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I tried to watch netflix on my ubuntu machine and realized that I won't be able to make it work over than in a virtual machine and for me this is not a solution.

So, being new to the US, I would like to know if there's other streaming services allowing the usage of ubuntu by their choice of technology.

I would gladly pay for it.

thanks

ish
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Nicolas de Fontenay
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  • What are your system specifications? – Mitch Jul 17 '12 at 06:06
  • Please remember to accept/upvote the best answer(s) to your question when possible (tick/check mark on the left). This way, the question is marked as "answered" and future readers can refer to it knowing the solution works. Thank you...:) – ish Aug 09 '12 at 20:49
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    Netflix is now possible in Ubuntu: http://askubuntu.com/a/219068/15943 – alfC Dec 08 '12 at 07:11
  • Does this question concern USA only or is it for all the world? – Alvar Jan 04 '13 at 17:23

2 Answers2

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You can try the following US-only websites/services which are compatible with Ubuntu/Linux (mainly because they use Flash):

  1. Hulu: offers free (ad-supported) streaming of many current and old TV shows as well as some movies. (More programming information)

  2. Amazon Prime Instant Video: offers no-additional-cost streaming of TV shows and movies (wider selection than Hulu, narrower than Netflix) with a $79/year subscription to Amazon's free-shipping service, Prime.

  3. Youtube now also officially offers Movies and TV Shows for streaming/purchase. Some are also available for free.

This Wired article from late 2011 compares more services, including pay-per-movie or pay-per-show ones such as iTunes. See also this article.

Note: As dobey helpfully notes in the comments, "You can also simply rent shows or movies on Amazon as well, without paying the yearly fee, nor are all the shows and movies they have available to stream, available for free with the Prime subscription."

ish
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  • You can also simply rent shows or movies on Amazon as well, without paying the yearly fee, nor are all the shows and movies they have available to stream, available for free with the Prime subscription. Just to clarify. – dobey Aug 09 '12 at 21:25
  • @dobey: True, I didn't mention that since Netflix is purely an "unlimited-per-month" model, IIRC? – ish Aug 09 '12 at 21:27
  • Netflix has a couple of options as well, and their entire DVD/Blu-Ray library is not available on their streaming service, as well as they have some shows and movies that are only available temporarily for streaming (they'll put them on streaming, and take them down after a month or so, per their licenses). All the services are pretty complex really, and unfortunately nobody offers a service that is just everything, unlimited streaming, for one price. – dobey Aug 09 '12 at 21:30
  • Also, YouTube has many shows and movies available to watch now as well, which will work in-browser on Ubuntu. Some are free, some are for rent or purchase. – dobey Aug 09 '12 at 21:31
  • @dobey: many thanks, I have updated the answer with both the options you mentioned. – ish Aug 09 '12 at 21:34
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Another good service that is about to come out is Redbox instant streaming. You can sign up for the early trial here https://www.redbox.com/streaming?cid=ss:12:19:2012

I know this is an older question, but it is worth mentioning since it appears to be a better competitor to Netflix since it is about the same price, has no commercials, and I don't think you will need to occasionally pay extra which is some of the characteristics of Hulu and Amazon/YouTube.

Goddard
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