Flash requires hal for video DRM
Affects | Status | Importance | Assigned to | Milestone | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
flashplugin-nonfree (Ubuntu) |
Confirmed
|
Undecided
|
Unassigned |
Bug Description
Until Adobe fixes the issue (if they EVER do) for some types of online videos using DRM, the flash player will fail if you do not have hal installed. See the official word from Adobe at http://
For example, users of Amazon Instant Video complain that some videos don't work and others do. The recommendation is to install hal and usually they will all work. Amazon's forum has a couple of threads that include examples of videos that do and don't work. I will try to find some trailers or something that show the problem but don't require Prime membership to view so I can add concrete examples to this bug.
(As of this date the second discussion has become very long, but it includes the best examples of working and nonworking videos and a more involved discussion of the dangers of installing hal on an otherwise up-to-date Ubuntu system.)
I know one "fix" would be to make hal a dependency of the flashplugin-nonfree package, but I know Debian and Ubuntu are trying to stomp out hal dependencies wherever possible.
Here is an example of a video demonstrating the issue -- the trailer for Dr. Who Season 7 in HD:
http:// www.amazon. com/Season- 7-Trailer- HD/dp/B008ZXTNG G/ref=sr_ 1_10?s= instant- video&ie= UTF8&qid= 1347244110
(Unfortunately even though the trailer is free to watch, you must sign in to an Amazon account in order to play it.)
I'm still looking for a movie trailer that has the problem because you don't usually have to be signed in to watch those.