They will notice that Firefox downloads the Widevine CDM when it is requested for the first time. This means that Linux users and pre-Vista users won’t be able to make use of this to play Amazon Prime Video.Įveryone else may tune in right away.
#REPLACE SILVERLIGHT IN FIREFOX MAC OS X#
Currently, only Windows Vista and newer versions of Windows and Mac OS X are supported. One caveat is that some operating systems are not supported when it comes to Widevine.
Since it is integrated in Firefox 47, the version is currently reserved for the Developer and Nightly version of the browser it is not yet available for Beta and Stable versions (this happens on April 26th and June 7th respectively if things go as planned).įirefox Developer and Nightly users can visit Amazon right now to watch Prime Video content without Silverlight plugin installed though and things will work fine. This means, basically, that Firefox users can watch videos on Amazon without Silverlight installed. Amazon Prime Video without Silverlight in FirefoxĪmazon Prime Video requires Microsoft Silverlight, or Google Widevine CDM, and will only stream video content to browsers that support at least one of the technologies.įirefox users up until now had to have Microsoft Silverlight installed to watch videos on Amazon, but that is no longer necessary in Firefox 47 thanks to the integration of Widevine in the browser. Part of the HTML5 specification supports digital rights management enforcement for streams, and many services such as Amazon Prime Video or Netflix require those to stream content to the browser.įirefox supported the Adobe Primetime Content Decryption Module since version 38, and Mozilla has just added support for Google’s Widevine CDM in Firefox 47. HTML5 is not enough on its own when it comes to watching content offered by commercial video services though as they require DRM on top of that. These technologies are for the most part replaced by HTML5 which all modern browser support out of the box. This old architecture enables support for Flash, Java, Silverlight and other plugins in the browser so that web services can make use of them, for instance to stream video to the browser. Google actually blocked these types of plugins already in Chrome, and Microsoft did the same for them in the company’s new Edge browser. Mozilla, just like Google and Microsoft, plans to remove support for so-called NPAPI plugins in Firefox. Easier to be aware on a 64-BIT browser since many if not most plug-ins have no 64-BIT declination (yet) and that is, as far as I’m concerned, the last of my worries.Firefox users will soon be able to play Amazon Prime Video without requiring the Microsoft Silverlight plugin to do so. I’m running Firefox 42 64-BIT and, if I use 64 (!) add-ons, I have not one plug-in installed. We are dealing with evidence, not with gadgets seemingly dressed up with a pseudo-improvement attitude in order to legitimate what is or can be an intrusion and/or a degradation of users’ liberty : NPAPI must no longer be supported, even as a “tolerance” interval to allow sites to move their a*s. I’m not a radical but there are times where a choice is incompatible with consensus. I believe browser developers should impose the natural course of technological evolution to websites and their administrators. I dislike the dilemma between audience and progress imposed by reluctant sites to adopt latest technology. I don’t use Silverlight, no more than Adobe’s Flash, I am of those who believe that html5 (browser capability to manage audio and video) is already a reality and fulfills tomorrow’s browser aims. That does not mean that they cannot protect their users by default, for instance by setting plugin contents to "click to play" instead of running them right away.
#REPLACE SILVERLIGHT IN FIREFOX INSTALL#
I think that browser developers should leave it up to the user to install and use plugins, provided that they don't cause instabilities or have known security vulnerabilities. Pale Moon for instance won't follow Mozilla, Google and Microsoft according to a post on the official forum. First, they can block updates of the browser to retain plugin functionality, or keep an older copy around for that purpose, or they may use a browser that won't discontinue support.
Neither Google with its Chrome browser nor Microsoft's new browser Edge support Silverlight anymore. It is interesting to note that Firefox is one of the few mainstream browsers left that supports Silverlight.
This ends support for Silverlight and other browser plugins that depend on NPAPI in all versions of the Firefox web browser.