[naviehuynh]

It can be free but not that convenient. Pirated content needs to be checked to make sure it's not fake nor malicious, not to mention the technical downsides of the torrent protocol (large bandwidth consumption, insecure, easy to block, slow speed on non port-forwarding routers etc)

It's much easier to buy and download games on Steam or watch movies on Netflix nowadays.

[tempestn]

For movies you can find on Netflix that's absolutely true. The difference is that effectively anything can be found via torrent or nzb, while the catalog of any single paid provider, even netflix, is relatively limited. You might get reasonable coverage (although still not as complete) by combining a number of subscription services, but the 'ease' advantage quickly disappears.

I would happily pay a significant multiplier on what I pay for Netflix in order to legally stream any reasonably popular movie released within the past few years, plus a decent selection of older ones. IE, roughly what you would find at your average Blockbuster 10 years ago. (A similar selection of TV shows would be nice too.) Things may be improving, but they're definitely not there yet.

[josho]

In this thread why are the rental options like iTunes not being discussed? Those distribution channels have the convenience of streaming, and a deep catalog. Is it because everyone wants all the movies for $10/mth or less rather than $5 a show?

[tempestn]

I'm honestly not that familiar with iTunes' offerings. $5 for a new release movie rental sounds ok if the selection is there.

[josho]

Yeh, iTunes and similar options have a pretty good selection, in both SD and HD. It doesn't suffer from the same pains that DVDs had (ie. no advertisements before the movie starts). It is more convenient than torrenting.

So, it strikes me as odd that people here only consider pre-pay streaming options and ignore other viable options as they rant about their rationalization for torrents.

[themihai]

The titles available on Netflix(at least in the EU/UK) are laughable. I have both Netflix and Amazon prime(which has pretty much the same content).

[szatkus]

I checked last 10 movies I saw. 2 aren't available on Netfilx at all. Of remaining 6 aren't even available in US. None is available in my country. I think I'll stick to torrents.

[L-four]

In many places this is still not the case.

[nickonline]

I assume you live in the states where this stuff is on tap? Most of the rest of the world is waiting months for DVD releases.