[kris_wayton]

Sort of waiting for some new iteration of what "popcorn time" was. With all the fragmentation of content across different providers, and more aggressive actions on account sharing, crossing region restrictions, etc...it feels like average people are now starting to complain a lot.

There is an opening for a very beginner friendly pirate platform to rise again. Not because nobody wants to pay exactly, but because doing it legally is complex now.

[pessimizer]

Forget the pirate part, I wish there were just a very beginner friendly FOSS "smart" TV platform that seamlessly integrated antenna, cable, auxiliary inputs, and streaming services (DRMed or otherwise) with PVR functionality that could be thrown on a minimal system and bolted to the back of a monitor. Basically a MythTV or Kodi minus minus.

[pmontra]

Tvheadend on a Raspberry (if you have one) and a TV hat. I'm using it to watch TV right now, using the TVH Client app and VLC as video player. It has a popup player so I'm typing this message while watching the stream.

[intelVISA]

LibreELEC on a Pi/cheap SBC?

[bobleeswagger]

> Sort of waiting for some new iteration of what "popcorn time" was

No. Popcorn time was a massive free rider/tragedy of the commons problem and a new version of it will continue to erode the good parts of piracy culture that exist.

If you're too lazy to contribute effectively to these cultures, you should just keep paying for Netflix or IPTorrents.

[kris_wayton]

I wasn't trying to compare paid/free, just that there's a renewed opening for a beginner friendly pirate platform.

Yes, popcorn time failed, but I was referencing the thing where it had once made inroads with non-technical people in some part because of the ease and not just the "Free" part.

[bobleeswagger]

You missed my point entirely. Popcorn time was net negative for piracy. It led to the current state of things IMO; Netflix, Hulu, etc. may have had fewer ads, more features, and lower prices if Popcorn time had not led to so many non-technical people having ease of access.

Culture matters. Understand what maintains it. Protect it.

[Dylan16807]

I have no idea what you're talking about.

It's like you're complaining about the eternal september except focused on people that didn't make any posts.

What contribution are people expected to make? Why does culture or level or tech aptitude matter if they're not interacting with anyone?

If this is just about seeding duration that can be adjusted.

[bobleeswagger]

It's like you've missed that the Popcorn time crowd was eternal September and you've never built up a significant ratio on any reputable private tracker. You don't just do that by "seeding longer."

> What contribution are people expected to make? Why does culture or level or tech aptitude matter if they're not interacting with anyone?

Again, if you don't understand how popcorn time was tragedy of the commons, I'm not going to sit here and lay it out for you. Fact of the matter is, piracy does not need to be made more accessible, and doing so would be a grave danger to the good parts of its culture.

[Dylan16807]

99% of the time, if a file just loads up and plays in popcorn time, then you won't have to seed very long to get a perfectly good ratio. It would be nice to seed long-term, but a positive ratio is enough to not cause any harm.

I understand how tragedy of the commons works just fine. I just don't understand why culture matters if you're not talking to someone and they're not breaking anything. And they're not going to be on a private tracker.

It's true that I've never been on a reputable private tracker, but every time I've looked at one it had an obnoxious process to join that has nothing to do with my ability to seed lots of bits for a long time.

[thaumasiotes]

> Popcorn time was net negative for piracy. It led to the current state of things IMO; Netflix, Hulu, etc. may have had fewer ads, more features, and lower prices if Popcorn time had not led to so many non-technical people having ease of access.

That's damage to Netflix, Hulu, and etc. What was the damage to piracy?

[bobleeswagger]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

Piracy culture is human ecology.

[thaumasiotes]

What is the resource that Popcorn Time depleted?

[kris_wayton]

Tends to happen when you call people lazy, etc. They miss your point.

[hbcondo714]

Popcorn Time Is Back: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31972681

[jasondoty]

Private services like this exist. For $40 a year one lets me stream any show/movie on apps across all platforms including android tv. Seamless netflix-like sync across devices, family profiles, selectable video/audio quality up to 4k, etc

[niteshade]

Are they on the dark web? Perhaps I've just been (un)lucky, I've never seen any.

[kris_wayton]

Feels like they are referencing something that includes the google-able tagline "lower price than the majority of file hosters while still offering"

[jasondoty]

I use this service as well for other things, but not what I was referring to, it barely fits the description.

[jasondoty]

No, tor can’t handle bandwidth of movie streaming.

[slfnflctd]

I'm fairly certain we're close to the point of a la carte streaming reaching parity with at least some major cable package offerings.

This became more clear to me a couple weeks ago when my Boomer parents started exploring 'cutting the cord'. To get them access to everything they are now being offered by their cable company (including multiple on-demand streaming options) won't actually save them that much money and would introduce a nontrivial amount of hassle.

They still may be doing it, but it's going to involve a lot of help from me. I almost would rather have just paid them the difference to not deal with it. I suppose teaching our elders the new ways has some value in itself... I just need to keep telling myself that...

[jedberg]

https://movies123.video/

Tons of ad spam, but seems to work eventually.