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> However, for movies and TV shows I need to pay for like 5 services to get all the movies and TV shows that I need. No way I am paying all those. These servic

> However, for movies and TV shows I need to pay for like 5 services to get all the movies and TV shows that I need. No way I am paying all those. These services are also very georestricted, even if you might want to pay, it might not be possible. What's worse is that streaming or lending services rarely adjust prices to match purchasing power. If you're in the wrong country you'll practically pay three or ten times as much and get one tenth the content.

matheusmoreira 4y ago
Not only do we get a fraction of all available content due region locking, the quality of the content we do get is abysmal. Netflix has compression artifacts on 90% black frames. It actually hurts to watch highly dynamic footage or any scene containing color gradients. Other streaming platforms are even worse. It's honestly insulting that this is what I get as a paying customer while copyright infringement offers me immaculate encodes sourced from blu-rays at zero cost.
- Avamander 4y ago
  > The quality of the content we do get is abysmal You must have a very specific blessed hardware to actually get what you're paying for. Then you have to hope that the provider isn't automatically picking lower quality for your "viewing experience". The native Netflix Windows app allows you to watch 4K HDR video with Atmos, that's about it with a PC. The app hasn't been updated for four years, can't do optical surround audio and hardware decoding is broken with older Nvidia graphics cards. What a wondrous experience. Pirates on the other hand can just wait for the content to download and watch it offline, with whatever OS, whenever, with any HDMI cable or screen. Disclaimer, Dolby Vision is still more nuanced because how closed it is, but it's still less restrictive.
  - matheusmoreira 4y ago
    > You must have a very specific blessed hardware to actually get what you're paying for. Yeah. Running Linux in order to enjoy your computing freedom? They can't own our computer and prevent us from copying so they simply refuse to do business with people like us. Guess copyright infringement is our only option. > Then you have to hope that the provider isn't automatically picking lower quality for your "viewing experience". Even on my 100+ megabits/second link they do this. Would it kill them to allow me to download the whole thing ahead of time so I can watch offline and in high quality? Download the next episode while I'm watching the current one? Connection goes down? The content just stops playing. Reminds me of satellite TV and the loss of service due to weather. "Pirates" just don't have any of these problems. > The native Netflix Windows app allows you to watch 4K HDR video with Atmos, that's about it with a PC. The app hasn't been updated for four years, can't do optical surround audio and hardware decoding is broken with older Nvidia graphics cards. What a wondrous experience. God I hate the streaming platform software so much. I can't even begin to describe how much it sucks. Something simple like seeking or even rewinding 5-10 seconds is such a aggravating experience, it's actually trained me not to even attempt it anymore. On mpv I can just use arrow keys and it does what I asked it to do instantly. We had better software than this in the 90s. > Pirates on the other hand can just wait for the content to download and watch it offline, with whatever OS, whenever, with any HDMI cable or screen. Yeah. That's what we get for trying to support creators: companies that give less of a shit about quality than literal enthusiasts sharing files online for the love of it. One would think these corporations worth zillions of dollars would be able to beat these amateurs when it comes to offering superior service. Nope.
    - account42 4y ago
      I really don't understand why streaming is so commonly accepted. Why do people tolerate online requirements for non-live content. Why would anyone be OK with having to run specific closed source software to play back non-interactive content rather than being able to freely choose the software that suites them independendly of the content.

matheusmoreira 4y ago

Not only do we get a fraction of all available content due region locking, the quality of the content we do get is abysmal. Netflix has compression artifacts on 90% black frames. It actually hurts to watch highly dynamic footage or any scene containing color gradients. Other streaming platforms are even worse. It's honestly insulting that this is what I get as a paying customer while copyright infringement offers me immaculate encodes sourced from blu-rays at zero cost.

Avamander 4y ago
> The quality of the content we do get is abysmal You must have a very specific blessed hardware to actually get what you're paying for. Then you have to hope that the provider isn't automatically picking lower quality for your "viewing experience". The native Netflix Windows app allows you to watch 4K HDR video with Atmos, that's about it with a PC. The app hasn't been updated for four years, can't do optical surround audio and hardware decoding is broken with older Nvidia graphics cards. What a wondrous experience. Pirates on the other hand can just wait for the content to download and watch it offline, with whatever OS, whenever, with any HDMI cable or screen. Disclaimer, Dolby Vision is still more nuanced because how closed it is, but it's still less restrictive.
- matheusmoreira 4y ago
  > You must have a very specific blessed hardware to actually get what you're paying for. Yeah. Running Linux in order to enjoy your computing freedom? They can't own our computer and prevent us from copying so they simply refuse to do business with people like us. Guess copyright infringement is our only option. > Then you have to hope that the provider isn't automatically picking lower quality for your "viewing experience". Even on my 100+ megabits/second link they do this. Would it kill them to allow me to download the whole thing ahead of time so I can watch offline and in high quality? Download the next episode while I'm watching the current one? Connection goes down? The content just stops playing. Reminds me of satellite TV and the loss of service due to weather. "Pirates" just don't have any of these problems. > The native Netflix Windows app allows you to watch 4K HDR video with Atmos, that's about it with a PC. The app hasn't been updated for four years, can't do optical surround audio and hardware decoding is broken with older Nvidia graphics cards. What a wondrous experience. God I hate the streaming platform software so much. I can't even begin to describe how much it sucks. Something simple like seeking or even rewinding 5-10 seconds is such a aggravating experience, it's actually trained me not to even attempt it anymore. On mpv I can just use arrow keys and it does what I asked it to do instantly. We had better software than this in the 90s. > Pirates on the other hand can just wait for the content to download and watch it offline, with whatever OS, whenever, with any HDMI cable or screen. Yeah. That's what we get for trying to support creators: companies that give less of a shit about quality than literal enthusiasts sharing files online for the love of it. One would think these corporations worth zillions of dollars would be able to beat these amateurs when it comes to offering superior service. Nope.
  - account42 4y ago
    I really don't understand why streaming is so commonly accepted. Why do people tolerate online requirements for non-live content. Why would anyone be OK with having to run specific closed source software to play back non-interactive content rather than being able to freely choose the software that suites them independendly of the content.