HTPC/NAS for watching Netflix on Linux part 2: the software

The system runs Arch Linux with Kodi and Chrome to view Netflix. The post will not go into detail on how to configure Kodi, but rather getting the other pieces of the puzzle setup. Read part 1 here: HTPC/NAS for watching Netflix on Linux part 1: the hardware

Originally the setup used Pipelight to watch Netflix, but I have moved away from that, because Chrome for Linux has native support for Netflix playback since version 42.

Xorg setup

The system uses integrated Intel HD 4400 Graphics, and works without any configuration, but to tweak driver settings I created the file /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/40-device.conf and added:

Section "Device"
  Identifier  "Card0"
  Driver      "intel"
  Option      "TearFree" "on"
  Option      "TripleBuffer" "on"
  Option      "Tiling" "on"
  Option      "monitor-HDMI1" "HDMI1"
EndSection

Refer to the Arch Linux wiki entry on Xorg for more information

As Arch Linux uses systemd I just followed the instructions for setting up auto login to console.

Create the directory /etc/systemd/system/getty@tty1.service.d and add the following content to the file: /etc/systemd/system/getty@tty1.service.d/autologin.conf

[Service]
ExecStart=
ExecStart=-/usr/bin/agetty --autologin YOUR_USERNAME --noclear %I 38400 linux

Remember to change YOUR_USERNAME

Auto start Xorg

I have this in ~/.bash_profile which gets sourced when auto login runs.

source /etc/profile

umask 007
setterm -blank 0

export PATH=$HOME/bin:$PATH:/usr/local/bin

if [[ x$DISPLAY == 'x' ]]; then
  # Do not redirect output if you want to run xorg as rootless
  exec startx
fi

Openbox

The startx command executes ~/.xinitrc which contains:

#!/bin/sh
exec openbox-session

Then Openbox executes: ~/.config/openbox/autostart

#!/bin/bash

xrdb -load ~/.Xresources

# If colors looks "off", try to enable the following, my problem has disappeared in newer versions of the Intel driver
# xrandr --output HDMI2 --set "Broadcast RGB" "Full"
# Hide cursor
unclutter &
xset -dpms s off
setxkbmap dk

/usr/bin/kodi --standalone -fs &

Kodi tweaks

Hardware accelerated playback on Intel

I have installed libva-intel-driver, libva-vdpau-driver, libvdpau and libva and enabled hardware accelerated playback in Kodi's settings. The Intel HD Graphics can handle 1080p without problems.

Idle CPU usage

Depending on the Intel driver version, Kodi might use about 15% CPU when idle, but by editing ~/.kodi/userdata/advancedsettings.xml I was able to reduce it to 3%

<advancedsettings>
  <gui>
    <algorithmdirtyregions>3</algorithmdirtyregions>
    <nofliptimeout>1000</nofliptimeout>
  </gui>
</advancedsettings>

Mouse pointer

To get a decent size cursor in Chrome I have these settings in ~/.Xresources (Requires the DMZ mouse cursor theme installed)

Xcursor.theme: DMZ
Xcursor.size: 32

Plugins

I created two simple addons that launches Chromium in fullscreen mode and opens a website like Rdio or Netflix. You can find them in my XBMC addons repository

CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) over HDMI

I also added a USB - CEC Adapter from PulseEight so it is possible to control Kodi using the TVs remote control.

If you wish to remap some of the buttons on your remote here is an excellent guide: How To remap CEC buttons on a Sony TV Remote for XBMC under Xbian 1.0.5a