6 ms·

Another point to pirating for those who are still keeping track. Especially with the recent fragmentation of the streaming market, it is time for consumers to

Another point to pirating for those who are still keeping track. Especially with the recent fragmentation of the streaming market, it is time for consumers to return to giving content producers the middle finger until they sort their shit out.

falcolas 4y ago
Or buying disks. Probably for dirt cheap prices for many of these movies. Still reasonable for long term storage and viewing. I get it, this is the failure of a service, but piracy is hardly the only option.
- mojzu 4y ago
  Buying/storing disks requires a lot of space and hardware many people do not own anymore though, plus if you want to rip them to a personal media server you still need to break the DRM which depending on the country can be illegal
  - falcolas 4y ago
    Given that we're talking about movies on the PS store, even the PS5 has an edition with a blu-ray / DVD player. If you care about being able to play media over time (including games), you'll want that disk version in the first place. Piracy still not required. More convenient, yes. But not required.
    - malka 4y ago
      Lot of stuff is no longer released in a physical form anyway. Or is not sold ouside the US.
    - juve1996 4y ago
      Piracy is more convenient and there are no consequences. You're looking at the problem incorrectly. People will pirate. Whether or not it's right or wrong is irrelevant. even if it's not "That much harder to X, Y, Z", people will do what is easiest.
  - gjsman-1000 4y ago
    > plus if you want to rip them to a personal media server you still need to break the DRM which depending on the country can be illegal And piracy isn't illegal? I know which one is definitely more legal and more ethical.
  - aidenn0 4y ago
    > Buying/storing disks requires a lot of space https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/924197-REG/case_logic_bnb_208_capacity_nylon_cd_dvd.html/?msclkid=bdc8644f1c00108d090306837c011e80 https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/924197-REG/case_logic... or https://www.amazon.com/Snap-N-Store-Double-Storage-6-125-SNS03316/dp/B071LTJ8TQ?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/Snap-N-Store-Double-Storage-6-125-SNS... > .. and hardware many people do not own anymore https://www.amazon.com/Blu-Ray-Player-External-Laptop-Burner/dp/B001TVAU0E/ref=sr_1_4 https://www.amazon.com/Blu-Ray-Player-External-Laptop-Burner... ~3 months of Netflix standard gets you storage for 100s of discs plus a drive to play them on.
  - cxr 4y ago
    > if you want to rip them to a personal media server you still need to break the DRM In the case of DVDs, you can just back them up by imaging the DVD with all parts intact—no deCSS necessary. This is partially what made DMCA anticircumvention legislation so braindead. The people hardest hit were those whose behavior was otherwise ethical and legal. The folks selling burned/counterfeit copies at the flea market or in the street, on the other hand, were undeterred, because (a) DMCA didn't make anything impossible—it just made a new class of things illegal—but the thing the bootleggers were doing (copyright infringement) was _already_ illegal! and (b) system used on DVDs restricts playback; it's not a copy protection system—because (again) if you want to copy a DVD, you can: you just make sure to copy the "DRM" parts, too.
- acomjean 4y ago
  For a lot of reasons, a lot of programming is not longer available on disks. AppleTV/Netflicks and such don't release blu-ray/dvds or a lot of programming, so if you want permanent access.. There doesn't appear to be a way to purchase a lot of content with a guarantee that you can access anytime you like.
  - falcolas 4y ago
    > There doesn't appear to be a way to purchase a lot of content with a guarantee that you can access anytime you like. This is outside the scope of the "studio canal" movies. But you're correct. And if I'm being frank (and probably being a bit of an ass too), there's no inherent right to view this content. Personally, I view this the same way I do AAA games. There's so many good games out there without all the BS of modern (read: greedy) AAA games that I don't feel the least bit of need to play them. I pay for good games, and I get to play good games. Don't let FOMO around shows and movies that companies don't want to make available in a reasonable manner control your watching habits. Pick other (often better, even if not as shiny) entertainment, and support those creators.
    - malka 4y ago
      If I cant buy (and when I mean buy, i do not mean "rent for a non specified duration"), then I pirate. If content creator want people to buy their content, then they should sell it.
      - sosborn 4y ago
        They do, it just isn't on the terms you want.
        malka 4y ago
        no they dont. Sony / amazon / apple / google can deactivate my account an any given time, and destroy all my content. Cant do that with DVD.
gjsman-1000 4y ago
No - another point to those who purchase physical media. Pirates are partially responsible for why we have DRM in the first place. Physical media (especially 4K Blu Ray Discs with their ~80-90GB movie sizes) are higher quality than pirate streams, have resale value, are fully legal, and you can share them easily with friends without them raising an eyebrow.
- _Algernon_ 4y ago
  They also still include DRM, require dedicated hardware to read, usually come out months after a series is streaming on streaming services. And Blu Ray rips can be found on torrent sites. They're not a real alternative for most people.
  - gjsman-1000 4y ago
    DRM that has been broken for, like, a decade now with software easily available for the task. As for torrenting, no reason you can't torrent first and buy later if that's what you want to do. Or heck, torrent while owning the original disc if you feel morally OK with that. They are plenty a real alternative for most people. Nobody ever said you had the right to just conveniently watch any movie you like, however you like, and never pay a dime if there is a reasonable way to pay but less convenient.
- knorker 4y ago
  > Pirates are partially responsible for why we have DRM in the first place. I'm not sure that's true. DRM has never prevented piracy. It's to the point that I'm not even sure they were trying to. > Physical media (especially 4K Blu Ray Discs with their ~80-90GB movie sizes) are higher quality Maybe, but when they even have higher fidelity they seem to always be worse in other ways. No subtitles. Subtitles that you CANNOT turn off. Subtitles only in your local country language (so no watching with visiting friends and family), even though in other countries the same movie is being sold with the "right" subtitles. Not the "good edition". Unless you have a big 4K TV you cannot even buy the quality experience that piracy provides, at any price.
silicon2401 4y ago
I started pirating once I got a seedbox and it's been great. I can get pretty much whatever media (movies, games, music, etc) I want, in any version I want, and enjoy it whenever/wherever I want. No censorship to keep things PC, no dependence on internet or streaming provider availability, just total freedom. The only tradeoff is falling down the data hoarding rabbit hole: I've accumulated about 12TB of stuff in just a couple of years so I have to figure out how to upgrade from my external HDD setup (or if I should just keep buying external HDDs).
- wincy 4y ago
  With just a few Apple Shortcuts and communication with an API and my seedbox is dead simple to use. My wife can browse a torrent site, hit a shortcut which grabs the magnet link (which is normally incompatible with iOS and is super annoying) does a POST to my seedbox BitTorrent api (included in the BitTorrent client!) and have basically anything ready to watch five minutes later on PLEX.
  - chriswait 4y ago
    I don't suppose you could share which site(s) you're using these days? I recently tried torrenting for the first time in a while, and it seems like many of the sites I used to use (e.g PB, KAT) are either dead or mining crypto.
    - wincy 4y ago
      I use rarbg. I have to go there without my VPN on a different device than my seedbox as they block VPN traffic to the actual site sometimes.

falcolas 4y ago

Or buying disks. Probably for dirt cheap prices for many of these movies. Still reasonable for long term storage and viewing. I get it, this is the failure of a service, but piracy is hardly the only option.

mojzu 4y ago
Buying/storing disks requires a lot of space and hardware many people do not own anymore though, plus if you want to rip them to a personal media server you still need to break the DRM which depending on the country can be illegal
- falcolas 4y ago
  Given that we're talking about movies on the PS store, even the PS5 has an edition with a blu-ray / DVD player. If you care about being able to play media over time (including games), you'll want that disk version in the first place. Piracy still not required. More convenient, yes. But not required.
  - malka 4y ago
    Lot of stuff is no longer released in a physical form anyway. Or is not sold ouside the US.
  - juve1996 4y ago
    Piracy is more convenient and there are no consequences. You're looking at the problem incorrectly. People will pirate. Whether or not it's right or wrong is irrelevant. even if it's not "That much harder to X, Y, Z", people will do what is easiest.
- gjsman-1000 4y ago
  > plus if you want to rip them to a personal media server you still need to break the DRM which depending on the country can be illegal And piracy isn't illegal? I know which one is definitely more legal and more ethical.
- aidenn0 4y ago
  > Buying/storing disks requires a lot of space https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/924197-REG/case_logic_bnb_208_capacity_nylon_cd_dvd.html/?msclkid=bdc8644f1c00108d090306837c011e80 https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/924197-REG/case_logic... or https://www.amazon.com/Snap-N-Store-Double-Storage-6-125-SNS03316/dp/B071LTJ8TQ?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/Snap-N-Store-Double-Storage-6-125-SNS... > .. and hardware many people do not own anymore https://www.amazon.com/Blu-Ray-Player-External-Laptop-Burner/dp/B001TVAU0E/ref=sr_1_4 https://www.amazon.com/Blu-Ray-Player-External-Laptop-Burner... ~3 months of Netflix standard gets you storage for 100s of discs plus a drive to play them on.
- cxr 4y ago
  > if you want to rip them to a personal media server you still need to break the DRM In the case of DVDs, you can just back them up by imaging the DVD with all parts intact—no deCSS necessary. This is partially what made DMCA anticircumvention legislation so braindead. The people hardest hit were those whose behavior was otherwise ethical and legal. The folks selling burned/counterfeit copies at the flea market or in the street, on the other hand, were undeterred, because (a) DMCA didn't make anything impossible—it just made a new class of things illegal—but the thing the bootleggers were doing (copyright infringement) was _already_ illegal! and (b) system used on DVDs restricts playback; it's not a copy protection system—because (again) if you want to copy a DVD, you can: you just make sure to copy the "DRM" parts, too.
acomjean 4y ago
For a lot of reasons, a lot of programming is not longer available on disks. AppleTV/Netflicks and such don't release blu-ray/dvds or a lot of programming, so if you want permanent access.. There doesn't appear to be a way to purchase a lot of content with a guarantee that you can access anytime you like.
- falcolas 4y ago
  > There doesn't appear to be a way to purchase a lot of content with a guarantee that you can access anytime you like. This is outside the scope of the "studio canal" movies. But you're correct. And if I'm being frank (and probably being a bit of an ass too), there's no inherent right to view this content. Personally, I view this the same way I do AAA games. There's so many good games out there without all the BS of modern (read: greedy) AAA games that I don't feel the least bit of need to play them. I pay for good games, and I get to play good games. Don't let FOMO around shows and movies that companies don't want to make available in a reasonable manner control your watching habits. Pick other (often better, even if not as shiny) entertainment, and support those creators.
  - malka 4y ago
    If I cant buy (and when I mean buy, i do not mean "rent for a non specified duration"), then I pirate. If content creator want people to buy their content, then they should sell it.
    - sosborn 4y ago
      They do, it just isn't on the terms you want.
      - malka 4y ago
        no they dont. Sony / amazon / apple / google can deactivate my account an any given time, and destroy all my content. Cant do that with DVD.

gjsman-1000 4y ago

No - another point to those who purchase physical media. Pirates are partially responsible for why we have DRM in the first place. Physical media (especially 4K Blu Ray Discs with their ~80-90GB movie sizes) are higher quality than pirate streams, have resale value, are fully legal, and you can share them easily with friends without them raising an eyebrow.

_Algernon_ 4y ago
They also still include DRM, require dedicated hardware to read, usually come out months after a series is streaming on streaming services. And Blu Ray rips can be found on torrent sites. They're not a real alternative for most people.
- gjsman-1000 4y ago
  DRM that has been broken for, like, a decade now with software easily available for the task. As for torrenting, no reason you can't torrent first and buy later if that's what you want to do. Or heck, torrent while owning the original disc if you feel morally OK with that. They are plenty a real alternative for most people. Nobody ever said you had the right to just conveniently watch any movie you like, however you like, and never pay a dime if there is a reasonable way to pay but less convenient.
knorker 4y ago
> Pirates are partially responsible for why we have DRM in the first place. I'm not sure that's true. DRM has never prevented piracy. It's to the point that I'm not even sure they were trying to. > Physical media (especially 4K Blu Ray Discs with their ~80-90GB movie sizes) are higher quality Maybe, but when they even have higher fidelity they seem to always be worse in other ways. No subtitles. Subtitles that you CANNOT turn off. Subtitles only in your local country language (so no watching with visiting friends and family), even though in other countries the same movie is being sold with the "right" subtitles. Not the "good edition". Unless you have a big 4K TV you cannot even buy the quality experience that piracy provides, at any price.

silicon2401 4y ago

I started pirating once I got a seedbox and it's been great. I can get pretty much whatever media (movies, games, music, etc) I want, in any version I want, and enjoy it whenever/wherever I want. No censorship to keep things PC, no dependence on internet or streaming provider availability, just total freedom. The only tradeoff is falling down the data hoarding rabbit hole: I've accumulated about 12TB of stuff in just a couple of years so I have to figure out how to upgrade from my external HDD setup (or if I should just keep buying external HDDs).

wincy 4y ago
With just a few Apple Shortcuts and communication with an API and my seedbox is dead simple to use. My wife can browse a torrent site, hit a shortcut which grabs the magnet link (which is normally incompatible with iOS and is super annoying) does a POST to my seedbox BitTorrent api (included in the BitTorrent client!) and have basically anything ready to watch five minutes later on PLEX.
- chriswait 4y ago
  I don't suppose you could share which site(s) you're using these days? I recently tried torrenting for the first time in a while, and it seems like many of the sites I used to use (e.g PB, KAT) are either dead or mining crypto.
  - wincy 4y ago
    I use rarbg. I have to go there without my VPN on a different device than my seedbox as they block VPN traffic to the actual site sometimes.