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The Long, Slow Decline of BitTorrent (2017)

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Re: The Long, Slow Decline of BitTorrent (2017)

#281

Post by AznHisoka »

fwdpropaganda wrote: post #97
jsheard wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1-2GB doesn't cut it for a movie in the HD era. These days you're generally looking at 5-6GB for a passable 1080p rip, 8-10GB for close to Bluray quality, or as much as 50GB for 4K/HDR.

I know I'm not alone because the top seed for each title on the pirate bay is almost always either the 700mb or the 1-2GB version.

You're not alone. I intentionally download the 2nd highest quality file because I don't want to waste time downloading a humongous file that might actually slow down my PC when watching.

Re: The Long, Slow Decline of BitTorrent (2017)

#283

Post by wpietri »

bringtheaction wrote: post #278
phil248 wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Torrenting for me has always been about convenience, not money. I recently wanted to watch a new show called A.P. Bio. It's free on NBC's website. But after struggling through one episode with lags and ads with no volume control, I gave up and just torrented the show. Until they master such exotic technologies as "streaming video" and "volume control" they're going to keep driving people to torrenting. Netflix figure…

I was about to argue that Netflix is still not viable for Linux users but then I googled it and apparently Netflix now works out of the box in Google Chrome. https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/watch-netflix-natively-linux-e... Does that include Chromium though? I think probably not. I will give it a try in Chromium but if that doesn't work then I will not be able to use Netflix still.

Yeah, I've been happily using Netflix on Linux for years. (As well as on an Android tablet and a Roku box for my projector.) Like many others, I'm entirely happy to pay money for content; my torrenting was about convenience.

I'll still torrent when I buy a movie on DVD, because it's way easier to download than to rip it myself.

Re: The Long, Slow Decline of BitTorrent (2017)

#284

Post by gsich »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #247
8draco8 wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The law/studio deals have to change. Netflix offers great movies and they lock it down to certain countries. For example I am big fan of Back To The Future. I can watch may favourite movie every month when I'm in UK but when I am in Poland then no luck. Same goes in other direction. While being in Poland I downloaded via Netflix National Lampoon Animal House to watch on plane. I watched half of it on plane then tried…

Netflix isn't locking it down, the company they are buying the media from is locking it down.

Netflix is enforcing it. They do the actual technical action of blocking access.

Re: The Long, Slow Decline of BitTorrent (2017)

#285

Post by wpietri »

gsich wrote: post #272
jedberg wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Netflix usually doesn't offer even English subtitles to an English-speaking movie if you're in a non-English speaking country! Sadly, this has nothing to do with streaming and everything to do with rightsholders (aka "Hollywood"). The rights on the subtitles are held by the company that makes them, are then sold to the company that distributes the movie, which are then resold to regional distributors, separately fr…

Like the enduser cares about whos fault it is. Netflix could at least allow the loading of custom subtitles.

Nah. Netflix has been enormously disciplined about preventing feature bloat, and I really admire them for it. When this problem gets high enough on their list to solve, I'd much rather they did it right (buying the rights or doing their own subtitles) than some sort of half-assed thing that 90% of humanity won't be able to get to work.

Re: The Long, Slow Decline of BitTorrent (2017)

#286

Post by gamblor956 »

Shoothe wrote: post #263
ghaff wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Although, now you can download Netflix (and Amazon) shows for later viewing. (I only do that for travel though. Even with a fairly modest Internet connection, I rarely have issues.)

I don't see download option on my TV running Android. Is this only for PC? On the other hand video files work seamlessly (there is MX Player for Android TV). Sure, there is extra hassle for getting them in the first place but Netflix still has small library for my family (e.g. has Frozen but not Tangled).

It's only for films or shows produced or distributed by Netflix. The download option doesn't include shows/films that they license.

Re: The Long, Slow Decline of BitTorrent (2017)

#287

Post by gsich »

fwdpropaganda wrote: post #97
jsheard wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1-2GB doesn't cut it for a movie in the HD era. These days you're generally looking at 5-6GB for a passable 1080p rip, 8-10GB for close to Bluray quality, or as much as 50GB for 4K/HDR.

I know I'm not alone because the top seed for each title on the pirate bay is almost always either the 700mb or the 1-2GB version.

Yes, but the quality of those releases is utter crap. Bitrate massacre deluxe. Maybe you can save some dignity of the movie by using x265.

Re: The Long, Slow Decline of BitTorrent (2017)

#288

Post by crimsonalucard »

Stremio with a popcorn time plugin is the new way to pirate movies. Convenience and performance is roughly on par with legal services like netflix. It's typically used under a vpn, so I'm curious about how popular it is... who uses/ or knows about people who use it?

Re: The Long, Slow Decline of BitTorrent (2017)

#289

Post by wpietri »

kbenson wrote: post #208
ProfessorLayton wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Netflix seems to be pretty opinionated about subtitles. Try watching Narcos without subs, you can't. "Off" means the Spanish parts are subbed, and switching it to Spanish means the English parts are subbed! Netflix, a Californian company, simply couldn't fathom that some people might understand English and Spanish.

> Netflix, a Californian company, simply couldn't fathom that some people might understand English and Spanish. Or they just decided the path that serves the most people without complicating matters is to assume you want subtitles for any language not selected as the primary audio language. I think the relevant question here is how would you design a control panel that allowed you to define which of the many language…

Yes, exactly. Netflix is militantly opposed to feature bloat. That means picking the case that works well for most people.

And I'd add that what to subtitle is an artistic choice; directors carefully decide what languages to use and what they want to subtitle or leave untranslated. Plus Netflix have to deal with source material from hundreds of companies. Creating clever subtitle features quickly gets out into very deep waters.

Re: The Long, Slow Decline of BitTorrent (2017)

#290

Post by gsich »

wpietri wrote: post #285
gsich wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like the enduser cares about whos fault it is. Netflix could at least allow the loading of custom subtitles.

Nah. Netflix has been enormously disciplined about preventing feature bloat, and I really admire them for it. When this problem gets high enough on their list to solve, I'd much rather they did it right (buying the rights or doing their own subtitles) than some sort of half-assed thing that 90% of humanity won't be able to get to work.

It is very easy actually. Drag and Drop the subtitle onto the screen. MPC-HC and VLC do this. I would safely assume that Netflix could achieve such simplicity too. And even if it's for 10% of the users, people with hearing problems are more in percentage.
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