Oliver North (the KMC Poster) was right

http://time.com/18867/popcorn-time-is-so-good-at-movie-piracy-its-scary/

One thing that iTunes, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu have proven is that content makers can fight piracy by providing a better, easier service to paying customers. But what happens when piracy fights back with something just as convenient?

A new app called Popcorn Time raises that very question. Available for Windows, Mac and Linux, Popcorn Time lets you stream the latest movies — including American Hustle, Gravity and Frozen – with just a couple clicks. The software uses BitTorrent to find and download movies, but eliminates the usual hassle of wading through sketchy torrent sites and waiting for the file to finish downloading.

Basically, it’s the version of Netflix that you’ve always wanted — and maybe have been willing to pay extra for — but that Hollywood may never allow. It’s also a flagrant enabler of copyright violation, at least in the United States.

I disagree with the author's first paragraph. I would re-write the first paragraph as follows:

"One thing that iTunes, Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu have proven is that content providers can fight piracy by providing a fast, low-cost, and easy-to-use service to paying customers. But those solutions are imperfect with big-business stifling competition, running archaic marketing schemes for their content, and pursuing copyright violators with hilariously overly zealous draconian results. Consumers have had enough. They want fast, low-cost, and easy-to-use services for more content: the content that big-business is keeping from them. So what happens when piracy fights back with something just as convenient but with access to almost all the content consumers want?"

Basically, the world the Oliver North envisioned; where IP (intellectual property) and things like Copyrights for content, become almost archaic or mostly unused; is coming to fruition. I can't believe he was so spot-on with his forecast. I did not know it was going to happen this quickly. I was thinking stuff like this would happen in the 2020s.

They will be quickly obliterated, have no doubt.

If we don't pay for the movies, then the movie makes will not have any money to make good movies. So, we will end up with free movies that are really bad.

And 3D printing will bring the next messy situations like this. Technology is amazing. It doesn't mean the death of things, but it does signal cataclysmic change to various aspects of society and the economy.

Originally posted by Stealth Moose
They will be quickly obliterated, have no doubt.

As some torrent sites are. But others fill the void. Did torrenting die with Napster?

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
If we don't pay for the movies, then the movie makes will not have any money to make good movies. So, we will end up with free movies that are really bad.

This is a bit too generalized to hold water. Less revenue means less total movies are funded, and maybe that less production companies can exist with the movie industry's total income. So it would likely kill some indie films or smaller art-house companies. Which is unfortunate, of course. But things like Kickstarter already have begun to plug that void. And the bigger production companies may have to tighten the belt, but wouldn't be severely affected long-term. Effects of piracy on the industry tend to be overstated, at least at this point.

Originally posted by Digi
...This is a bit too generalized to hold water. Less revenue means less total movies are funded, and maybe that less production companies can exist with the movie industry's total income. So it would likely kill some indie films or smaller art-house companies. Which is unfortunate, of course. But things like Kickstarter already have begun to plug that void. And the bigger production companies may have to tighten the belt, but wouldn't be severely affected long-term.

If we don't have to pay to watch new movies on line, then why should we pay to see a movie in the theater? I have an uber big TV and sound bar, and I can pop popcorn.

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
If we don't have to pay to watch new movies on line, then why should we pay to see a movie in the theater? I have an uber big TV and sound bar, and I can pop popcorn.

We don't have to pay today. I can get any movie or TV show onto my giant television at no cost (outside of a monthly internet service fee), even most things currently in theatres. Or TV shows mere hours after they air. Yet, how's the movie industry doing? How does HBO have the budget for Game of Thrones, or any of their other massive productions? Why aren't TV providers going out of business as they lose ad revenue? Your argument is too slippery-slope-ish to match reality. Maybe someday. But even with stuff like what dudemon is talking about, we're nowhere near the point where it can't be monetized.

Originally posted by Digi
We don't have to pay today. I can get any movie or TV show onto my giant television at no cost (outside of a monthly internet service fee), even most things currently in theatres. Yet, how's the movie industry doing? Your argument is too slippery-slope-ish to match reality.

The op sounded like it was something new, and I was talking about something in the future. There will come a point if enough people don't pay, that the industry will collapse, because people don't like to work for nothing.

Maybe I'm a dyeing bread. I believe that paying for something helps support and promote more of that thing.

Hmm, I don't think the industry must necessarily collapse. It is likely in need of a new business model, but it could definitely find that. I am not looking at this very negatively at all, entertainment has become much, much more decentralised, and we know people are willing to pay for it in some new ways (take examples like Kickstarter funding Double Fine or Veronica Mars (crowd funding) on the one hand, or Netflix making (great) original content (subscriptions), or apps like Candy Crush Saga (in-app purchases) or Flappy Bird (advertisement). Of course there are also other options; merchandising, performances, etc.

The world of entertainment is changing fast, and that sucks for the incumbents, it does not necessarily suck for customers or the entertainers/artists.

I've been pirating movies, TV shows, or books for years and I've never needed to install a ****ing app. Netflix and friends are also not as "easy" as just finding a stream online. You don't have to download anything, if you're enough of a huge badass.

Originally posted by NemeBro
I've been pirating movies, TV shows, or books for years and I've never needed to install a ****ing app. Netflix and friends are also not as "easy" as just finding a stream online. You don't have to download anything, if you're enough of a huge badass.

The quality you're streaming is crap though, little more than the low res cam-copies of films that are bootlegged to the Chinese and Indian masses.

Originally posted by Digi
This is a bit too generalized to hold water. Less revenue means less total movies are funded, and maybe that less production companies can exist with the movie industry's total income. So it would likely kill some indie films or smaller art-house companies. Which is unfortunate, of course. But things like Kickstarter already have begun to plug that void. And the bigger production companies may have to tighten the belt, but wouldn't be severely affected long-term. Effects of piracy on the industry tend to be overstated, at least at this point.

Bingo. You're thinking outside of the "current system" box.

There are many different options for how humans will progress beyond things like IP and Copyrights.

For instance, using your kickstarter idea, what if someone got the entire production funded for their kickstarter film or series? They could do a controlled release where only those that funded the campaign can view the live broadcast (with a password to decrypt the stream). Then, after that, ANY revenue the producers make is profit (they operated under the assumption that the first broadcast would be pirated and did not count on funding from anything but the kickstarter campaign).* Sure, that would require production houses to modify their project management approach, but it can be done. Removing the archaic financiers (producers) from projects certainly opens up the market to the people. The people would then be forced to fund projects without having a final product. The producers of that media product would then probably struggle to get funding on a new project, in the future (hehehehe). I don't think $300 million movies will be made like that, any time soon. But, with improving technology, we may not notice the difference between $50 million and $300 million. 😄

But that is just one what if on removing IP or Copyrights from the situation.

I think groups like Netflix have figured things out, already. But, one trend I see in the future is producers may pay Netflix to put up their content rather than the other way around. 😄

*That would require much better project management practices be used in film making, however. Hollywood is notorious for blown budgets on films. That is largely due to poorly managed production (at any phase) projects. It is mostly the fault of concessions and additions. "We want this, we want that, we don't want that anymore." That causes scope creep and your budget is blown if you have not accounted for that in your cost estimate. There was the gent breaking this all down at BlockBuster about 8 years ago. He explained all of this to me and I'll never forget it. He was a washed up director/producer that was a victim of shitty project management.

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
The op sounded like it was something new, and I was talking about something in the future. There will come a point if enough people don't pay, that the industry will collapse, because people don't like to work for nothing.

Maybe I'm a dyeing bread. I believe that paying for something helps support and promote more of that thing.

You're not alone, nor a dying breed. There will always be a market for art. It's just going to shift somewhat. And there will always be the subset who will attempt to steal it instead. It's not a death knell, though. If it were, the ridiculous ease with which we can currently obtain free movies would have already decimated the industry.

Originally posted by NemeBro
I've been pirating movies, TV shows, or books for years and I've never needed to install a ****ing app. Netflix and friends are also not as "easy" as just finding a stream online. You don't have to download anything, if you're enough of a huge badass.

I'm not sure anything happening in the world of internet piracy is prerequisite for calling oneself or others badass.

Anyway, you're right. But people like apps. How many people use Pirate Bay? A lot, but less than are using iPhones. It's a market share grab. There's also something to be said for trust. There's a couple fairly trusted torrent sites...then a ton where clicking the wrong link will land you with a virus. If you find yourself on one of those - having exhausted your options with primary sites - the ease of an app will seem more appealing.

Originally posted by Robtard
The quality you're streaming is crap though, little more than the low res cam-copies of films that are bootlegged to the Chinese and Indian masses.

Rarely true, at least once something's been out for a while. These days, DVD-quality celebrity pre-release copies end up online by the time a movie is hitting theaters.

Originally posted by dadudemon
Bingo. You're thinking outside of the "current system" box.

There are many different options for how humans will progress beyond things like IP and Copyrights.

For instance, using your kickstarter idea, what if someone got the entire production funded for their kickstarter film or series? They could do a controlled release where only those that funded the campaign can view the live broadcast (with a password to decrypt the stream). Then, after that, ANY revenue the producers make is profit (they operated under the assumption that the first broadcast would be pirated and did not count on funding from anything but the kickstarter campaign).* Sure, that would require production houses to modify their project management approach, but it can be done. Removing the archaic financiers (producers) from projects certainly opens up the market to the people. The people would then be forced to fund projects without having a final product. The producers of that media product would then probably struggle to get funding on a new project, in the future (hehehehe). I don't think $300 million movies will be made like that, any time soon. But, with improving technology, we may not notice the difference between $50 million and $300 million. 😄

But that is just one what if on removing IP or Copyrights from the situation.

I think groups like Netflix have figured things out, already. But, one trend I see in the future is producers may pay Netflix to put up their content rather than the other way around. 😄

*That would require much better project management practices be used in film making, however. Hollywood is notorious for blown budgets on films. That is largely due to poorly managed production (at any phase) projects. It is mostly the fault of concessions and additions. "We want this, we want that, we don't want that anymore." That causes scope creep and your budget is blown if you have not accounted for that in your cost estimate. There was the gent breaking this all down at BlockBuster about 8 years ago. He explained all of this to me and I'll never forget it. He was a washed up director/producer that was a victim of shitty project management.

👆

The market will adjust. Where there is a TON of money already, they're not so dumb that they'll just shake their fists as their fortune dwindles to nonexistence.

Originally posted by Robtard
The quality you're streaming is crap though

Are you talking about the auto-torrent programs that will automatically find the program, in sequence, that you want to watch as the episode is released and then it downloads it to a media box that you then stream to your TV (with a seamless integration meaning it just acts like a TiVo that has to download)?

If that's the case, yes, that shit has been around for a while. Yes you did have to install software. Yes you did have to make a hardware purchase. Don't be an elitist douche nugget or I'll steal your library and report it to the feds.

From the main board, the topic title cuts off at "Poster)".

I instantly thought the rest of the topic name was "has died".

Originally posted by Tzeentch
From the main board, the topic title cuts off at "Poster)".

I instantly thought the rest of the topic name was "has died".

lol

RIP inamilist. May you sigh in exasperation at idiot KMC posters from the heaven you don't believe in.

Originally posted by dadudemon
elitist douche nugget

This is one of the best combination of words ever on these forums and I don't even like the middle word.

Originally posted by dadudemon
Are you talking about the auto-torrent programs that will automatically find the program, in sequence, that you want to watch as the episode is released and then it downloads it to a media box that you then stream to your TV (with a seamless integration meaning it just acts like a TiVo that has to download)?

What's all this about streaming not behind high-quality and free?

http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/14/popcorn-time-is-dead/?utm_campaign=fb&ncid=fb

Hollywood won. The open source project called Popcorn Time is dead after just four days. It’s not really surprising.

“Popcorn Time is shutting down today. Not because we ran out of energy, commitment, focus or allies. But because we need to move on with our lives,” reads the website and a post on Medium.

Days after its quiet launch, word about the magical Popcorn Time program was everywhere. The program was an overnight success. “Popcorn Time got installed on every single country on Earth. Even the two that don’t have internet access,” reads the blog post. But success can be counterproductive. Ask Dong Nguyen, the man who created and then took down Flappy Bird.

The creators long stressed that Popcorn Time was legal. Yet I know from my own interactions with the developers that the constant questioning of the legality was taking a toll on them — a cost that they likely didn’t anticipate.

The Popcorn Time project as it previously existed is gone. The front-facing website bragging about its movie-streaming abilities is a simple blog post now. The link to download the installer is gone. Most of the files are gone from GitHub. This is the Internet, though. Nothing is ever completely gone.

The installer can still be found on several torrent sites and the open source nature of the project suggest that it’s not dead forever. This isn’t the end of Popcorn Time’s story. It can’t be. The roaring success of Popcorn Time shows that there is a pent-up demand for such an app. So don’t think of this as goodbye. Think of it as To Be Continued…