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A curated list of warez and piracy links

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Re: A curated list of warez and piracy links

#71

Post by jorams »

ogogmad wrote: post #3

How are films supposed to get funded if people get them for free? The current status quo is that we have two methods of obtaining a film: - Via file sharing. You have to wait for the whole film to finish downloading before you can watch it. This is inconvenient. - Via streaming services. You can watch a film before it's finished downloading. The latter costs money, but is more convenient. While certainly some of that…

I don't think the answer is very complicated: It doesn't have to be free. Stop being actively hostile to people who want to pay for your content. Make it available in as many places and formats as possible. Piracy is a service problem.

- If I pay for Netflix, I can't watch in full quality because I'm on Linux.

- If I pay for an online rental, I can't watch in full quality because I'm on Linux.

- DVDs and especially Blu-rays come with DRM that breaks in weird ways for many people.

- DVDs and Blu-rays come with unskippable warnings (often about piracy) before getting to the content.

- More and more content is becoming exclusive to specific streaming services, dramatically increasing the complexity and price for everyone.

All of these problems only apply to people who pay for the content. Everything is available for free from pirates without any of these issues (but with plenty of other issues, which are accepted because it's free). Legal, permanent digital copies of movies and TV shows don't seem to exist at all.

I have on several occasions downloaded pirated copies of movies or TV shows that I already had legal access to, just to watch them the way I want. The fact that that's even something to consider is ridiculous.

For music this is partially solved. I can pay for streaming access to anything in the Spotify library, or the Apple Music library, or one of several others. They all contain the vast majority of music most people want to listen to, and compete on other features. This is the direction Netflix and competitors should have moved in, but instead they went for exclusivity.

If I would rather maintain my own library (which I do), I can buy songs and albums on services like Bandcamp, and get high-quality, DRM free files. There is no equivalent for movies and TV shows.

I still semi-regularly run into artists who only offer their music on streaming services, in which case I will listen to their song on YouTube and then forget about them. The alternative would again be piracy, so these artists are missing out on revenue.

They are selling files. It's not that hard.

Re: A curated list of warez and piracy links

#72

Post by idontwantthis »

capableweb wrote: post #34
m_a_g wrote: post #27

I can't decide between mullvad and private internet access. Any suggestions?

Private Internet Access (PIA) is involved in the whole Freenode fiasco, and has Mark Karpelès (of Mt Gox fame) as their CTO of the parent company. They also run ads all over the internet. Everything pointing towards just caring about the profits. Mullvad is a low-profile company based in Sweden (strong guarantees for privacy) where you can even sign up by sending cash in an envelope. It doesn't get more anonymous tha…

Can you stream US only like HBO and Hulu with Mulvad?

Re: A curated list of warez and piracy links

#73

Post by sorenjan »

underlines wrote: post #46

I grew up in the late 90ies with internet in Switzerland, and as a broke pre-teen and teenager I was used to getting EVERYTHING pirated and this habit sticked with me, even though when in later years I was working as a software developer. Torrenting, sharing with friends and family is still completely legal in Switzerland. Only after pay services like spotify became a thing and were more convenient than managing and…

For video, you can use DaVinci Resolve instead of Adobe. The base version is free for non commercial use, and it's a very capable program. I think it makes sense, Adobe has benefited a lot by having their software pirated and becoming the de facto standard, but they like to pretend that they're against piracy of all kind.

Re: A curated list of warez and piracy links

#74

Post by XCabbage »

ogogmad wrote: post #3

How are films supposed to get funded if people get them for free? The current status quo is that we have two methods of obtaining a film: - Via file sharing. You have to wait for the whole film to finish downloading before you can watch it. This is inconvenient. - Via streaming services. You can watch a film before it's finished downloading. The latter costs money, but is more convenient. While certainly some of that…

> How are films supposed to get funded if people get them for free?

Let me pay money and download a DRM-free mp4 that I can keep forever and watch anywhere. I'd do it and so would a sizable percentage of existing pirates.

> The latter costs money, but is more convenient.

Not really. If my internet connection is fast, I can download a movie in a few minutes and watch it in VLC, which is more user-friendly than any web player. If my internet connection is slow, streaming won't work anyway. Maybe there's a medium-speed sweet spot in between for which streaming is more convenient, but I suspect only a minority of users occupy that sweet spot.

> Illegal streaming services are not viable because they're centralised and easy to crack down on

No, illegal streaming services are not viable because torrents exist and people prefer downloading movies to streaming them. People who prefer legal streaming services over illegal downloads do so because of the legal vs illegal bit, not because of the streaming vs downloads bit.

Re: A curated list of warez and piracy links

#75

Post by sildur »

strobe999 wrote: post #57
hwers wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? It's legal? Would that mean someone running a torrent site should move their operation to switzerland to avoid getting prison time?

OP couldve been a bit more precise in their statement. Downloading is legal, uploading isnt.

Same as Spain. So using Usenet is completely legal.

Re: A curated list of warez and piracy links

#76

Post by cercatrova »

ogogmad wrote: post #32
Youden wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But I asked whether copyright enforcement was necessary for films to get adequately funded. I addressed that by referencing a study that concludes piracy has no measurable impact on revenue.

>> But I asked whether copyright enforcement was necessary for films to get adequately funded. > I addressed that by referencing a study that concludes piracy has no measurable impact on revenue. I'm weary of studies in general because they're capable of justifying absolute bullshit. Anyway, your study was conducted in a regime where getting films for free is illegal and therefore somewhat less convenient than it cou…

>We don't have access to a world in which that isn't the case, so your study is kind of... not able to answer my question?

Then your question is moot, as no one can answer it. Perhaps it is you who should actually look up unfalsifiable statements.

Re: A curated list of warez and piracy links

#77

Post by cookie_monsta »

ratww wrote: post #68
cookie_monsta wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> some shaky camcorder recording of a theater screen Haha. I remember this from... 15 years ago? The pirating industry has moved on substantially since then

That still happens, especially with tentpole movies. Sometimes it takes a few weeks after release for a non-shaky pirate recording to be widespread.

And sometimes the movie gets leaked from the studio months before it hits the cinemas

https://thecinemaholic.com/movies-that-leaked-before-they-we...

Re: A curated list of warez and piracy links

#78

Post by sildur »

rg111 wrote: post #62
chiheisen wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Leeching is. Seeding is not. Its also more of a legal grayzone rather than a blanket "this is allowed".

Only German lawyers are disgusting enough to go after seeders and downloaders who never intend to distribute "illegally" downloaded content. Sometimes they themselves seed torrents and monitor who else is seeding or leeching. If they happen to not use VPNs or proxy, and based in Germany, they get a legal notice from them. Nobody ever went to jail doing this. Some paid hefty fines, though. But a friend said that you c…

What I did was to ignore the initial letter, and nothing happened. Over the years I’ve found that not engaging is usually the best defense.

Re: A curated list of warez and piracy links

#79

Post by willis936 »

underlines wrote: post #46

I grew up in the late 90ies with internet in Switzerland, and as a broke pre-teen and teenager I was used to getting EVERYTHING pirated and this habit sticked with me, even though when in later years I was working as a software developer. Torrenting, sharing with friends and family is still completely legal in Switzerland. Only after pay services like spotify became a thing and were more convenient than managing and…

I'm very wary of any pirated software these days. A lot of crackers and keygens I obtained long ago turned out to contain viruses. I wouldn't say the majority of the demoscene is like that and maybe even the viruses came from people remaking torrents with modified files then seed-boosted them to the top of the search. A few bad apples spoil the bunch.

Re: A curated list of warez and piracy links

#80

Post by pwgentleman »

bubblethink wrote: post #5
ogogmad wrote: post #3

How are films supposed to get funded if people get them for free? The current status quo is that we have two methods of obtaining a film: - Via file sharing. You have to wait for the whole film to finish downloading before you can watch it. This is inconvenient. - Via streaming services. You can watch a film before it's finished downloading. The latter costs money, but is more convenient. While certainly some of that…

>How are films supposed to get funded if people get them for free? You can fund them before the fact with patronage. That is, recoup the cost beforehand, and the work is free for everyone to enjoy after it is made.

Angel Studios has had great success with this, with The Chosen. 3 seasons fully funded and a 4th one half way [0]. [0]: https://watch.angelstudios.com/thechosen/pif
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