Netflix available in Brazil

[raulsola]

Do not understand why not go to work access to Netflix in Brazil, if it works in the U.S. and Canada.
Is there any operational difference?

[RoofingGuy]

Even if you buy a Live Hub outside of the U.S. and Canada, and then bring it into the U.S. and Canada, it can not be made to work with Netflix in the U.S. and Canada.

The non-North American hardware does not support the required DRM for Netflix.

The only way to get Netflix in the U.S. and Canada is to use a player designed from the start to do it.

Likewise, the DRM capabilities can not be added to export versions to add DRM capablities for use outside of North America.

A Live Hub sold to Brazil is not the same inside as one sold in North America.

[Wguerra]

I bought mine inse US.....just in case...

[drdsouza]

Netflix is already woring with PS3 US model here in Brazil.

How would you explain this? I mean, if Netflix adopted a different DRM for Brazil, does it mean that the PS3 hardware already support it, while the Live Plus do not?

[gstvSett]

"Netflix is already woring with PS3 US model here in Brazil.

How would you explain this? I mean, if Netflix adopted a different DRM for Brazil, does it mean that the PS3 hardware already support it, while the Live Plus do not?"

That's exaclty what I was thinking.

I have a PS3. Bought more than 3 years ago. Netflix was launched in Brazil yesterday. I turned the PS3 on, pointed it to netflix. It asked me to download a new version of the netflix software and voilà. It's working perfectly.

Why can the PS3 work without a new DRM hardware? Guys at Sony would never do something like "hey guys, you want netflix? buy a new ps3!".

If WD says that we will have to buy a new player just because Netflix, I will sell my player, cancel netflix and will never buy anything from WD or netflix again. There are other brands, other players and online services just waiting.

[RoofingGuy]

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gstvSett wrote:

Why can the PS3 work without a new DRM hardware?

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Um.  Because the PS3 has always had the DRM capabilities?  It was legally necessary to allow it to play commercial BluRay discs?

The 8655 chip lacks the DRM capabilities.  Netflix will apparently never allow their streams to be decoded by a device that lacks DRM.

It's not WD saying you need a new player, it's Netflix.  They say the player must be DRM-capable.  The Live Hub you purchased lacks the DRM capabilities and was never advertised to work with Netflix outside of the US (or now Canada).

I don't see anywhere where either Netflix or WD said that the 8655-based Live Hubs would ever stream Netflix.

[raulsola]

In the case of my player are the mark of compatibility "Netflix". Nowhere says that is not supported, only says the service is not available outside the U.S. and Canada.
If it turns out that my player is not compatible when they launch the service here, this is a fraudulent product and I personally denounce a Wester Digital at the office of consumers.

[Wguerra]

In my WDTVLIVEHUB: Go Setup -> About -> Online Service Info : NETFLIX ESN: WDBAB.............

So, inside my WD there´s a specifc ESN for Netflix......just in case...

[TonyPh12345]

Ya'll are barking up the wrong tree. 

As far as has been officially announced, for the unit you own, NetFlix is *NOT* available outside the US.   

[ThePizzaMatrix · Accepted solution]

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raulsola wrote:

Do not understand why not go to work access to Netflix in Brazil, if it works in the U.S. and Canada.
Is there any operational difference?

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 Yes, the physical hardware.

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raulsola wrote:

In the case of my player are the mark of compatibility "Netflix". Nowhere says that is not supported, only says the service is not available outside the U.S. and Canada.
If it turns out that my player is not compatible when they launch the service here, this is a fraudulent product and I personally denounce a Western Digital at the office of consumers.

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 What on the world do you understand with "the service is not available outside the U.S. and Canada."? That means that even if NetFlix goes global, you won't be able to use it outside of the U.S. and Canada on that device, just how much more clear does it need to be for you to understand?

The Hub is newer than the Plus, if it was added to the Plus without the need of a firmware update or anything at all and it was not advertised to be an upcoming feature (Like NetFlix Canada was) then it means it simply works in the Plus at a hardware level and not on the Hub. Check WD's page and the official NetFlix support for Brazil section notes it's only for the Live Plus, no update needed or anything. Why? Because the device allows it. The Hub does not.

Also, the Hub's feature page has this info:

Enjoy popular movies, classics, and TV episodes instantly. Review your Netflix recommendations, search for content, and add items to your Netflix instant Queue - no PC is required. Access your Netflix unlimited membership and instantly watch TV episodes and movies on your big screen.*

* Netflix unlimited membership required. US and Canada only.

While the Live Plus feature page has this info:

Enjoy popular movies, classics, and TV episodes instantly. Review your Netflix recommendations, search for content, and add items to your Netflix instant Queue - no PC is required. Access your Netflix unlimited membership and instantly watch TV episodes and movies on your big screen.*

* Netflix unlimited membership required. US, Canada and Brazil only.

So NetFlix Brazil is not even advertised on the Hub, but it is with the Plus. Adding to that I found the following support article on WD's site with the following info:

A WD TV Live Plus purchased in the USA or Canada or a WD TV Live Hub does not work with Netflix in Brazil

Problem:
A WD TV Live Plus HD Media Player purchased in the USA or Canada or a WD TV Live Hub Media Center does not work with Netflix in Brazil

Cause:
The WD TV Live Plus model sold in Brazil is model WDBREC0000. This is a special version of the WD TV Live Plus designed to be used with the Brazilian Netflix service. Other Model WD TV Live Plus units and the WD TV Live Hub are not compatible with Netflix in Brazil.

Solution:
You will need to use a WD TV Live Plus (model WDBREC0000) to access Netflix in Brazil.

That means the Live Plus players that CAN play NetFlix in Brazil ARE MADE to play NetFlix in Brazil and importing will not help at all, this means it's REGION LOCKED which is something legally done to protect international third party intellectual property, just like the PS3 (You can play PS3 games from any region, but you CAN'T play Blu-Ray movies just from any region and buy downloadable content from another region), the Wii and the 360.

There's nothing you can do about it, if you don't have a media player made and distrubuted to support the features of your region as established and dictated by the PROVIDER of that feature then you are plain and simply out of luck and no matter what you do, how much you complain or how many of you are joining together you won't change a thing.

Those of you who imported a North-American Live Plus won't get NetFlix because of the regional model number with different hardware and different features, so your best chance is to replace the players for the Brazilian version, and you won't get NetFlix if you travel to the US and bring it with you.

You get what your country allows you to get. Don't like it? Then move to another country, end of the story.