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Torrentz Shuts Down, Largest Torrent Meta-Search Engine Says Farewell

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Re: Torrentz Shuts Down, Largest Torrent Meta-Search Engine Says Farewell

#121

Post by tormeh »

kalleboo wrote: post #112
Svenskunganka wrote: post #65

Torrents and copyright infringement is related, we can all agree on that. But I believe that pirating is related to a very fuzzy legal system regarding this topic and unfair treatment by the major movie studios & music labels. I'll try to explain as good as I can. Being a european citizen, it is very frustrating knowing that pirating is illegal even though being a Netflix, HBO & Spotify customer. Pirating is a much b…

> I don't understand why the EU isn't doing anything about it The problem is that right now the EU isn't one copyright market - each EU country is a separate market, with a tonne of legacy exclusive distribution deals in place. If the EU was a single market, it would be the same size or bigger than the US market and would probably get better attention. The EU is working on it, it just moves at the speed of bureaucrac…

>The EU is working on it, it just moves at the speed of bureaucracy

I would guess the speed is more limited by 27 governments having to agree on everything.

Re: Torrentz Shuts Down, Largest Torrent Meta-Search Engine Says Farewell

#122

Post by nabla9 »

dineshp2 wrote: post #28

The reason piracy is so popular is because it is free and because it's incredibly convenient, in that order. The convenience factor is basically, if you want some content (movie, game) it's a simple search and download away (streaming torrents seem to be gaining traction). No legal alternative offers this level of convenience. I suspect piracy will become harder for the average user due to three letter agencies makin…

Torrent sites have huge advantage over streaming services is that they can distribute all content.

If streaming services had everything, people would pick one based on price and quality of the actual streaming gladly pay more than current prices are. There is no change in hell that customers pay for Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Amazon at the same time.

There is obvious business solution for this. Content producers should provide their shows and movies for all streaming services for same price. Streaming services would just exist to stream data and distribute payments from customers.

Current business model of streaming is working against "the internet" and torrents are way to get around it.

Re: Torrentz Shuts Down, Largest Torrent Meta-Search Engine Says Farewell

#123

Post by Freak_NL »

scrollaway wrote: post #74
djhworld wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say the opposite with regards to convenience, but maybe I've been away from the scene for a few years now Nowadays it seems more of a hassle to pirate content, especially here in the UK with torrent sites getting blocked by ISPs (necessitating a need for VPNs or proxy services) along with having to constantly find new sources for torrents as authorities crack down on sites like KickAssTorrents. I find it easier t…

I used to have a Spotify subscription. Then I moved out of Sweden and lost half my playlists. Never subscribed again. I never had a Netflix subscription because I don't have a good enough connection to stream high quality videos - Additionally, I rewatch some series a lot. It's simply more convenient to have them on my hard drive. The US gov is running around the internet policing copyright for very specific companie…

You would think music, film, and games would be comparable, but I find that these fall into distinct categories for me.

I am totally okay with paying a monthly flat fee for films and series (mostly watch once and be done with it).

I am also okay with paying once for a game and not keeping the downloaded files around after I finish it. Rather, I let Steam or the HumbleStore handle that, and if these go belly-up one day, I don't feel like I've lost much; the value I get in hours of entertainment is in balance with what I spend there, and I am okay with the limited risk of losing access to some games.

For music on the other hand, I absolutely want the files on my hard disk. Music is replayed over and over, and losing access to what is essentially the soundtrack of your life is something I would like to avoid. I'd love a service that allows me to download, say, up to 8 hours of music (any genre, in an open lossless format) a month from a universal catalogue for a reasonable flat fee (like Netflix), but this simply doesn't exist. It is either streaming or paying way more than I find reasonable.

Interestingly, for games the existence of reliable, affordable legal channels for digital delivery means that I have not felt the urge to illegally download any game at all for over a decade, and the same seems to hold true for many colleagues and friends. People are totally fine with downloading films, series, and music for a variety or reasons, but why bother with games? The money you pay, say, Steam or the HumbleStore seems to flow back to the developers in a fairly fair fashion, there are good deals to be had, and it is all very convenient — for games it just seems like a solved problem.

Re: Torrentz Shuts Down, Largest Torrent Meta-Search Engine Says Farewell

#124

Post by kalleboo »

tormeh wrote: post #121
kalleboo wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't understand why the EU isn't doing anything about it The problem is that right now the EU isn't one copyright market - each EU country is a separate market, with a tonne of legacy exclusive distribution deals in place. If the EU was a single market, it would be the same size or bigger than the US market and would probably get better attention. The EU is working on it, it just moves at the speed of bureaucrac…

>The EU is working on it, it just moves at the speed of bureaucracy I would guess the speed is more limited by 27 governments having to agree on everything.

Getting 27 countries to agree on something sounds like bureaucracy nightmare to me :)

So, I just looked up the word "bureaucracy" in a dictionary and it says "a system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives.". I always thought that was what a technocracy was.

The secondary definition is "excessively complicated administrative procedure, seen as characteristic of bureaucracy" which is the only usage I can remember seeing.

Re: Torrentz Shuts Down, Largest Torrent Meta-Search Engine Says Farewell

#125

Post by cmdrfred »

AsyncAwait wrote: post #115
hkjgkjy wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry if I have preconceived notions, but I don't imagine anyone running any risk of prosecution for pirating foreign movies in China?

Maybe it's about the willingness to support the content creators, rather than the fear of being prosecuted?

In most cases enrich is a more correct word than support in these cases. Also replace creators for owners. Individuals and small companies I support well (buy every blue ray, CD and t-shirt they sell), large media conglomerates I do not.

Re: Torrentz Shuts Down, Largest Torrent Meta-Search Engine Says Farewell

#126

Post by Freak_NL »

spoiler wrote: post #107
medecau wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Add VAT to the mix and things even out again.

From Netflix's point of view it does even out, but the EU citizen still pays more for less.

Citizens benefit from any taxes paid in other ways though, so directly equating VAT with a higher net price is not completely fair.

Re: Torrentz Shuts Down, Largest Torrent Meta-Search Engine Says Farewell

#128

Post by jokoon »

Svenskunganka wrote: post #65

Torrents and copyright infringement is related, we can all agree on that. But I believe that pirating is related to a very fuzzy legal system regarding this topic and unfair treatment by the major movie studios & music labels. I'll try to explain as good as I can. Being a european citizen, it is very frustrating knowing that pirating is illegal even though being a Netflix, HBO & Spotify customer. Pirating is a much b…

Also the netflix catalog is not as big as people claims it is (I live in france). There are many movies missing from the 2000-2010 period (and more when you go beyond).

There also are many smaller details that makes torrent more attractive, like being able to watch the movie offline, HD with low bandwidth, subtitle choice, etc.

Netflix is a good step, and of course the movie industry will use it as "no excuse" argument against piracy. Meanwhile you still have other issues about net neutrality and people using VPN when they can.

Re: Torrentz Shuts Down, Largest Torrent Meta-Search Engine Says Farewell

#130

Post by stevesun21 »

andrewclunn wrote: post #120
methou wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worse as a Chinese citizen, buying is still an option, we have none, even through technical workarounds. I used to be a Netflix/Hulu subscriber before they've banned proxy access to their content. Lately I tried to buy various TV streaming services but they did a great job in banning VPNs. This is where I stopped believing they have a good faith.

Sounds like an issue with the Chinese government basically forcing you to use a vpn to use the internet, not the American companies.

Hah, really? http://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2016/06/29/netfli...
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