• Gamey
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    52 years ago

    That’s because it’s not a sudtainable buisness model, I bet for the few actually good productions even donations would be better!

    • @[email protected]
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      12 years ago

      It’s definitely sustainable, which is why every movie studio now is doing their own streaming service instead of putting their content on someone else’s.

      Why do you think it’s not sustainable?

      • @[email protected]
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        12 years ago

        How do you figure? I believe Netflix is the only service to actually make a profit off streaming and they have something like 250 million users. The rest of these companies are just dumping money into a bottomless pit and trying to outlast their competitors in the hopes of gaining enough marketshare.

      • Gamey
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        42 years ago

        You kind of answered your own question, because every movie studio will want a own streaming service and as soon as the total cost is too high people start to pirate in masses again.

          • Gamey
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            22 years ago

            There isn’t enough people who can afford to pay 50$+ a month to watch all of that but people want to watch it so I think you are very wrong there, as soon as the user experience gets awful or expensive enough piracy numbers skyrocket.

  • @[email protected]
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    172 years ago

    This makes me wonder what else I can do with my free time. Besides saving money, if I stopped paying for all of these services, I would probably be more active and healthier. A part of me hopes that they increase prices again, and motivate people to be more active.

    • WhatDoYouMeanPodcast [comrade/them]
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      22 years ago

      Write your own stories. I have an entire canon that I can draw from and more ideas for novels than I can publish in a lifetime. It’s one of the few practices I’ve ever engaged in that I’m proud of.

    • @[email protected]
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      52 years ago

      Yup, you probably will be.

      When I dropped Amazon Prime, I found myself ordering less crap, reusing more, and buying higher quality from different vendors. I also watched Twitch less because I no longer had a free sub (though I still use an ad blocker, it just feels more wrong so I just watch less).

      Sometimes we just need to give ourselves a little push.

  • FakeNewsForDogs [he/him]
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    512 years ago

    I realized a year or so ago (after a letter from my isp) that I didn’t actually need to torrent anymore. There are websites like bflix.io (and I’m sure many others) that have basically everything streaming for free. Fuck subscriptions. Would maybe go back to torrenting if I got a vpn sorted out, but you’re not gonna get in trouble for streaming shit on a pirate website, so for now it’s the best solution I’ve found. Certainly not paying any of these assholes. Lol. Fuck outta here with that.

    • @[email protected]
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      52 years ago

      Is there something like that that works on an nVidia Shield (Android TV)?

      Rather not have the Uberspreadsheetboxen running just to watch Village of the Damned again…

    • ℛ𝒶𝓋ℯ𝓃
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      182 years ago

      Proton mail has a free VPN that works really well. Switzerland is part of world coverage tier, but Netherlands is just as good at hiding torrenting from ISP’s. And it can even use a ‘stealth mode’ that works fairly well to get around VPN blockers by using unusual protocols for the traffic.

        • @[email protected]
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          32 years ago

          It should but I never tested it. I don’t torrent much. I’ll need a torrent that is almost guaranteed to get an email from an isp to test it.

          • @[email protected]
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            12 years ago

            It will just refuse to download anything in your client, plus there are sites that let you check your IP when you torrent.

    • JustSomePerson
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      22 years ago

      Is there a good way to watch on a proper TV? I find that all such sites are browser based, and I’m not keen on typing in urls with the remote control.

  • @[email protected]
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    552 years ago

    It’s an ironic end to the streaming wars. After pouring billions and billions of dollars into constructing supposedly revolutionary streaming platforms, and decimating the business models that had offered the industry stability for decades, the ultimate product looks awfully similar to what companies and consumers were trying to break free from in the first place.

    I’ll still take streaming any day over cable.

    No contract and you can put everything in rotation. Sign up for a month, binge, cancel, next.

    • @[email protected]
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      62 years ago

      The difference between watching something programmers and on demand is big. I still detest the newer prices though coupled with the decline in interesting content.

    • @[email protected]
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      422 years ago

      The streaming companies are starting to get wise to that. They’ve started splitting seasons and releasing them separately so that you have to be subbed for 2 months.

      • @[email protected]
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        52 years ago

        Or they could release one per week, two batches isn’t really “starting to get wise to that” imho. Either way, being patient is the best and only paying for one month

        • @[email protected]
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          32 years ago

          I think it’s just the beginning. They’ll split seasons eventually into 3 or more parts. Or if you wait till all seasons are released, they’ll paywall earlier parts. They know people won’t wait that long, especially with how easy it is to have things spoiled by social media or among friends/co-workers.

        • @[email protected]
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          2 years ago

          If you look at the world of Gaming, you see plenty if not most people being unable to refrain from instant gratification and just “having to have” the latest installment of some game series NOW at full price instead of waiting 6 months or a year go get it much cheaper.

          I think there’s still some post floating around in Active in lemmy bitching and moaning about how this year’s installment of some (american) football game is $70 and a few about how great Baldur’s Gate 3 is (which you can only really know if ypu bought it full price in the first week as it just came out)

          It seems to me that effect is even worse for things which are a social phenomenon (essentially, those things that people like to talk about it with each other) and that applies to TV Series and Films, not just games.

          I mean, kudos for being able to refrain from Instant Gratification (I do the same too), it’s just that nowadays that doesn’t seem to be what most people do.

        • jamyang
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          2 years ago

          Congrats. Patience is a much-neeeded virtue, especially when it comes to TV series you like.

          • @[email protected]
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            42 years ago

            That’s a real concern if you’re at all worried about spoilers. It’s so easy just to have shit spoiled even if you try to avoid it. Passively hearing about it from school/workmates, social media, or even radio. The stupid radio spoiled the ending of Breaking Bad for me and I never got over it, I guess.

          • @[email protected]
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            42 years ago

            Might seem stupid, but it’s actually much more enjoyable to be watching something at the same time as others because you can sit and discuss it, come up with theories for how things will play out, and avoid having things spoiled for you. Nobody is going to be excited when you tell them you just started Game of Thrones last week because the show ended years ago and many people have already seen it all.

        • VernetheJules [they/them]
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          102 years ago

          Sure until they start adding game mechanics like daily login rewards and episode “loot boxes” that give you a chance to increment your streaming battle pass so you finally have a shot at rolling for the show you actually want.

    • @[email protected]
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      472 years ago

      Sign up for a month, binge, cancel, next.

      That’s not going to last. As soon as they run the numbers and decide it’s worth it, they’ll create ways to lock you in.

  • @[email protected]
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    342 years ago

    Haven’t sailed in a while, DM me tips on how to get my vessel sea-worthy again! 🏴‍☠️🦜

    • @[email protected]
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      152 years ago

      stremio + real-debrid + orion

      Basically, orion finds the torrents, a debrid service cache’s torrents and streams them to you, stremio renders the stream.

      No need for a VPN, no need to seed, no need for the *arr family, nice UI with high wife-approval-factor to browse content.

        • @[email protected]
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          2 years ago

          torrentio

          probably none! I’m new to stremio and orion was the only way I could find to link stremio to real debrid. Thanks for mentioning this one I’ll look into it!

          orion is non-free btw. I assume torrentio is also paid ?

          edit: just installed, I see it’s free. Looks great. I may have been turned off previously by the utorrent logo 😆

        • @[email protected]
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          32 years ago

          Tried the trial and it found higher quality releases more often. I just don’t understand how it works with the credit system.

    • @[email protected]
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      22 years ago

      Get Kodi, and look up instructions to get ‘the crew’ Plug in added to it, and then grab a month subscription to real-debrid and check it out. Bit of an effort to get set up, but once it is, it works arguably better than streaming. 4k, better bit rate, sports and all the TV shows and Movies, language and sub options, the lot.

      I have it all set up on my TV box, and while browsing can be a bit wonkier, my watching experience is unmatched.

      • JustSomePerson
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        22 years ago

        Watching content without paying is one thing. Actually paying the wrong person is actually quite malicious. You deserve to have all your favourite shows cancelled.

  • Sky Cato
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    42 years ago

    With streaming services you have to pay and you don’t own it, with torrents you only have to pay for internet fee and you’ll own it forever.

    • Album
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      72 years ago

      Is that true? Most of the best public trackers got shut down. Anything left has bots recording your IP and you’re getting a letter from your ISP.

      If you’re not on a private ratio tracker or paid tracker it’s basically a non starter. So I’m not sure about unaffected era the last 10 years have been brutal for pirates via torrent.

      • @[email protected]
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        152 years ago

        If you’re torrenting without a VPN you’re doing it wrong. Also you should look at Usenet instead.

        • @[email protected]
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          52 years ago

          What’s the situation with usenet these days ? I preferred nzbs over torrents for several years but it just became impossible at around the time nzbmatrix chucked it in.

          • @[email protected]
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            102 years ago

            Better than ever! Seriously.

            Indexers like NZBGeek, Drunkenslug, and NZBFinder have resulted in me getting almost anything I want, short of some obscure Australia series from the 80s. Providers are doing 2000+ days retention and I’m only using 1 myself, never even needed to get a backup on a different backbone.

      • @[email protected]
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        272 years ago

        VPN has been necessary for pirating for a long time. And fortunately a VPN is cheaper then any streaming service, and has other benefits besides.

    • Frank [he/him, he/him]
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      2 years ago

      Honestly people should probably be thinking about future-proofing things and putting as much media as physically possible on to drives in anticipation of whatever the next wave of bullshit. At some point Samizdat2.0 will probably be the only way to preserve and share media under the capitalist censorship regime. They’re just going to keep cracking down and cracking down and cracking down until no one can move without bleeding for the privilege.

      As they said in the bad old days: Keep circulating the tapes.

      Until we can pull this whole bullshit edifice down, kick it in the kidneys a few times, and set it on fire the only way to protect media from the companies that “own” it is going to be little people with really big RAID arrays.

      • The_Grinch [he/him]
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        32 years ago

        It certainly feels like we’re on the precipice of something breaking what with computers rapidly getting more locked down, these secure enclaves and/or TPM chips verifying that you’re watching on an approved OS and web browser before allowing you to stream, and then the video is encrypted until it gets to your actual TV. Crazy what they’re getting away with.

        In the near future I foresee pirates pointing cameras at TV screens then using AI to clean up the video, then media companies responding by creating randomized slightly different versions of videos so they can trace them back to the account holder who shared it (move some tree branches around, slightly different colored hat on background actors, etc) and perhaps getting legislation passed to stop cameras from being allowed to record IP protected material, and so on.

    • @[email protected]
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      102 years ago

      Apparently it wasn’t so much a “golden” goose.

      They were all happy to let them run at below cost just gathering up market share.

      Now they’re trying to re-position to be profitable. Their subscriber numbers will definitely take a hit but they will have done the math.

  • @[email protected]
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    202 years ago

    Cool, looks like it’s time to revisit my streaming services again. We’re on Disney+ legacy, which is great because we get like $8/month off with my credit card (Amex Everyday), but if they end that deal, I’ll probably leave too.

    Netflix is getting to be not worth it, so I’ll probably go order some DVDs of TV shows my kids like, then cancel and see how that goes. We really don’t watch all that much.

  • @[email protected]
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    3252 years ago

    Pirating went down when paying for streaming was more convenient. Well, you are making it far less convenient.

    • @[email protected]
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      212 years ago

      Well, this time they have Google and Microsoft on big brother duty to make sure you don’t get crazy ideas. And I’m not seeing enough people jumping away from Chrome and Windows to stop it.

      • @[email protected]
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        62 years ago

        But so far google and microsoft are incompetent big brothers, to the point that most people will find free streaming sites just by searching “free streaming epx of show”. Now we are not talking good streaming, or even safe but if you want an example just look at any place with poor users (like a school or library).

      • @[email protected]
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        32 years ago

        What exactly are you talking about? Google and Microsoft have literally nothing to do with any of this.

      • FaceDeer
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        332 years ago

        I’m on Windows and it’s never hindered me when I needed to go download something that would make a studio exec cry. Granted, I use Firefox, but I’m not sure what Chrome would do differently - it’s just a matter of clicking links that get sent off to qBittorrent to handle. What “big brothering” do they do?

        • @[email protected]
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          32 years ago

          Google is implementing a new scheme that verifies your browser (correct DRM, etc.) and sites won’t allow access without it.

          Basically you have to have Chrome and without extensions they don’t like.

          • FaceDeer
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            142 years ago

            I’m preeeeetty sure that the Pirate Bay isn’t going to implement that scheme.

    • @[email protected]
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      1082 years ago

      Streaming has become cable 2.0.

      It was wonderful when everything was on one, maybe two providers. Could watch everything in a very easy, very affordable way.

      But everyone saw that, went “I know, I want that money!” and spent billions building their own individual infrastructures so make their own streaming services, and right around we go right back to the absolute worst days of cable and bullshit.

      Only thing stopping me from saying fuck it and downloading shit I want to watch, is the fact that I no longer know what the good sites are… since I havent pirated since the heyday of the bay.

        • @[email protected]
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          32 years ago

          I can’t tell if no one talks about usenet because no one knows about it or because they don’t want anyone else to know about it.

          • @[email protected]
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            12 years ago

            I prefer torrents because it’s totally free, unlike Usenet. I don’t even pay for a VPN since I don’t care about a few love letters in my inbox. It’s not about the cost; it’s a matter of principle that I disagree with commercialized piracy.

            But Usenet is a good option for other reasons.

      • @[email protected]
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        102 years ago

        That and movies just suck nowadays. This is partially old man yelling at cloud stuff but also true since the death of DVD’s means studios won’t take risks anymore since they can’t recoup funds after a poor box office.

        • TurtleJoe
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          32 years ago

          This isn’t yelling at clouds, it’s check l correct.

          It’s also not quite so much “recoup funds at a poor box office” as it was “count on DVD sales to make up fifty percent of revenue for certain kinds of movies.”

      • @[email protected]
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        132 years ago

        And the irony is that people switched to cable for the exact same reason. They got tired of the nonsense that broadcast TV pulled with subscriptions for different channels and all the ads and everything, and went to cable because you paid one bill for every channel. Then, everyone moved to streaming because you had to buy 50 different cable packages for the one channel on each you actually cared about, and there were just too many ads to deal with, etc.

        Something something, those who don’t listen to history are doomed to lose profit margins or whatever.

        • @[email protected]
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          72 years ago

          Broadcast tv had different subscriptions for channels? Where? Free to air tv is free with no subscriptions or options.

          • @[email protected]
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            32 years ago

            I may be remembering that wrong, as it was before my time, but I had heard that people moved to cable for the same reasons that people moved from cable to streaming services. You bought one cable package, it gave you access to everything, and there were no ads. Then came the ads, and eventually, the packages you have to buy in addition to your cable subscription for the channels you actually care about.

            • @[email protected]
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              12 years ago

              Cable most definitely had ads though. Special add ons like HBO or Showtime didn’t but basic cable did.

            • @[email protected]
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              42 years ago

              People went to cable because it had no ads and let you have the opportunity to watch stuff you’d missed because they looped content regularly. Missed an episode of the Simpsons? All good, it’s on again in 12 hours. It also has movies and shows long before free to air because they paid for it. Cable was the start of subscriptions and paying for individual channels.