6 ms·

> Popcorn Time is _this_ close to being the Napster of Film No it's not. The elephant in the room that no wants to talk about is that Popcorn Time doesn't work

by Touche 13y ago

> Popcorn Time is _this_ close to being the Napster of Film No it's not. The elephant in the room that no wants to talk about is that Popcorn Time doesn't work on a television. Television is where people watch movies. Back in the late 90s when Napster was a real mainstream thing, people didn't just listen to the music on their computers, they burnt them to CDs and took them to their cars, to parties, etc.

evv 13y ago
If I were a Hollywood exec right now I would be sweating bullets. Steam boxes will be hitting the shelves in the next couple of years and then there will be no stopping hackers from bringing the elegance of Popcorn Time to the comfort of the living room.
- calinet6 13y ago
  If not this, then there will be something else. It won't be long before any digital content is simply available. It will eventually equilibrate into its natural state: a public good, non-rival and non-exclusive in consumption. Eventually, we'll pay for our bandwidth and content in one utility package, track usage in a legal and unlimited way, and divvy proceeds of our utility subscription to content creators based on popularity. A systematic solution is necessary, and the faster we're able to do it, the better.
- genwin 13y ago
  Pretty sure I could buy a device today that streams wirelessly from my computer to the TV in the living room.
- Touche 13y ago
  Again, you are underestimating how mainstream Napster was at it's heyday. Steam boxes are going to be a niche of a niche.
calinet6 13y ago
This is becoming less and less important. My TV is just a display for a Mac Mini, for example. If I had an AppleTV, I could just mirror the content straight to that. Before all this useful extravagance, I just hooked my computer up to my TV using (gasp) a cable. Worked great, and me and most other people I know, especially those younger than me, are fully used to making this work. Even then, my girlfriend could not care less about even having a TV. She watches everything on her computer and is perfectly happy.
- Touche 13y ago
  > This is becoming less and less important. That's fine and all, but it's very important today. There were file sharing services before Napster, but Napster became popular after cdrw started being put in desktops you could buy at the local computer store (yes, people went to those back then). > Even then, my girlfriend could not care less about even having a TV. She watches everything on her computer and is perfectly happy. Sure, and people have been watching DVDs on their computers for years as well, but is there any data that this trend has gone up to a significant degree, or that watching movies is not still done overwhelmingly on a television?
  - catshirt 13y ago
    > That's fine and all, but it's very important today. There were file sharing services before Napster, but Napster became popular after cdrw started being put in desktops you could buy at the local computer store (yes, people went to those back then). are you forgetting Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, HDMI cables, etc?
    - Touche 13y ago
      Those things are not refined. The primary innovation of Popcorn Time is that it lets you watch torrented movies without knowing the details of how it works. Having a movie being streamed from your computer (eating up battery) and then pushing it to a set top box (all of which are niche products at the moment) or hooking it up through HDMI cables and then having to find your laptop's power supply so you can plug it in right next to the tv.... all of that clunkiness ruins Popcorn Time's primary selling point. If someone were to build Popcorn Time as an iPhone or Android app that streams to Chromecast / AppleTV, that would be the next logical step, and then we might be able to talk about it being the new Napster.
thesnufkin 13y ago
But what is "television"? Isn't it just device, or system where the barrier of entry to access entertainment is sufficiently low for the majority of the population? And if so popcorn time is a giant leap in lowering this barrier of entry on desktops and laptops. And since in a lot of countries pirated movies are often way quicker than regular distribution, this can really swing people towards PC based "television" or media consumption vs old-time television.
- Touche 13y ago
  I agree that Popcorn Time is an important milestone, I was disagreeing with the parent who said it was close to being the Napster of movies. I think people are forgetting just how mainstream Napster was. People are forgetting how common burnt discs were at this time, full of music downloaded from Napster.

by Touche 13y ago

evv 13y ago

If I were a Hollywood exec right now I would be sweating bullets. Steam boxes will be hitting the shelves in the next couple of years and then there will be no stopping hackers from bringing the elegance of Popcorn Time to the comfort of the living room.

calinet6 13y ago
If not this, then there will be something else. It won't be long before any digital content is simply available. It will eventually equilibrate into its natural state: a public good, non-rival and non-exclusive in consumption. Eventually, we'll pay for our bandwidth and content in one utility package, track usage in a legal and unlimited way, and divvy proceeds of our utility subscription to content creators based on popularity. A systematic solution is necessary, and the faster we're able to do it, the better.
genwin 13y ago
Pretty sure I could buy a device today that streams wirelessly from my computer to the TV in the living room.
Touche 13y ago
Again, you are underestimating how mainstream Napster was at it's heyday. Steam boxes are going to be a niche of a niche.

calinet6 13y ago

This is becoming less and less important. My TV is just a display for a Mac Mini, for example. If I had an AppleTV, I could just mirror the content straight to that. Before all this useful extravagance, I just hooked my computer up to my TV using (gasp) a cable. Worked great, and me and most other people I know, especially those younger than me, are fully used to making this work. Even then, my girlfriend could not care less about even having a TV. She watches everything on her computer and is perfectly happy.

Touche 13y ago
> This is becoming less and less important. That's fine and all, but it's very important today. There were file sharing services before Napster, but Napster became popular after cdrw started being put in desktops you could buy at the local computer store (yes, people went to those back then). > Even then, my girlfriend could not care less about even having a TV. She watches everything on her computer and is perfectly happy. Sure, and people have been watching DVDs on their computers for years as well, but is there any data that this trend has gone up to a significant degree, or that watching movies is not still done overwhelmingly on a television?
- catshirt 13y ago
  > That's fine and all, but it's very important today. There were file sharing services before Napster, but Napster became popular after cdrw started being put in desktops you could buy at the local computer store (yes, people went to those back then). are you forgetting Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, HDMI cables, etc?
  - Touche 13y ago
    Those things are not refined. The primary innovation of Popcorn Time is that it lets you watch torrented movies without knowing the details of how it works. Having a movie being streamed from your computer (eating up battery) and then pushing it to a set top box (all of which are niche products at the moment) or hooking it up through HDMI cables and then having to find your laptop's power supply so you can plug it in right next to the tv.... all of that clunkiness ruins Popcorn Time's primary selling point. If someone were to build Popcorn Time as an iPhone or Android app that streams to Chromecast / AppleTV, that would be the next logical step, and then we might be able to talk about it being the new Napster.

thesnufkin 13y ago

But what is "television"? Isn't it just device, or system where the barrier of entry to access entertainment is sufficiently low for the majority of the population? And if so popcorn time is a giant leap in lowering this barrier of entry on desktops and laptops. And since in a lot of countries pirated movies are often way quicker than regular distribution, this can really swing people towards PC based "television" or media consumption vs old-time television.

Touche 13y ago
I agree that Popcorn Time is an important milestone, I was disagreeing with the parent who said it was close to being the Napster of movies. I think people are forgetting just how mainstream Napster was. People are forgetting how common burnt discs were at this time, full of music downloaded from Napster.