Had an interesting conversation with someone the other day on why people pirate - especially due to the cost of living increasing, etc.
I've just cut back on a bunch of streaming services myself - mainly due to cost.
Was curious to hear all of your perspectives on why many of you pirate.
Choose the option that best applies to you!
It's just easier and costs little or no money for any tv show or movie. I would need 3 or 4 subs to watch all my shows plus many are a year behind
I used to pay for Netflix and still pirated the shows on there because Plex is a better experience. After they stopped family sharing outside a household paying $25/m for 4k streaming for one person when i didn’t even watch stuff on there that much. Continuing to tie 4k content to the highest plan with 3 useless seats spare was a dumb move.
Ease of access. Nothing more to it. I have a decent entertainment budget if it doesn't fall under that then I'm acquiring it under the free umbrella.
I'm with streaming locally, but never with more than 2, and tbh Ozbargin always got deals and the streaming places offer deals too, like Apple, Stan, etc. And using Plex gets you access to content you can't directly access via your apps lol or VPN it!
I don't like how streaming platforms ain't global. It should be same content no matter where you are +local productions to your locale.
Your poll was too convoluted to vote btw, prefer short and simple.
If I want something to watch I'll use whatever means I can to get it off the internet within reason and morals, and no that doesn't mean I'm a saint either, and neither does it mean I succeed always.
I gave up hope on TV networks when they fuked me over a long long time ago. And streaming is getting their too.
I grew up on the black pearl! Watched Anime, movie, TV show rips a quite a bit but I also used the local video store too - family sunk $1,000s there, it was a big store.
My sisters and I each subscribe to different streaming platforms Netflix, Paramount+ and Disney, also Amazon Prime but none of us use it, I only pay for it to get free delivery.
Anyhow we don't live togeather so we share each others passwords, so we're expecting to get that email from Netflix soon to state that we don't live under one roof and will have to pay extra. The original reason I paid for Paramount+ was Star Trek for me and Survivor for my partner, but it turns out that Paramount+ does not stream the latest season to Australia, so therefore I have to pirate it, easily done with PirateBay or LimeTorrents and qBitorrents. Finally a couple of friends and I like to watch UFC, I did feel guilty about pirating the PPV's so I subscribed to UFC Pay Pass annually about AU$100. But this only allows you to watch the minor events not the PPV's which cost about AU$60 per event. Anyhow when we do use UFC Pay Pass to watch legally I find the interface clunky, so I usually prefer to download it via torrents as I find it much easier to watch downloaded with VLC media player than to watch it through the UFC's service where it will buffer and you can't download it, it's frustrating to try and skip bouts or breaks in the action. So I actually prefer to watch it via torrents even though I've paid for viewing it within their browser/website/software.
but it turns out that Paramount+ does not stream the latest season to Australia
Another thing, not sure if it has changed, is Paramount gave crap sound (I think stereo) to Australia, while the same shows in the US had digital surround sound.
Why should we put up with that?
Sick and tired of using multiple services to do something. I only pay for Netflix now, but every time i'm streaming from online sites which are all HD. Yeah i might not be perfect sound quality but hell, it's clear.
Find games i want that have become abandonware. There's also a TV series on Netflix that has been written off as a tax break and once removed, it can never be shown on any streaming service. Will need to pirate it to be able to watch it again.
I supplement my current Netflix and Prime.
The bottom line is that if pirates can provide a better service/solution than the legitimate methods, piracy is the way to go. Louis Rossmann recently did a couple of videos on this matter explaining the difficulty he had trying to watch 4K Netflix on a PC. He signed up and paid for the 4K Netflix plan, but due to him not meeting a lot of (unlisted) requirements, the stream he got when watching on PC was only at 720p. Supposedly you can only watch anything higher than 720p Netflix if you exclusively use either Microsoft Edge or the Netflix app from the Microsoft/Windows store, need to have a very specific CPU that supports certain features and even a certain GPU that supports certain features.
Video is here if interested.
I used to sail, now I don't, but boat is still there if all streaming services that I pay in different countries decide to make my life difficult.
Main reason as others have mentioned… Having to move from one country to another, and from one streaming service to another, to watch what I want. It was nice at the beginning, now it's a hassle again…
I only pay because I get cheaper in different countries, but wouldn't pay AU price for any of them (Amazon is the only exception as I use Prime delivery a lot, and actually got the annual fee refunded by my credit card's deal). If/when the services start blocking the content via VPN or don't allow me to pay for the service overseas, I will immediately cancel the subscription without thinking twice.
a lot of people chop and change their streaming services now
if there's a new show they like on netflix they will sign up, watch it and some other stuff then just before the subscription renews they cancel it and sign up for another service
Similarly, had the UFC app a couple of years ago.
$9 or so a month. UFC fight nights available, all the previous UFCs available. Some other fight comps on their.
Not bad.
UFC main event comes around, I'm supposed to still pay $110 for it or something?!?.
Pass
Deleted app.
Started sailing the seas again.
I pirate for a whole bunch of reasons - there is a universal, perfect, never-expiring library of content available with none of the bullshit, the download speeds are much, much faster (I can saturate a gigabit connection with torrenting), no DRM means I can toss things between devices without stopping to check if some pissant little exec has decided they like or not like that particular thing, and there will never, ever, ever be ads.
Add to that the fact I can take my budget for entertainment and send it to organisations based on how much I like them instead (aka screw the mouse, donate to indies) and there really isn't any argument in favour of cutting my hands off and paying for it directly.
I just got an email from Netflix that my Argentinian account is going up from ARS 3999 to ARS5799 or around $16 to $24.50 which will actually be more than if I had subbed in Australia for $22.99 WTF. Guess Netflix would rather no money than some money.
I actually pay for almost all streaming platforms for extended family (thanks to OzB).
Yet I've legit found myself streaming elsewhere when a service I'm actually paying for has worse subs, or no subs if English, pretty bloody crap if you're paying and you can't watch as intended.
Also when I could not get Binge to work as it should and you're paying top-shelf prices (unbelievable how sub-par their service has been in past).
&/or can't find it on any of my platforms.
sonarr+radarr -> torrents+usenet indexers -> emby/plex -> kodi with emby for kodi, or plexkodiconnect addons
Kodi can be configured to look however you want, and I like it better than the plex/emby(and jellyfin) default UI
I like all my shows in one place and have them download automatically - not have to load netflix for one, prime for another, etc.
convenience.
maybe I just a luddite, but I found it easier to download what I want, copy it to my phone, and watch/listen them while commuting or during night shift, instead of messing around with apps that requires a constant mobile connection and I will need to pay for higher mobile data cap.
I have Amazon Prime, I also buy physical media, and I use them while at home, but when I am out and about, pirating is just cheaper/easier.
I pay for Netflix Family (Turkey), and Spotify Family (full Aus price)
Anything that can't be had via these services get's pirated. I'm not paying for half a dozen subscriptions.
Its in my blood, been doing it since year 7, wouldnt feel right to go legit now.
yeah I like my setup and even if I won the lottery I wouldn't change it.
This is me too. I'm in control and I like that.
I also don't like the temptation of endless scrolling and options. I curate only quality shows and movies for me and my family to watch. This helps ensure screen time is not endless and brain-dead.
Totally agree.
Netflix: Hey, heres a random movie/tv series/documentary, apparently its popular, because we said so! You should watch it! #Sheep
Interesting. Most people are only pirating Film & TV. There is little interested in other things that are digitizable and "piratable": music, comics, ebooks, audiobooks, RPG manuals, copyrighted images. Music streaming services are much better value than TV/Film streaming, since all the music streamers carry huge selections of music, only missing some smaller labels, certain oldies whose generes aren't popular anymore, and Japanse music.
I also get music/books
Most people are only pirating Film & TV.
I don't know if that's entirely accurate.
Some simple maths shows that the gaming industry is 5-8 times more profitable than Hollywood with an annual global market value of somewhere around $200 billion now while Hollywood is around $40 billion and the music industry around $20 billion (source).
Combine that with the popularity of gaming torrents on most torrent websites (you'll find gaming torrents for popular triple-A games usually within the top 10 most-downloaded lists on most sites) would lead me to believe that videogames are probably third behind movies and TV shows as the most-pirated category of entertainment media.
I would agree that music would probably lower down the list of most-pirated media these days given the affordability and relative homogeneity of the music streaming market.
Why don't you?
It's 2 decades of habbits. I have Netflix/ prime/yt premium for the missus when she wants to flick around the catelogue for a while then eventually go watch YouTube for some vlog. i go to the bay with a mission, download the things I need and go. Plus, the UI of Kodi and streamio feels more at home, available 30 minutes after US air time. It's just more convenient to pirate than deal with multiple providers.
get_iplayer + VPN for BBC downloads to NAS storage, if I find anything interesting. Spotify Family for music. Prime for delivery.
I have Netflix and Amazon and certainly don't pirate.
But if I were to pirate, it would be due to the locking of HQ content behind a higher price-tag.
If I had a 4K TV that can do HDR and all the other bells and whistles, but need to pay more money for it only for it to be returned at a crushed bitrate and even then not in 4K then that would certainly tip me over the edge.
Long time pirate confession - I'm a nerd and enjoy the technology around it.
Historically, I was fascinated by the Torrent and Usenet piracy communities, community boards (Pubstros) and the general piracy methods (MP3s, Keygens, Cams, Telecine, Video CDs, nfo files etc etc). Now I'm interested in VPNs, Cloud hosted stuff, Containers running Plex, SAB apps etc.
It was, and never has been about money. I guess it was more the 'thrill of the chase' and being able to access things I wasn't supposed to and It's always been personal use. I have learnt so much on my journey.
I still do it to this day (Usenet), but just with newer technology and methods. All my streaming services are signed up to via VPN to India, Turkey etc. I store Movies and TV shows in encrypted Cloud Storage, with a homelab Plex server.
I sign up to cheap international streaming plans because of convenience for the family. I lack guilt for the reduced income to these huge giant companies given their massive profits. As an Ozbargain regular, as you all know, there is a thrill that comes from saving money just for the sake of saving money, but I am more of a 'frugal' person rather than a 'cheapskate'.
Combo of convenience and price. I generally have a few subscriptions on the go and rotate through them as sports seasons start and end or different TV series come and go. I've probably had a subscription to all the major services at one point or another but keeping them all on the go at once is insane from a cost standpoint. So generally if something comes up that's only available on a service that has nothing else I care about, I'll steal it instead.
For films, happy to rent it from a service if I can stream it reliably in 4K. If it's not available in Australia or for some reason available in lower res, I'll steal it.
Why pay when they are easily accessible?
Adblock, google and done.