5 ms·

Does it though? Ten years ago it was trivial to surf to your local bay of pirates and get a copy of just about any popular film or series. This is still possibl

Does it though? Ten years ago it was trivial to surf to your local bay of pirates and get a copy of just about any popular film or series. This is still possible (hypothetically of course), but it takes a lot more effort (finding and joining trustworthy private trackers or setting up newsgroups), precaution (VPN, OPSEC), and diligence. But that's not because DRM works. Getting a digital copy of some bit of media is still trivial. Netflix forcing its DRM on its customers doesn't mean that you can't illegally download Stranger Things in excellent quality, and their DRM doesn't slow anyone dedicated to doing so down at all. In fact, Netflix could stream all their stuff without DRM, and nothing would change (with one exception I'll come to in a bit). What's made piracy harder is a combination of factors: * The legal way is often easier (just pay Netflix a small monthly sum and watch stuff) * The legal way suffices for a lot of people * Getting caught infringing copyright has serious consequences in many countries * Downloading files from shady sources puts your computer at risk (Windows in particular; e.g., ransomware) If Netflix turned off all their DRM tomorrow, then perhaps some pirates would have a slightly easier way to source their material, but otherwise nothing would change. Except that the end-user gets a better experience. At this moment Netflix is refusing to serve 1080p video content to anyone who uses a free operating system and free browser, because 'the DRM isn't good enough'. For 4k the rules are even more stringent; you need Microsoft Windows, Edge, and pre-approved trusted-platform capable hardware (which includes the monitor/TV). For the rest of us, Netflix and the major content studios begrudgingly allow us to watch 720p video on our way too open computers. This isn't about protecting the media streams from piracy, this is about making sure that the future of media consumption means consumers will run the media producers' software, using their rules, on hardware they control. We are not supposed to run our own HTPC, or do clever things with media we pay for (e.g., letting an algorithm watch ahead to warn the user of scenes with strobe light effects for epileptic patients, as the EFF mentions, or simply controlling a string of LED lights behind your screen for added effect, or downloading the streams to watch on holiday, or cut fragments out of a stream to use as samples in a lawful manner (e.g., a blog about films, or some cultural analysis), or …).

annabellish 9y ago
Huh? It's still trivial to pirate media. Grab a copy of the Tor browser, go to the same pirate bay you used ten years ago, download the same content you did then. Zero investment, it's just as straightforward. The legal options have improved, but the illegal ones are still there and just as good.
- Freak_NL 9y ago
  That's trivial to us (hypothetically), not to the average consumer who is, quite frankly, well-advised not to risk getting 'fined' in an out-of-court settlement for infringing copyright. And how do they even know if they're on the real Piratebay? The original domains are blocked in many countries. TOR? VPN? These require knowledge or guidance; doable, but not zero investment.
  - ryanlol 9y ago
    If you can google, you can find a mirror or a clone. Whether it is the real pirate bay or not doesn’t matter, you could never trust TPB.
    - on_and_off 9y ago
      why is that ?
      - ryanlol 9y ago
        Why is what? You can find things with google because it's a search engine, that's what it's for. You can't trust TPB because the content is user generated, TPB does not do much to stop people from uploading malicious content and boosting it to top10 by seeding with bots.
  - AlexandrB 9y ago
    > That's trivial to us (hypothetically), not to the average consumer who is, quite frankly, well-advised not to risk getting 'fined' in an out-of-court settlement for infringing copyright. Pirating content has gotten SO easy that my elderly parents do it regularly by simply searching for streams of movies they want to see on google. DRM has stopped none of this - and the risks of getting drive-by malware are an afterthought to most people.
gear54rus 9y ago
> At this moment Netflix is refusing to server 1080p video content to anyone who uses a free operating system and free browser, because 'the DRM isn't good enough'. For 4k the rules are even more stringent; you need Microsoft Windows, Edge, and pre-approved trusted-platform capable hardware (which includes the monitor/TV). Hahahah, amazes me how people still use that crap. Why not pirate it instead and give them a big fuck you with those restrictions?
- Freak_NL 9y ago
  Because it is a fiendish dilemma. Most people are fine to obligingly use proprietary apps on approved operating systems to gain access to the content, so if you care about remunerating content producers, and watching the media by means of open technologies that work on any modern operating system, then supporting Netflix is currently one way to do so. But you are right, the downside is that my account is effectively limited to 720p because of complete non-sense. The sad thing is that any competition (e.g., Amazon Prime) appears to follow the same rules as far as I can tell: sure, you can use your browser, for now, but nothing over 720p for you until you run our software outside of that sandbox of a browser on a verified trusted operating system. I'm not sure where my point of rejection of this deal lies.
- briandear 9y ago
  So stealing is ok? Who pays for that content you pirate?
  - andrepd 9y ago
    Copying is not stealing.
  - quadrangle 9y ago
    It's freeriding not stealing. Same sense as burglary is not murder or as obnoxiousness isn't assault etc. So freeriding is ok? Who pays for creating that content you enjoy? See, now we have a useful phrasing that actually can be discussed and brings up real issues.
  - khedoros1 9y ago
saas_co_de 9y ago
It is far easier to access pirated media today and with far higher quality than 10 years ago. The kids are using unlicensed streaming sites and get anything they want in the browser at the click of a button.
YSFEJ4SWJUVU6 9y ago
>For the rest of us, Netflix and the major content studios begrudgingly allow us to watch 720p video on our way too open computers. I wish they even gave this, but at least in here, many mainstream flicks are of even worse quality (although this restriction on some content seems to apply even on Windows and Edge browser, at least on my computers). Not that it really matters what's the nominal resolution of a 1000 kbps stream anyway (and lately Netflix has removed the option to see the actual resolution of the video I think), however... ... selling out the free web got us so much indeed.

annabellish 9y ago

Huh? It's still trivial to pirate media. Grab a copy of the Tor browser, go to the same pirate bay you used ten years ago, download the same content you did then. Zero investment, it's just as straightforward. The legal options have improved, but the illegal ones are still there and just as good.

Freak_NL 9y ago
That's trivial to us (hypothetically), not to the average consumer who is, quite frankly, well-advised not to risk getting 'fined' in an out-of-court settlement for infringing copyright. And how do they even know if they're on the real Piratebay? The original domains are blocked in many countries. TOR? VPN? These require knowledge or guidance; doable, but not zero investment.
- ryanlol 9y ago
  If you can google, you can find a mirror or a clone. Whether it is the real pirate bay or not doesn’t matter, you could never trust TPB.
  - on_and_off 9y ago
    why is that ?
    - ryanlol 9y ago
      Why is what? You can find things with google because it's a search engine, that's what it's for. You can't trust TPB because the content is user generated, TPB does not do much to stop people from uploading malicious content and boosting it to top10 by seeding with bots.
- AlexandrB 9y ago
  > That's trivial to us (hypothetically), not to the average consumer who is, quite frankly, well-advised not to risk getting 'fined' in an out-of-court settlement for infringing copyright. Pirating content has gotten SO easy that my elderly parents do it regularly by simply searching for streams of movies they want to see on google. DRM has stopped none of this - and the risks of getting drive-by malware are an afterthought to most people.

gear54rus 9y ago

> At this moment Netflix is refusing to server 1080p video content to anyone who uses a free operating system and free browser, because 'the DRM isn't good enough'. For 4k the rules are even more stringent; you need Microsoft Windows, Edge, and pre-approved trusted-platform capable hardware (which includes the monitor/TV). Hahahah, amazes me how people still use that crap. Why not pirate it instead and give them a big fuck you with those restrictions?

Freak_NL 9y ago
Because it is a fiendish dilemma. Most people are fine to obligingly use proprietary apps on approved operating systems to gain access to the content, so if you care about remunerating content producers, and watching the media by means of open technologies that work on any modern operating system, then supporting Netflix is currently one way to do so. But you are right, the downside is that my account is effectively limited to 720p because of complete non-sense. The sad thing is that any competition (e.g., Amazon Prime) appears to follow the same rules as far as I can tell: sure, you can use your browser, for now, but nothing over 720p for you until you run our software outside of that sandbox of a browser on a verified trusted operating system. I'm not sure where my point of rejection of this deal lies.
briandear 9y ago
So stealing is ok? Who pays for that content you pirate?
- andrepd 9y ago
  Copying is not stealing.
- quadrangle 9y ago
  It's freeriding not stealing. Same sense as burglary is not murder or as obnoxiousness isn't assault etc. So freeriding is ok? Who pays for creating that content you enjoy? See, now we have a useful phrasing that actually can be discussed and brings up real issues.
- khedoros1 9y ago

saas_co_de 9y ago

It is far easier to access pirated media today and with far higher quality than 10 years ago. The kids are using unlicensed streaming sites and get anything they want in the browser at the click of a button.

YSFEJ4SWJUVU6 9y ago

>For the rest of us, Netflix and the major content studios begrudgingly allow us to watch 720p video on our way too open computers. I wish they even gave this, but at least in here, many mainstream flicks are of even worse quality (although this restriction on some content seems to apply even on Windows and Edge browser, at least on my computers). Not that it really matters what's the nominal resolution of a 1000 kbps stream anyway (and lately Netflix has removed the option to see the actual resolution of the video I think), however... ... selling out the free web got us so much indeed.