Firefox Plugin advice on Silverlight / Moonlight / Viewing Video's

[Tony]

I have to start a new thread about this as all search results are a couple years old, basically enquiring if PCLinusOS 2010.12 supports viewing MS Silverlight Videos online in Firefox 4.

I have Flash capability, plus I'd rather not know about Silverlight, but as is the case some videos I'd like to watch require it.

I get prompted to click on install Silverlight at the page with the video, it then says once I visit a site using Silverlight I'll be prompted to download codecs for the afore mentioned player. Sounds dangerous (i.e., I make a mess of it)  so checked for Moonlight in Synaptic, no luck, leading me to feel it's not supported.

I'm a Aussie Rugby league nut, and my ISP to my great surprise streams all the games. Funny, as I have WinXP SP3 as dual-boot, if I hit the page in Win it plays the videos as MP4's. Not nice that they detect I'm at the moment using the wonderful PCLinuxOS and they suddenly only play silverlight, not surprising I suppose.

A search here at the forum:
<Solved> Silverlight / Moonlight back on 13 June 2009 .
Advice here > http://www.mono-project.com/Moonlight
I'm not willing to do such outside of the Repos as I don't do external downloads / installations, as I've read so many times on here not to, due to compatibility and dependency.

Any "Light" shed greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much for your support.

[muungwana]

can you give a link to atleast one silvelight based website you use?

It wil be easier to help you if we have a site to work with.

[Krisbee]

You are downloading a Firefox extension, which is not quite the same as adding an rpm or self-built/complied package outside of synaptic.  So it's not going to screw up your system.

At the moment surfing to web content that needs Mircosoft Silverlight, prompts you to go to to the moonlight page and down load Novell's firefox extension. But it doesn't seem to work as you just keep getting prompted to load the latest MS codecs after that.

There's only one site I occasionally use that requires silverlight, Avro Klassiek. I just watch and listen in Windows.

 

[menotu]

Is it possible to just download them and watch them in a viewer of choice?

[Tony]

Krisbee said;

You are downloading a Firefox extension, which is not quite the same as adding an rpm or self-built/complied package outside of synaptic.  So it's not going to screw up your system.

It's different, not an "Extension", but a plugin, Like Java, and Shockwave Flash. You have to actually install, as I did with Java, and Flash, through Synaptic.

muungwana:

can you give a link to atleast one silvelight based website you use?

http://bigpondvideo.com/leaguetv
Because we may be in different countries the video might not be available for viewing, but what I see on this page is a Blue box saying, "Install Microsoft Silverlight".
So unless you have Siverlight Plugin installed you wont be able to run the Video also.
Once I click on that Install Link it takes you to:
http://www.microsoft.com/getsilverlight/get-started/install/default.aspx?mode=sysreq&reason=unsupportedplatform&v=2.0%2c3.0

Linux, FreeBSD or SolarisOS

If you are using a Linux, FreeBSD or SolarisOS operating system, please press the Click to Install button to get the appropriate installation package for Silverlight.

Click on Install and you end up here:
http://go-mono.com/moonlight/ [which is were I learnt about the existence of "Moonlight"]

menotu said:

Is it possible to just download them and watch them in a viewer of choice?

I don't think so menotu, Flash is easy, I really haven't looked into Silverlight, or its file type.
It's one of those MS Elitist type programmes, incompatible just cos they can ... not worth breaking my PCLOS system over 

Thanks for your replies, I'll have to go into Win to see them, no big one. Trying to ween myself off MS.
Was curious for awhile now whether there was a Linux Silverlight compatible programme, seems no.
Clears that up. It's not that widely used as a Video player anyway is it ? (Silverlight)

Thanks for your replies, much appreciated.

[muungwana]

Krisbee said;

You are downloading a Firefox extension, which is not quite the same as adding an rpm or self-built/complied package outside of synaptic.  So it's not going to screw up your system.

It's different, not an "Extension", but a plugin, Like Java, and Shockwave Flash. You have to actually install, as I did with Java, and Flash, through Synaptic.

It is a plug-in but you install it like a firefox extension. It shows up next to other firefox extensions at the extension area and you can delete it from there.

For all practical purposes, it is a firefox extension and you should treat it like any other firefox extension.


I installed the extension, went to the website and also got that "install silverlight" error. If moonlight works with the site, then they need to properly check for it. It look like they just check for silverlight and complain when its not installed.

I dont think you can access the media with linux on this site.

The least you can do is write to them and inform them of your disappointment, sufficient number of complains and they might do something about it.

[Tony]

muungwana :

I dont think you can access the media with linux on this site.

Yeah, I agree. very late here, sorry if I seemed terse.

The least you can do is write to them and inform them of your disappointment, sufficient number of complains and they might do something about it.

That site is my ISP, and I just love Emailing Customer Support about any little annoyance, so that I shall.
It's the Major Australian Telecommunications company.

As far as using Firefox in PCLOS, and viewing Silverlight Videos, I believe there's not been the development of a compatible Linux alternative, as yet. Someone more knowledgable will certainly correct me if I'm wrong which was the essence of the thread.
I'm not a whizz with the commandline, I have used PCLinuxOS for three years, love it, love the people, and the very idea of it.
As I dual boot with XP - mainly I work in a Windows environment, professionally, Silverlight is easily accessed. Thanks for trying yourself to install, and finding there is a "problem".

Regards,

francis.

[Ray2047]

I have installed in both Seamonkey and Firefox and what I get is a countdown then a white screen and then nothing. The white screen just sets there. I hadn't fooled with it in a long time. I'm tempted to try a beta build in Firefox or download Chromium and try that version. I know not helpful but just letting you know it doesn't seem to work for video in Linux. Heck though what else is it good for? Why have a Linux version if it doesn't do video. Sorry for going OT.

[Bald Brick]

At the moment surfing to web content that needs Mircosoft Silverlight, prompts you to go to to the moonlight page and down load Novell's firefox extension. But it doesn't seem to work as you just keep getting prompted to load the latest MS codecs after that.

Installing Novell's Moonlight plugin is easy and fast.

The problem is that on all sites using Silverlight that I've looked at you are prompted to install the Microsoft Media Pack codecs when you actually try to watch some Silverlight content with Moonlight. And once you think you've installed them you are prompted again. And again.

But that's not the worst of it. Most pages using Silverlight content still give you the option to use your old player/plugin instead -- until you install Moonlight.

After that you are just asked whether you want to install the Microsoft codecs. Repeatedly: again and again and again and again.

When you tick a box to indicate that you give up and don't want to be asked anymore, this perverse exercise in recursion stops, but after that you won't be able to watch the stream in question with either Moonlight or your old player -- until you deactivate or uninstall Moonlight.

There's only one site I occasionally use that requires silverlight, Avro Klassiek. I just watch and listen in Windows.

And more than half the site doesn't really require it.

I know not helpful but just letting you know it doesn't seem to work for video in Linux. Heck though what else is it good for? Why have a Linux version if it doesn't do video. Sorry for going OT.

That's a very good question and not OT at all.

It seems that either

1) Moonlight is seriously broken;
2) All the Silverlight sites I've visited are broken -- in the same way;
3) This is a conspiracy.

It's an accepted fact that Moonlight lacks some of Silverlight's functionality (the ability to handle DRM-protected content, for instance). But the truth is much uglier.

[Ray2047]

Just tried a backdoor approach to this. I have Firefox 4 running in Wine. When I attempted to download Silverlight for Windows it failed due to insufficient memory. My guess is a Wine restriction. Since Silverlight is not important to me I'm giving up for now.

[Yankee]

can you give a link to atleast one silvelight based website you use?

It wil be easier to help you if we have a site to work with.

Here's one, the player they have here requires Silverlight.

http://www.181.fm/player/


Tex had the original web address but it was just silverlight plugin from Novell/Moonlight.
The stable release is working fine when I use it.

http://www.go-mono.com/moonlight/download.aspx


FF

[Ray2047]

Doesn't work for me in Linux.

[Tony]

Seems I opened a bit of a Pandora's Box  The question is a important one though, I feel.

It's no big deal, except to the developers of Moonlight, and people who want to watch " Silverlight" Vids, in Linux, which we do.
There's no telling when you'll find a site that prefers streaming Vids using Silverlight, and Linux users shouldn't be exempt from using such sites, but I aren't a Software developer so that's out of my hands.

There is no way in heck I would change the codecs I have already installed in PCLOS, you are just asking for trouble. This may probably be why the Install process doesn't complete, there may be some self protection mechanism which kills install of the Codecs for Moonlight.
Too much fuss for me as a 'novice' in Linux, if Moonlight was simply in the Synaptic repo it would happen, obviously Moonlight development isn't acceptable to carry the programme.

The funniest thing is if I go to the link I posted earlier, asking to install Silverlight : http://bigpondvideo.com/leaguetv
in WinXP it has Flash Videos.      
If you want to check this out, in Windows (Sinner ), please do so I don't feel like I'm imagining this 
Pretty odd 


Bald Brick sums it up ?:

It seems that either

1) Moonlight is seriously broken;
2) All the Silverlight sites I've visited are broken -- in the same way;
3) This is a conspiracy.

It's an accepted fact that Moonlight lacks some of Silverlight's functionality (the ability to handle DRM-protected content, for instance). But the truth is much uglier.

Whatever the " ugly truth" is, thanks for the helpful feedback everyone.

Regards,

francis.

[Ray2047]

I have asked in the Firefox forum over at Mozillazine if anyone got Moonlight to actually work. I don't know if I will even get any replies. Did a search before posting and didn't come up with much and nothing positive. My post: http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=2148515&p=10615835#p10615835

[muungwana]

yap, went to the page: http://bigpondvideo.com/leaguetv on winxp with ie and i got an error saying the video is not available in my territory and the error was in a flash object. So it checks for silverlight but then play on flash. I would propose a conspiracy theory If i that guy over there