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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

#361
post #22

Why don't major services (Netflix, Disney, HULU, etc) come together to build a best of breed shared service, that operates vendor-neutrally, and each gets to keep all the profits from people watching their stuff? Each could still have its own promotions, bundles, etc (e.g. pay X more to watch new movies from Disney), but at least the base proposition can have a single subscription price and some pay as you consume mo…

You just invented the Cable TV network. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_television_in_the_United...

To my understanding the cable tv network

1) wasn't on demand 2) there were competing cable networks not a single one sharing profits based on which production network's shows people watched

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

#362

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.

Steal is correct. Pirates steal.

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

#363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not "easy" on mobile and definitely not easy when you have to depend on cellular connectivity to stream while on the road.

> It's not "easy" on mobile Short videos maybe, but I don't think I know anybody, young or old, who cares of streaming full movies on mobile. Maybe some outliers who watch their series on their commute... The vast majority watch movies when they are at home...

So are you saying that all of the media streaming companies are wasting money creating mobile apps based on the "people you know"? Is the whole industry under the delusion that their apps are needed? Should they focus on just “people you know” or the entire mobile market?

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

#364

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Recent box office history is littered with studios losing money on “original” stories.

Well, that's their problem. My problem is having good original movies...

Obviously since they are making literally billions of dollars on the movies they make now -- they don't have a problem even without your money.

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

#365
post #6

"May" drive them back? This has already happened in my circles.. People who had cut the cord but all but walked away from casual piracy and signed up for Netflix and HBO (and probably Prime Video because they had Amazon Prime already) are openly talking about the fact they're definitely not signing up for more streaming services, and are seeking out torrenting again for the stuff that's being pulled from Netflix (esp…

It has already happened to me as well. Look, I want a convenient way to watch movies. I would even be ready to pay more than I do right now to Netflix to have a library of ALL the movies I want to watch. 1 library, not 10, especially if they may or may not contain the movie I want to see. My honeymoon period with Netflix and co is over. - I feel that their original content has dried out : there is even more of it, bu…

It's disingenuous to call switching libraries "inconvenient". We're talking about opening a new tab or switching an app. A few finger budges for ~2hr of entertainment. I don't know what to say if you find that so inconvenient, especially compared to the effort it would take to go to a torrent site, find a high quality stream, make sure it has the right special features you're looking for, or what have you, to pirate a movie.

If you're looking for an ever growing library of specific movies you want to watch, with the special features you want to consume, it sounds like you just want to buy movies. Netflix and co. were never that and were never advertised as that.

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

#366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Piracy is copyright infringement or license term violations. Theft is a property crime. These are different things. Those heavily invested in intellectual property rights laws would like to conflate them, but they are--and always will be--fundamentally different offenses. And the industry propaganda is frankly ridiculous. Hell yes, I would download a car. But not if it came loaded up with malware, spyware, region-loc…

Piracy = Stealing

From https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/piracy

piracy (noun) The unauthorized use or reproduction of another's work.

Synonymns: illegal reproduction, plagiarism, illegal copying, copyright infringement, bootlegging, stealing, theft

Call things by the wrong name to make yourself feel better all you want, but it's still stealing.

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

#367
post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has already happened to me as well. Look, I want a convenient way to watch movies. I would even be ready to pay more than I do right now to Netflix to have a library of ALL the movies I want to watch. 1 library, not 10, especially if they may or may not contain the movie I want to see. My honeymoon period with Netflix and co is over. - I feel that their original content has dried out : there is even more of it, bu…

It's disingenuous to call switching libraries "inconvenient". We're talking about opening a new tab or switching an app. A few finger budges for ~2hr of entertainment. I don't know what to say if you find that so inconvenient, especially compared to the effort it would take to go to a torrent site, find a high quality stream, make sure it has the right special features you're looking for, or what have you, to pirate…

The inconvenient part is I have to labor for income to pay for all these services. That's really a bummer because I prefer to not labor.

Additionally, I am in 6 countries for 9 months of this year. It is inconvenient that YouTube TV tells me the $35 I am paying them buys me absolutely nothing, despite the app saying "some content and local channels" will not be available, Netflix forces me to stop halfway through a series because I crossed a border. That's not convenient.

Piracy just works.

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

#368
So instead of owning the video files and having them on my hard drive, I should pay subscription fee as long as I want to watch it? Ok, that's a compromise I can agree to. Now, there are unskippable ads at the beginning and in the middle of the video? Hmmm, that's not what we agreed for. Wait, TWO UNSKIPPABLE ADS at the begginning? Fuck no, fuck never again I'm using any of these services.

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

#369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't mean you're entitled to getting Olive Garden and McDonalds for free.

I definitely would buy bootleg pasta though... I don't think OP is making the argument piracy = free = good. Just that if everything else is worse or broken, people will prefer piracy (and argument put forward in many other comments on this post)

People who want things for free will prefer getting them for free. Shocker. Everything being "worse or broken" is just at attempt at justification.

Again, just because you don't feel like paying for something doesn't mean you're entitled to it for free.

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

#370
post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People who had cut the cord... As long as you don't care about the zeitgeist... That's not really what it's about. You have no idea how utterly janky Plex and torrenting is. People on Hacker News find IT stimulating, so their experience is basically moot. It's like trying to predict trends based on a nerd's hot take of the iPod. It has always been about enforcement. Seen in this lens, the hassle of pirating movies…

Remember Popcorn Time? When it worked, it was amazing. It has better UX than any regular content provider can provide because you don't even need sign in credentials or to enter a credit card. There is also no technical barrier to streaming torrented video on the web. Peertube etc demonstrate distributed video effectively.

Los Movies is essentially the same thing.
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