What do the upcoming Firefox 41 (Windows 64-Bit) and Chrome 45 have in common? Neither will support Microsoft Silverlight. However, Netflix will continue to work on Chrome 45, because Netflix on Chrome use HTML5, not Silverlight. The same can not be said for Firefox though, where Netflix still uses Silverlight.
Up until Firefox 33 in October 2014, with the introduction of the Open H.264 Video Codec provided by Cisco Systems plugin Firefox did not support HTML5. But, Netflix (being a paid service) uses DRM which was not supported until Firefox 38 in May 2015 when Mozilla added the Primetime Content Decryption Module by Adobe plugin. Looking at Netflix support for HTML5 and Silverlight they list every other browser (including Microsoft Edge) for HTML5 support, but not Firefox.
Again, it is important to remember that the 32-Bit version of Firefox for Windows will continue to support the Silverlight plugin. For those wanting to use HTML5 with Netflix will need to use a browser other than Firefox (regardless of operating system or 32-bit/64-bit). It is Netflix that needs to make HTML5 available for Firefox users, something I have a feeling they may not do anytime soon.
