Pirating Movies - Do You Do It?

[stansimpson]

If companies want to really take a bite out of piracy, they need to offer their customers what they WANT instead of what they've been using to gouge everyone for the last 30 years when technology didn't allow any alternative.

I'm voting for Chaos / Palin.

[Raven]

I don't take the time to download movies but a buddy of mine gave me a copy of the Dark Knight.  It's no longer in theaters here and not out on dvd yet but I plan on picking up a real copy the day it's released.  Other than that my only transgression is owning a rifftrax reauthor of Grey's Anatomy and Eragon without owning the actual disks.  I rented them and burned my copy.  But they're crap anyway.

[Chaos]

If companies want to really take a bite out of piracy, they need to offer their customers what they WANT instead of what they've been using to gouge everyone for the last 30 years when technology didn't allow any alternative.

I'm voting for Chaos / Palin.

No no no, keep that psycho away from me. It's Chaos / Tyrant.

[Dim of the Yard]

If companies want to really take a bite out of piracy, they need to offer their customers what they WANT instead of what they've been using to gouge everyone for the last 30 years when technology didn't allow any alternative.

I'm voting for Chaos / Palin.

No no no, keep that psycho away from me. It's Chaos / Tyrant.

I may have to abandon my plans to vote for the Penguin.  That is a freakin' awesome ticket right there.

[Chaos]

That may be the first time in my life anyone has referred to anything relating to me as "freakin' awesome."

Unless you count that jock in high school who thought it was "freakin' awesome" to pants me.

... in retrospect I probably shouldn't have stolen his epipen in retaliation...

[Tripe]

Ooh cool was it right before an attack, like that bit on the golf course in Falling Down?

[Chaos]

My lawyers have advised that I say nothing further, out of respect for the dead.

[WallyWaffles]

I've been wanting to learn to write DVD-decrypting software to get around region locking if nothing else, but work and school have kept me far too busy to even mess with the DVD re-authoring software that's already out there.  (Why would I take the time to copy movies when I've still got a stack of legit DVDs I still haven't gotten around to watching?)

If I really like a movie, I like to buy a legit copy with nice (but not excessively quadrupple-thickness "collector's edition") packaging.  I hate it when I get bootlegs on ebay because 1) I was led to believe I was purchasing a legit copy, and 2) ebay bootlegs are usually really poor quality.

Watching highly compressed movies on YouTube is barely tolerable, but sometimes I'll endure for short amusements like Robot Chick clips or really unusual stuff like the time I watched a 70's Turkish remake of Star Trek.  But don't even get me started on how much I hate streamed media...

(Look up "Staplerfahrer Klaus"; if you like it, buy the DVD from Amazon.de.  It's only 10 minutes long, but I guarantee it's worth the 5-10 Euro pricetag!)

I know a guy who will usually buy a movie if he really likes it, but he'll also rent a movie and "archive it for future generations" if it's out of print.  He would gladly pay for a legitimate copy, but nobody's providing a supply.  That makes sense to me, as, working at a rental store, I often see the life-cycle of a DVD:  Customers rent a DVD, smear grubby fingerprints all over it, scratch the hell out of it, then return it with syrup spilled all over the case.  When the disk stops working, we throw it away and NEVER order a replacement (even if the title isn't out of print).

[BathTub]

I have to say I am in the group of people who doesn't understand why in these days of HDTVs anyone would want to watch a blury version of a movie shot from the back of a theater with people talking over it just to save a few bucks.

I know, my flatmate drives me nuts sometimes. "Hey I got this shitty rip of Kung Fu Panda/Wall E we should watch!"

Life is too short to be watching shitty quality copies, I have stacks of High Quality stuff I can watch while I wait for those to hit on DVD or BR.

[itsjuststeffnow]

I have to say I am in the group of people who doesn't understand why in these days of HDTVs anyone would want to watch a blury version of a movie shot from the back of a theater with people talking over it just to save a few bucks.

I know, my flatmate drives me nuts sometimes. "Hey I got this shitty rip of Kung Fu Panda/Wall E we should watch!"

Life is too short to be watching shitty quality copies, I have stacks of High Quality stuff I can watch while I wait for those to hit on DVD or BR.

well as mrbasehart said,  you're not downloading the correct files.

[Doctor Who?]

I've been wanting to learn to write DVD-decrypting software to get around region locking if nothing else, but work and school have kept me far too busy to even mess with the DVD re-authoring software that's already out there.  (Why would I take the time to copy movies when I've still got a stack of legit DVDs I still haven't gotten around to watching?)

If I really like a movie, I like to buy a legit copy with nice (but not excessively quadrupple-thickness "collector's edition") packaging.  I hate it when I get bootlegs on ebay because 1) I was led to believe I was purchasing a legit copy, and 2) ebay bootlegs are usually really poor quality.

Watching highly compressed movies on YouTube is barely tolerable, but sometimes I'll endure for short amusements like Robot Chick clips or really unusual stuff like the time I watched a 70's Turkish remake of Star Trek.  But don't even get me started on how much I hate streamed media...

(Look up "Staplerfahrer Klaus"; if you like it, buy the DVD from Amazon.de.  It's only 10 minutes long, but I guarantee it's worth the 5-10 Euro pricetag!)

I know a guy who will usually buy a movie if he really likes it, but he'll also rent a movie and "archive it for future generations" if it's out of print.  He would gladly pay for a legitimate copy, but nobody's providing a supply.  That makes sense to me, as, working at a rental store, I often see the life-cycle of a DVD:  Customers rent a DVD, smear grubby fingerprints all over it, scratch the hell out of it, then return it with syrup spilled all over the case.  When the disk stops working, we throw it away and NEVER order a replacement (even if the title isn't out of print).

I use a piece of free software that gets past region coding and copy protection(please not I just use this to make copies of all my discs in case a disc gets badly scratched)it's called dvd43 and it works great.

[AmandaGal]

I use SlySoft's AnyDVD and have yet to find a DVD I couldn't copy.

I mean, if I did such things I might use that but since I don't, I don't even know what AnyDVD is.  That Fox in my taskbar is just because I..um...like foxes. My screen name used to be Vixen, yeah.

[Chaos]

Chick Pirates are HAWT.

[mrbasehart]

I think there are times when pirating can be even called important, such as archiving games that aren't sold anymore and are essentially forgotten by their developers.  Home of the Underdogs is a wonderful site, though it hasn't updated any new titles in years, it's still maintained, and it enables people to download old PCgames that are considered "abandonware".  They're pretty ethical too and if a title suddenly is made available again, they'll pull down a download link and put up the link to where you can buy it.  Check 'em out:

http://www.the-underdogs.info/

[Chaos]

I would have never been able to play the Discworld games if it weren't for the Underdogs. Discworld Noir in particular was impossible to find, because the company that originally made it got turned into a French PS2 developer, and they ditched their old website when they moved. The game basically doesn't exist anymore except for on the Underdogs site. I love those guys, they are doing the nerd god's work.