2013-05-05, 10:04
Since Amazon added flash drm to their videos i have been working on a way to still use xbmc to browse the videos and open them up in a browser and it has actually turned out to work pretty good so i thought i would share with everyone.
Requirements
Firefox -installed in its default location-
Or
Chrome -installed in its default location-
Optional
I would recommend having a program to automatically hide your cursor after so many seconds.
Installation
Notice [
New implementation of the addon using the Chrome Launcher. Its much easier to install. Includes additional features. and will be more actively maintained.
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=182172
]
Outdated - Please move to the thread noted above
To make installation and configuration of this mod easy i have created installation files for both windows and linux. (sorry i don't have a mac)
Here are the installers
Linux users all you need to do is go to where you downloaded the file and type
sh amazonxbmcfix_*.run
The installers were created using makeself.sh for linux and Inno Setup for windows. I know some people might be afraid to run a executable but i assure you these installers are completely safe to run. If however you are still uncomfortable running them you can always install it manually using the files along with instructions found here.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hkvtrvjg0w3o68...Source.zip
Here is a youtube video of the plugin in action.
Notes
You may need to disable your screen saver to ensure it doesn't start while the video is playing.
If playback is not smooth try double clicking on the screen to make the flash go to real fullscreen mode.
Enjoy
Update - 6/5/2013
As of 6/5/2013 Amazon updated their website to incorporate microsoft silverlight, this temporary caused this workaround to stop working, However I have updated the installers now to include the new working scripts. Just run the installers again and everything should be back to working. Actually there are a few things that work better than before, videos now start playing at 0 seconds instead of 45 second mark and their will no longer be a "Trailer Not Available" error when attempting to resume a video. If you experience any problems just post on this forum, I will try to check it to make sure everything is working fine.
Update - 10/27/2013
Created a chrome installer for windows and also updated the firefox installer with the -no-remote option which i should have included in the first place if i knew about it, it makes it so your kiosk mode browser will open right even if you already have a firefox instance running. Also I made it so BACKSPACE and ESC will both exit the browser and take you back to XBMC (please note that once you click on the screen, to pause it for example, the flash shortcuts take over you will just have to use Alt+f4 to exit like before). Also i figured out how to determin your windows directory structure properly so there is no longer 2 seperate installers for 32-bit and 64-bit. Enjoy.
Update - 01/01/2014
I made a version that uses the Chrome Launcher by AddonScriptorDE. I like this version because it is very easy to install. And also for linux users who have xdotool installed the page will automatically be clicked so that you can use your remote.
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=182172
Requirements
Firefox -installed in its default location-
Or
Chrome -installed in its default location-
Optional
I would recommend having a program to automatically hide your cursor after so many seconds.
- linux - Unclutter - It will most likely be available in your package manager or you can get the source here-
If you use Unclutter be sure to start it with unclutter -grab otherwise it will trigger a bug where the cursor keeps reseting itself to the middle of xbmc.
- Windows - AutoHideMouseCursor
Installation
Notice [
New implementation of the addon using the Chrome Launcher. Its much easier to install. Includes additional features. and will be more actively maintained.
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=182172
]
Outdated - Please move to the thread noted above
To make installation and configuration of this mod easy i have created installation files for both windows and linux. (sorry i don't have a mac)
Here are the installers
- Windows -
- Linux-
Linux users all you need to do is go to where you downloaded the file and type
sh amazonxbmcfix_*.run
The installers were created using makeself.sh for linux and Inno Setup for windows. I know some people might be afraid to run a executable but i assure you these installers are completely safe to run. If however you are still uncomfortable running them you can always install it manually using the files along with instructions found here.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hkvtrvjg0w3o68...Source.zip
Here is a youtube video of the plugin in action.
Notes
You may need to disable your screen saver to ensure it doesn't start while the video is playing.
If playback is not smooth try double clicking on the screen to make the flash go to real fullscreen mode.
Enjoy
Update - 6/5/2013
As of 6/5/2013 Amazon updated their website to incorporate microsoft silverlight, this temporary caused this workaround to stop working, However I have updated the installers now to include the new working scripts. Just run the installers again and everything should be back to working. Actually there are a few things that work better than before, videos now start playing at 0 seconds instead of 45 second mark and their will no longer be a "Trailer Not Available" error when attempting to resume a video. If you experience any problems just post on this forum, I will try to check it to make sure everything is working fine.
Update - 10/27/2013
Created a chrome installer for windows and also updated the firefox installer with the -no-remote option which i should have included in the first place if i knew about it, it makes it so your kiosk mode browser will open right even if you already have a firefox instance running. Also I made it so BACKSPACE and ESC will both exit the browser and take you back to XBMC (please note that once you click on the screen, to pause it for example, the flash shortcuts take over you will just have to use Alt+f4 to exit like before). Also i figured out how to determin your windows directory structure properly so there is no longer 2 seperate installers for 32-bit and 64-bit. Enjoy.
Update - 01/01/2014
I made a version that uses the Chrome Launcher by AddonScriptorDE. I like this version because it is very easy to install. And also for linux users who have xdotool installed the page will automatically be clicked so that you can use your remote.
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=182172