8 ms·

The cat and mouse game continues. Remember The Pirate Bay? Why don't studios have their own similar sites where they allow free torrents of some shows and off

by kayman 10y ago

The cat and mouse game continues. Remember The Pirate Bay? Why don't studios have their own similar sites where they allow free torrents of some shows and offer paid torrents. As a busy person, I'd much rather pay for something which guarantees: - high quality - no subtitles - no buffering issues - no viruses - click and play

gmuslera 10y ago
Add "no backdoors" to the mix. Something that some of those studios (i.e. Sony) intentionally gave to their faithful clients.
- huac 10y ago
  Virus, backdoor, what's the difference really?
- gear54rus 10y ago
  Can you please share the story you're on about?
  - ht85 10y ago
    Google "Sony Rootkit DLC"
    - gear54rus 10y ago
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootk... > Although the software isn't directly malicious, the used rootkit hiding techniques are exactly the same used by malicious software to hide themselves. The DRM software will cause many similar false alarms with all AV software that detect rootkits. ... Thus it is very inappropriate for commercial software to use these techniques. > In order to download the uninstaller, he found it was necessary to provide an e-mail address (which the Sony BMG Privacy Policy implied was added to various bulk e-mail lists), and to install an ActiveX control containing backdoor methods (marked as "safe for scripting", and thus prone to exploits). Freakin' unbelievable. And I have to pay for that shit if I'm someone who is willing to be sony's paying customer...
  - ojii 10y ago
    I assume they're referring to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Copy_Protection https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Copy_Protection
serge2k 10y ago
You mean like netflix/hulu/hbo now/AIV (+ prime) Generally hits good enough on all categories. of course torrents still win in content. Especially newer movies. I want to watch a newer movie. Is it on netflix/hulu/hbo/prime? Nope Is it on AIV paid? Yes. How much? 20 dollars. That's too much for a movie I probably will only watch once. Any other options? At best a rental on AIV for a few bucks. That's pretty borderline. I'd pay that to see a movie I really want to see, but for one I'm taking a risk on it's a bit much. I'd pay more for Netflix if it meant they get those new movies quicker. People seem to lose their shit when they announce a 1 dollar price increase though. Ridiculous, but there you go. vs torrents I can just go into a webapp and pick out a movie. It gets downloaded and organized for me. I can watch it on my PC, my TV, via streaming, copy it to my iPad. Whatever. Easy, reasonably quick, free. Downside is it's illegal and immoral. I avoid pirating any content that I can easily access (I have some older shows that never made it past DVD, and are hard to find in general), because there really is no justification. When I was a student and content was mostly in expensive blu rays, I absolutely pirated.
- necessity 10y ago
  Those are streaming websites, correct? I downlowd my music instead of using spotfy so I can listen to it where and when I want, the same with movies. HBO Go I would pay for though as I rather watch their shows as soon as they come out than download it later. But it's not available in my country.
  - toomanybeersies 10y ago
    Spotify does allow you to save your music for listening offline.
    - necessity 10y ago
      With DRM?
mason55 10y ago
You can do all of those things on iTunes or Amazon Video. Why would the movie studios run their own content distribution when it gives them little competitive advantage.
- ekianjo 10y ago
  No you can't, all the content there is DRM'ed. I believe many people care about running their videos where they like. For example, Amazon video does not work at all on Linux because there is no DRM support there.
  - 2bitencryption 10y ago
    You're confusing streaming (renting) with purchasing. On iTunes, EVERYTHING is DRM free. If you purchase it, you get a mp4 (or mov), and that's it. No DRM. So nothing is stopping you from paying for much of this content legally.
    - stordoff 10y ago
      Unless there has been a recent change (and I can't find anything on Google to suggest that), iTunes videos still have Fairplay DRM.
    - mcyukon 10y ago
      Not quite, Music you buy on iTunes does not have DRM and will play anywhere you copy it too. However it has your name, Apple ID, and email embedded into the MP3 file and anyone you share the file with can use a tool like exiftool to look at the embedded info. Movies are another thing, they appear to be DRM free as long as they are on a machine that is authorized with the purchasers Apple ID. Once copied to a computer that isn't authorized, the movie will either refuse to open or ask you to authorize the computer with the purchasers Apple ID because once again all your info is embedded into the file. And if that wasn't bad enough, if you try to play a iTunes bough movie on a external device that does not support HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Copy Protection) it will also refuse to play. I got burned by this once. There once was a way to remove all the crap Apple puts in their movies, but the software that could strip it out hasn't been updated for ages now.
simbalion 10y ago
Because the people who run those companies are literally extremely old, very ignorant about technology, and they do not care what people want, only what they perceive as the best money-making investment. They don't want change, they want business as usual, but their business model is dead, it's dead and rotting and they are going to accept that one of these days. Meanwhile pirates will keep stealing their worthless products.
- kayman 10y ago
  I think you hit the nail on the head. There is big generation gap on how the execs view the business model vs how their teenagers are using the product. And as the new generation slowly takes over, the model will evolve. Evolve or die right!
  - eggy 10y ago
    I agree mostly with this, but I am not sure it is all generational gap, or that large entities move slowly. Also see my comment above about IP and copyright in reference to Zara copying an indie artist's designs and placing the patches on their clothing. How come it is not ok when the shoe is on the other foot? To be clear, I am sincerely asking here, since I go through bouts of taking one side then the other on music, movies, copyright, and other IP.
    - simbalion 10y ago
      It's not different legally, they both have a right to protect their intellectual property. There is a case to be made that people should have a human right to see or consume any media which might be enriching to their lives, even if they can't afford to. But seeing a movie is not the same as archiving and distributing that movie. In my opinion, software and movie piracy is a side-effect of an industry that does not properly serve it's own market. Whether it's right or wrong doesn't play a role in that. Smart people would recognize that they are playing the game wrong, and they would have adapted their model by now. Some have tried, Netflix is a great effort to move in the right direction but it's been crippled by the idiotic licensing structure of the pre-internet business model. Without getting into debates about morality or ethics, the MPAA and RIAA are getting what they deserve for responding to these challenges by responding with hostility toward their own consumers. They have not responded properly to the situation, and they dug themselves into further trouble.

by kayman 10y ago

gmuslera 10y ago

Add "no backdoors" to the mix. Something that some of those studios (i.e. Sony) intentionally gave to their faithful clients.

huac 10y ago
Virus, backdoor, what's the difference really?
gear54rus 10y ago
Can you please share the story you're on about?
- ht85 10y ago
  Google "Sony Rootkit DLC"
  - gear54rus 10y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootk... > Although the software isn't directly malicious, the used rootkit hiding techniques are exactly the same used by malicious software to hide themselves. The DRM software will cause many similar false alarms with all AV software that detect rootkits. ... Thus it is very inappropriate for commercial software to use these techniques. > In order to download the uninstaller, he found it was necessary to provide an e-mail address (which the Sony BMG Privacy Policy implied was added to various bulk e-mail lists), and to install an ActiveX control containing backdoor methods (marked as "safe for scripting", and thus prone to exploits). Freakin' unbelievable. And I have to pay for that shit if I'm someone who is willing to be sony's paying customer...
- ojii 10y ago
  I assume they're referring to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Copy_Protection https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Copy_Protection

serge2k 10y ago

You mean like netflix/hulu/hbo now/AIV (+ prime) Generally hits good enough on all categories. of course torrents still win in content. Especially newer movies. I want to watch a newer movie. Is it on netflix/hulu/hbo/prime? Nope Is it on AIV paid? Yes. How much? 20 dollars. That's too much for a movie I probably will only watch once. Any other options? At best a rental on AIV for a few bucks. That's pretty borderline. I'd pay that to see a movie I really want to see, but for one I'm taking a risk on it's a bit much. I'd pay more for Netflix if it meant they get those new movies quicker. People seem to lose their shit when they announce a 1 dollar price increase though. Ridiculous, but there you go. vs torrents I can just go into a webapp and pick out a movie. It gets downloaded and organized for me. I can watch it on my PC, my TV, via streaming, copy it to my iPad. Whatever. Easy, reasonably quick, free. Downside is it's illegal and immoral. I avoid pirating any content that I can easily access (I have some older shows that never made it past DVD, and are hard to find in general), because there really is no justification. When I was a student and content was mostly in expensive blu rays, I absolutely pirated.

necessity 10y ago
Those are streaming websites, correct? I downlowd my music instead of using spotfy so I can listen to it where and when I want, the same with movies. HBO Go I would pay for though as I rather watch their shows as soon as they come out than download it later. But it's not available in my country.
- toomanybeersies 10y ago
  Spotify does allow you to save your music for listening offline.
  - necessity 10y ago
    With DRM?

mason55 10y ago

You can do all of those things on iTunes or Amazon Video. Why would the movie studios run their own content distribution when it gives them little competitive advantage.

ekianjo 10y ago
No you can't, all the content there is DRM'ed. I believe many people care about running their videos where they like. For example, Amazon video does not work at all on Linux because there is no DRM support there.
- 2bitencryption 10y ago
  You're confusing streaming (renting) with purchasing. On iTunes, EVERYTHING is DRM free. If you purchase it, you get a mp4 (or mov), and that's it. No DRM. So nothing is stopping you from paying for much of this content legally.
  - stordoff 10y ago
    Unless there has been a recent change (and I can't find anything on Google to suggest that), iTunes videos still have Fairplay DRM.
  - mcyukon 10y ago
    Not quite, Music you buy on iTunes does not have DRM and will play anywhere you copy it too. However it has your name, Apple ID, and email embedded into the MP3 file and anyone you share the file with can use a tool like exiftool to look at the embedded info. Movies are another thing, they appear to be DRM free as long as they are on a machine that is authorized with the purchasers Apple ID. Once copied to a computer that isn't authorized, the movie will either refuse to open or ask you to authorize the computer with the purchasers Apple ID because once again all your info is embedded into the file. And if that wasn't bad enough, if you try to play a iTunes bough movie on a external device that does not support HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Copy Protection) it will also refuse to play. I got burned by this once. There once was a way to remove all the crap Apple puts in their movies, but the software that could strip it out hasn't been updated for ages now.

simbalion 10y ago

Because the people who run those companies are literally extremely old, very ignorant about technology, and they do not care what people want, only what they perceive as the best money-making investment. They don't want change, they want business as usual, but their business model is dead, it's dead and rotting and they are going to accept that one of these days. Meanwhile pirates will keep stealing their worthless products.

kayman 10y ago
I think you hit the nail on the head. There is big generation gap on how the execs view the business model vs how their teenagers are using the product. And as the new generation slowly takes over, the model will evolve. Evolve or die right!
- eggy 10y ago
  I agree mostly with this, but I am not sure it is all generational gap, or that large entities move slowly. Also see my comment above about IP and copyright in reference to Zara copying an indie artist's designs and placing the patches on their clothing. How come it is not ok when the shoe is on the other foot? To be clear, I am sincerely asking here, since I go through bouts of taking one side then the other on music, movies, copyright, and other IP.
  - simbalion 10y ago
    It's not different legally, they both have a right to protect their intellectual property. There is a case to be made that people should have a human right to see or consume any media which might be enriching to their lives, even if they can't afford to. But seeing a movie is not the same as archiving and distributing that movie. In my opinion, software and movie piracy is a side-effect of an industry that does not properly serve it's own market. Whether it's right or wrong doesn't play a role in that. Smart people would recognize that they are playing the game wrong, and they would have adapted their model by now. Some have tried, Netflix is a great effort to move in the right direction but it's been crippled by the idiotic licensing structure of the pre-internet business model. Without getting into debates about morality or ethics, the MPAA and RIAA are getting what they deserve for responding to these challenges by responding with hostility toward their own consumers. They have not responded properly to the situation, and they dug themselves into further trouble.