I may have missed it, but does he (or anyone else) have recommendations for options to simply pay for content and get high quality DRM free files (edit: I mean legally)?
And how much of a pain in the ass is it to buy DVD box sets and rip them? Presumably that’s legal for personal use? Is that the only way? :(
I have some additional frustrations with Netflix:
- they have removed some shows that I like
- if you travel to another country, you can’t always watch the same shows— even if you downloaded them within the app
- they completely remove some episodes: the episode of community where they play Dungeons and Dragons, and (other streaming services) remove the Michael Jackson Simpsons episode.
- extremely user hostile way to browse content. They always move your list around and show the same show in multiple places
- I absolutely hate how all these streaming services auto play to the next episode. You can often change this behaviour. But my partner sometimes casts it to our TV and the damn app (Disney+ in this case, I think) changes the interface just as you get to the credits. I want to sit in peace and let the credits play, and discuss the episode. But it tries to shove another one down your throat, presumably to “maximize engagement”. (I get it for content that you’re binging or are re watching. But this is horrible if you’re just watching an episode during dinner and don’t want to have to scramble to stop the autoplay as soon as it ends)
Ripping your locally purchased content for ripping is a fun hobby and can be addicting to getting everything to look just right in your media player of choice. Also, ripping gives you control over codecs as you can reencode as needed for different clients. This works for music, movies, and TV shows. I will say that ripping TV shows is a chore, so start with movies and music first.
options to simply pay for content and get high quality DRM free files (edit: I mean legally)?
Lmao. Heard of geoblocking? My Jellyfin instance has no geoblocking tho. 🙆
Autoplay next episode is what many people want.
But Netflix or platform should let users make their own choice and put autoplay in the option/setting.
But Netflix or platform should let users make their own choice and put autoplay in the option/setting.
On Netflix, it is in the Profile settings. (Manage Profiles -> Edit Profile.)
Some vinyl comes with a download card for lossless files.
Companies need to make it clear which and I would personally pay full price. As it is I only buy on sale and the cards are a bonus.
Ripping discs sucks but it’s a one time thing.
Some of the end credits on netflix are longer than the show. I would kill for auto skip in jellyfin.
Ah, I actually have bought a few music CDs a while ago, and they were actually fairly easy to rip myself. I can’t complain about that at all. If ripping DVDs was that easy then I would probably enthusiastically buy a few DVD boxsets. But I don’t really want to buy dedicated hardware just to read DVDs on my PC to do a cumbersome ripping process, and also probably lug that hardware (or the entire PC) to my TV now and then to watch a movie.
I’ve been interested in vinyl for a while, does it really sound better?
For audiobooks I recently discovered libro.fm and it works great. You can use their app to listen to it like any other service, but you can also just download the plain drm-free mp3s. For music there is bandcamp if the artist is on there, but for movies and series I’m not aware of any vendors like that. DVDs I don’t see as an option because their file size limit is too low, the quality on a modern TV looks really bad. And Blurays are a whole other level of DRM hell.
Awesome, thanks for sharing this! I haven’t gotten into audiobooks yet, but it’s good to know that there are user friendly options out there.
Vaguely related: it’s also possible to listen to audio books through local libraries in some cases. I think the app is not as friendly, and does a lot to prevent you from getting DRM free mp3s, but at least there’s no charge.
There WAS bandcamp…
I don’t know about the value of libro.fm… Seems to me that the monthly subscription is the price of a physical book and you only get one per month?
I get a much better deal with my city’s library which offers a large catalogue of audio books for free. It’s not owning, it’s borrowing like you would from a library but at least it doesn’t cost anything.
I think the pricing of their subscription is roughly the same as audible’s, but you get your books DRM-free. They also have some great books on sale sometimes that you don’t need a subscription for, and you can choose a local bookstore to share revenue with. That said, city libraries are an amazing option as well.
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In the US, you can make an archival copy of software for yourself.
However, you can’t legally sell it, give it away or use someone else’s archival copy for something you do have already.
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I don’t like Louis very much, because while we’re on the same team, he’s usually extrem in his opinion, and most importantly, he takes 30 minutes to explain a 3 minutes argument.
But on this, he’s right 100% I watched the whole thing! I’m an ex Netflix customer, btw.
Fuck a corporations but let’s not act like piracy is the modern version of Robin Hood or righting a huge injustice
I mean yeah it’s selfish, but it is definitely righting a huge injustice:
There is literally no customer centric way to watch these shows, or most modern media at all. Where can I literally buy shows that I can then resell. Where can I get a subscription service that’s focused on giving me the best content possible and not trying to squeeze value out of me by influencing what I watch or selling my metrics or up selling me to a bigger plan after killing the previous plan or any number of other dark practices. Where can I buy DRM free offline files of these shows so I can watch them on an airplane on my own hardware without Internet?
It’s fucked up that there is literally no way for people to buy their entertainment and not be fucked over more for trying to do it the legal way and spending money. And piracy needs to exist as a breaking point to stop these companies from getting even worse.
If you are a gullible consumer whose devices are always connected to the internet, you don’t notice you’re getting a worse service. Unfortunately, way too many people are falling for this.
Luckily, at least PC gamers are largely outspoken about DRM and there are pretty popular platforms that cater to them. But console games and media (other than some e-books)? No end of DRM in sight.
at least PC gamers are largely outspoken about DRM and there are pretty popular platforms that cater to them
I fear the day that’s no longer the case. Feels like gaming is becoming more “proprietary platform first” with every year.
The Steam Deck has helped bring it to light. I loved the Hitman games, for example, but I won’t buy the studio’s 007 game if that has the same always-online-singleplayer shite.
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No, it’s just stealing stuff. I’m a shameless pirate, but stop pretending that this is some noble resistance. The reality is that its a luxury someone is selling for a price, and we don’t want to pay the price, so we steal it. You could always just not consume it. That would be the noble move.
They’re assholes so I just don’t give a fuck.
It’s not stealing, it’s unauthorised redistribution. They don’t lose anything from piracy, except for potential customers, which is a pretty intangiable concept. Don’t think it’s even remotely as bad as going into a tech store and taking all their DVR’s, or even literal piracy by chasing down another boat with guns and taking their cargo.
Odysee link for those who want to watch in the true spirit of the content:
lbry://piracy-is-completely-justified-louis
why do nerds think theyre entitled to free content, you just look like a bunch of whiny babies. if you’re gonna pirate do it with the same level of shame as everyone else
Looks like you did not watch the video.
I started to watch the video, but after listening to unnecessary rambling twice, I lost interest.
Can you give me a cliff notes of his argument?
Guy pays good money for a 4k tier Netflix subscription because he does not want to pirate. Has a home theatre linux machine because he is worried about the privacy risks of his smart tv and hence doesn’t connect his TV to the internet. Finds that he can only get a low bitrate 720p stream on his PC . He is appalled at the fact he isn’t getting the quality he paid for and amused at the fact that he would have gotten better quality if he had just pirated and concludes that piracy is just the better experience.
Thanks I appreciate the break down. Have an upvote. I actually saw that, or at least part of it.
But…
concludes that piracy is just the better experience.
There’s a difference between it being “a better experience” and it being “justified.” Simply because someone has wronged you that doesn’t make any action justified. They provide a shit product because they are trying to milk everyone. You don’t like it, you simply stop consuming it because you don’t like the product. This does not “justify” stealing it from them.
And, again, I’m not shitting on piracy, as I do it myself, and I agree with the reason that it’s often the better experience. But I understand what I am doing is not justified.
I don’t know man. The companies have no respect for us as consumers. Why should we respect them and their copyright in that case.
“justify” stealing it from them.
In many cases, these services stream shows which they did not have a hand in creating but own the distribution rights to. In that case pirating seems like a weak case of stealing to me. The original crew have already been paid and rewarded for their work and now the streaming companies are just storing and streaming that content which is the same thing piracy websites do. On the other hand pirating newer content and content that is platform exclusive because they(HBO, Disney, etc) are the ones that made it seems a lot more like stealing to me. I am not going to feel guilty for pirating shit like friends or Seinfeld. I am also not going to feel guilty for pirating content which has been geoblocked in such a way that it is not available in my country through any legal means.
What I am trying to say with this is that there are situations where piracy is both convenient and justified
The companies have no respect for us as consumers. Why should we respect them and their copyright in that case.
You shouldn’t and I don’t. You’re arguing against a stance I did not take. It seems most everyone here is. It’s like people can’t imagine a position that doesn’t fall into the dichotomy of wrong or justified. It’s not, it’s like the actions of a chaotic neutral character.
Take a step back and read your argument. You’re talking about watching Seinfeld, a pure luxury. It’s not like you’re starving and trying to feed your family, or protecting someone from grave injustice. You want a luxury but aren’t willing to pay the price, so you take it. I have no problem with you doing so because fuck those greedy cunts, but it’s not justified.
Yes it’s a luxury but in a lot of 3rd countries, these luxuries help people to learn and improve their English and general soft skills.
literally no harm done so of course its “justified”. you are not hurting anybody
