8 ms·

So your thesis is that piracy is cheaper. Ok thanks.

by BulgarianIdiot 4y ago

jwozn 4y ago
Plex isn't necessarily piracy.
- oliwarner 4y ago
  I upvoted this because it's technically true, but common "legal" use-cases involve format shifting and that puts you out of bounds straight away, depending on your jurisdiction. Even if your area allows it for "backups" or interop, you're making it available in multiple locations at once. I'm sure it wouldn't take much to demonstrate this was some sort of performance or other act explicitly disallowed by the EULA. But I'm sure you're just sharing Big Buck Bunny ;) My point isn't that it's illegal, only that it's disingenuous enough to suggest it is legal. Plex definitely lies in a grey area of tolerated home use, with features that turn it into a piracy nightmare.
  - rvschuilenburg 4y ago
    Couldn't the same be said about allowing others to use your Netflex account? I think Netflix is licensing you access to their library, and not that friend who uses your account.
    - oliwarner 4y ago
      Yes, that's exactly the argument Rightsholder groups in the UK are making. They claim it's piracy, the same as if you downloaded it yourself.
nickthegreek 4y ago
Their thesis is that he isnt using more concurrent streams that he is paying for and if the company wants to start putting additional limitations on this concurrent streams, its not worth the headache anymore.
ZeroCool2u 4y ago
It wasn't necessarily cheaper in terms of effort until now and I prefer to support the content creators. But I already pay over $20/month and for what? I barely use it, same with my Wife. The one person that does use it the most is getting blocked, so I have a hard time seeing a reasonable alternative.
gary_0 4y ago
"Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem." - Gabe Newell, 10+ years ago Once upon a time, Netflix itself was considered the case in point! Then video streaming splintered into a dozen services and now Netflix has decided to make things even more complicated. People don't learn, I guess.
- mc32 4y ago
  I think that's a bit unfair. Businesses go through business cycles. I never worked there, nor have insight (obviously) but you know the business climate changes, your competitors change and you have to adjust or experience consequences. Sometimes you need to grow subscriptions, sometimes you need to grow revenue, sometimes you have more flexibility, and sometimes less (Netflix has to re-enter agreements with content owners and creators and those can change and they have to adjust and also business changes). However, it seems people only envision greedy accountants and Executives rubbing hands at the prospect.
  - nscalf 4y ago
    Once you go public you have no option other than to just grow at all costs. The cost of Netflix pushing growth is turning consumer sentiment against them by cracking down on account sharing and pushing ads into the service. Netflix had a gross profit of $12.44B in 2022. Why not preserve the large, successful business that consumers have a high opinion of instead of push for further profits? The truth is that Netflix could continue profiting billions per year more or less indefinitely without risking the company by shifting focus from growth, and the only people who would be upset about it would be shareholders. And the only reason they'd be upset is because of greed. They could stop trying to grow and be a strong dividend company overnight.
    - mc32 4y ago
      It's not that simple. Their "greed" affords "those" investors the ability to invest those earnings in other up and comers --some of which may fail and some of which may succeed. If everyone was just happy with going an even course, at scale, the economy would stagnate.
beeb 4y ago
Using Plex and downloading movies for personal use is legal in some countries like Switzerland.
Nullabillity 4y ago
Goodwill was the only argument they had. Burning that up seems like a great way to kill what income streams they had.
wellthisisgreat 4y ago
Yeah it was less convenient and now it will be more convenient.

So your thesis is that piracy is cheaper. Ok thanks.

jwozn 4y ago

Plex isn't necessarily piracy.

oliwarner 4y ago
I upvoted this because it's technically true, but common "legal" use-cases involve format shifting and that puts you out of bounds straight away, depending on your jurisdiction. Even if your area allows it for "backups" or interop, you're making it available in multiple locations at once. I'm sure it wouldn't take much to demonstrate this was some sort of performance or other act explicitly disallowed by the EULA. But I'm sure you're just sharing Big Buck Bunny ;) My point isn't that it's illegal, only that it's disingenuous enough to suggest it is legal. Plex definitely lies in a grey area of tolerated home use, with features that turn it into a piracy nightmare.
- rvschuilenburg 4y ago
  Couldn't the same be said about allowing others to use your Netflex account? I think Netflix is licensing you access to their library, and not that friend who uses your account.
  - oliwarner 4y ago
    Yes, that's exactly the argument Rightsholder groups in the UK are making. They claim it's piracy, the same as if you downloaded it yourself.

nickthegreek 4y ago

Their thesis is that he isnt using more concurrent streams that he is paying for and if the company wants to start putting additional limitations on this concurrent streams, its not worth the headache anymore.

ZeroCool2u 4y ago

It wasn't necessarily cheaper in terms of effort until now and I prefer to support the content creators. But I already pay over $20/month and for what? I barely use it, same with my Wife. The one person that does use it the most is getting blocked, so I have a hard time seeing a reasonable alternative.

gary_0 4y ago

"Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem." - Gabe Newell, 10+ years ago Once upon a time, Netflix itself was considered the case in point! Then video streaming splintered into a dozen services and now Netflix has decided to make things even more complicated. People don't learn, I guess.

mc32 4y ago
I think that's a bit unfair. Businesses go through business cycles. I never worked there, nor have insight (obviously) but you know the business climate changes, your competitors change and you have to adjust or experience consequences. Sometimes you need to grow subscriptions, sometimes you need to grow revenue, sometimes you have more flexibility, and sometimes less (Netflix has to re-enter agreements with content owners and creators and those can change and they have to adjust and also business changes). However, it seems people only envision greedy accountants and Executives rubbing hands at the prospect.
- nscalf 4y ago
  Once you go public you have no option other than to just grow at all costs. The cost of Netflix pushing growth is turning consumer sentiment against them by cracking down on account sharing and pushing ads into the service. Netflix had a gross profit of $12.44B in 2022. Why not preserve the large, successful business that consumers have a high opinion of instead of push for further profits? The truth is that Netflix could continue profiting billions per year more or less indefinitely without risking the company by shifting focus from growth, and the only people who would be upset about it would be shareholders. And the only reason they'd be upset is because of greed. They could stop trying to grow and be a strong dividend company overnight.
  - mc32 4y ago
    It's not that simple. Their "greed" affords "those" investors the ability to invest those earnings in other up and comers --some of which may fail and some of which may succeed. If everyone was just happy with going an even course, at scale, the economy would stagnate.

beeb 4y ago

Using Plex and downloading movies for personal use is legal in some countries like Switzerland.

Nullabillity 4y ago

Goodwill was the only argument they had. Burning that up seems like a great way to kill what income streams they had.

wellthisisgreat 4y ago

Yeah it was less convenient and now it will be more convenient.