Linux Users on NBC's Olympics Videos: We Don't Get No Respect

by Sam Dean - Aug. 08, 2008Comments (47)

Where is Rodney Dangerfield when we need him? There are some heated messages flying around in the Ubuntu forums because NBC has announced that it will offer its online video coverage of the Beijing Olympics to Internet Explorer and Firefox users on the Mac and Windows, but not to Linux browser users. "This means the considerable amount of online video available to other users is out of reach of the Linux crowd," writes one forum poster. "You wonder why they'd want to kiss off 2%-3% of the desktops," writes another. Would it really be so difficult to offer video to users of Firefox on Linux?

As our sister blog NewTeeVee notes, the Olympics have kicked off, and online users are looking at their options for watching video coverage. NewTeeVee also has an excellent post on torrent and pirate sites that will be offering up video.

Nevertheless, NBC's official stance is to support Internet Explorer and Firefox for Windows and the Mac, but there is no Linux support. This seems absolutely foolish. How hard is it cater to users of Firefox on Linux?

In addition to the Ubuntu forum thread above featuring disgruntled Linux users, there is also this one, where users are attributing this to a conspiracy between "M$" and NBC. So far, nobody in the Linux community appears to have a workaround here, but some users are already experimenting with using WINE, which allows Linux users to reach out to Windows applications.

I'm betting that somebody will post a workaround. In the meantime, here is NBC's posted policy:

 


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47 Comments
 

I don't think MS has anything to do with this. Its probably a function of just prioritizing the Linux desktop in light of the other million things that NBC has to worry about..

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I agree. If you really think about the total number of people watching this online will be a small fraction of those watching it on TV. The fact that only 2-3% of those wanting to watch it online will be using a Linux Box, of which a small fraction would not be able to access a Windows/Mac box if they really wanted. So, at the end of the day, its not really a material # users they would be excluding. Purely a business decision.

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I'd be able to crank that out in 2 days or less - there's absolutely no excuse for not providing support. These guys are so full of themselves that they probably didn't even think about it...

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You wouldn't think it'd be that hard, though apparently Intuit has issue with it too for TurboTax. Has anyone tried the user agent switcher to say they're running FF on Windows? If you set your user agent as IE, sites are going to try and send you ActiveX controls, though if you send FireFox on Windows, they send you the right thing in TurboTax...

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Uh, did anyone scroll to the bottom of nbcolympics.com? There's a big logo down there that looks remarkably like a Microsoft logo, at least insofar as it says "Microsoft." Not to mention the MSN cross-marketing. Open your eyes.

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Microsoft is the technical partner and they power most of the site.

They made Silverlight (their new media plugin) mandatory to watch the streaming video, and despite a lot of hot air about "cross platform" on their site, they don't offer a Silverlight plugin.

It's just one of those "business decisions" that just happens to inflict pain on a competing platform...

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I doubt this has anything to do with Microsoft saying "No, you should not support Linux". This is just the fact that the market of viewers is so small that they didn't even bother, and didn't even bother to say that it was not going to be supported...

They too, some day, will realize that they are laggards, since they are not paying attention to one of the fastest growing desktops in Ubuntu.

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I've got Moonlight for Linux (the Linux version of Silverlight) installed. I did it JUST to watch the Olympics.

Imagine my surprise going to the NBC website and being told that having the proper plugin is STILL not enough.

Idiots.

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I've got Moonlight for Linux (the Linux version of Silverlight) installed. I did it JUST to watch the Olympics.

Imagine my surprise going to the NBC website and being told that having the proper plugin is STILL not enough.

Idiots.

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NBC does not only discriminate against linux users. Users from outside the US are not allowed to view the NBC video content either. They are almost as bad as the Chinese in internet content restrictions.

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NBC does not only discriminate against linux users. Users from outside the US are not allowed to view the NBC video content either. They are almost as bad as the Chinese in internet content restrictions.

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Well, with nothing more than the standard mplayer plugin for Firefox installed on Ubuntu Hardy, I'm getting VERY good quality streaming video from CANADA'S Olympic broadcaster - cbc.ca.

Good to see them supporting linux with no fuss. I guess the grief the Federal government took a few years ago with their "Passport" service made them take note of linux users. We put up such a stink that we were being excluded from accessing government services online that they made linux officially supported. Only took them a couple of weeks. Apparently there are enough of us linux folk in Canada that we matter here! :)

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yeah, I'm U.S. and watching cbc.ca. Or you can use an agent switcher in firefox plus a non-U.S. proxy (I'm using a brazilian one) and you will get a "continue w/o silverlight" from nbc's site.

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yeah, I'm U.S. and watching cbc.ca. Or you can use an agent switcher in firefox plus a non-U.S. proxy (I'm using a brazilian one) and you will get a "continue w/o silverlight" from nbc's site.

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The issue is not Firefox support. The technical factor in the choice of supported platforms is support for Windows Media streams (ASF + VC-1 + WMA Pro) delivered over MMS. No Linux plugin supports that in a browser.

To be absolutely clear: Silverlight is NOT required to view the video streams. WMP plugin can also be used - you just have to remember to choose "Proceed anyway" when you get presented with the Silverlight install prompt.

And as for NBC "discriminating" against foreign users, that's simply not the case. IOC sells broadcast rights per country, and in this case NBC only has rights to broadcast the Olympics in the U.S.

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I belive some form of DRM is involved............

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Of course Micro$oft is involved and deciding. It's a "MSN Video" feed. What would you expect? Micro$oft playing nice with Linux?

Grow up, they play nasty hard ball !!

There is no software limitation, it's just a: I don't like you, go away, thing

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meh...another reason to stay away and boycott Olympics and NBC altogether.

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The movies on nbcolympics.com require MS silverlight. It's curious (but not surprising) that the nbcolympics.com website is running on Linux, see: http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=nbcolympics.com MS is just trying to get more people to install silverlight, which is a proprietary plugin they wish to have everyone using to force people to use only non-free operating systems. "Come to the dark side, Luke"

1 Votes

Just from my simple testing, it looks like NBC is using DRM protected video, and most Linux distro's don't have the ability to view DRM protected video. In order for my Vista VM to display the test video, I had to install some additional options into Windows Media player.

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Honestly, I doubt MS is behind this. MS has been spending way too much time and money cozying up to the FOSS community to pull such a stunt.

More likely some apparatchik at NBC thought to curry favor by "cost-cutting".

The irony is, of course, that it is formats media outlets should provide, not platform selections. This exhibits a certain bankruptcy in NBC's concept of purpose. I wonder how the shareholders will react?

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Why wouldn't you publish videos of the Olympics that are compatible with Linux OS?

Just remember that Linux advocates have convictions and they stand by them no matter what. You just lost a family of 5 visitors to your site and viewers of your NBC & MSNBC broadcasting channels. This is not going to stop with us but we will encourage family and friends to boy cut your stations.

We will enjoy watching the Olympics on CBC instead feeling the pleasure of boy cutting your idiocy.

Good work NBC.

1 Votes

There are many websites worldwide (mostly US) that are too brain-dead about linux support. However, on the subject of the Olympics in China, nbc and their Butt-Buddy microshaft can go suck a malformed data packet and hopefully choke on it! I have great respect for the people of China. However, I have only scorn and insults for the Chinese government. So I will not observe the Olympic games in China.

1 Votes

I have never pirated windows but under the circumstance I will not feel bad about doing it. Windows XP on a VMware virtual should work OK.

It is unforgivable that NBC does not support Linux and that they are using Silverlight instead of Flash. It would be OK if they offered their videos in either Flash or Silverlight, then there would be a choice and people who love MS could use the latest propitiatory closed-source application from the worlds biggest monopoly.

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Correction: Silverlight is OPTIONAL (skip by pressing another button to proceed without the download), and the movies play in flash instead. Perhaps you still would need MS Media player, I haven't tested that theory. You'll only get the option to skip silverlight if you're running windows or mac. If you're running Linux (which can run flash) you don't even get the chance. Is this the first question on deltatre.com's job application? 1. Do you understand how to lock out viewers so that they will boycott your client's advertisers?

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It's not just Linux, it's also the 60% of existing Macs that don't have Intel chips. Yes, WMP and a Flip4Mac plugin will work on Intel Macs, but on none of mine! Even though the binaries are 'universal', I think!!

1 Votes

There's absolutely no reason NBC couldn't have used Flash to deliver this content - Except one - Which company Adobe or Microsoft has better corporate relations with NBC?

1 Votes

The correct answers to the question "Why did NBC do this?" all match the answer "No good reason."

The important issues now are how to get them to change it and how to deter this kind of thing in the future.

We need to know how and where to complain to NBC about this.

1 Votes

Linux users are Nerds and Geeks. They generally have no interest in sports.

I think that everyone is bitching about nothing. Its not like we are talking about NBC not allowing internet video coverage to the AVN Awards, or CES, or some sort of hacker convention.

Much ado about nothing really.

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Linux users, please code harder and faster, eventually Moonlight will be ready and you can watch the games.

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To those who believe:

"To be absolutely clear: Silverlight is NOT required to view the video streams. WMP plugin can also be used - you just have to remember to choose "Proceed anyway" when you get presented with the Silverlight install prompt."

Wrong.

You might get that choice in Windows, but you don't in Linux. You're simply told your platform isn't supported -- despite the fact my platform supports Windows Media streams just fine.

Who can say if the decision to exclude Linux users from the video stream was purposeful or just brain dead, but past experience with Microsoft suggests it's at least a nice side benefit to them.

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NBC should look to the French Relay team as an example of what happens when you don't respect others. You get SMASHED...

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I tried to use IE under Wine, and it says:

Sorry, NBC Direct currently requires Windows XP (Service Pack 2) or Windows Media Center Edition or Windows Vista.

Now that is blatantly requiring that the users be up to the point of WGA installation on XP which makes me pretty sure that this is a Microsoft plot to ensure that one is using a licensed copy of Windows if you aren't using an Intel Mac. Yes, I believe there is a conspiracy here. NBC and MS have been in bed together too long to think that this is just an oversight. The decision to exclude Linux users was on purpose.

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I tried to use IE under Wine, and it says:

Sorry, NBC Direct currently requires Windows XP (Service Pack 2) or Windows Media Center Edition or Windows Vista.

Now that is blatantly requiring that the users be up to the point of WGA installation on XP which makes me pretty sure that this is a Microsoft plot to ensure that one is using a licensed copy of Windows if you aren't using an Intel Mac. Yes, I believe there is a conspiracy here. NBC and MS have been in bed together too long to think that this is just an oversight. The decision to exclude Linux users was on purpose.

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nbc = drm nazis

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try the IE7 vista user agent string in firefox w/ user agent switcher addon

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0; en-US

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In firefox 3 on ubuntu, I changed my user agent string to: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.14; .NET CLR 3.0; ffco7) Gecko/20080404 Firefox/2.0.0.14

Too bad at that time I was prompted to install the silverlight plugin.

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WHAT? Are you kidding me prioritizing, NO NO they could have easily used flash for their video, why silverlight, that is bullshit so please stop trying to give MS an excuse, if your not using a windows OS your will not see the Olympics online and that is final. So this is wrong on so many levels, well one is a monopolistic tactic to ensure that only people whom use windows and can install a proprietary player(silverlight) can watch it so it you have a MAC sure you can watch it because MAC is a proprietary model which does not work on Open Standards just like MS. But because Linux is Open to everyone and pretty much everything they(we) get shafted. That is funny the last I checked I watch NBC shows and occasionally buy their advertisers products, BOY to I smell a Boycott coming.

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Some of the Linux smartboys hammered out a script that locates the Windows Media Files on the NBC site, so if you're willing to jump through a few hoops, you can watch the live and archived streams on your Linux box.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=883142&page=4

In fact, I've got the team archery finals going right now (sans sound), and the fact that it's playing on my Linux box suggests MS & NBC essentially excluded Linux folks because they wanted to.

After all, Windoze users had the option of watching the Windows Media Files, why not simply give that option to Linux users?

Sadly, I think I know the answer.

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Some of the Linux smartboys hammered out a script that locates the Windows Media Files on the NBC site, so if you're willing to jump through a few hoops, you can watch the live and archived streams on your Linux box.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=883142&page=4

In fact, I've got the team archery finals going right now (sans sound), and the fact that it's playing on my Linux box suggests MS & NBC essentially excluded Linux folks because they wanted to.

After all, Windoze users had the option of watching the Windows Media Files, why not simply give that option to Linux users?

Sadly, I think I know the answer.

1 Votes

Steve Pearson, VP of Advanced Technology with CBS Interactive from CBS spoke at the OSBC conference earlier this year in San Francisco. The session was titled, Bringing Television to the Web with Open Source. He walked us through some screenshots of the different CBS web properties and talked about March Madness On-Demand (MMOD). Maybe NBC should take an open source lesson from CBS?

0 Votes

These Olympics are nothing but a glorification of China's totalitarian regime, one of the worst violators of human rights on this planet. I personally have ignored the Olympics anyway.

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Works for me!

http://wvarner.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-play-videos-from-nbcolympicsc...

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Works for me!

http://wvarner.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-play-videos-from-nbcolympicsc...

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This is obviously because they partnered with Microsoft. Microsoft paid a lot of money to have their name all over the Olympics and NBC (remember MSNBC?). Microsoft purposefully does not support Linux, and they are trying to get Silverlight to destroy Adobe's Flash, who happens to support Linux. It's more about who Microsoft is threatened by, Mac or Linux. Weed one out, then work on your next target.

In my opinion, it is total BS that the Olympic committee would allow this. There is a lot of Linux support in the world. Regardless of what OS or browser you use, the internet was designed to be accessible to everyone, as long as you use open internet standards, which Microsoft refuses to do, and continues to corrupt clueless organizations like the Olympics, and dumb ones like NBC.

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That's what you get for going with silverlight ;) I have to, grudgingly, admit that they're online coverage was VERY good - even though I was restricted to my PC :(


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yeah, nbc is part of the corporate machine. I remain unsurprised.


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