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Too Many Video Streaming Choices May Drive Users Back To Piracy

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Re: Too Many Video Streaming Choices May Drive Users Back To Piracy

#261

Post by reroute1 »

cptskippy wrote: post #236
reroute1 wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But to be fair R. Kelly is being accused of pretty awful crimes which I don't see an equivalent from Disney...

Perhaps not in depth of harm but in breadth it far surpasses R. Kelly. Disney has been accused of gross labor and environmental violations across the globe. So while R. Kelly has caused severe damage to a few, Disney has caused minor to moderate damage to a great number.

OK. I don't know if everyone would agree with your somewhat reductive view on Disney, how is it fair to compare an entire company and enterprise to a single man. This feels like you are looking at two wildly different things and connecting them with very thin lines.

Re: Too Many Video Streaming Choices May Drive Users Back To Piracy

#262

Post by nickjj »

sp332 wrote: post #251
nickjj wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's a workaround, but it's still making streaming feel more like cable TV, since now you again have to watch shows according to a schedule. This already happens now if you're only subbed to Netflix. They are constantly removing titles. It definitely starts to feel like a schedule because now it's like "I have to watch this before October 1st otherwise it'll be pulled". The worst is when you deal with series too. L…

Several sites have regular articles on what's leaving Netflix. e.g. https://netflixupdate.com/leaving-netflix/ Edit: I don't think this is a positive thing for Netflix. And trying to keep up with it probably would just give customers anxiety. But it's a constant reminder that you don't really get to watch what you want with Netflix, which I think is useful to be reminded of now and then.

Yes but the experience for this is very poor. Now you need to browse a different site on a very regular basis to remember exactly what's coming and going.

If you can barely remember what you ate for dinner 6 nights ago, how are you going to remember the ~50 titles they are removing at varying days in September?

Plus, sites and patterns like this just further fuel the "better watch what Netflix says to watch" motto. Your viewing selections are shaped by what's coming and going instead of what you want to watch.

Re: Too Many Video Streaming Choices May Drive Users Back To Piracy

#264

Post by ryandrake »

Here are my product requirements for a viable alternative to piracy:

1. Availability of any movie or TV show ever made from one service

2. Quality/resolution comparable to what was available when it originally aired (I’m not demanding 4K Seinfeld)

3. No DRM

4. No restriction on downloading/timeshifting

5. Playable on all my devices including Linux and iOS, using my choice of playback software

6. Playable no matter what “region” I happen to be in

7. Original language audio + subs. Dubs are a nice bonus

8. Streaming not an important or necessary feature

9. Slick UI not important or necessary

Provide that and let’s talk price. Note none of the above are technical challenges or areas of active research. They are already all solved by the pirates.

Re: Too Many Video Streaming Choices May Drive Users Back To Piracy

#265

Post by StavrosK »

lostgame wrote: post #237
pessimizer wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's not really what it's about. You have no idea how utterly janky Plex and torrenting is. I don't know anything about Plex, but torrenting is pretty effortless compared to figuring out which streaming service what you want to watch is on, figuring out how to get that, evaluating other content it has trying to justify the price, figuring out how to get it to your tv, and figuring out how to use it. The only thin…

>> torrenting is pretty effortless compared to figuring out which streaming service what you want to watch is on, figuring out how to get that, evaluating other content it has trying to justify the price, figuring out how to use it, and figuring out how to get it to your TV Damn. You just nailed this. In fact, hearing it this way makes me confused as to why anyone would ever use a streaming service to start. I live i…

Can you not just do that now with Google Movies or whatnot?

Re: Too Many Video Streaming Choices May Drive Users Back To Piracy

#266

Post by JustARandomGuy »

hos234 wrote: post #193
Jaruzel wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'll find the richness of content you are after in the graphic novels of both franchises, and also the LONG list of star wars novels.

Got any recommendations?

For Star Wars, the storyline is now split into Legends (pre-Disney acquisition) and the new canon Disney Star Wars storyline.

For the Legends storyline, I loved the X-Wings series of books (basically how the Rebels defeated the major parts of the Empire): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BJST00W . My favorite book in the series is The Bacta War, there's a lot of small ship action instead of the movies where huge fleets are the norm.

Also in Legends, try the Thrawn trilogy starting with Heir To The Empire https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WBXM80/ . It's a good set of books with a real threat to the Rebellion.

As for Disney canon, frankly a lot of the books are very meh at best - many of them are just to set up Disney World/Land Black Spire Outpost land. The only one I would recommend is perhaps the new Thrawn trilogy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1101967021/ - be warned that the second book in the trilogy (Thrawn: Alliances) gets rather slow at times, but the third book (Thrawn: Treason) is actually pretty fun.

Re: Too Many Video Streaming Choices May Drive Users Back To Piracy

#267

Post by Qwertystop »

> “Consumers want choice — but only up to a point,” said Kevin Westcott, Deloitte vice chairman and U.S. telecom and media and entertainment leader, who oversees the study. “We may be entering a time of ‘subscription fatigue.'”

Missing the point hard here. To the degree that "consumers want choice", I would expect the choice they want is the choice of media, not the choice of subscription services. People don't subscribe to Netflix for its own sake, they subscribe because it lets them watch something they want to see.

Re: Too Many Video Streaming Choices May Drive Users Back To Piracy

#268

Post by guitarbill »

draugadrotten wrote: post #174
AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #159

No shit. Valve worked out the key to combating piracy in the early 2000s. To quote Gaben himself: "We think there is a fundamental misconception about piracy. Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem. If a pirate offers a product anywhere in the world, 24 x 7, purchasable from the convenience of your personal computer, and the legal provider says the product is region-locked, will come to y…

Valve is right. I haven't pirated a single game since I started using Steam, and I have spent dollars on games I will never ever have time to play. There is no way I will subscribe to 10 different movie streaming services. I want it all in one client. If they want to charge me 50 dollars for the latest movies, so be it. I just want the convenience of one single source available 24x7 wherever I am. Until then, /r/usen…

> I want it all in one client. [...] I just want the convenience of one single source available

You nailed it. Sadly, it's also falling apart for games. I like Steam because I'm lazy - no other reason. 3rd party launchers were tolerable, but so obviously anti-consumer and wholly unnecessary. Just big publishers trying to screw us, and I'm not exactly sure why - greed or analytics?

Then Epic comes along with the exclusives. Again, not trying to make the argument Steam/Epic = Bad/Good or Good/Bad. Just that I'm lazy. I'm not a teenagers with endless time, and I can't be bothered dealing with this.

Now, it's possible I'm not the target market any more. But making it easy for lazy but financially stable adults to actually buy games seems like a decent strategy.

Re: Too Many Video Streaming Choices May Drive Users Back To Piracy

#269

Post by ryandrake »

scarface74 wrote: post #241
ryandrake wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does everything have to be "streamed" these days? Hard drives are cheap. Just have a file and playback locally or on your LAN. No special set up of some server, your router, etc. Given the $/GB curve throughout the years you'll likely never run out of space. Do people really need to do a significant amount of movie watching outside their own LAN/home?

So where are these files going to come from? Buying them from some place like iTunes or Amazon Prime Video - which is more expensive? Going through the trouble of finding a good rip on a torrent site? Ripping them themselves? Do people really need to do a significant amount of movie watching outside their own LAN/home? Asking this question is close to the old Slashdot meme “I haven’t owned a TV in 20 years, do people…

> So where are these files going to come from?

I’ve settled on buying physical media and ripping. The physical media serves as your backup in case of HD failure.

> Of course people watch video on mobile devices and they have for over a decade.

I suppose there are people out there who want to watch a full length movie on their 5 inch phone on a bus, but is that really a mainstream use case? I’d bet the vast majority of movie/show watching takes place in one’s home sitting in the sofa. More than willing to consider that I’m just an out of touch old guy though!

EDIT (rather than replying because apparently HN doesn’t let you post more than 5 replies a day ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

Your points are taken and I guess I’m just out of touch! :-)

Re: Too Many Video Streaming Choices May Drive Users Back To Piracy

#270

Post by robertoandred »

nickthegreek wrote: post #249
robertoandred wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everything's free when you steal. Lame argument.

pirate. I keep seeing people use the word steal in this comment section.

No, it's stealing. Just because saying "pirate" makes you feel better doesn't mean it's not stealing.
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