Widevine videos will not play in Brave

Brave Browser Web Compatibility
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1

Description of the issue: Widevine video playback failing

Exact URL of the website in question: Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, Amazon Prime

Did the issue present with default Shields settings? (yes/no)

Yes. It fails when shields are up

Does the site function as expected when Shields are turned off?

Yes it fails when shields are down

Is there a specific Shields configuration that causes the site to break? If so, tell us that configuration. (yes/no):

No

Does the site work as expected when using Chrome?

Yes, they work in Chrome, Firefox and Edge

Brave version (check About Brave):
Brave 1.90.128 (Official Build) (64-bit)
Chromium: 148.0.7778.217
Widevine Content Decryption Module - Version: 4.10.3050.0

Windows 11

All Windows updates are installed.

All NVidia drivers are up to date

I have tried all of the following with no luck:

  • Switching to a new profile
  • Installing Brave Nightly & Brave Beta neither which were previous installed on my computer
  • Toggling Widevine off & on
  • Checking for updates for Widevine in brave://components
  • Manually deleting the Widevine extension from the brave installed folder and reactivating it for fresh install
  • Disabling all my extensions

Yet the issue persists.

2

@andy9

Please edit your Original Post (“OP”) above, in order to include:

  • Windows OS version numbers

@Mattches - possibly related to:

‘DRM playback fails on Brave with “MediaKey initialization failed”’

There, I tested (‘https://bitmovin.com/demos/drm’), using Brave v1.90.128 on Windows OS 10 Pro, and a new user profile … and that worked out OK:

‘DRM playback fails on Brave with “MediaKey initialization failed” - #6 by 289wk’

So far, issue is related to Windows OS 11.

3

OS Added. Its Win 11.

Here is the result of a new profile as directed in that thread you link. New clean profile.

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image2340×1380 317 KB

4

The rest of the page.

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image1570×545 33.5 KB

5

Going through the same problem. Only started happening since ~2 days ago. Netflix no longer working as its assuming DRM toggle in Brave is toggled off

6

@andy9 @shantanu can you both please tell me what the actual error message (and/or behavior) shown when you try to view DRM content? For example, If you go to Netflix right now for example and try to stream something, can you share a screenshot of what you see?

7

Screenshots for Netflix & Amazon Prime below. Along with proof my general settings are enabled correctly.

Netflix

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image1021×697 311 KB

Amazon

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image853×126 3.4 KB

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9

Was going to share mine but it’s quite literally the same as @andy9

10

We are taking a look at this presently. Can any of you confirm whether or not you’re using a VPN connection at this time?

11

No I do not use a VPN.

12

I don’t use any VPN service

14

This is a long shot here but can we confirm that disabling Upgrade connections to HTTPS in Shields does not resolve the issue?

15

Yup. Even with all shields down

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image1920×1592 769 KB

16

I see the sane result here too.

17

Perhaps this helps? The following console error is showing on Netflix in Dev Tools. This is on Brave Nightly where I have no extensions installed.

Warning – I suspect not relevant but sharing all details.

com.microsoft.playready.recommendation.3000: Internal testing is highly recommended prior to enabling PlayReady playback on Windows. Failure to do so may cause application instability or playback errors.

Before generating a request, setServerCertificate() must be called with a valid server certificate. Otherwise, generateRequest() could fail.

Error

  1. $Va: undefined

  2. IJ: undefined

  3. Qga: undefined

  4. YVc: undefined

  5. alert: undefined

  6. code: 7702

  7. data: NotSupportedError: CreateCdmFunc not available.

  8. details: “CreateCdmFunc not available.\nNotSupportedError: CreateCdmFunc not available.”

  9. extCode: undefined

  10. fe: undefined

  11. jRa: undefined

  12. message: “CreateCdmFunc not available.”

  13. subCode: 1003

  14. success: false

  15. zBb: undefined

  16. [[Prototype]]: d

18

I see many other threads about this on here, Reddit & X. Anything more I can provide to help?

19

@andy9 The information you’ve provided so far has been very helpful. I am opening an issue for this now and having the team investigate. Appreciate your patience.

20

Hi @Mattches Any update on the same?

21

Unfortunately nothing substantial but we do have an developer looking into the issue presently. @shantanu OP shared that Beta/Nightly also showed the same issue – would you mind testing the Beta build on your end as well just to confirm that WidevineCDM isn’t working there as well?

22

Still failing on the beta (1.92.120). Is there any more info the engineer would like to help identify the cause, please let me know.