doesn't provide the Windows Runtime infrastructure to support sandboxed, remotely-maintained, universal apps. They'd have to write a new desktop program, and that's pretty unlikely.
Maybe, but Netflix isn't some little 2-bit company, they're huge and definitely have the resources to build a new program. Now obviously, building a new desktop program to support a dying OS might not make that much sense, but if the customers demand it, Netflix can do it.
They don't need to build a desktop program for Windows 7 when they can show video in a browser.
The advantage of building a Universal app using Windows Runtime is that it will run on Windows 8/8.1/10, Xbox One and Windows Phone. That's more than half a billion users....
Native apps need to be installed and kept up-to-date, bringing portability issues. I now have to install the app on all devices I need to watch Netflix on. Meanwhile, all devices have a browser installed.
Netflix didn't use Flash; it used Silverlight.
> don't disagree with what you say, but it's possible to see EME as a pragmatic inevitability, assuming that browsers want to get rid of plugins
Or browsers could just collectively get rid of plugins, and the media industry could whine ineffectually at the lack of DRM. They're not going to build their own browser, and people wouldn't use it if they did. Netflix wouldn't go away; millions of people would complain if it stopped working.