251–260 of 641 posts
But when streaming services own rights to stuff and refuse to make it available, it definitely makes me value real physical ownership again. DVD/Bluray, etc.
It's concerning that the power to just remove works is available.
But I'm not about to jump to piracy.
I've started looking at setting up a personal Jellyfin server in my home network and buying DVDs and CDs again, and loading their contents into Jellyfin. That way I legally own all these things, they can't be taken away, and I have full control over my streaming experience.
I'm not going to speak about my personal practices, but I find the current landscape of streaming services unusable and unsustainable from a customer perspective. I share a Netflix and Prime account with my parents, and support for that is soon going to end. I don't feel like either of those services provide enough value to me to consider paying for them entirely by myself. The content is mediocre at best, finding an…
Adding to this is the complex web of region-limited content. Is using a VPN to watch something on Netflix more or less legal than torrenting? What if I want to watch it with subtitles that aren't available in my current region, but are in another? The other day I ended up pirating a program that I only later realized I had streaming access to via one of my streaming subscriptions, because the title was different in d…
The incentives are misaligned. Netflix, Amazon, Disney et al, aren't interested in showing me what I want to watch for a purchase price, they are after my attention, and to divert me to their most profitable revenue stream (Netflix in house creations etc). My attention is not for sale, I'll buy content if it is sold in a manner that is attractive to me in a consumer friendly model, Louis CK selling his standup specia…
Of course your attention is for sale. Even now, you are posting to a site whose entire purpose for existing is to advertise YC funded companies.
> I still want to participate in the collective modern culture ... so somethings got to give.
Same comment applies to this forum. I want to participate in discussions on HN, and therefore I am subject to the occasional job ad from YC companies. It's not perfect, but it's a bit facetious to compare that to the attention grabbing of Youtube/Amazon, etc who will intentionally curtail my efforts to find content I want, in lieu of something they want to promote.
It is still cost-benefit thing for me. When I was young, I did it a lot with Microsoft Office, Photoshop, Movies, MP3, and etc. Because I didn't have money. I don't pirate anymore because I make money. In this day of age, piracy has increased risk with malware that mines bitcoin or locks your disk for ransom, so the risk is much higher and effectively lowers the benefit.
I don't think that's true at all, rather the opposite in fact. Piracy feels much safer now than it was 20 years ago.
Why exactly did music piracy go downhill? Because you can just pay 10 bucks (or a fiver if you're a student) per month and have pretty much everything available at high quality.
I don't typically condone piracy because I think it's important to compensate writers/actors/artists, but I do feel angry about the state of things. Physical media is looking relatively good in many cases. Discs are a hassle but at least then you know what you have after a glance at the shelf; there have been several times I bought something a la cart on Amazon / Apple / Vudu and only later realized it was actually a…
Physical media second-hand market is surprisingly good nowadays. Use reputable sellers and buy discs rated "good" or below with caution.
I'm not going to speak about my personal practices, but I find the current landscape of streaming services unusable and unsustainable from a customer perspective. I share a Netflix and Prime account with my parents, and support for that is soon going to end. I don't feel like either of those services provide enough value to me to consider paying for them entirely by myself. The content is mediocre at best, finding an…
I have a Prime account, but I'll soon be cancelling it I feel. The same products can had on eBay for less money with no shipping charges added. Prime video is quite unique, but I'm very much past them putting pre-roll ads on the content I want to watch. It's universally an advert for their own craptastic, homegrown version of an existing well-defined format. If I was interested in watching Law & Order I can start fro…
Netflix is heavily subsidized via my TMobile bill.
Amazon Prime Video is bundled with Amazon Prime. I would have that anyway.
AppleTV+ is bundled with Apple One
Paramount+ is bundled with Walmart+ which is free with the Amex Platinum
I am grandfathered in with free HBO Max because I have internet with AT&T.
The only thing I pay full price for is the Disney/Hulu/ESPN+ bundle.