I came home to find my internet cut off. Turns out Warner Bros got my IP address from a ROM emulator I downloaded containing some Harry Potter games.
I have downloaded countless tv shows over the last 5 years. They busted me on some Harry Potter games I didn't even want. I was going for some old gameboy games to add to an emulator I put on my Wii, and those just happened to be along for the ride.
First violation is a warning. Second one carries a $39.95 fee. Looks like I'm done with torrents. Though I may have to take the risk to finish up this series of Ashes to Ashes.
(Though I've read Verizon doesn't snitch. Maybe time to switch to Fios.)
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote:The notice program in effect in Canada is essentially a tool to alert users that they are downloading what the industry groups see as copyrighted material. Even though tens of thousands of e-mails have been distributed over the last few years, no one has been prosecuted for copyright violation as a result of the notices.
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I'm not sure there's a legal way for Stephan to acquire Wii-compatible versions of the old GameBoy games he wanted. Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: I'm not sure there's a legal way for Stephan to acquire Wii-compatible versions of the old GameBoy games he wanted.
True. I also refuse to pay for something I have already paid for. I had already deleted all the games I didn't want. Keeping ones I had already owned. The $5 - $15 for virtual console games is wrong in my mind. Especially if I already own it.
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
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The other problem is that the games will be tied to your specific console, so if you upgrade or even want to switch to a different Wii, you'll have to buy all the virtual console games again.
Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006
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quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: I'm not sure there's a legal way for Stephan to acquire Wii-compatible versions of the old GameBoy games he wanted.
True. I also refuse to pay for something I have already paid for. I had already deleted all the games I didn't want. Keeping ones I had already owned. The $5 - $15 for virtual console games is wrong in my mind. Especially if I already own it.
That's fair. I've downloaded old original nintendo ROMs before, to take a trip down memory lane.
I sort of got the feeling that wasn't the only thing you download, though. Maybe because you said it wasn't the only thing you download? Posts: 3580 | Registered: Aug 2005
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I only download stuff that I can't buy in the US and am too inpatient to wait- basically bbc stuff. And Disney. I hate the vault.
Posts: 2223 | Registered: Mar 2008
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I sort of got the feeling that wasn't the only thing you download, though. Maybe because you said it wasn't the only thing you download?
Never movies or music. Tons of tv. Tv is open to debate, and I can see both sides of the argument. I'm pretty sure the networks don't lose a dime on any shows I download.
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Okay. That's fairly reasonable, I agree. Definitely more debatable than the traditional download targets. I tend to buy TV shows I care about, but on occasion I have downloaded one or two episodes if I couldn't find them to rent and wasn't sure I wanted to own the series yet.
Also I'll admit to at least one instance of downloading a Disney movie because of the stupid vault. I'm absolutely buying it once it comes out of the vault again, but in the mean time... I needed me some Beauty and the Beast.
As it turned out, we didn't watch the download because I found a friend who owned it. But even so, we did download it.
Posts: 3580 | Registered: Aug 2005
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I download stuff it is impossible to buy legally, and I buy it legally as soon as I can. I think that's okay.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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I will actually download things I own but find it inconvenient to burn, like Disney movies. The copy protection on those discs is often remarkably troublesome, and my kids are hard on physical media, so often it's easier just to grab a torrent than try to make a backup.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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I actually prefer the downloaded for Disney movies. I hate waiting through previews- skipping them is a pain, esp for a three year old. The downloaded ones, she can just pop in the dvd and they start right away. That and she has destroyed several dvds. I have a lot of dvds that the original dvd is pretty trashed.
Posts: 2223 | Registered: Mar 2008
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I've yet to find a dvd I couldn't copy, or couldn't find out how to in under a minute with a Google search.
It really comes down to whether you believe something is automatically wrong if the government says so. Like drinking at 18, or setting off fireworks in an open field far away from anyone and anything, or uploading all of OSC's ebooks to Piratebay because he angered you in a recent essay.
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
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I know that downloading is wrong, but simply don't have the money to pay for 800 channels to watch the shows I like to watch or to buy an entire DVD set of a single season for $80.
I don't buy books for the same reason. I go to the library.
I also have copies of movies and shows I actually own on DVD because I find straight .avi files to be so much more versitile and easy to use than DVD format.
For me, DVDs are shooting themselves in the foot by being clunky to watch and use in an era where media exists that is much more intuitive and a zillion times less irritating.
TV's need to contain commmercials is a huge problem for them, too. When I am employed and have money to burn on this kind of thing, I'd much rather pay to download from a bank of avi files of various qualities and sizes than pay for television.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I think there is a good point regarding whether or not by downloading you are denying money to the creator. If I download an illegal copy, I am enjoying the benefit of a whole bunch of people's labor without paying them anything for it. Whether or not you view that as theft is not whether or not you mindlessly agree with whatever the govt says is wrong. I think legally, you can have downloaded copies if you own it already.
Posts: 2223 | Registered: Mar 2008
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Teshi, streaming netflix isn't too expensive, and you can get a lot of TV shows completely on demand, and the ones you don't have on demand you can order the same way you'd order a movie.
Not as cheap as the library, but it's nowhere near as expensive as 800 channels and a tivo, or a bunch of DVD boxed sets, which are the two alternatives.
Posts: 3580 | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Teshi: I also have copies of movies and shows I actually own on DVD because I find straight .avi files to be so much more versitile and easy to use than DVD format.
For me, DVDs are shooting themselves in the foot by being clunky to watch and use in an era where media exists that is much more intuitive and a zillion times less irritating.
This is my biggest issue now. If I buy a DVD or CD, it goes straight into my computer and the physical disk sits and takes up space and is hardly touched again.
The only trouble is that computer crashes and the threat of dead hard drives makes this format much less trustworthy than a physical disk.
I don't even have a DVD/CD player (or a TV, for that matter). It's all from my computer.
Posts: 1711 | Registered: Jun 2004
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It really comes down to whether you believe something is automatically wrong if the government says so. Like drinking at 18, or setting off fireworks in an open field far away from anyone and anything, or uploading all of OSC's ebooks to Piratebay because he angered you in a recent essay.
Actually it comes down to whether you believe you are justified in breaking copyright law, either because you disagree with the copyright owner's pricing, distribution timetable or attitude or because you know the reward vs the likelihood of getting caught makes downloading worthwhile for you.
You can decide for yourself all you want if downloading movies is right or wrong. The government, in the form of copyright laws, has already determined it is illegal.
(Note I'm not saying do or don't do it, only that pretending you can decide legality based on your own opinion is a particularly prevalent fallacy in these discussions)
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Fortunately I am relying on Piratebay and such sites less and less. Playon is a great program I downloaded that streams both Netflix and Hulu to two tvs in my house with media players.
Posts: 3134 | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Dan_Frank: Teshi, streaming netflix isn't too expensive, and you can get a lot of TV shows completely on demand, and the ones you don't have on demand you can order the same way you'd order a movie.
No Netflix in Canada, unfortunately. I'd pay for it if it were available here.
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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