Tech Question

[Hal...]

I've tried watching some cable TV channels online, those that have live streaming, that is. Such as TBS, AMC, Sundance, CNN, NCAA, etc. None have worked except CNN, HLN, and NCAA (for March Madness).

I noticed the problem first with TBS. Today, I found the same problem with AMC. I tried various things like clearing the cache, deleting cookies and then restarting Firefox; switching to IExplorer; making sure different settings were off or on, depending on the thing (e.g. javascript, adblock, etc). Nothing worked.

And then I discovered this; it's a screenshot of a website that had a video clip of a new show on AMC:

Attachment 11457

That big black rectangle is supposed to be the embedded video player. Note that at the top it states "This browser is supported only in windows 10 and above."

1. It's just an embedded video, isn't it? How is that a browser? And what does Win10 have to do with it?

2. Is this intentional on AMC's part or an oversight? Incidentally, other than TBS, all the other channels I've had problems with are AMC affiliated/owned (Sundance, IFC, WE).

3. Could it be that Micro$oft is now forcing companies to pull this kind of shit so that Vista, Win7, & Win8 users are forced to upgrade?

Interestingly, if you google that phrase about support for Windows 10, all that comes up are 23 results all related to AMC and its affiliates.

WTF?

[markwoll]

Many sites are switching to the Edge browser in Windows 10 over IE.
You might have better luck with Chrome or Firefox if you don't want the Windows 10 kool-aide.

[EdWiser]

Most streaming video services use flash or silverlight ( Microsoft version)
They do this as a way of protecting their asset. That’s the video you wanted to watch. Don’t know your whole computer stack but this is a real common thing. If you do not have flash updated and the plugin active.


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[Hal...]

I don't know if this is significant, or not, but I can watch previews and even full episodes of shows previously aired. It's the live streaming that isn't working. And it's not caused by my internet speed as I was watching March Madness in HD on this same PC.

And FYI, Flash is up to date and the plugin active.

Thoughts?

[rcarlberg]

Thoughts?

Upgrade to Windows 10. Streaming involves a TON of protocol negotiations and something in your present setup doesn't speak the right language.

[Zeuhlmate]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codec ?

[Jerjo]

Adblockers tend to screw things up as well. I often have to turn off my adblock on either Chrome or Firefox to get some streaming sites to work. Sometimes it's easier to just go to Edge.