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5 major ISPs roll out the "six strikes" policy regarding illegal downloads.
- Thread starter mkopec
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Peerblocker.
Anyways I don't do as much downloading as I used to. I've started purchasing music through Google Play after moving my iTunes library over there last year. If it's not available on Google Play to purchase legitimately all bets are off and I personally don't give a shit about "pirating" it. If its not readily accessible through my choice of content delivery then fuck you.
As for television/movies I agree that I would probably pay $1.50 an episode for a show like How I Met Your Mother, and closer to $3-4 for an episode of Game of Thrones. I don't really have a complaint with TV/Movie prices. What really agitates me is the monopoly on areas by ISP's.
Anyways I don't do as much downloading as I used to. I've started purchasing music through Google Play after moving my iTunes library over there last year. If it's not available on Google Play to purchase legitimately all bets are off and I personally don't give a shit about "pirating" it. If its not readily accessible through my choice of content delivery then fuck you.
As for television/movies I agree that I would probably pay $1.50 an episode for a show like How I Met Your Mother, and closer to $3-4 for an episode of Game of Thrones. I don't really have a complaint with TV/Movie prices. What really agitates me is the monopoly on areas by ISP's.
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Isn't that the point? They are offering an inferior product that they need to bundle to make money. Shouldn't market forces be allowed to push bad TV off the air. Chopped, which I do actually watch, was supposed to be best example of this. 99% of food network is complete crap, especially since they canned Good Eats(he wanted to keep making more shows). They know if they go ala carte, they have maybe two or three profitable shows. Thus, Food Network has been the worst at adopting even a semblance of ala carte or internet distribution.
If I can't vote with my dollars to tell them to stop making Cupcake Wars and bring back Good Eats...they don't get any of my money at all. I will admit, my choice might be different if pirating wasn't so easy. But Chopped isn't that good. I've gone stints where the Eastern European pirates slack off for whole seasons of the show.
Gravel
Mr. Poopybutthole
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The problem with online free of charge shows is you're stuck with low resolution crap that you're forced to watch in a browser. Not exactly an equal replacement.
And then basic cable packages are bundled (see above). You end up paying for channels that suck dick just for the few you actually want. For example, a lot of the basic packages include channels like ABC Family, Animal Planet, BET, Biography, Hallmark, Lifetime, and Style. While I'm sure there's an occassional good show on one of these maybe every few years, I shouldn't have to pay to subsidize these channels when what I really want from a basic package is Discovery, HGTV, and Food Network. But I'm forced to pay $30-40 a month for a bunch of shit I don't really want.
do you need HD? if not lot of 720dpi links go up on TVstreaming sites within a few hrs of broadcast.
You should find the parts of the Anthony Bourdain book talking about how his TV show got gonged, it would blow your mind.
TheBeagle
JunkiesNetwork Donor
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Nah, I'm not picky, I just grab an XVID copy which is usually around 400mb per show.
Unfortunately no, you're required to enter in your subscriber information from your Cable provider.
nope, you have to have the cable sub, there was talk of making a net only version down the line, but I am sure cable companies will quash that quick.
TheBeagle
JunkiesNetwork Donor
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I don't think so, I tried to give them my money when I had my cable turned off and couldn't find a way to make that happen. That's when I decided they could go fuck themselves.
So if I use Thepiratebay to download all kinds of shit with bitcommet and magnet links, should I be concerned about this? I thought the whole idea behind the magnet tech was that it made the info look binary to everyone so that you couldn't tell exactly tell what it is, legit or not.
I'll stop pirating games as soon as gamers are protected against shitty, unfinished garbage. Buying a $60 game that turns out to be a unfinished piece of shit (looking at you Aliens: Colonial Marines) and not being able to easily get my money back is unacceptable to me. Gamestop only gives store credit and not even of equal value. I'm lucky to get even half the money I spent back in credit if I return something. Even if I return it the same day I bought it.
I'll stop pirating tv shows/movies when they offer a distribution method that isn't ancient/retarded. I like being able to watch my shows when/where I want to without having to pay some crazy package cost that includes dozens of channels I don't give a shit about. I want to be able to watch Spartacus, Dexter, and Game of Thrones without spending a fortune every month paying for Starz, Showtime, and HBO packages. The VAST majority of shit on those networks doesn't interest me in the slightest. I also want to be able to watch Castle, and HGTV (home improvement shows are addicting, don't judge me). The cost of being able to view all of that content is a joke. TV is not worth triple digit bills when I only watch a handful of shows.
Things like Netflix, and Amazon Prime is a step in the right direction. I do pay for Netflix and it has slowed my downloading down quite a bit. Their selection is not anywhere near where it needs to be though. Take a look at a website like Icefilms. If that website charged a monthly fee, and was legal I'd sign up for life. Shows that I want to watch, when I want to watch them. It is NOT about the money with me. I'd happily pay for the content I love, but they have to be willing to be fair with it. Or I'm not playing ball.
It 's not so simple as market forces (leaving aside the issue of whether theft is a market force) pushing bad TV off the air. They are offering a one-size fits all product to customers with individual tastes. For instance, 95% of my tv watching consists of 4 or 5 channels. My foolhardy guess is a substantial number of people are the same. But while I agree with you on Chopped, I've never watched the E! network, nor do I expect I'll start. Others may love EPSN, I don't. It's not bad TV, it's taste.
I don't know enough about the cable business model to know how a la carte would work. To start, I'd want to know what price they would have to charge per channel to make the same amount of money they make with bundles. If it's $15 or $20 I think I'd rather just stay with the bundle. If you're saying you want them to let you choose any number of channels you want, for something like $3-5 a channel, I'd love that too. But I doubt its feasible. It is an empirical question though. We could look some shit up.
Of course, you, and another poster above further complicate the matter by wanting not only a la carte channels, but a la carte shows. I digress, but I'm weary of such a system because popular shows often subsidize unpopular shows. That makes sense when they are all bundled together on one network, but much less sense when each is sold individually. I
All of this is rather besides the point though. The market is not as robust as many would like and it doesn't provideexactlywhat some want. That's true of many markets (for me, clothing, food, and books come to mind). Sometimes what one wants is just not economically smart for a business. That doesn't engender my sympathy for pirates. It makes me think they feel too entitled. Pay for your shit. If not, take your licks.
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I agree Ranger, I already pay the cable company a shit ton of money each month and we only use like 1/20 of the crap they bundle it all with. Couple this with the overpriced shitty internet service and a land line (wife) , Im already paying $230 per month. Then there is netflix that I pay for, then prime amazon which Im a member of, I mean how much more of my fucking money do they want to watch a shitty show they do not offer? Or the odd fucking movie which is not on netflix that I feel like watching? Oh and BTW, why is it that we still have to watch commercials on cable networks if we pay for the fucking channels?
Games? Ill gladly pay $60 for a game which is not buggy mess which ends up sucking. Im sorry but thats about 80% of games. and I dont usually pirate games, but I see how some would to at least check them out first.
Games? Ill gladly pay $60 for a game which is not buggy mess which ends up sucking. Im sorry but thats about 80% of games. and I dont usually pirate games, but I see how some would to at least check them out first.
It'll be interesting to see where this goes from here too. I toss $160/month at my local ISP/Cable company and that doesn't even get me the top-tier stuff. This starts to feel annoying when I just don't watch much television and what I do watch is still pirated most of the time.
If it wasn't for football and hockey, the TV part could get cut and I wouldn't really care. Hell, the internet could get cut and I could just tether from my phone really, although I'd need to upgrade my plan so meh.
If it wasn't for football and hockey, the TV part could get cut and I wouldn't really care. Hell, the internet could get cut and I could just tether from my phone really, although I'd need to upgrade my plan so meh.
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Oh man, I can't wait for digitized food so I can pirate me some authentic kobe beef!
You make valid points. I would like some hard numbers too. Because I seriously doubt cable company's margins are that slim. And even if they are, I think Steam has proven that electronic media can exist at multiple price points.
You make valid points. I would like some hard numbers too. Because I seriously doubt cable company's margins are that slim. And even if they are, I think Steam has proven that electronic media can exist at multiple price points.