IIRC, NetFlix requires DRM. I'd assume that the latest versions of main three browsers Chrome, Edge, Firefox would support it as long as your GPU and drivers are supported by the OS and browser.
So make sure the hardware can first run Windows 10, next make sure the latest GPU drivers are installed, then make sure the latest supported browsers that can utilize the DRM that Netflix uses are installed and can run and then give it a shot.
If the GPU you are using doesn't support the codec(s) that NetFlix requires then it'll possibly use your CPU instead of the GPU for decoding.

I stay away from DRM so can't tell you what the bottom of the barrel hardware you need to play DRM video on Netflix. Best bet is to not use NetFlix on PC or better yet don't use NetFlix.

I would also suggest that this is likely the DRM plugin not working on your system. I have compiled Chromium for older systems, reversing the latest SSE3 requirement or whatever it is now, and the browser and videos still work. I also know that Chromium can still work on 32bit systems, if that is what you're trying things on.

Also, I don't care about DRM'd video myself, but I tried my SSE3-less browser with it a week ago, and it does work with 2015-ish hardware.

A sandy bridge to haswell laptop can be bought for $50-100 easy. Heck I found a sandybridge i3 Toshiba laptop for $20 locally a couple years ago. 250gb SSD and Windows 10 felt like a new PC and activated with the 7 home code under the battery.

Yeah I've had sandybridge stuff for $10 and $20 and redeployed them, local scrapings are very bare at the moment, seems like something I only see every 6-12 months though and not sure how long it will be for something to appear. Though I swear I saw a half dozen possibles LAST month while idly checking out listings, gone now ofc...

Fairly sure Netflix is falling back to H.264 support for minimum, it has a boner for AV1 and HDC though, getting antsy about paying H.264 license fees. So not sure how long before it kills it. Also although many cards to way back in the noughts support H.264 decode, they do it under different models, and I heard something about Chrome deprecating support for the APIs before Geforce 400 series cards a couple of years ago so, yah, not sure how the old 7150 will do.

Currently got that old x2 nag booted into a lubuntu and hammering it with some h.264 stuff and it's doing fine spooling it off disk, guess it's maybe just the DRM suck to worry about then. I don't have an account to test either.... dropped them here a few years ago... they used to run on miraculously light hardware in the early 10s. Had it on the Wii, had it on a Windows CE/Mobile device with a 600Mhz ARM, then in late teens they just started ballooning HW requirements, disappeared off the Apple TV a couple of years back, meanwhile prime, pluto etc all run great on lesser hardware still. Youtube is being a bit of a bastard for that as well, had lighter clients it killed.

I've a 2011 MacBook Pro with a 2.3 GHz i5. I got it for free and upgraded it to 16 gigs of DDR3, a Samsung SSD, and I have it running Catalina (thanks for the patch DosDude!). I usually use Brave, but the Netflix webpage didn't like Brave. I opened Safari and it had no issues, so I asked my cousin for her login and and I was able to sign in and play content.

Do they have a smartphone? Could maybe load up the app on the phone and plug it into the USB port on the laptop, bypassing needing to use the out dated Core2 or Turion's web browser? Doubtful, but If either laptop has an HDMI input/output port a Roku or Fire stick would be an option.

I have found out you can sideload a 3rd party netflix app into Kodi, which can run on a minimal Linux install called LibreElec, so I might screw around with that for the sake of screwing around with it, might be interesting.

HDCP is normally required to be supported by the entire chain for something like Netflix, perhaps check to make sure everything supports what HDCP needs.

NetFlix requires Windows 8/10/11 and Chrome 106, Edge 118, Firefox 111, or Opera 92. Chrome requires Windows 10 and a Pentium 4 with SSE3. NetFlix uses H.264 high profile, as well as VP9, HEVC, or AV1 on newer devices.

BitWrangler wrote on 2024-09-18, 16:26:

Is there any chance of a TK-55 with only SSE up to 3 and a Geforce 7150M streaming it on Win10? or is that hopeless, trying to save the pain of getting win10 working on that if it ain't gonna play in the end.

So the TK-55 is essentially a 65nm mobile Athlon 64 X2 1.8GHz. The GF 7150M though only has PureVideo HD VP1 which only partly accelerates H.264, only supporting motion compensation and deblocking. VP2, introduced with GF 8-series, does bitstream processing and inverse transform as well. I assume Chrome relies on DXVA for video acceleration and I don't know if DXVA exposes this partial acceleration.

Anandtech had some articles for the introduction of VP2 with the GF8600 and a later one comparing it with ATI's UVD on the 2600XT. VP1 only reduces the CPU load by 15-20% compared to software decoding. That was playing back from optical media though, streaming uses lower data rates.

If this partial decoding does work in the browser, I'd say this system is probably borderline for 1080p24 NetFlix. It will almost certainly do 720p24 with decoding purely in software. Back in the day, I had a S939 90nm A64 3000+ so the same 1.8GHz but only a single-core and it couldn't quite play back those H.264 720p24 movie trailers from Apple without dropping the odd frame so a second core would have made it possible. Either way, the CPU will be under a fair amount of load so the laptop will be pretty warm.

As others have suggested, a phone, tablet (assuming they have a new-enough OS to run the app), or streaming stick might be a better option.

BitWrangler wrote on 2024-09-19, 00:11:

I have found out you can sideload a 3rd party netflix app into Kodi, which can run on a minimal Linux install called LibreElec, so I might screw around with that for the sake of screwing around with it, might be interesting.

The GF 7150M does not support any VDPAU (one of the video acceleration APIs for Linux) feature set (in both the closed-source driver and open-source nouveau driver) so decoding will be in software only. Also, such 3rd party apps are prone to breaking.

The 7150M in that TK-55 -based laptop is a ticking timebomb, similar to the GeForce 6150 chipset - bumpgate issue... as are most GeForce 8000 series with G8x cores, both in laptops and desktops. Given the CPU is not a powerhouse and the GPU probably won't help that much with the video decoding (well, it would probably be worse if it does, heat-wise that is), I don't think the laptop will last a long time for this application.
Here's the big question I suppose wasn't asked: does your friend really need a laptop or can a desktop connected to her TV replace that function?
Obviously if she's OK with a desktop to watch Netflix on, this might make it easier to find a better / more capable machine.

As for Netflix, I'm not sure what the bottom line is, though it looks that was outlined above already.
Nonetheless, my parents had no problem running it on a desktop I set up as an HTPC for them. It's an Athlon II X4 desktop with onboard HD3450 graphics (i.e. no or very little acceleration, AFAIK), running Windows 7 (32 bit, IIRC) on 4 GB of RAM (3.5GB after video mem. allocation) and the latest Firefox ESR. Last they used it, though, was 2 years ago. Not sure if anything changed between then and now. We've moved houses and they deactivated their Netflix for the time being, so this desktop has been mothballed since. All I remember is the CPU load was quite high with some of the streaming services they used. Netflix, not so much, IIRC. But Tennis Channel was always really high, making the CPU get quite toasty (well, that's also Dell's fault for not turning up the fans to higher RPMs to cool better... but at least the PC was always very quiet, I'll give it that.)

momaka wrote on 2024-09-19, 00:50:

It's an Athlon II X4 desktop with onboard HD3450 graphics (i.e. no or very little acceleration, AFAIK), running Windows 7 (32 bit, IIRC) on 4 GB of RAM (3.5GB after video mem. allocation) and the latest Firefox ESR.

HD 3450 is a dGPU, on-board would be HD 3200 (780G) or HD 3300 (790GX). In any case, they all support UVD+ so full bitstream decoding of 1080p H.264 up to 40Mbps. I don't use NetFlix but I have a HD 3200 with Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 2.6GHz and it played Blu-rays with low CPU usage (don't remember, perhaps <20%) without spinning up the fans.

jtchip wrote on 2024-09-19, 00:24:

NetFlix requires Windows 8/10/11 and Chrome 106, Edge 118, Firefox 111, or Opera 92. Chrome requires Windows 10 and a Pentium 4 […]
Show full quote

NetFlix requires Windows 8/10/11 and Chrome 106, Edge 118, Firefox 111, or Opera 92. Chrome requires Windows 10 and a Pentium 4 with SSE3. NetFlix uses H.264 high profile, as well as VP9, HEVC, or AV1 on newer devices.

BitWrangler wrote on 2024-09-18, 16:26:

Is there any chance of a TK-55 with only SSE up to 3 and a Geforce 7150M streaming it on Win10? or is that hopeless, trying to save the pain of getting win10 working on that if it ain't gonna play in the end.

So the TK-55 is essentially a 65nm mobile Athlon 64 X2 1.8GHz. The GF 7150M though only has PureVideo HD VP1 which only partly accelerates H.264, only supporting motion compensation and deblocking. VP2, introduced with GF 8-series, does bitstream processing and inverse transform as well. I assume Chrome relies on DXVA for video acceleration and I don't know if DXVA exposes this partial acceleration.

Anandtech had some articles for the introduction of VP2 with the GF8600 and a later one comparing it with ATI's UVD on the 2600XT. VP1 only reduces the CPU load by 15-20% compared to software decoding. That was playing back from optical media though, streaming uses lower data rates.

If this partial decoding does work in the browser, I'd say this system is probably borderline for 1080p24 NetFlix. It will almost certainly do 720p24 with decoding purely in software. Back in the day, I had a S939 90nm A64 3000+ so the same 1.8GHz but only a single-core and it couldn't quite play back those H.264 720p24 movie trailers from Apple without dropping the odd frame so a second core would have made it possible. Either way, the CPU will be under a fair amount of load so the laptop will be pretty warm.

As others have suggested, a phone, tablet (assuming they have a new-enough OS to run the app), or streaming stick might be a better option.

BitWrangler wrote on 2024-09-19, 00:11:

I have found out you can sideload a 3rd party netflix app into Kodi, which can run on a minimal Linux install called LibreElec, so I might screw around with that for the sake of screwing around with it, might be interesting.

The GF 7150M does not support any VDPAU (one of the video acceleration APIs for Linux) feature set (in both the closed-source driver and open-source nouveau driver) so decoding will be in software only. Also, such 3rd party apps are prone to breaking.

Thanks very much for all the detail. Exactly the kind of thing I was wanting to know.

momaka wrote on 2024-09-19, 00:50:

The 7150M in that TK-55 -based laptop is a ticking timebomb, similar to the GeForce 6150 chipset - bumpgate issue... as are most […]
Show full quote

The 7150M in that TK-55 -based laptop is a ticking timebomb, similar to the GeForce 6150 chipset - bumpgate issue... as are most GeForce 8000 series with G8x cores, both in laptops and desktops. Given the CPU is not a powerhouse and the GPU probably won't help that much with the video decoding (well, it would probably be worse if it does, heat-wise that is), I don't think the laptop will last a long time for this application.
Here's the big question I suppose wasn't asked: does your friend really need a laptop or can a desktop connected to her TV replace that function?
Obviously if she's OK with a desktop to watch Netflix on, this might make it easier to find a better / more capable machine.

As for Netflix, I'm not sure what the bottom line is, though it looks that was outlined above already.
Nonetheless, my parents had no problem running it on a desktop I set up as an HTPC for them. It's an Athlon II X4 desktop with onboard HD3450 graphics (i.e. no or very little acceleration, AFAIK), running Windows 7 (32 bit, IIRC) on 4 GB of RAM (3.5GB after video mem. allocation) and the latest Firefox ESR. Last they used it, though, was 2 years ago. Not sure if anything changed between then and now. We've moved houses and they deactivated their Netflix for the time being, so this desktop has been mothballed since. All I remember is the CPU load was quite high with some of the streaming services they used. Netflix, not so much, IIRC. But Tennis Channel was always really high, making the CPU get quite toasty (well, that's also Dell's fault for not turning up the fans to higher RPMs to cool better... but at least the PC was always very quiet, I'll give it that.)

I think the original owner managed to get in a warranty claim on this particular unit, so theoretically it got the backfilled replacement. Though *touch wood* I have personally found bumpgate issues far less universal than bad caps issues, meaning I've got several 6150, 7x00, 8x00 units still kicking.

No TV is available and availability of smaller cheap TVs seems as bad as laptops at the moment. Not sure she'd want that either, since I have an android box or possibly a roku box (not sure if aged out) that I could give her. She's one of those people that say they can't get to sleep without a TV show playing, so she wants it on her nightstand more or less. So if we get desperate, I guess I'll have to glue speakers, monitor and android box together or something. Though I'm not quite sure I've got a small monitor with a pure digital signal path that wouldn't fail HDMI content protection checks *groan*. Some cute little under the kitchen cupboard setup I rigged up a few years back fell foul of that nonsense. Got a 10" tablet with a corner cracked that might have done apart from the speakers are so damn weak. (Even with dynamic range compressed etc)

jtchip wrote on 2024-09-19, 01:15:

HD 3450 is a dGPU, on-board would be HD 3200 (780G) or HD 3300 (790GX).

Ah you're right, thank you for the correction. Not sure why my mind was thinking HD3450. It's indeed a 780G chipset mobo.

jtchip wrote on 2024-09-19, 01:15:

I don't use NetFlix but I have a HD 3200 with Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 2.6GHz and it played Blu-rays with low CPU usage (don't remember, perhaps <20%) without spinning up the fans.

The thing is, playing Blu-Ray or any local video is never as heavy as online stuff.
Netflix and Youtube (and really most any video streaming services these days) are a double-whammy - not only are they lower bitrate (to save on data bandwidth), but also typically high compression stream for further reducing data bandwidth (read: require more uncompression/resources). So no only is 1080p YT or Netflix rarely as good as proper 720p, but it's also heavier on resources too. Add to that all of the web bloat their sites have and constantly run in the background, and you'll quickly run into trouble with anything less than a Core 2 Quad or at least a 2nd gen i3 or 4th gen Pentium G.
For reference, I also have an X2 6000+ downclocked to 5200+ speed (and severely undervolted for lower power consumption... but that's besides the point), and it struggles with anything past 720p on Youtube. Heck, even 720p @ 60 FPS will choke it easily. Bringing the clock up back to 6000+ doesn't really help all too much.

BitWrangler wrote on 2024-09-19, 02:47:

Though *touch wood* I have personally found bumpgate issues far less universal than bad caps issues, meaning I've got several 6150, 7x00, 8x00 units still kicking.

Well, maybe you have good luck with them.
The 6150's are the worst of the bunch. Nearly every one I run into has started to fail in some way. Dropping devices, PCI/E lanes, random BSOD's until system reaches a thermal equilibrium, and etc.
7x00 seems a little better, for whatever reason. But then I see it much less often too. And most 8000 series nVidia I see alive are either revised version or just plain best of the best silicon that hasn't died yet for whatever reason (but I don't doubt it will.) On a side note here, I also hate the single-slot 8800 and 9800 GT desktop cards... well, namely their shitty coolers - you just can't dissipate nearly 120 Watts of TDP with those, it's just not physically possible. So they end up running too hot and even the post-bumpgate cards are doomed (it just takes a little longer for them to get there.)

BitWrangler wrote on 2024-09-19, 02:47:

She's one of those people that say they can't get to sleep without a TV show playing, so she wants it on her nightstand more or less.

Ah.
Well, in that case, as much as I dislike to judge people based on a short description... but I'd say, run away from that one. Chances are, anything you give her, you are pretty much signing to become her 24/7 tech support for that device.

momaka wrote on 2024-09-19, 03:28:

The thing is, playing Blu-Ray or any local video is never as heavy as online stuff.
Netflix and Youtube (and really most any video streaming services these days) are a double-whammy - not only are they lower bitrate (to save on data bandwidth), but also typically high compression stream for further reducing data bandwidth (read: require more uncompression/resources). So no only is 1080p YT or Netflix rarely as good as proper 720p, but it's also heavier on resources too. Add to that all of the web bloat their sites have and constantly run in the background, and you'll quickly run into trouble with anything less than a Core 2 Quad or at least a 2nd gen i3 or 4th gen Pentium G.

This might be conflating multiple issues. For video decoding, assuming everything else being equal (resolution, codec, profile), a lower data rate will require less CPU simply because there is less data to decode. OTOH, going from 720p to 1080p, again assuming every else being equal, is 2.25X as much data to output so will naturally need more CPU.

For local vs online, it's the storage stack vs the network stack. The latter is probably heavier, especially if it's HTTP over TCP, but probably not significantly so.

The main load is probably having to render the video in the browser. AIUI the HTML5 video element is just like any other element on the web page so it has to be laid out and composited before display. If the browser can't composite it all on the GPU, it would just fall back to doing everything in software, including video decoding. That's certainly the case currently with Firefox in Linux where a bug in the video driver (or hardware) means WebRender is disabled for AMD R600 (so includes the HD 3200) so it falls back to software WebRender, and composites and decodes video in software. With the final driver for Windows XP and the final version of Firefox (52.9), I have to manually disable hardware acceleration in Firefox otherwise scrolling is very slow. I don't know if this affects Chrome as I don't use it.

momaka wrote on 2024-09-19, 03:28:

For reference, I also have an X2 6000+ downclocked to 5200+ speed (and severely undervolted for lower power consumption... but that's besides the point), and it struggles with anything past 720p on Youtube. Heck, even 720p @ 60 FPS will choke it easily. Bringing the clock up back to 6000+ doesn't really help all too much.

This could be the software decoding issue. For YouTube, I usually use an add-on called "play-with" combined with mpv and yt-dlp to play the video separately, which uses hardware video decoding as long as you force YouTube to use H.264 (using h264ify, otherwise it sends VP9).

BitWrangler wrote on 2024-09-19, 02:47:

She's one of those people that say they can't get to sleep without a TV show playing, so she wants it on her nightstand more or less.

In that case a laptop, or anything with a battery, isn't a good choice since it won't last the night on battery (assuming it's just left on) and leaving it on charge isn't good for the battery (especially unofficial 3rd party ones).

BitWrangler wrote on 2024-09-19, 02:47:

So if we get desperate, I guess I'll have to glue speakers, monitor and android box together or something.

If it comes to that, please post a picture of that build 😀

momaka wrote on 2024-09-19, 03:28:

BitWrangler wrote on 2024-09-19, 02:47:

She's one of those people that say they can't get to sleep without a TV show playing, so she wants it on her nightstand more or less.

Ah.
Well, in that case, as much as I dislike to judge people based on a short description... but I'd say, run away from that one. Chances are, anything you give her, you are pretty much signing to become her 24/7 tech support for that device.

We're stuck with her, wife's blood relative, on disability for a couple of things, so a permanent charity case, and she's probably into us for a largish chunk of change for more essential stuff on a continuing basis, hence being tightwadded about this. However, I do wanna avoid complications like bluetooth speakers or anything because I KNOW I'll get the phone call at midnight because she forgot to charge them or they disconnected or something.

2014-15 era i7 laptops can be had cheap and will do the trick. Install a 256 gig SSD, 16GB of RAM, install Win10 AME and Ungoogled Chromium, reduce your PEBCAK calls by at least 25%

20 euro android tv boxes can playback netflix, even my old raspberry pi 3 did it at up to 720p, but i recommend something faster than that.

Tanix TX2
https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005006806473197.html?

Tanix W2
https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005004493874115.html?

If you need Windows 10 then took any quadcore cpu and pair it with GF GT1030 or newer or AMD RX550 or newer and i think that will do it.

An Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet checks all the boxes. It's relatively rugged, easy to use, can sit on her nightstand or be used in bed, and is not expensive at all. Combine it with a tablet pillow stand and you have the perfect TV-in-bed setup.