Get started by obtaining the suggested LocationFree LF-V30 (pictured left) and something like a Roku or a Blu-ray player with Component Video output such as Sony’s BDP-S580, plus Component Video (Pb/Pr/Y) and standard RCA L/R stereo audio cabling. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Silverlight is a Microsoft product? Whatever the case may be, with the following solution (although somewhat complex and convoluted), you can reclaim some of that “Power” taken away by that infamous switch to Intel:įrom the rear you can see the Component Video I/O of the LocationFree, which allows for streaming video from many more modern devices with much better quality versus other base stations. As long as you’re running Windows XP SP3 and a 1.6 GHz or better Pentium 4 from the same era as the PowerPC heyday, you can continue to get by.

This was certainly proof positive that these machines were powerful enough to stream Netflix (as many point out, the Wii has a custom 732 MHz PowerPC 750CXE, essentially a G3, supporting 640 x 480 output). On the other hand, many late PowerBooks and G5 Macs sold through late 2005 and early 2006 were plenty powerful for 2007 standards, still covered by AppleCare through 2008, and not deemed “obsolete” by Apple until 20. On that note, I always wondered why there was no alternative plugin for Silverlight that would enable PowerPC users to stream Netflix? On one hand, you could say that streaming Netflix has only been around since 2007 (it feels like an eternity though) and the last PowerPC Macs had been discontinued by then, so it just didn’t make financial sense to write a plugin for an aging platform that had no real future. That’s right! The LocationFree player software for Mac OS X and a LocationFree base station such as the LF-V30 can defeat the problem of the required version of Silverlight not being compatible with PowerPC Macs.

I’ve discussed the LocationFree player and base stations before, but there is one more use for these devices that many might not be aware of – the ability to control Netflix (and even a first generation AppleTV) from afar using any PowerPC G4 800 MHz or greater Mac (recommended spec for the I-O Data Mac OS X LocationFree player which was later purchased by TAXAN).

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