Blu-Ray: F*** You

[Amaris]

The Pirate Bay version:

1. Doesn't come with ads, skippable or otherwise.

Because it's been removed from the stolen copy.

2. Doesn't require specialised hardware to run.

Sure it does. Your computer has to be capable of capably handling the video. If it's high definition, you need equipment that can handle the higher bitrate streaming.

3. Doesn't require specialised software* to run.

Sure it does, you have to have an operating system and the right software to view the video.

4. Can be streamed all over the house.

That can be done with any high definition video purchases made online. Just because it's a stolen copy doesn't make it any better in that regard.

5. Doesn't bug me to go online to download the latest 'content' (read: advertising)

That's because it's a stolen copy, and all of that has been removed. Stolen bread is only better because you didn't have to pay for it. You just profit off the hard work of others where you didn't have to contribute anything.

I wonder if anyone out there realizes the irony of sticking an anti-piracy trailer after a bunch of unskippable trailers. Whose bright idea was it to tell the consumer not to download movies after providing an example of one of the best reasons to justify downloading movies in the first place?

Would you agree that someone is justified in stealing merchandise from a store if they find out they have to stand in line to pay for it?

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Ah, the trials of the post-modern Job -- having to sit through five minutes of trailers.

 

[tomalak301]

Ah, the trials of the post-modern Job -- having to sit through five minutes of trailers.

I don't mind fastforwarding (The long way) the trailers, but my whole point is why advertise something that is currently being watched. Perhaps they think I did steal it (I did not) but that's just paranoia. What do they want from me, to buy it again?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Ah, the trials of the post-modern Job -- having to sit through five minutes of trailers.

When you buy a movie on DVD/Blu-Ray, you buy it to watch the movie, not be forced to sit through trailers. If they were required to be skippable I doubt anyone would complain. Instead, you have to find something else to do for a few minutes or--God forbid--watch them.

 

[David cgc]

The curse of it is, of course, that people notice things that are wrong, not things that are right. People may complain that Studio X has intrusive trailers on their DVD, but I doubt there's going to be a groundswell of support for Studio Y if they don't. So there's no real reward to doing the right thing, and the additional funds from the add space probably, in the cold corporate calculus, outweigh whatever minor annoyance caused to the customer.

 

[Trekker4747]

What gets me about trailers on DVDs is that after a year they're useless. You're advertising me yesterday's product. Besides, I'm not sure I've encountered anything more than 1 or 2 instances of unskipable trailers. All of them can either be skipped by the FF button or the chapter-select button.

 

[Aragorn]

Only once have I ever come across trailers that you couldn't skip through -- and that was on DVD. So should I make an unbalanced trigger-happy thread making blanket statements about all DVDs?

 

[JarodRussell]

And if you can't skip, you can always fast forward. 32x speed and zipp, you're there.

 

[Rii]

The Pirate Bay version:

1. Doesn't come with ads, skippable or otherwise.

Because it's been removed from the stolen copy.

... resulting in a better product.

2. Doesn't require specialised hardware to run.

Sure it does. Your computer has to be capable of capably handling the video. If it's high definition, you need equipment that can handle the higher bitrate streaming.

Sure it does, you have to have an operating system and the right software to view the video.

Do you know what the word 'specialised' means?

5. Doesn't bug me to go online to download the latest 'content' (read: advertising)

That's because it's a stolen copy, and all of that has been removed.

... resulting in a better product.

You just profit off the hard work of others where you didn't have to contribute anything.

Spare me.

 

[Amaris]

... resulting in a better product.

Because it's been stolen and revamped.

Do you know what the word 'specialised' means?

Yes, and my examples fit.

... resulting in a better product.

Because it's been modified from a stolen copy.

Spare me.

Spare you what? You don't need anything from me, you can just steal whatever you want, because apparently it's okay as long as you're not inconvenienced. It doesn't make it any less selfish or wrong. Whatever you choose to steal is your business, just don't go promoting it as a legitimate alternative here. "Hey everyone, you can avoid this problem if you just steal a copy off the internet! It's easy, I can do it without thinking!"

You know, it's just as illegal in Australia as it is here. I wouldn't go bragging about it, that's all.

 

[Rii]

There are probably better things you could be doing with your time than banging the 'intellectual property' and 'law and order' drums to an anarcho-socialist. Private property is an illusion; intellectual property infinitely moreso.

And that's without even considering the more pragmatic angle whereby engaging in piracy (gotta love that word) has resulted in my spending far more money on the arts than I otherwise would've. The Blu-Ray I raged at a few posts back? First caught it via bittorrent.

My conscience is clear mate.

 

[Amaris]

There are probably better things you could be doing with your time than banging the 'intellectual property' and 'law and order' drums to an anarcho-socialist. Private property is an illusion; intellectual property infinitely moreso.

And that's without even considering the more pragmatic angle whereby engaging in piracy (gotta love that word) has resulted in my spending far more money on the arts than I otherwise would've. The Blu-Ray I raged at a few posts back? First caught it via bittorrent.

My conscience is clear mate.

You may be an anarcho-socialist, but the society around you isn't, and you're breaking the law of the land in which you live. Believe me, the illusion rests with you, and I think that's all that needs to be said about that.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I don't have a Blu-Ray and probably won't get one for a long time, if ever, because I object to having to spend mo money mo money mo money on every frakkin new gadget that some corporation decides to foist on us.

I haven't noticed DVDs that have truly unskippable trailers (meaning, you can't even ff thru them) except for dratted HBO and Showtime, which tend to put interminable montages of their other shows on the first DVD in a new season. So I just pop the sucker in, let it run for 15 minutes while I pop the popcorn and by the time I'm ready to watch it, it's behaving itself.

DVDs with annoying trailers would bother me more if I ever bought anything, but it takes something truly extraordinary to get me to make a committment beyond renting - The Wizard of Oz, Doctor Strangelove, Blade Runner, Dexter, Lost, Fantasia - that sort of thing. The rarity of anything worth buying synchs nicely with my utter cheapskate ways.

There are probably better things you could be doing with your time than banging the 'intellectual property' and 'law and order' drums to an anarcho-socialist. Private property is an illusion; intellectual property infinitely moreso.

Blah blah blah. You're really full of yourself, aren't you? It's all just hot air. You like to steal shit because you're a powerless person and it gives you a brief and meaningless feeling of power. It's obvious, so you might as well admit it and save the comical posturing for people who might buy that crap.

The Blu-Ray I raged at a few posts back? First caught it via bittorrent.

Another sucker toiling for The Man.

 

[Rii]

There are probably better things you could be doing with your time than banging the 'intellectual property' and 'law and order' drums to an anarcho-socialist. Private property is an illusion; intellectual property infinitely moreso.

And that's without even considering the more pragmatic angle whereby engaging in piracy (gotta love that word) has resulted in my spending far more money on the arts than I otherwise would've. The Blu-Ray I raged at a few posts back? First caught it via bittorrent.

My conscience is clear mate.

You may be an anarcho-socialist, but the society around you isn't, and you're breaking the law of the land in which you live. Believe me, the illusion rests with you, and I think that's all that needs to be said about that.

Until 2006 it was illegal to actually use an iPod in Australia. It's still illegal - although you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who gives a shit - to rip a DVD I own to another format. Hell, I imagine VLC's 'record' button is illegal in Australia. Law? Don't make me laugh.

 

[Rii]

Blah blah blah. You're really full of yourself, aren't you?

Not at all. I merely don't subscribe ideologically to one of western society's more enduring constructs. As you say, it's all just hot air.

You like to steal shit because you're a powerless person and it gives you a brief and meaningless feeling of power.

And if you replace 'shit' with any instance thereof, the absurdity of this statement becomes obvious.

You're not too far from a point though: piracy necessarily deprives the content creator of the power which he inexplicably believes he is entitled to exercise over others.

Another sucker toiling for The Man.

An individual exercising free will.

(in service of unconscious, primitive, magpie-like urges. )

 

[Amaris]

There are probably better things you could be doing with your time than banging the 'intellectual property' and 'law and order' drums to an anarcho-socialist. Private property is an illusion; intellectual property infinitely moreso.

And that's without even considering the more pragmatic angle whereby engaging in piracy (gotta love that word) has resulted in my spending far more money on the arts than I otherwise would've. The Blu-Ray I raged at a few posts back? First caught it via bittorrent.

My conscience is clear mate.

You may be an anarcho-socialist, but the society around you isn't, and you're breaking the law of the land in which you live. Believe me, the illusion rests with you, and I think that's all that needs to be said about that.

Until 2006 it was illegal to actually use an iPod in Australia. It's still illegal - although you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who gives a shit - to rip a DVD I own to another format. Hell, I imagine VLC's 'record' button is illegal in Australia. Law? Don't make me laugh.

My intention isn't to make you do anything. It's obvious you do whatever you want regardless of whether it's legal, ethical or not.

 

[emacs]

Why spend energy being pissed

the bitter and jaded get annoyed by the trivial

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Not at all. I merely don't subscribe ideologically to one of western society's more enduring constructs.

Whether you "subscribe" to it is irrelevant. You are still bound by it.

 

[Too Much Fun]

I wonder if anyone out there realizes the irony of sticking an anti-piracy trailer after a bunch of unskippable trailers. Whose bright idea was it to tell the consumer not to download movies after providing an example of one of the best reasons to justify downloading movies in the first place?

Would you agree that someone is justified in stealing merchandise from a store if they find out they have to stand in line to pay for it?

It was not my intention to participate in the debate about the morality of downloading movies (i.e. whether or not it is the equivalent of stealing merchandise). The only point I was trying to make was that I can understand how forcing people to deal with unnecessary inconveniences when they pay for the product would compel them to choose that alternate way to get it since downloading would be both free AND cut out the inconvenience thrust upon them by the manufacturer.

Also, I think people can accept the fact that waiting in line is a necessary part of shopping. On the other hand, unskippable trailers being included on a DVD are not a given. Their addition to a DVD is a choice made by only some DVD manufacturers, as evidenced by the fact that not all DVDs include them. I think your example would be more apt if line-ups were something that only certain stores forced people to deal with, rather than an inevitable occurrence wherever DVDs are sold.

 

[Rii]

My intention isn't to make you do anything. It's obvious you do whatever you want regardless of whether it's legal, ethical or not.

On the contrary, ethics are very important to me. Indeed, one of the problems with law is the way it deprecates ethics in favour of self-interest, supplanting 'because it's the right thing to do' with '... or else!' By doing so it becomes impossible to act ethically; or rather, to be seen to act ethically, as the assumption is that one is acting in one's own interests. It's not merely a case of flattering one's ego; as society is fashioned by the cumulative interactions of individuals, law impedes the creation of social harmony through reciprocity of the selfless behaviour which characterises any real human relationship, instead encouraging individuals to use one another like tools: what can you do for me? If I'm obligated to embrace you as a brother, what meaning does that gesture actually have?