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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

#191

Post by k-mcgrady »

ponyous wrote: post #70
k-mcgrady wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really like that idea. I don't know what the goal of Popcorn Time is (maybe they want change in the industry, maybe they just like free stuff) but if the goal is to make access to content even easier than it already is then running the project with only CC/public domain content would be a good way to go. Show that it works and start getting bigger creators signing on (kind of the way BitTorrent does legitimate stuf…

What about opt-in to non CC/public domain content? Does this solves anything?

A little but when you're screwing these people you're negotiating position is always going to be hurt. Show them the tech works without screwing them and you may get them to come around.

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

#192

Post by smoe »

nlawalker wrote: post #172
giancarlostoro wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reminds me of what Gabe Newell said about piracy: It's not a pricing issue, but a service issue.

That's easy to say when the products you sell aren't as easy to pirate as movies and music. Let's say a content provider created the perfect media service, exactly to your specifications - super easy, DRM free, etc. etc. Done and done; the service issue is gone. Tomorrow, you want a new movie. On one hand, you have Provider X's new service, and on the other, you have piracy, which gives you pretty much the same conte…

I would say its both, a value and a service issue.

I used to pirate a lot of music, but nowadays i rarely do it. Because in my opinion, it's just so much easier to quickly buy them. With only 3 accounts – Bandcamp, Soundcloud and Spotify – I can cover almost all my needs in this regard. This wasn't possible only a few years ago.

Compare that to the state of tv series. I wanted to watch some HBO content recently an typed "HBO GO" into search. First result says:

"HBO GO. It's HBO. Anywhere."

Anywhere, great! click

"To access HBO GO, you must reside within the fifty states of the United States of America."

I didn't even bother trying to circumvent that and went straight for a torrent site …

Of course, a lot of people use a lack of service quality as an excuse, when they just want free content. But for those who are willing to pay, service and availability is a problem.

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

#194

Post by realusername »

voltagex_ wrote: post #48
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 Video doesn't work in Australia

Same over here, it can be as convenient to use as you want, I'm not going to use a VPN to use a paying service.

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

#195

Post by touristtam »

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…

That is was is happening in a world where we allow monopolies and oligopolies to exist. The price of new entrance is too high, and the conservatism of the existing actors is detrimental to bringing any additional value to technology and to the consumer market.

Just a thought.

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

#196

Post by mercurial »

dagw wrote: post #180
yellowapple wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would be Netflix. :)

Except that Netflix has a really bad selection of movies and it's getting worse and worse as they seem to be focusing all their money and energy on producing their own content. I'm hoping someone can come along and do Netflix right now that Netflix has decided to go all HBO on us.

You seem to imply that Netflix gets to pick ad libitum what movies and shows they offer, while in reality they have to negotiate with the studios. From the point of view of the studios, a legal platform where content can be freely streamed for a modest amount of money, leading further down the road to nobody wanting to pay much money for expensive shows probably does not sound much more thrilling that fewer sales at a higher price point in exchange for more piracy.

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

#197

Post by k-mcgrady »

bcherry wrote: post #81
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…

iTunes is missing real-time release of TV, and timely release of movies. For instance, I have a season pass to Mad Men right now, which airs on sunday nights. I don't get the iTunes release until midnight, so I end up not watching it until Monday (even though I pay for it!). If I used torrents, I could watch it Sunday night with everyone else. Other shows have it far worse! New movies usually enter the iTunes market…

>> "For instance, I have a season pass to Mad Men right now, which airs on sunday nights. I don't get the iTunes release until midnight, so I end up not watching it until Monday (even though I pay for it!)."

Shit. We've actually gotten to the point where waiting a few hours for something is considered a good reason to pirate. Just when I thought self-entitlement couldn't get any worse.

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

#198

Post by de_Selby »

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. :)

Not even close. The user experience is good, but you can't go to netflix and search for a random film because 90% of the time it won't be there.

This is where popcorn time comes in, every time I search there I get results.

I'd happy pay for a better service if they media companies got their asses in gear and had a common platform, but they're actually going in the opposite direction - I'm certainly not going to pay "just $10 a month" 5 different times on 5 different platforms that I'll have to trawl through and still not have a guarantee of finding a result.

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

#199

Post by duiker101 »

de_Selby wrote: post #198
yellowapple wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would be Netflix. :)

Not even close. The user experience is good, but you can't go to netflix and search for a random film because 90% of the time it won't be there. This is where popcorn time comes in, every time I search there I get results. I'd happy pay for a better service if they media companies got their asses in gear and had a common platform, but they're actually going in the opposite direction - I'm certainly not going to pay "…

I usually search on Netflix, if it's not there, I go to Popcorn. The experience on Netflix is amazing and I would happily pay more for a larger catalogue.
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