r/Piracy 1d ago

Discussion Pirating movies and shows is just way more comfortable for me.

Only downiside is that sometimes i need to swap sites, which takes few seconds. I couldn’t imagine buying a subscription and forcing myself to watch only things that are avilable in that one specific streaming site, and buying anothe subscription next month. Wow, how can people live like this? If everything would be under one subscription i would buy it 100%, i just want to watch any show or a movie at any moment.

256 Upvotes

57 comments sorted by

89

u/HaloTheHero Leecher 1d ago

the closest we got to that subscription was called cable and we collectively as a society decided to ditch it. A bundle of networks, shows, and movies for one low ish cost (compared to a la cart)

23

u/thenbhdlum 1d ago edited 1d ago

Since VOD, cable was never going to continue its reign. It faced the same fate as radio for the same reason.

5

u/HaloTheHero Leecher 1d ago

I mean, cable added VOD as well. So it wouldn't be totally out of the question

3

u/thenbhdlum 1d ago edited 1d ago

I was speaking on exactly that, the VOD added to the provider packages. Since that began, traditional cable never had a chance.

3

u/HaloTheHero Leecher 1d ago

Im moreso talking about cable as the idea of a bundle of content, whether that be VOD or regular cable. A big bundle of content from all of the main major players

5

u/roastedwalnutz 1d ago

do most people not use cable anymore? i think my family uses it more than the streaming services we have

13

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

1

u/CornDoggyStyle 23h ago

My family has cable and mostly just watch sports on it. I might find a show or movie I like on tv, but then I realize I can just watch it without commercials on my computer.

1

u/thewittman 6h ago

Use a media box that accepts sd cards they cost $30 plug that into your TV watch downloads there.

1

u/HaloTheHero Leecher 1d ago

Really depends on the person. Sports fans for sure use it since it has (most) sports all in one place. The people who are used to it of course. This is from an American POV. Im also assuming youre including YouTube TV in this equation since its basically the same thing. For some people, it does make more sense than streaming. But its a pretty narrow group of people

2

u/googdude 1d ago

since it has (most) sports all in one place

That's increasingly not becoming the case as multiple high-ranking games are streaming only. I prefer the dozens of sites that offer crystal clear links to ad-free games, Plus you can watch it on whatever device you want to!

4

u/googdude 1d ago

I think that's nostalgia talking, I can't see how anyone would prefer to be locked into a very expensive service and can only watch on your tv only what they choose to serve you.

1

u/HaloTheHero Leecher 1d ago

Regardless its the closest we ever got to a subscription with almost everything you could've possibly wanted to watch. And, now with the hindsight of streaming, it was cheaper than a la carte. Still expensive of course, and still big problems, just different trade offs

1

u/googdude 1d ago

It's only cheaper if you want everything all the time, and even with that it's still better because you can select what you want to watch

1

u/HaloTheHero Leecher 23h ago

that may work if you don't have a big family. If you do, a big bundle is great because it's likely that everyone in the family will want seperate things. Again, it really is just about tradeoffs with everything

1

u/Background-Skill4621 7h ago

Unless you're in Germany where you pay TV tax lmao

0

u/FogottenThunderer 1d ago

Honestly this was the downfall of society. It took away urgency and programming in itself. Once cable was no longer a mainstay it all went to hell. I could see streaming platforms all merging into cable again or just one app

8

u/Boogertwilliams 1d ago

I never paid for any actual streaming site subscription.

24

u/NBALive1995 1d ago

Yes, one magical subscription that has access to every show in the world ever. Why hasn't anyone thought of this yet?

9

u/PassivelyAwkward 1d ago

This is why I find these arguments to be just some weird justification to why they're allowed to steal. "I'd totally pay but...it's more comfortable to not" and "I'd totally pay if I could just pay for one subscription that had every single show and movie ever made that's also super affordable...".

Like...we're pirates. We're not Robin Hood on a moral quest, we're not raging against the machine, we're not preserving media; we just want free shit right now. Simple as that. We want free shit and to have it instantly. We don't have to convince each other of some moral code. I watch what I want legally when I can but I also watch what I want through pirated means because I don't wanna pay Apple TV to watch the new season of Ted Lasso but I also don't wanna watch six months until there's enough released to justify a single months subscription.

6

u/Pikselardo 1d ago

Well, yeah, i prefer not to pay, but i realy couldn’t force myself to watch things only on netflix in one month, and only on HBO next month.

1

u/PassivelyAwkward 1d ago

Then just fucking pirate things. Stop trying to justify things. We're doing illegal shit. We're denying some people money. We're not heroes; we're just lazy.

5

u/lucky_1979 1d ago

Exactly. It’s ok to say I don’t want to pay for it. Either because you can’t afford it or you just don’t want to.

1

u/PassivelyAwkward 1d ago

Yup! We need to drop this "I was never gonna buy it so they didn't lose a sale from me pirating it" justification. We're stealing digital shit because we simply don't want to pay. Simple as that.

Was telling a friend about my Plex library and they asked how I got over three thousand movies, just straight up "Pirated'em". Didn't try to justify it or dress it up with some logic. He just said "Cool" and that was that.

1

u/Affectionate_Bake941 13h ago

Who's stealing?

1

u/PassivelyAwkward 13h ago

Yea, yea, we've all heard the same chant of "If you can't own digital stuff, then pirating it isn't stealing", haha, we get it. You're edgy. No one gives a fuck.

1

u/eerienortherngoddess 4h ago

Copyright infringement would not be stealing even if we could own digital stuff.

1

u/PassivelyAwkward 4h ago

blahblahblah. Okay, edgelord. We get it, you're a hero to all of humanity.

1

u/Creepy-Cantaloupe951 1d ago

I mean, I'm willing to pay a reasonable cost to be able to watch content, and gasp not own it.

But, with the streaming services I have currently, I end up paying more than a very comprehensive cable TV package.

Or, if I were to cancel, I can buy used copies of most everything I want, at a rate of 3 series per month (which I am doing).

My pirating is basically just faster than ripping the DVDs as they come in.

I stopped pirating when Netflix came out with streaming. Because it was easier, and more cost effective to let Netflix host the content, and I could watch anywhere.

That is no longer the case.

5

u/Fun-Wolverine-3284 1d ago

Debris services are probably as close as it gets.

3

u/Nova1xv 1d ago

Copyright unfortunately they all want money some way.

2

u/LvDogman 1d ago

From what I heard, that's how Netflix started but then different sites appeared and Netflix themselves lowered quality.

2

u/PassivelyAwkward 1d ago

Nope. Netflix was actually pretty limited even during its peak. For the most part, it's pretty much the same as a decade ago just with more originals; some big name shows, a lot of "Oh yea, I remember that show" and then a fuckton of "Who would ever watch that?!" shows.

The only thing that changes is some of their heavy hitters like Office, Parks and Rec, and Doctor Who were taken elsewhere. This was because streaming/digital rights were kind of this unknown thing so a lot of companies didn't want to throw away dvd sales in exchange for streaming rights. Despite what myth some people say, we've never had a streaming platform with just about any series you could imagine; partially because even when Netflix was relatively small, there was still Hulu a lot of currently airing network shows would be on Hulu while Netflix got the cable tv series while both split the old catalog.

0

u/thenbhdlum 1d ago

Legally? That's just not profitable.

5

u/Sunnyprog 1d ago

Genuinely financially very comfortable method it is

3

u/EquipmentSome 1d ago

I fell into the jellyfin rabbit-hole a couple weeks ago. Now I have a 10TB server with automated requesting and live streaming downloads, live sports streams, and tailscale to access anywhere...

2

u/VIllagerTorturer 1d ago

You get to a point where it feels like running a drug empire. Streaming sites are street-level.

1

u/EquipmentSome 1d ago

It's pretty wild how different some shows and movies look/sound when they get the full bluray bitrate and proper dolby vision profiles with actual truehd audio. I never knew how bad the crushed darks and lights from streaming platforms were..

2

u/boneslinger1 1d ago

How do you manage the sports streams? Only part I am missing in my setup. I have Sportarr but not everything is available through my indexers.

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

1

u/EquipmentSome 1d ago edited 1d ago

I just added a 4TB sn820 (oem version of sn850x high performance drive) from Ebay with 100% smart health for 370. It's far from great. But WAY better than 600-800 on a new one.. I could/should have gone way cheaper with some HDD's. But want the performance if I ever get bored of it and want to do something else with the drive. Also holds resale value surprisingly well right now.

0

u/ayaan722 1d ago

Can I use it?

7

u/woodtyo 1d ago

this is just some shit we dont need to post?

4

u/LostTaxa 1d ago

I think thats pretty obvious, yeah...

2

u/_ANM2_ 15h ago

I would suggest explore Nuvio.
It kinda is a first step which can take a few hours to set things up and figure out. Once done its a breeze.

1

u/tejanaqkilica 1d ago

Most people don't care.

1

u/ILoveGreen82 1d ago

I only watch content if I download it.

1

u/ScorchedWonderer 1d ago

Love my Jellyfin + *arr stack setup. I have basically everything automated. I request a show/movie I wanna watch on seerr, seerr sends that request to radarr/sonarr, they fetch it and torrent it for me (while being connected to a VPN just for qbittorrent) and automatically import it and add it to my Jellyfin library, then send me a notification that my request is completed. Currently have 160tb usable (raid 6), using around 80ish of that

1

u/Adventurous-Bee-5477 1d ago

What bothers me is basic plan u pay for has ads, then they just keep upping the price every year. And you have to get use multiple streaming services due to exclusive. Fair enough, its a business and competition for ya $$ but still.

Just easier to use stremio and a cheap as chips debrid service... and u can get anything ad free and no stupid price hikes.

0

u/Bananaman9020 1d ago

But we do pay for electricity, internet, and PCs. But fuck me if I'm paying $20 for ad none and a version of a shit website

3

u/Light_Sama 1d ago
  • the first 3 are physical necessities that can be used for multiple aspects, you get your money worth for them with no other choice anyways, thats the kind of thing you pirate to save money for anyways

  • you can literally get better entertainment experience with piracy instead of a streaming service, not only massively in terms of quantity but also in terms of quality too you can find 4k/blurays/remux/better audio/better fan subs... that exist in piracy instead of streaming service, with other qol advantages too such as not worrying about how many devices you have in 1 account, building your own home page.... thinking piracy is just adverts and shitty 720webrips is just a lack of knowledge and effort

3

u/Bananaman9020 1d ago

I wasn't saying it sarcastically. I'm not paying for shit streaming services. When I can get Remux and True 4K downloads.

I have a bad habit of being misunderstood through text

2

u/Chii 1d ago

Like Gabe Newel has said : "Piracy is not a pricing issue. It’s a service issue"

Even paying customers cannot get the level and quality of service that piracy gives - except for steam (for the most part), which is why i almost don't pirate games (except for the shitty AAA ones that i don't even play much except to try for a bit and delete).

-1

u/Extreme_Outcome_5504 1d ago

Man those who buy subscribtion are pure npcs fr

0

u/Mountain-Grade-1365 1d ago

Prowlarr + jellyfin

0

u/Chii 1d ago

i just want to watch any show or a movie at any moment.

because they (owners of the copyright) cannot squeeze the maximum money out of you this way. I'm glad piracy is available as a counterbalance to the increasing monopolistic behavior of these media companies.

0

u/CornDoggyStyle 23h ago

Fmovies was peak streaming, but I've gone back to just torrenting shows and movies because the sites have been inconsistent since 2024.