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I have rpi 4 model b (8 gb), and I am running Kali, (32 bit).
Any kind of Widevine content doesn't play, neither on Chromium, nor on Kodi, even after installing libwidevinecdm0

No luck even after installing the inputstream helper and inputstream adaptive addons, on Kodi.

Kodi just straight up crashes while attempting to play drm content (but absolutely no errors in the crash logs), and chromium playback doesn't work either.

How can I resolve this?


P.s: I'm using the kodi and chromium packages from the raspi bullseye repository
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  • "I'm using the kodi and chromium packages from the raspi bullseye repository" -> Probably you should use the kernel, firmware, and userland from raspi bullseye as well. ;)
    – goldilocks ♦
    Mar 29, 2022 at 18:03
  • What is Kali? Something for penetration testing? You want to use this to watch netflix? Anyway, with a 32 bit OS, you can only use the lower 4GB of ram of your expensive RPi 4 with 8GB.
    – Roland
    Aug 24, 2022 at 15:37
  • I need kali only for the nexmon drivers, to put the card into monitor mode to collect data and process it (like devices passing by, etc)... I tried the weird workaround for those drivers on raspi os but it bricked the install multiple times...
    – psycoxer
    Aug 26, 2022 at 16:36

2 Answers 2

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To playback DRM content, such as Netflix, and here in the Netherlands npostart.nl , you need Widevine. Normally this is provided by Google / Chrome, except that they don't support open source like Raspbian. Strange, because Google Android draws heavily on open source linux.

Very childish of Google. Didn't we have something similar with playback of DVD on linux, some 20 years ago, where we needed a hacker plugin for descramble, that was so simple that the source code fits on a t-shirt?

Do not install the special Chromium with built in Widevine!

The fix is to install an unofficial version of Widevine, published around March 2021 by the same developer of the special Chromium version that includes Widevine. This is a great fix, because the special Chromium version means that you would be stuck with an outdated 2017 browser, Chromium version 58. Not only do you not benefit from security improvements of versions 59 to 92 (as of aug 2022), but also will you have trouble upgrading your system as several packages depend on a newer version of Chromium. The Widevine package works with the normal Chromium browser from the Raspbian distro. But with firefox-esr I don't have success yet :-(

Installation:

sudo apt-get install libwidevinecdm0

It is a little bit special that the official Widevine requires a 64-bit OS, while this unofficial version only functions on 32-bit. In case you run a RPi4 with 8GB and Pi OS(64-bit), you can install the same widevine package, but have to figure out how to run a 32-bit version of your browser.

This unofficial widevine package should be the perfect solution for OP, because (s)he is running a 32-bit OS.

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    Thanks! This is better as it works globally,.... Sadly still no HW acceleration for DRM content....Only able to watch at low res, with extreme cpu usage
    – psycoxer
    Aug 26, 2022 at 16:41
  • Sure, after all, it is the same software. Low performance, because Google does not support Raspberry pi, while on Ubuntu linux everything is supported fine. Hard to understand. Though, it seems that Ubuntu is not completely free open source
    – Roland
    Aug 27, 2022 at 10:28
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Under the 32bit version of Raspian OS you can use a version of Chromium which has Widevine already built in and set up correctly. I tested it on Netflix just two minutes ago, prior to answering your question. Kali is not intended to be a desktop version of Linux, being special purpose, so you use it at your own security risk. I have also watched Netflix on an rPi4B running Manjaro 64bit KDE Plasma, but I did have to correctly install Widevine, of course. Manjaro provides a decent desktop experience if CPU frequency is increased to 2100. Sadly, I was unable to achieve watching Netflix on the latest Raspian 64bit OS, but it is early days in the development of the 64bit version and the 32 bit version serves a massive number of rPi users extremely well. Just my experiences and opinions. :)

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  • Thanks!, Can you point me to that specific version of chromium with built-in Widevine? I can't seem to find it anywhere. Also, is there a way to correctly set Widevine for kodi as well?
    – psycoxer
    Mar 29, 2022 at 13:33
  • I will have a look today and see if I can find a direct link for you.
    – Darosicam
    Apr 1, 2022 at 3:52
  • Inside 32 bit Raspian it is just a matter of clicking to install the right version of Chromium. That said, I found this link with an excellent explanation of how to add Widevine. The Linux commands will be easy enough to translate into any Linux dialect, I assume. thepi.io/how-to-watch-netflix-on-the-raspberry-pi
    – Darosicam
    Apr 1, 2022 at 10:56
  • Thanks, it worked! Now I at least can play widevine content in the chromium. Although, it doesn't support "Hardware decoding", but I came across many people saying that Widevine itself doesn't allow for hw decoding...but software rendering has acceptable playback on lower resolutions as for now.
    – psycoxer
    Apr 2, 2022 at 17:07
  • Just a guess, but maybe you need to install a video driver. Anyway, I am pleased that you now have it working. :)
    – Darosicam
    Apr 4, 2022 at 20:04

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