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What Digital Distribution Model Would Drive You From Piracy?

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RedSwirl

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With more people recognizing that we need to find better ways to curb piracy, I think a lot of us can agree that the best way is offer a distribution model better than what the pirates have. PC games have figured it out with Steam and Good Old Games, music has figured it out with iTunes and Amazon, but TV and movies seem to be stubborn. I guess you could also count anime too.

So this is mainly just asking you guys who download TV episodes, movies, and anime, what kind of DD model would it take to make you go completely or almost completely legit? If I want to own a movie or TV show I'm probably going to buy it on Blu-Ray, but if it's something I'm just gonna watch once I definitely don't want to invest as much in it.

Netflix is great but the industry is more or less trying to sabotage it with delays on the discs, further delays on streaming, and eventually forcing them to raise their prices. Hulu Plus is also great but in my experience too much of their stuff is web-only. The content providers are trying to steer us towards on-demand rentals on all the download services but a lot of people think $5 per movie is outrageous. In regards to anime I think I would be set if Crunchyroll or Funimation made a PS3 app.
 
Sharp said:
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Well, even being able to watch these things would be a step in the right direction. Hulu is US only, and BluRay releases take forever, if they happen at all. Also there are not enough cable providers here that show the GOOD US series like the Wire. Only the shitty stuff gets here fast enough...
 
Services that don't fuck over their paying customers by saying "You can't watch this on your streaming device, go to the web." Cancelled Hulu instantly.

I don't care if it's part of their agreements, if they can't get agreements to not be piles of shit, don't offer the service.
 
$2 for a tv episode, $10 for new release movies, $5 for back catalog movies. No DRM.

I love my itunes TV, I just wish the prices were a bit lower.

$15 for a non-HD file of the Life Aquatic? No thanks.
 
So basically a lot of you guys want stuff to release globally. I guess that's the truth of a global medium like the internet that content providers haven't realized yet. How long do you guys think it'll take before they come around?
 
RedSwirl said:
So basically a lot of you guys want stuff to release globally. I guess that's the truth of a global medium like the internet that content providers haven't realized yet. How long do you guys think it'll take before they come around?
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A decade at least. International distro deals are big money.
 
Any model that doesn't mandate free stuff first to make sure it doesn't suck and doesn't ensure greedy corporate overlords don't make money does not go far enough.
 
outunderthestars said:
A decade at least. International distro deals are big money.
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With anime they've already got the simulcast system going where an episode will stream with English subtitles the week after it airs in Japan. All I really need is access to that from the comfort of my couch (one reason to build an HTPC). You think it'll take another decade to work out a similar system for shows coming from the US to other countries?
 
Not like it would ever happen, but expanded Netflix models that is openly supported by all publishers/distributors, rather than begrudgingly accepted at best and otherwise reviled. I'd be perfectly fine with paying a premium for Netflix if all shows and movies were available on the service immediately following airing/home release.

I'd probably also be more willing to enjoy movies in theaters if it wasn't so prohibitively expensive for first run films.
 
RedSwirl said:
With anime they've already got the simulcast system going where an episode will stream with English subtitles the week after it airs in Japan. All I really need is access to that from the comfort of my couch (one reason to build an HTPC). You think it'll take another decade to work out a similar system for shows coming from the US to other countries?
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The amount of money in intl distro rights for films and hit tv shows dwarfs the relatively niche anime market.
 
Netflix-esque services from content creators will squash most mainstream piracy, as well as destroy middlemen publishers and distributors.

Louis CK's distribution for his special is a glimpse of the future.

Author speaks about his initial reaction to his book being pirated:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qkyt1wXNlI
 
I've found that I can go to the theater for the movies I want to see, buy DVDs for the ones I really liked, and that's about all I need. If a station decides to put their show up on their site I might watch it, but if it's not there, I can do without. Piracy is too much work, and if I want something that much, I'd rather support it.
 
outunderthestars said:
The amount of money in intl distro rights for films and hit tv shows dwarfs the relatively niche anime market.
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Yeah they are not gonna take such a risk. They see what worked in America, will wait 2 seasons, then start translating and releasing it in Europe. Oh and don't forget they won't dare touch anything that could "potentially" not work.
 
Copernicus said:
Netflix-esque services from content creators will squash most mainstream piracy, as well as destroy middlemen publishers and distributors.

Louis CK's distribution for his special is a glimpse of the future.
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I don't think the mass market will ever embrace having tens of thousands of online stores instead of using a handful of digital content superstores.

Netflix works because it is all in one place. Itunes works because it is all in one place.
 
outunderthestars said:
I don't think the mass market will ever embrace having tens of thousands of online stores instead of using a handful of digital content superstores.

Netflix works because it is all in one place. Itunes works because it is all in one place.
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It works because the prices are more reasonable, and it's easier. The number of stores doesn't matter at all, people'll just compare the prices in stores and get the best price, or they just don't care and buy at whatever shop they prefer. There are already tens of thousands of online stores for every other product out there, what makes you think it would be any different for these products. The only problem the entertainment industry has at this point, isn't piracy, it's their unwillingness to change models, (reall), absence of a competing market and their gathered wealth with which they seem to be easily lobbying and corrupting governments with.
 
I want a service that will let me pre load content so when i'm some where without acess to the internet I can watch it .

So lets say netflix , but i'm going on a flight and wont have wifi or 3g/4g . That way I can still use the service.


Aside from that I never pirate anyway , i wait til lstuff drops in price
 
msv said:
It works because the prices are more reasonable, and it's easier. The number of stores doesn't matter at all, people'll just compare the prices in stores and get the best price, or they just don't care and buy at whatever shop they prefer. There are already tens of thousands of online stores for every other product out there, what makes you think it would be any different for these products. The only problem the entertainment industry has at this point, isn't piracy, it's their unwillingness to change models, (reall), absence of a competing market and their gathered wealth with which they seem to be easily lobbying and corrupting governments with.
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How is trying to keep track of hundreds of authors, films, bands and their respective labels, stores, and what not easier than using a handful of major stores that carry everything.

Look at the percentage of retail made up of Walmart, Target, and Amazon.

Convenience has value to a great deal of people.

Itunes alone controls 70% of the US market for digital music. I think that is a clear sign that people value ease of use and a central marketplace for digital content.
 
outunderthestars said:
I don't think the mass market will ever embrace having tens of thousands of online stores instead of using a handful of digital content superstores.

Netflix works because it is all in one place. Itunes works because it is all in one place.
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Convenience can only go so far, if the content you want isn't available there.

When I say "netflix-esque" I don't necessarily mean everyone has their own portal for only their content. Something akin to ultraviolet or a standardized portal could allow networking various content creators for easier access.
 
I want Netflix to be what Rhapsody is to music. I can search up practically anything on Rhapsody and listen to it within seconds. If someone has a recommendation, it's likely to be there. With Netflix if someone recommends a show or a movie it's likely not to be there. I have to surf Netflix to find something to watch, rather than find something I want to watch and go to Netflix. I know this would be more expensive, and would probably have to separate TV shows and movies, but I would pay for it in a heartbeat.

And as for the music industry, the one thing that would stop me from ever getting near a download would be if the industry gave the sound files to Rhapsody when they were sent in for disc duplication. Right now the only thing I'm even tempted to download is stuff that leaks weeks ahead of time for albums that I've already got preordered and coming to my house. My money's already gone and of course I want to hear the shit as soon as possible! I know this is pretty unreasonable, though. It'd be awesome!

As for gaming, I think steam's done a lot. I think a subscription model would probably be awesome, and something like that on the consoles would be great. Also, I would say no region locking. Stuff like the piracy of Xenoblade shouldn't really have happened. I should have been able to get that version with no problems straight to my console digitally. I know Nintendo's pretty far behind on that front, but we're talking about the future here.

If we're talking non-subscription it'd take an insanely low price for music. That's not because I don't value music, it's just I listen to a ton and have to test out a ton. That's why Rhapsody works for me. If I was going to go non-subscription and have to buy things ala cart it'd have to be like 3-5 bucks per album max. I know that's low, but I do buy all my favorite music in physical copy, so I do end up putting a lot back. As for non-subscription in movies, I'd say digitally I should be able to rent a movie for 3 bucks in HD streamed to my console. I'll buy it for 10 in HD digital format. And for TV shows I'd say a buck or so an episode if not less than that. I don't want to feel ripped off if I ended up buying a whole season that way instead of bundled on a disc.
 
The movie and TV guys are stupid. They're trying to force old business models into the digital distribution space by putting up roadblocks between the user and the content.

It's not all about price, it's about quality and convenience. If you make it significantly more difficult for a user to get to and consume your content than pirates do, people are going to pirate your content. Steam and iTunes and Netflix work because it is essentially quicker and easier to get games and music and movies from those services than it is to download them from a pirate website. Hollywood is too caught up in trying to preserve the old home entertainment model to see that by making their content hard to get to, they are driving people who want to consume content digitally into the arms of the pirates.
 
Copernicus said:
Netflix-esque services from content creators will squash most mainstream piracy, as well as destroy middlemen publishers and distributors.

Louis CK's distribution for his special is a glimpse of the future.

Author speaks about his initial reaction to his book being pirated:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qkyt1wXNlI
Click to expand...

What I want to know is how long will it take before those kinds of services show up? And on set-top boxes. I honestly hope the Xbox 360's current direction is a sign of things to come.

How long will it be until they relent and finally let us watch monday night football overa a stream?
 
RedSwirl said:
What I want to know is how long will it take before those kinds of services show up? And on set-top boxes. I honestly hope the Xbox 360's current direction is a sign of things to come.

How long will it be until they relent and finally let us watch monday night football overa a stream?
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When you're willing to pay an absurdly high amount of money to do so. The thing about ESPN is that they get $4 a month for every subscriber a cable company has. That is alot more revenue than they would get by selling individual channel/event streams to people.
 
Steam + itunes + netflix

Assuming every produced game/tvshow/movie/music album/song was available to download/stream.

Also would be good for the cloud.

And the ability to trade in physical copies in exchange for digital ones.
 
A service that hosts tens of thousands of movies and television shows. If the movie exists, I want to be able to search for it and find it easily.

Currently, I have my entire DVD/BluRay collection ripped across several hard drives and have easy access to all of it at the push of a few buttons.

That's what I expect. Modern convenience. I have no need for physical media anymore outside of serving as a backup.
 
Im already legit personally. Recently, Ive only downloaded movies that have been hard to track down otherwise. Like one day I felt like watching Little Big League. Never really saw the point of piracy really. I still enjoy the movie theater experience and am willing to pay for it.
 
For TV:

$15-20/month streaming service, allows me to get a season pass to 10 shows of my choosing, from different networks even. Also includes archival licensed stuff, a la Netflix. I would gladly pay that to be able to access quality television content of my choosing.
 
XStasisX said:
Steam + itunes + netflix

Assuming every produced game/tvshow/movie/music album/song was available to download/stream.

Also would be good for the cloud.

And the ability to trade in physical copies in exchange for digital ones.
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Commercials for stream, pay to download?
 
Access to the same services Americans can get (Hulu, Netflix, HBO.Go etc) for a comparable price. There's nothing remotely similar in Australia and until then I won't feel bad for doing what I have to do.
 
I don't pirate because I have a DVR so I just record all my shows. And the only anime I watch is Funimation and they stream it quicker than the fansubbers so I'm good. As long as I can watch what I want, when I want (like a DVR) and in HD I'm good.
 
hulu needs to get rid of the web only shit. I don't understand how me watching something on my laptop vs. the tv makes a difference. also fox has to stop this hulu+ and wait a week shit.
I would like to see 2 models of hulu one model with a higher subscription with no commercials and one with commercials thats cheaper.
 
ericexpo said:
hulu needs to get rid of the web only shit. I don't understand how me watching something on my laptop vs. the tv makes a difference. also fox has to stop this hulu+ and wait a week shit.
I would like to see 2 models of hulu one model with a higher subscription with no commercials and one with commercials thats cheaper.
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I like crunchyroll's approach.
Pay for HD streams, no ads and day 1 releases.

or not pay, wait a week, ads, SD

Also, CR works on mobile phones by web or app
They also have great sales on anime everyweek(?).
 
For TV it would be a 15E or so service that allows for both streaming and auto downloading in high quality (IE subscribe to a show and have it download new episodes automatically) with good XBMC integration and obviously a good library with new and old shows.
 
Husker86 said:
Services that don't fuck over their paying customers by saying "You can't watch this on your streaming device, go to the web." Cancelled Hulu instantly.

I don't care if it's part of their agreements, if they can't get agreements to not be piles of shit, don't offer the service.
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This. Open it up to all or many many devices. HBO GO fails at this and so does Hulu. Netflix got it right, its on everything.

Also Hulu fails because Hulu paid is available on a broader list of devices, but a lot of stuff is on Hulu free only, which does not appear on an many devices. So add everything from free to paid, no exceptions and be a broad list of devices and we can talk.
 
I don't. If I don't like how something is released, I simply don't buy it as I don't have the entitlement complex that compels me to take what I want for free.
 
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