Netflix, HBO and Cable Giants Are Coming for Password Sharers • Hacker News Board

Re: Netflix, HBO and Cable Giants Are Coming for Password Sharers

#111

Post by magashna » Fri, Nov 08, 2019, 5:02 PM UTC

harryh wrote: post #106

me_me_me wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The moment I needed a bloody table with different companies/packages/subscription in order to figure-out how to watch that show I heard from a friend, I just go to a place where i can get it right now and watch it with my food still warm. Its not customer's fault that the only option for that is now piracy. You want my business earn it, I've yet to see people jumping hurdles and run 10km to get McD burger. Then momen…

I remember 10 years ago that the answer to rayiner's question was always "I don't want to pay a ton of money for a whole bundle of crap I don't want when all I want to watch is one specific thing." I saw it all the time. Now people complain about the complexities of unbundling. It's fairly clear to me that these complaints, while real, aren't the core issue which is: people would rather get content for free than pay…

It's also because every company wants their walled garden à la Apple. It's unbundled, but still bundled. Sell a movie or a season of episodes for $1-5 and no one will be able to complain about this anymore.

Re: Netflix, HBO and Cable Giants Are Coming for Password Sharers

#112

Post by wmorgan » Fri, Nov 08, 2019, 5:03 PM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #46

basch wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you except for the feedback loop of "make content, sell content, use money from content to buy an extension to copyright law, rinse, repeat." There is a level of assault ON the public's rights happening. They arent completely innocent content creators being robbed, having done nothing wrong. It smells less of entitlement, and more of intentional comeuppance.

Are people downloading things that they believe the copyright should have already expired on? (Under the original copyright act it was 14+14. So stuff older than 1991). Or are they downloading the latest Avengers movie?

That's a timely question with the holidays coming up. A lot of people will be wanting to watch movies from the 1940's and 50's. Many of them don't realize those works are still under copyright.

It's not just hypothetical. In our family we subscribe to 3 or 4 streaming services, but last year we still had to pay $5 to watch It's a Wonderful Life (1946), a movie that was literally in the public domain for 20 years. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) wasn't available at any price, except with ads that stretched its 25-minute runtime to nearly an hour. We pirated that one. I don't think most people would think there was anything wrong with that.

Re: Netflix, HBO and Cable Giants Are Coming for Password Sharers

#113

Post by ghaff » Fri, Nov 08, 2019, 5:06 PM UTC

danaris wrote: post #105

ghaff wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought everyone wanted content to be split up when it was bundled as a cable package.

I think there's a significant difference between content packaged as "channels" and content packaged as individual shows. It's the difference between knowing that your Netflix subscription comes with* 10,000 different shows, and you will probably only ever care about 1000 or so, and knowing that your cable subscription comes with 250 channels, and you will probably only ever care about 20, and definitely never care a…

>It's also the difference between the, what, $20/month? that Netflix subscription costs and the $80/month or whatever that the TV portion of a cable subscription costs nowadays.

Those numbers seem pretty close. I think the cost bit is probably the big thing. Yes, it's a bit annoying when I spend 10 minutes trying to find a show on Amazon which is, in fact, on Netflix.

But the main thing is that a lot of people have cut their $80-$100/month cable cord and their new normal is maybe a couple of [possibly shared] subscriptions plus maybe Prime--not their prior $100 monthly content bill.

Re: Netflix, HBO and Cable Giants Are Coming for Password Sharers

#114

Post by me_me_me » Fri, Nov 08, 2019, 5:18 PM UTC

harryh wrote: post #106

me_me_me wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The moment I needed a bloody table with different companies/packages/subscription in order to figure-out how to watch that show I heard from a friend, I just go to a place where i can get it right now and watch it with my food still warm. Its not customer's fault that the only option for that is now piracy. You want my business earn it, I've yet to see people jumping hurdles and run 10km to get McD burger. Then momen…

I remember 10 years ago that the answer to rayiner's question was always "I don't want to pay a ton of money for a whole bundle of crap I don't want when all I want to watch is one specific thing." I saw it all the time. Now people complain about the complexities of unbundling. It's fairly clear to me that these complaints, while real, aren't the core issue which is: people would rather get content for free than pay…

There will be people who cannot afford entertainment and will pirate no matter what. That a red hearing and it doesn't matter.

I don't care about bundles/deal/special arrangement all I care about is convenience. Netflix used to be more convenient to watch quality series and I was using it exclusively.

I paid fair price for convenience. Starting show where you left of skipping intros etc, all of those things made me pick netfilx over torrents.

But now the scales are tipping other way as EVERYONE wants a piece of pie, making exclusive deals with a single platform (plus amount of crappy show on netfilx making it time consuming to find new stuff to watch there, and their terrible recommendation algorithm, if you can call it an algorithm).

I still use netflix, but I can see myself dropping it in the future and stick to one place that have all.

Re: Netflix, HBO and Cable Giants Are Coming for Password Sharers

#115

Post by me_me_me » Fri, Nov 08, 2019, 5:23 PM UTC

joshstrange wrote: post #38

criley2 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The entitlement people feel to steal is always surprising. Especially on this board. I understand a lot of reddit is younger and irresponsible so piracy-as-the-norm is a popular trope, but among the engineers whose livelihoods depend on subscription models, we still promote service theft without so much as a hint of shame? If the economics of a service don't make sense to you, then do not subscribe. But to turn aroun…

As much as corporate America likes to whine, bitch, and moan about piracy I'm willing to bet no engineer has LEGITIMATELY lost their job due to too much of the content on the service they support being pirated. Stop painting this as if people who pirate/account-share are reaching into the "poor" engineer's pockets, it's disingenuous and simply untrue. This is the rich wanting to get richer and trying to create a fals…

But think of the poor, malnourished engineered! The execs are going to trickle down the money to them only if you pay for merely 10 subscriptions.

Re: Netflix, HBO and Cable Giants Are Coming for Password Sharers

#116

Post by me_me_me » Fri, Nov 08, 2019, 5:27 PM UTC

hiccuphippo wrote: post #71

croon wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll venture a guess that a good portion of those downloaders aren't even watching everything they download to begin with. I have bought 10s if not 100s of DVDs and Blurays that to this day are still in plastic wrap, as well as books with uncracked spines. I don't think I'm that weird, and that "tsundoku" [0] is likely a thing with downloaders as well. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsundoku

And gamers with dozens of unplayed games.

Hey, hey! I am going to play them when I am in a mood for it.

Thats the reason I put to_finish label on them in my steam catalogue xD

Re: Netflix, HBO and Cable Giants Are Coming for Password Sharers

#117

Post by reaperducer » Fri, Nov 08, 2019, 5:33 PM UTC

basch wrote: post #87

reaperducer wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wife and child is one thing. But the problem the problem is that people are sharing with people who aren't relatives. Old college roommates from 15 years ago who live on the other side of the country. Coworkers. People they meet in bars. None of these are legitimate. I get the attraction of getting content for free. I used to pirate software when I was young and broke. But I'm an adult now and I do adult things, mean…

>Old college roommates from 15 years ago who live on the other side of the country. Coworkers. People they meet in bars. None of these are legitimate. But you can lend those people a Blu-Ray, which only deprives you of watching it while they have it.

Which is perfectly fine. Just as it's perfectly fine for you to purchase a Netflix subscription for someone else.

Re: Netflix, HBO and Cable Giants Are Coming for Password Sharers

#118

Post by ryandrake » Fri, Nov 08, 2019, 5:44 PM UTC

me_me_me wrote: post #114

harryh wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember 10 years ago that the answer to rayiner's question was always "I don't want to pay a ton of money for a whole bundle of crap I don't want when all I want to watch is one specific thing." I saw it all the time. Now people complain about the complexities of unbundling. It's fairly clear to me that these complaints, while real, aren't the core issue which is: people would rather get content for free than pay…

There will be people who cannot afford entertainment and will pirate no matter what. That a red hearing and it doesn't matter. I don't care about bundles/deal/special arrangement all I care about is convenience. Netflix used to be more convenient to watch quality series and I was using it exclusively. I paid fair price for convenience. Starting show where you left of skipping intros etc, all of those things made me p…

So far no solution besides “pirating” has met this one simple requirement:

“On-demand access to any movie or TV show I can think of that has ever been digitized, from one service.”

That’s it. If you can provide that, take my money. In the, say 20 years since broadband existed, literally no legit company has offered this yet, for any price.

Re: Netflix, HBO and Cable Giants Are Coming for Password Sharers

#119

Post by harryh » Fri, Nov 08, 2019, 5:50 PM UTC

lidHanteyk wrote: post #110

harryh wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember 10 years ago that the answer to rayiner's question was always "I don't want to pay a ton of money for a whole bundle of crap I don't want when all I want to watch is one specific thing." I saw it all the time. Now people complain about the complexities of unbundling. It's fairly clear to me that these complaints, while real, aren't the core issue which is: people would rather get content for free than pay…

No, I'm gonna use the same answer that I'd have used 10 years ago: The cable-company upper management isn't entitled either. They appropriate the art from the artists and call it "fair compensation", but it isn't. Keep in mind that these are the same cable companies that charge for basic broadcast channels, too. There's charging for stuff that people might not watch, and then there's charging for stuff that is freely…

Over the air broadcast signals don't work in a lot of places so you need to send the bits over a cable. Putting that cable in the ground and sticking the right equipment on the end costs money. That's a totally reasonable thing to pay for even if the bits are free.

Re: Netflix, HBO and Cable Giants Are Coming for Password Sharers

#120

Post by danaris » Fri, Nov 08, 2019, 7:00 PM UTC

bryanlarsen wrote: post #58

robcohen wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the issue here is that culture should on some level be free. This is why libraries are free. Personally, I want to financially support media creators, but every time I get a forced prereel commercial, or Hulu inserts ads in a service I pay for, I make a mental note to care a little less. Every time I’m region restricted, I make a mental note. Every time my browser widevine plugin breaks and I can’t watch some…

Be careful of what you wish for. Disney is a creator, and soon many people will be paying them money directly, cutting out existing distribution middlemen, letting a single company control a very large portion of American media.

"Disney" is not the artist. Artists are human beings. Disney is a megacorporation that hires many individual artists.

Now, it's true that it takes many individual artists working together to make a major motion picture of any kind, but that doesn't change the fact that there are so many layers of middlemen between your money and the actual artists that saying that "giving Disney your money" is giving your money to the artists is....at best a gross oversimplification, and at worst outright false.