FYI there is another project like this being discussed on Hacker News in parallel: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7379166
Popcorn Time – Watch torrent movies instantly
221–230 of 385 posts
Re: Popcorn Time – Watch torrent movies instantly
#222If anyone (or a contributor) from popcorn is reading this:
Can you explain the SEEDING part of it in more details? As your description says it will be seeded for some time to avoid leeching but can you describe this in a little more detail.
I know the project is trying to reduce/remove complexity from the torrent kingdom (its from whatever i see in this beta version i would say they have done a pretty good job!) but I have a (maybe an obvious) suggestion that you guys might want to add a "settings" pane somewhere so that users can play with settings.
The only major criticism i have is that the project is overly depended on YIFY as the provider of content. Which is also a problem because everything is either in 720 or 1080.
I hope some of the more "legal" providers learn from the simplicity of this project.
Re: Popcorn Time – Watch torrent movies instantly
#223Earlier quoted context omitted.
> it should not be so easy to benefit from someone else's hard work without compensating them. Nonsense. I benefit from the work of Mozart and feel no need to compensate anyone. There are real issues with funding mechanisms and creative work in a shareable digital world, but we can reject the idea that you should always pay for anything that is beneficial. If you want to give gifts to creative folks you like, you can…
The musicians/recording engineers/conductor/support staff don't deserve to be paid?
Well, this is a big debate. I think musicians must be paid by playing live, amd not when every human listen a song, do a cover, or listen it in a bar. I think artists should be credited and pay when others use their creation for commercial use. Staff, as always, they will have jobs. You think the staff is all day working with the records, no, they do sound work on live shows too, as welll producers, designers, print guys, etc. People evolve.
Re: Popcorn Time – Watch torrent movies instantly
#224Earlier quoted context omitted.
> it should not be so easy to benefit from someone else's hard work without compensating them. Nonsense. I benefit from the work of Mozart and feel no need to compensate anyone. There are real issues with funding mechanisms and creative work in a shareable digital world, but we can reject the idea that you should always pay for anything that is beneficial. If you want to give gifts to creative folks you like, you can…
I'm a left of center guy, but this kind of thinking is a very ugly slippery slope. Its not that anyone should always expect to pay for things that are beneficial, its the fact that people who very recently WORKED to create the very thing you are benefiting from should be PAID for their work. If everyone followed your logic, we wouldn't have 12 Years A Slave. The props cost money. The costumes cost money. The cameras…
I guess you're unaware of independent films. 12 Years a Slave would absolutely be made, regardless of a non-blockbuster budget. There are always going to be people trying to make art or assist in doing so, without the intention of making an absurd amount of money. Why do these actors even need millions for a movie? Its an absurd amount that is more than necessary.
Re: Popcorn Time – Watch torrent movies instantly
#225Stream for torrents is extremely damaging to the swarm, specially for new torrents. It breaks the protocol and may end up killing itself. Picture a case of major success for this: At Prime Time there is a rush of people streaming from a torrent, acquiring the same pieces of the torrent without servers to counterbalance the upload speed of people with the complete files can't stream the file in real time to a few peop…
Do you have a demonstration of that effect? I'm not buying it from the words.
With typical torrent use, you have to wait the entire download time before you can watch anything because the pieces are randomly selected. But adding streaming just means you have to bias toward the early pieces just enough to have a decent buffer. After that, you can still be random.
The case of prime time seems to be better for this approach, not worse. People still won't all start at the exact same time. The early arrivals will all replicate the early pieces, beefing up the ability of the swarm to get the pieces everybody wants.
I haven't looked at the code, but it seems to me that as long as it's flexible about the amount of time it takes to fill its initial buffer, and as long as it keeps serving after people are done watching (to compensate for the up/down pipe asymmetry), then the swarm would survive just fine.
Indeed, I think making swarm participation much easier and more appealing might increase the depth of resources around any given torrent, making results net better for popular files.
Re: Popcorn Time – Watch torrent movies instantly
#226Earlier quoted context omitted.
Actually you do. You pay the price they ask to consume their content, or you don't consume it. Hence why doing so without paying is illegal.
I don't have any continuous contractual relationships with any studios like I do with my employer. Maybe Netflix or HBO would qualify, but they don't charge their customer per unit, so it doesn't really apply here either.
This really is just a sideshow (excuse) to justify watching movies without paying for them. I don't have any contract with my utility companies whom mail me bills every month for using their services, nor do I have one with Kroger when I go buy groceries. I still am obligated to pay both of them for using their services.
Re: Popcorn Time – Watch torrent movies instantly
#227Earlier quoted context omitted.
looking at torrent peers ... and is far better proof of piracy It's not proof of piracy. It just proves that some bytes were downloaded. What, for example, if you could prove that you paid for the movie you're downloading? Lets say you buy a movie using the Video app on the Xbox, but want to watch it on your old Windows XP desktop, or on your Android phone?
Sadly given the silly state of copyright in the digital age, you'd still be guilty of copyright infringement by doing that. Which is why copyright needs to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the modern age.
Depends on the country. In USA you are probably right.
Re: Popcorn Time – Watch torrent movies instantly
#228Earlier quoted context omitted.
Did you know walking is the leading cause of taxi cab unemployment? You should really consider the ugly nature of walking next time you decide not to cab it up. Taxis cost money, and their kids eat food.
The difference between taking a taxi and walking are significant. For your analogy to work you must alter it in one of two ways: 1. You hijack the taxi and demand the driver take you to your destination for free. This creates an equivalent or better experience for the consumer at zero or near-zero cost. 2. Instead of clicking a button and watching 12 Years a Slave, you get a crudely animated version pieced together b…
#2 (or something pretty close to it...) worked pretty well for http://ourrobocopremake.com/
Re: Popcorn Time – Watch torrent movies instantly
#229[deleted]
Re: Popcorn Time – Watch torrent movies instantly
#230Earlier quoted context omitted.
> it should not be so easy to benefit from someone else's hard work without compensating them. Nonsense. I benefit from the work of Mozart and feel no need to compensate anyone. There are real issues with funding mechanisms and creative work in a shareable digital world, but we can reject the idea that you should always pay for anything that is beneficial. If you want to give gifts to creative folks you like, you can…
You'll work for free?
Pour cast. They can't buy new Ferarris because some kids watch that movie for free.