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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

#491

Post by paulie_a »

scarface74 wrote: post #157
Fabricio20 wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ever heard of Kodi? That's a set-top box OS but that also is an Android App.. Then watch some youtube videos on how to install the magic box addons and you have access to millions of movies for streaming. As hendersoon noted, nowadays, piracy is extremely low-friction.

Two problems -- middle class households in the US are overwhelmingly iOS -- not Android and that still doesn't solve the problem of mobile and having to depend on cellular connectivity to stream. Disney+ and Netflix allow you to download shows.

Middle class households are not overwhelming iOS. But even if that were true Kodi works on iOS and the streaming add-ons have an option to download it also.

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

#492

Post by paulie_a »

ybahubali2018 wrote: post #286
Fabricio20 wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ever heard of Kodi? That's a set-top box OS but that also is an Android App.. Then watch some youtube videos on how to install the magic box addons and you have access to millions of movies for streaming. As hendersoon noted, nowadays, piracy is extremely low-friction.

So, just pay for a good VPN provider and get all content for free?

You don't really need a VPN if you turn off the addons torrent feature. Standard Kodi doesn't share unless you use an add-on with that feature

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

#493

Post by hendersoon »

ybahubali2018 wrote: post #274
hendersoon wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't understand how low-friction piracy is these days. Only techies deal with automation and Plex. Most people just buy a "fully loaded" android box which lists thumbnails for all the latest movies and TV shows on various file storage sites. They select a thumbnail and the movie plays. Nothing local at all, all streamed.

I am quite curious to know the existence of such services or hardware. Any pointers?

I'm not really looking to provide a piracy tutorial here and I don't use these services myself, but another poster is correct in that they're Kodi addons. Kodi runs on pretty much everything but most of the streaming boxes are cheap Chinese android boxes or Amazon FireTVs.

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

#494

Post by scarface74 »

paulie_a wrote: post #491
scarface74 wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two problems -- middle class households in the US are overwhelmingly iOS -- not Android and that still doesn't solve the problem of mobile and having to depend on cellular connectivity to stream. Disney+ and Netflix allow you to download shows.

Middle class households are not overwhelming iOS. But even if that were true Kodi works on iOS and the streaming add-ons have an option to download it also.

Studies show otherwise:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/toddhixon/2014/04/10/what-kind-...

https://gizmodo.com/want-to-appear-rich-buy-an-iphone-182743...

https://buildfire.com/ios-android-users/

Kodi is not available for non jailbroken ios devices.

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

#495

Post by sp332 »

kerkeslager wrote: post #451
lozaning wrote: post #382

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your step 1 should really be, spend enough time on the internet to gain enough clout to get invited to a private tracker, and then maintain your seed ratio so you dont get kicked off. Otherwise if you're downloading stuff off the pirate bay it's either going to get you nailed pretty quickly for IP infringement, or you'll end up with fake files and a virus thats labeled as a codec you need to install. Running a VPN or…

> Otherwise if you're downloading stuff off the pirate bay it's either going to get you nailed pretty quickly for IP infringement I don't know much about private trackers because I don't actually torrent illegally (I pretty much only use torrents to seed Linux distros). But I'm skeptical "getting nailed" is actually much of a concern. I had a roommate not long ago who torrented illegally quite frequently. The only re…

The DMCA stuff got more serious since BMG vs Cox in 2015. Now ISPs have to have a policy about repeat infringers that includes cutting off internet service. Cox got sued again (twice I think? kinda lost track) https://torrentfreak.com/cox-highlights-double-standard-and-... so ISPs are getting even more nervous.

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

#496

Post by pixelbath »

noelsusman wrote: post #243
SamuelAdams wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

This is what confuses me about the current conversation around streaming services. It seems like everyone just wants cable again.

"everyone" in this instance being "parties that stand to profit from this business model." I don't think consumers want this at all, and I'd even go so far as to argue the only reason cable still exists as a service is that no company has found a cheap way to stream live sports.

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

#497

Post by scarface74 »

hendersoon wrote: post #493
ybahubali2018 wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am quite curious to know the existence of such services or hardware. Any pointers?

I'm not really looking to provide a piracy tutorial here and I don't use these services myself, but another poster is correct in that they're Kodi addons. Kodi runs on pretty much everything but most of the streaming boxes are cheap Chinese android boxes or Amazon FireTVs.

Everything but iPhones, iPads, AppleTVs, most smart devices and Rokus......

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

#498

Post by sp332 »

kerkeslager wrote: post #421
jaypeg25 wrote: post #400

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or just do what normal people do: 1. Search Google for movie you want to watch. 2. Google shows a handy "Available on" frame at the top of the page, with prices (if applicable) and services that it's on. 3. Click the link. 4. Watch. And you can rest easy knowing that you're not breaking the law because you're cheap and for some reason feel entitled to getting things for free.

> 2. Google shows a handy "Available on" frame at the top of the page, with prices (if applicable) and services that it's on. Does it, though? https://imgur.com/Yxac3mL I turned off my ad blocker and all other Chrome extensions and tried again before taking this screenshot, and really have no idea what you're talking about.

Yup. https://imgur.com/a/mC1TKtB

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

#499

Post by freeflight »

merlinsbrain wrote: post #311
on_and_off wrote: post #280

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…

If you’re willing to pay, why not rent from the iTunes Store / Amazon Prime? Pick one, they’ve had all the movies / TV shows I wanted to watch, which are not all mainstream. If there’s an exception and there’s something you don’t find it there - well, do you, but I really don’t understand how piracy is the default answer to convenience with people claiming they have the willingness to pay. Someone else commented abou…

> I really don’t understand how piracy is the default answer to convenience with people claiming they have the willingness to pay.

Subscription services fees can quickly add if not managed properly, so the convenience they offer completely evaporates if you force customers to juggle their subscriptions between different services to cover all their needs.

To customers that "services juggling" is pretty much the exact opposite of "convenience", but signing up for everything, all the time, is not an option for many as that would cost some serious money.

So what will most likely end up happening is that people stick to one, maybe two, services covering most of their needs, and just get whatever else they want trough means that don't require them to manage a subscription, like piracy.

It should also be mentioned that even piracy does offer paid subscriptions, where users pay money to get more convenient and reliable access to content, that's pretty much what Usenet and all debrid are.

But unlike legal streaming services, their libraries are not compartmentalized and limited by publishing rights.

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

#500

Post by sp332 »

lozaning wrote: post #382
kerkeslager wrote: post #360

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You have no idea how utterly janky Plex and torrenting is. Compare these experiences: 1. Search Netflix. Discover it's not there. 2. Search Amazon. Discover they have it, but it's not available for free as part of your subscription. 3. Search Hulu. Leave Hulu, because it's not there. 4. Finally go back to Amazon and rent the movie, not sure why you're paying for Prime if you still have to pay on top of that for hal…

Your step 1 should really be, spend enough time on the internet to gain enough clout to get invited to a private tracker, and then maintain your seed ratio so you dont get kicked off. Otherwise if you're downloading stuff off the pirate bay it's either going to get you nailed pretty quickly for IP infringement, or you'll end up with fake files and a virus thats labeled as a codec you need to install. Running a VPN or…

if you're downloading stuff off the pirate bay it's either going to get you nailed pretty quickly for IP infringement

Peer blacklists aren't perfect, but they can cut your chances of getting busted by known IP cops quite a bit.

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