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Inside Popcorn Time, the Piracy Party Hollywood Can't Stop

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Re: Inside Popcorn Time, the Piracy Party Hollywood Can't Stop

#151

Post by Touche »

jsmeaton wrote: post #94
NovaS1X wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I came here to say this, more or less. Maybe when streaming services offer what I want to watch in better than current quality I'll consider stopping. Until then I'll be using Canadian Netflix for 10% of my viewing and other methods for the other 90% that I can't pay for because I happen to not live in the US. Copyright laws are killing the industry.

I'd argue that region based licensing is killing the industry, along with the reluctance for content producers to serve content through Netflix or something comparable. Netflix just launched in Australia. If it had all the shows I wanted, I'd sign up in a heart beat. But it's still missing a good chunk because of the licensing deals that already exist over here. I want to support the Netflix model and content produce…

Your $12.50 per month is not paying for all of the content you consume.

Re: Inside Popcorn Time, the Piracy Party Hollywood Can't Stop

#152

Post by yellowapple »

donut2d wrote: post #75
rhino369 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon Instant and iTunes work pretty well and have almost anything that Popcorn Time has. I really doubt people are doing Popcorn time because it is easier. Not paying anything is a huge feature.

Amazon Instant Video on PS3 and on my Vizio is pretty bad. Slow, unresponsive interface, very difficult to accurately skip ahead, not a great selection. Netflix does a great job interface wise, way better than Amazon Instant Video.

Unsurprisingly, I've had the opposite experience with Amazon Instant Video on my Fire TV, while the mobile experience is a bit mediocre (though not terrible). I guess it varies greatly depending on the device.

Re: Inside Popcorn Time, the Piracy Party Hollywood Can't Stop

#153

Post by Touche »

dublinben wrote: post #131
duaneb wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At some time pirates will need to address the convenience of being free. I use amazon video, which has had a grand total of three films I wanted but could not find. These are extremely convenient, easy to use services. The argument that piracy is more convenient may still hold water, but less each year.

Amazon Instant Video doesn't work on GNU/Linux. It also doesn't work offline. It also requires proprietary software at every turn. None of these problems are the case with p2p sharing.

The number of people who care about those things are a rounding error.

Re: Inside Popcorn Time, the Piracy Party Hollywood Can't Stop

#154

Post by yellowapple »

dethstar wrote: post #57
JonoBB wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be interested to know how the piracy of music compares to the piracy of video. Which industry has better (legal) streaming options, and does this correlate with lower piracy?

Everyone who I knew used to pirate music (think of p2p programs like Ares or Limewire) now uses either youtube or spotify.

Former such pirate; can confirm. While downloading music from YouTube probably still counts as piracy, my needs are effectively met between that and the various legal options for unlimited streaming (particularly Amazon Prime Music as of late).

Re: Inside Popcorn Time, the Piracy Party Hollywood Can't Stop

#155

Post by Touche »

donut2d wrote: post #75
rhino369 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon Instant and iTunes work pretty well and have almost anything that Popcorn Time has. I really doubt people are doing Popcorn time because it is easier. Not paying anything is a huge feature.

Amazon Instant Video on PS3 and on my Vizio is pretty bad. Slow, unresponsive interface, very difficult to accurately skip ahead, not a great selection. Netflix does a great job interface wise, way better than Amazon Instant Video.

How good is the Popcorn Time interface on the PS3?

Re: Inside Popcorn Time, the Piracy Party Hollywood Can't Stop

#156

Post by Touche »

StavrosK wrote: post #72
return0 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are asking for the impossible, people are not going to pay for what they can always get at better quality for $0. Fans are happy to curate the art the like and will always do a better work , and for free. The only thing that might make sense is if they distributed an original instead of a copy, i.e. a different movie to every user, a different song etc. Copyright is just not compatible with the digital world, it…

> people are not going to pay for what they can always get at better quality for $0 Sure, but I already pay Netflix. If I had to pay a bit more and it included everything that's on Popcorn Time, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

You'd have to pay a lot more than 8/month to make "every movie ever produced, instantly available" viable.

Re: Inside Popcorn Time, the Piracy Party Hollywood Can't Stop

#157

Post by dorian-graph »

NovaS1X wrote: post #45
lvs wrote: post #12

There would be less incentive toward this kind of piracy if content producers and distributors could get their collective acts together with more liberal licensing. Popcorn Time is winning because it's easier to use and find content than any pay service. Like anything, you compete by making a better product/service -- not by complaining that your competitors are unfair. Of course, they are certainly unfair here, but…

I came here to say this, more or less. Maybe when streaming services offer what I want to watch in better than current quality I'll consider stopping. Until then I'll be using Canadian Netflix for 10% of my viewing and other methods for the other 90% that I can't pay for because I happen to not live in the US. Copyright laws are killing the industry.

This question is for you and everyone else: why don't you simply not watch something if it's not legally available? It seems like almost all pro-piracy people act and talk as if there's some unwritten and unspoken right and need to consume all media.

Re: Inside Popcorn Time, the Piracy Party Hollywood Can't Stop

#158

Post by forrestthewoods »

yellowapple wrote: post #142
forrestthewoods wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, people are very lazy. iTunes is great for lazy people. It's easy to use, extremely high quality, and has the vast, vast majority of pirated content (for Americans). The only thing missing is free. If iTunes were free there would be almost no reason to pirate content. Certainly not in the majority use cases. Therefore the only reason to pirate over iTunes is money. Therefore people are greedy and selfish.

Or because your opinion that iTunes is "easy to use" and "extremely high quality" is just that - an opinion - and is not an opinion which is universally shared among all people or even a significant majority of them (myself included). Now, with that said, between Amazon Prime and Netflix I haven't found many reasons to pirate things, but right now that involves jumping back and forth between two different marketplace…

High quality isn't really an opinion. Their encoding is fantastic. Better than blu-ray re-encodes which were the primary torrent source just a few years ago. They're encoding off raw source so it's exceptionally good.

Easy to use is pretty factual in a relative sense. A mere 15 years ago you had to drive out to store to rent a disc and then take it back. Those asshole rental stores made all their money through exorbitant late charges. There are perhaps user interfaces which are easier to use than iTunes. But with an AppleTV almost everything that is pirated can be found, bought, and streaming in under 3 minutes.

Here's the process for computer:

1) Start menu 2) Type iTunes 3) Hit enter. 4) Click iTunes Store 5) Click search 6) Type 'Interstellar' 7) Click 'Interstellar' 8) Click rent

I don't feel like renting this movie right now because I've already seen it. But from this point forward there's probably a confirm dialogue or two and then it starts streaming. The whole process takes about 15 seconds. On an AppleTV it might take 3 minutes due it being a little slower processor and inputting text being a little slow on the remote.

It's literally never been easier in the history of time to legally acquire content. Even if piracy is slightly easier or a slightly better user experience that's not sufficient justification. Just admit you're a selfish twat and would rather pirate content than pay for it. It's fine. You aren't alone. Tons of people pirate content. Maybe even most people. Just call a spade a spade and say you'd rather get it for free than spend a few bucks.

Re: Inside Popcorn Time, the Piracy Party Hollywood Can't Stop

#159

Post by forrestthewoods »

yellowapple wrote: post #143
6t6t6 wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love music and I used to download music a lot. Since I can use Spotify and listen for as much music as I want for less than 10$ a month, I don't see the need to pirate music. I am still waiting for that to happen with films and series.

That would be Netflix. :)

I would also pay $10/month for all music content ever created. And another $10/month for all TV content ever created. And another $10/month for all movie content ever created. Go ahead and add $10/month for all video game content ever created as well.

It turns out this isn't viable business model. Darn.

Re: Inside Popcorn Time, the Piracy Party Hollywood Can't Stop

#160

Post by jedunnigan »

EGreg wrote: post #85
forrestthewoods wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I call bullshit. Absolute bullshit. If I gave you a credit card that gave you unlimited access to digital content you probably wouldn't be complaining. Certainly not if you live in the US or much of Europe. If you have a $69 AppleTV then iTunes is a spectacular user experience. Search for almost anything you want and hit play. If it didn't cost $5 to rent a movie it's superior to torrents. This is where someone chime…

Try finding Star Wars on iTunes. Or many other movies or series. And what if you don't live in the USA? Then it's just Too Bad (TM) right? I really do not mind paying $3.99 to rent a movie. Many times I find myself simply unable to find it! And don't get me started on the latest HDCP racket. I have a 1080p projector but there is NO WAY anymore for me to play HD movies that I PAID FOR using it, because it doesn't supp…

If you ever have quality issues with the splitter, check out this product, works like a charm (but a bit pricey): http://www.hdfury.com/
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