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Popcorn Time was exactly the kind of media service we've wanted for over a decade. It probably wasn't even as good as it could have been had it been developed i

Popcorn Time was exactly the kind of media service we've wanted for over a decade. It probably wasn't even as good as it could have been had it been developed in an environment where there wasn't a lobbying industry actively trying to suppress this kind of innovation. It almost seems like the entertainment industry is just extracting rent from the status quo. I've been curious about volume collective licensing schemes and the like built into your ISP fee. There must be a better way forward that doesn't stifle seriously useful technology.

ztratar 13y ago
Extracting rent from the status quo? Music industry revenue last year = $16B Banking inudstry revenue = $600B+ Entertainment makes money. That is not a bad thing.
- agentultra 13y ago
  Entertainment should make money if they continue providing something people want. But it seems like they are extracting rent by using lobbying to maintain control over the pricing and distribution schemes in order to maintain their wealth without generating any for anyone else. Maybe it's not quite the right term, I'm not sure... it seems that way sometimes though.
  - snowwrestler 13y ago
    Let's say entertainment companies do provide something people want. But let's say that people, even though they want the entertainment, don't want to pay for it. That is the problem that legal rules like copyright solve. Without government to enforce fair transactions, sustainable trade and innovation is not possible. That's not limited to digital stuff--it's true across the entire economy. Plenty of people are making money off entertainment. Electronics manufacturers and ISPs are making very nice livings by selling products and services that enable digital entertainment. No one protests paying $200 + $60/month for an iPhone, but ask them to pay $2.99 to rent a movie on it, instead of BitTorrenting it, and all of a sudden it's a massive protest issue.
    - agentultra 13y ago
      I know what you're saying and I have no problem paying for the media I consume. I use such services and I believe Popcorn Time demonstrates precisely how terrible they are. I do have a problem waiting months after a new release is lucky enough to hit CinemaNow to pay $4.99 to watch a movie within 48 hours. They have the gall to offer the film for "purchase" for $19 first. Maybe gouging is a better term. Worse still are the cable companies (some of whom are owned by these very entertainment companies). I can forget about trying to watch that movie on CinemaNow in the evenings when my cable company shapes the traffic of competing video streaming services. I'm not arguing that copyright is useful. I don't think I have the intimate familiarity with the various laws to argue that it isn't. I'm just surprised that things could be better, as demonstrated by Popcorn Time, and yet they are not so that an industry can continue to extract money from the status quo... a bar they set themselves with the legislation they create.

ztratar 13y ago

Extracting rent from the status quo? Music industry revenue last year = $16B Banking inudstry revenue = $600B+ Entertainment makes money. That is not a bad thing.

agentultra 13y ago
Entertainment should make money if they continue providing something people want. But it seems like they are extracting rent by using lobbying to maintain control over the pricing and distribution schemes in order to maintain their wealth without generating any for anyone else. Maybe it's not quite the right term, I'm not sure... it seems that way sometimes though.
- snowwrestler 13y ago
  Let's say entertainment companies do provide something people want. But let's say that people, even though they want the entertainment, don't want to pay for it. That is the problem that legal rules like copyright solve. Without government to enforce fair transactions, sustainable trade and innovation is not possible. That's not limited to digital stuff--it's true across the entire economy. Plenty of people are making money off entertainment. Electronics manufacturers and ISPs are making very nice livings by selling products and services that enable digital entertainment. No one protests paying $200 + $60/month for an iPhone, but ask them to pay $2.99 to rent a movie on it, instead of BitTorrenting it, and all of a sudden it's a massive protest issue.
  - agentultra 13y ago
    I know what you're saying and I have no problem paying for the media I consume. I use such services and I believe Popcorn Time demonstrates precisely how terrible they are. I do have a problem waiting months after a new release is lucky enough to hit CinemaNow to pay $4.99 to watch a movie within 48 hours. They have the gall to offer the film for "purchase" for $19 first. Maybe gouging is a better term. Worse still are the cable companies (some of whom are owned by these very entertainment companies). I can forget about trying to watch that movie on CinemaNow in the evenings when my cable company shapes the traffic of competing video streaming services. I'm not arguing that copyright is useful. I don't think I have the intimate familiarity with the various laws to argue that it isn't. I'm just surprised that things could be better, as demonstrated by Popcorn Time, and yet they are not so that an industry can continue to extract money from the status quo... a bar they set themselves with the legislation they create.