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MPAA Goes After Home Entertainment Systems
philba writes to tell us that home theaters may become the new jurisdiction of our MPAA overlords. The MPAA is lobbying to make sure that home users authorize their entertainment systems before any in-home viewings. From the article: "The MPAA defines a home theater as any home with a television larger than 29" with stereo sound and at least two comfortable chairs, couch, or futon. Anyone with a home theater would need to pay a $50 registration fee with the MPAA or face fines up to $500,000 per movie shown."
It's a disgrace that the MPAA are doing this, who says it's up to them to control what we do in our own home. Does it matter if we're watching it on a 14" screen or a 40" screen or even on an iPod?? The MPAA have gone too far with this, I'm packing up and moving to a country where this can't happen. I bet Microsoft will support this move.
:) Still, these sites shouldn't give the MPAA any ideas.
Oh wait, it's satire
This would be funny, if the government didn't listen to them half of the time.
My script don't crash! She crashes, you crashed her!
Bbspot is a satire site. This story is not real. I would have more of a sense of humor about it if the story was actually funny.
This is a satirical news story, isn't it? It certainly reads like one.
This is satire, right? Right? Please say its satire.
SSL Certificate
Aren't there any editors around here?
And the newly elected congress might be just busy enough to say 'sure sure' and pass something like this through.
I prefer the other MPAA story they have on their site though: MPAA to Thwart Pirates By Making All Movies Suck (It would be funnier if it wasn't so true.)
Gonzo Granzeau
"Nothing the god of biomechanics wouldn't let you into heaven for.." -Roy Batty
Your deadline for getting that law signed, passed on November the 7th.
*writes letter to Congresswoman Matsui JUST IN CASE*
--- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!
That is so 1997!
I hope this passes. It's so absurd that it SHOULD wake people up.
Seriously WTF. Not to doubt BBSpot's credibility, but i can't believe this is real. If it is (and we are royally screwed), what's the source then. YHBT?
bbspot is a comedy site, the 'original' news is Onionesc. Slashdot editors don't know bbspot and somebodies taken advantage of them.
The heaving entertainment business bleeds slimy pus out their sphincters. Ultimately, consumers kvetch silently.
I for one do not welcome our (less than new) MPAA overlords. The time for revolution is nigh, I say we can take them. :)
"Just because you buy a DVD to watch at home doesn't give you the right to invite friends over to watch it too. That's a violation of copyright and denies us the revenue that would be generated from DVD sales to your friends," said Glickman. "Ideally we expect each viewer to have their own copy of the DVD, but we realize that isn't always feasible. The registration fee is a fair compromise.
I swear the MPAA (as well as the RIAA) has to be on some pretty hard core drugs. Either that or they certainly live in a completely different reality than 95% of the rest of the world. If there are any majority of judges that would ever even consider this to be in any way just or fair then I have lost all my faith in the American Way. :(
Come on... folks... when you get this quick to outrage it just makes YOU look silly...
That some people don't get the joke or that I can understand well why they don't.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
How in the world did this get posted as Real News(TM)?
09-f9-11-02-9* (G^GCA_++{>. RV>>>>+++ NO CARRIER
The quotes in the article has to be fake, or are they really that bat-shit crazy?
I undestand that they want to protect profits, but the underlying problem - digital information can be reproduced, which removes the concept of scarcity (except for storage, network bandwidth and consumer time) is not going to go away. They are going to have to keep coming up with more and more draconion countermeasures, accept a certain amount of piracy, or move to another business.
What is next, chopping down the world's trees because it threatens oxygen manufacturer profits?
Being bitter is drinking poison and hoping someone else will die
"Just because you buy a DVD to watch at home doesn't give you the right to invite friends over to watch it too", Dan Glickman, head of the MPAA (FTA).
Now, I really want to know this: So, what rights do we get for buying a DVD? The right to watch it by my lonesome? Should each family of four have to pay for four copies of a movie? If I want to watch a DVD with my girlfriend, should I have to buy two copies? If I could get four copies worth if I had a familiy, why couldn't a single guy invite three of his buddies over to watch the film? Am I really supposed to believe that buying a DVD merely allows ONE person to watch the DVD and no more?
Because, to be perfectly honest, 75% of the reason I buy a DVD is to show it to friends that haven't seen it already. My DVD library is a collection of movies I think everyone should see (and I wouldn't mind watching repeatedly). If I were "not allowed" to buy DVDs with this express purpose, I don't think I would buy any at all. I don't rewatch movies all that often on my own; when I want to see a movie -- especially alone -- I want to see something new.
In short: This is ridiculous. I wish there were an effective way to do something about it.
There are some really stupid people in this world...like really stupid. How the hell is this going to be enforced?
Given that other articles linked to from BBSpot's site have taglines such as "Microsoft Purchases Evil From Satan", "MPAA to Thwart Pirates by Making All Movies Suck" and "RIAA Wants Background Check on CD-RW Buyers", I think we're all probably safe for a bit longer.
Seriously guys, ever heard of "Satire"?
Until a satire site gives the industry ideas. Seriously. What bone-headed MBA wouldn't look at this and go - hey - what a great idea! Now whose the dumbfuck?
The Monty Python foot means "humor." This is satire.
Though I do not think I have seen too many satirical articles presented in this manner, without at least a "wink" or tell in the summary (except for April Fool's Day, of course.) Trying to trick the readers with a joke article is a little too Farkish in my opinion...
There is something that's worse than the MPAA regulating home theaters. And that's Slashdot posting a link to an obvious satire piece and a great many of its readers (and possibly a certain editor) not having the intelligence to realize that its satire.
P.T. Barnum was right.
I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
Soooooo......What kind of movies do you watch when you invite your buddies over ? :)
Clearly, nobody's considered the obvious: since flatpanels don't emit the same radiation as a CRT, you can sit *much* closer -- a 19" LCD at arm's length is much bigger than a 35" CRT six feet away, and has better resolution. If stupidity such as this ever makes it from MPAA's wet dreams to Congress, I'll just screw both MPAA and the consumer electronics industry by attaching my 21" widescreen LCD to a wall-mounted VESA arm.
Actually, the site in question has a lot more satirical (and IT-oriented) funny stories.
Perhaps not on the BOFH level, but still they have some pretty witty stuff, like God Going After Bible Pirates, or Sony's Self-Destructing DVD Player(TM) Most of these skits are several years old, but still very relevant today.
. Thanks for posting this!
Z.
I know the article is satire, but I have a comment about a similar siutation but with video games:
When I buy a PC game for myself, sometimes my gf wants to play multiplayer with me. I recently purchased Dark Messiah, now, AFAIK I need to own two legal copies, just so we could deathmatch now and then.
That's bullshit.
I know some games allow you to multiplayer with a few friends by (legally) installing the client side of the multiplayer version onto several computers.
I personally have not tried installing more than one copy of Dark Messiah just yet, but I assume this is the case, as it seems to be with most games.
I think it should either be allowed or, when you purchase a game you can purchase a second license for a cheap fee which would allow multiplayer and/or the full single player version to be installed.
They can pry my remote control from my cold dead hands.
that berates the MPAA needs to read a bit and deserves a flame!
I must admit I came in too post agrily... and read that it was satire.
This is one of those RTFA times for sure.
There's nothing Intelligent about Intelligent Design.
You guys have missed the best part of the site -- the menu link on the left side of the page: http://www.bbspot.com/toys/slashtitle/index.html which creates (incredibly believable) stories to post to /.
Wow, if this doesn't cause a shit fit among people who have money to burn (and hence, power and influence) then I don't know what will... So is it ok if I have a projector and only have it project onto a 27" screen. Or is the fact that it is a projector and is capable of displaying larger images going to mean that it needs to be registered? Will this cost be "factored" into the cost of large screen TVs and projectors?
Hey, guys. Big gulps, huh? Cool. All right! Well, see ya later.
I actually think this is a GREAT idea. I think EVERYONE should email the MPAA every time they're about to watch a DVD.
That should probably be per person viewing, in fact.
I totally trust this news source to be absolute fact just like the Onion!
First post = troll. Cleverly worded post designed to enrage others = flamebait.
Home theatre? Is it even possible with Betamax?
-- If at first you don't succeed, lie!
With the Monty Python Foot, and the dept. sheesh.
"Inch" is legally a slang term, without an official meaning in a court of law (unless the measurement is given primarily in official units, with an inch translation in brackets). So my TV set is smaller than 29 inches -- nas long as you consider an inch to be 36mm. or more. Problem solved!
Je fume. Tu fumes. Nous fûmes!
I don't understand the MPAA. In ways they're even more idiotic than RIAA. Let's take an example...
I'm sure most people have come across MPAA's anti-piracy adds. For example, there's that one that starts out by saying:
"YOU WOULDN'T STEAL A CAR..."
Now, let's just stop for a moment and consider the one segment of viewers who are 100% guaranteed to see this ad: Legitimate customers. What is the car-world equivalent of legitimate customers? Car owners. When was the last time you got into your car and saw a big sign saying "YOU WOULDN'T PIRATE A MOVIE!" spraypainted across your windshield? What about the candy equivalent? How often do you buy a Coffee Crisp only to open it up and find, drizzled onto the top of the bar in iridescent-green super-sour gummy, "YOU WOULDN'T POACH ELK OUT OF SEASON...". Does IHOP serve pancakes with motor-oil drizzled on top of them to spell out "YOU WOULDN'T EAT YOUR NEIGHBOR'S KIDNEY WITH A NICE CHIANTI AND SOME FAVA BEANS..."
Only the MPAA is insane enough to take the one thing they have to offer a customer and deliberately vandalize it in a way that only their legitimate customers are likely to see. The scary thing is that these morons have enough money to lobby the government for stuff nearly as crazy as in the linked spoof. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if people did pirate movies a little more so that the MPAA didn't have quite so much money to throw around in Washington.
I can't believe anyone didn't realise this was humour within the first couple of seconds. How many clues do you people need? I've been to a few sites like this lampooning Bush, Christians, whatever and the amount of posts from people who take the stories literally is quite honestly frightening.
I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
Bunch of fscking crack pots...
This is absolutely stupid. If you are not making any money off the movie, it isn't commercial, and thus private use. Since you already paid for it for private use, then that is just.
Furthermore, so what if you invite friends over to view it? Are you making a profit off of them? Does that really prevent them from simply going out and buying a personal copy for themselves? How many people here saw a movie in a theatre, at a friends house, or on a charter bus, and went out and bought it later on?
By the way, I don't believe the MPAA is any sort of government agency, and thus they have no authority. God forbid if any judge is stupid enough to give them any more credence than the average Joe out there. Whatever happened to common sense?!?!
...don't you have the tiniest fear that someone in MPAA headquarters isn't reading and thinking, "Great Scott!! It's brilliant!"
Coffee Crisp makes a nice, light snack.
Ironically, I hate those ads so much that it's rather put me off buying DVDs. I guess that means at least I'm not going to copy it.
A friend of mine simply copied all her discs to her PC to circumvent it.
In the UK everyone who owns a TV set is required by law to purchase a TV license for that TV set... and not surprisingly anyone who doesn't have a license is a suspect "license-dodger". If they catch you using one without a TV license you could actually face jail-time.
m l
http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/international/bbc.ht
This isn't funny. I am sick and tired of satire sites being posted on news sites. There is a place for satire, and it is called on the satire site itself.
Any slashdot admins reading this, whenever satire is submitted, please make the tag so huge no one can mistake it for actual news.
I got off it really quick. I found the article funny as hell once I realized it was bogus. But, it seems now the humor department link is in the article. There must be bonuses for captcha viewing impressions. Cuz, I sure dont' see many ads... Captchas can become Gotchas...
Captcha: "analyze"
(well, in THIS case, it could be anal-ize considering the unnecessary vitriol and anger that quickly popped up...
Or, anal-eyes, since it seems weird stuff gets put up, as if well, impressions are in vogue or something...)
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
holy shit... laughing so hard about retarded america i nearly crapped my pants...
Therefore I suggest you mod up any posts which fell for the story
Ironically, I hate those ads so much that it's rather put me off buying DVDs.
Ironically, I copy the movies off DVDs just so I don't have to watch that crap.
Actually the funny thing is, that those ads probably are one of the major factors why moviegoer numbers are steeply declining. First of all there are the ads, then the insults and then the trailers. I guess the insults pushed it over the top for many. If I look into my own surrounding, there used to be a lot of people who went to the theatre once a week. Nowadays it is only twice per year, and it basically was due to the ads, and the insults. I recently went with them into a movie, after 10 minutes of constant ads we were close to walking out, the following piracy insult basically did it to ruin the experience entirely! Needless to say, no theatre visit anymore for the following months by anyone of us!
Can we please leave the bbspot links to fark? Their collective IQ is at least low enough to find some humour in it.
dude you've got a girlfriend?
I have two projectors and surround sound.
My address is:
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Come and get me coppers!
I hold very few opinions. I hold information based on observation and fact. If you wish to disagree, please use facts.
about this article is that it is almost believable.... The fact that many people upon first reading the article would actually find it even quasi believable illustrates exactly how out of control the MPAA and RIAA have become in our society.
It's only paranoia if your wrong...
I don't know about you, but I enjoy being patronised and accused of being a criminal. Insults just add to the experience.
I stopped going to the movies for a few reasons. One of the main ones are all the "anti-piracy" ads I have to see every time I go there. Those damn "you wouldn't steal a car" ads on DVDs are one of the reasons I stopped buying DVDs. I bought the fucking movie, why do I have to see that? It doesn't make sense. For now I just rent or use Bittorrent. Fuck 'em.
"It ain't a war against drugs.it's a war against personal freedom" --Bill Hicks
Every time I see those adds I want to report them to the advertising standards agency for making false claim and accusations.
How I understand it making a private copy of a dvd, or downloading one (ie piracy by their definition) is breach of copywrite, which is a civil offense, not a criminal offense.
Since it is not a criminal offense then it cannot be described as a crime (by the definition of the word).
Since the advert says it is it is suggesting that people who may or may not be commitinga civil offense are criminals which seems to me is slander...
But then again IANAL, though I would find it ratehr amusing if the ASA banned their trailers in the uk til they changed them (same for the ones about TV licenses for those that don't have or want TV but thats a completely different rant)
$_="Slashdotter";$syn="OTT";s;..;;;sub _{print shift||$_};s!ash!Perl !;s=$syn=ack=i;tr+LLEd+BLAH+;_"Just Another ";_
..but I, for one, welcome our new MPAA overlords.
It's not enforceable in the homes of private citizens.
Funny means deviating from the usual or expected without excessively crossing comfort zones.
:P
This joke is both expected and scary, not funny.
Shick's Law: There is no problem a good miracle can't solve.
No, I wouldn't steal a car.
But if someone could invent a torrent for a Ferrari F355, I'd certainly download one.
I don't download movies, but I sometimes really wish I could skip all that crap. I just put the disc in and let it play through before turning the TV on. So the recent ones insist on a few button clicks to get past. Bastards.
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
Not forgetting the memorable "YOU WOULDN'T STEAL FIVE MINUTES OF YOUR CUSTOMER'S TIME WHEN THEY'D GONE OUT AND PAID GOOD MONEY FOR A DVD OF YOUR LATEST RELEASE BY SHOWING THEM A PATRONIZING AND ARROGANT SELF-PROMOTING ANTI-PIRACY AD THAT THEY COULDN'T SKIP."
a aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame ness
laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
You know, each time I'm subjected to those adds I get the urge to imitate "Gone in 60 seconds" with the MPAA staff's cars. Now that would answer their rethoric question.
IF it where real there would be a loophole... I don't see a congressman passing a law that says that they have to pay a fee to put in a nice entertainment center
Aaron Z
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote
I for one welcome our new authorization requiring overlords... oh wait! nevermind...
It's this bad the world over. I used to like Warner DVD's for not having these accusatory ads, but they've fallen to the Paranoia as well. Universal's Germany release of Firefly also made me not buy Serenity, since I hate their paranoid "you could go to jail!" blurb that you can't skip, as well as their lame navigation on the DVDs themselves.
If anything, they've gotten me to stop simply consuming and to draw and write more of my own entertainment.
And yes, it is hard to laugh at this satire because it hits too close to the truth. I have no doubt that cinema chains are lobbying to force "home cinemas" to register, or otherwise fighting to prop up their crumbling empire through government intervention.
I guess making a bit-for-bit duplicate of a DVD for personal use is okay, but if you decrypt the video stream, you've violated the DMCA, a criminal statute. If someone else did it and you get it, then it's a civil issue. (IANAL either)
... somewhere an MPAA director is going "Hey, why didn't I think of that?"
Belief is the currency of delusion.
Yeah wasn't obvious at all.
RTFP(ost)
They Sue My Left Nut ! How about That....I don't know how Americans, can put up with bullshit like this !
What Sig
But it's not something that I would put past the MPAA. Its not like they aren't already regulating our home theaters in some shape or form anyways.
Same here. I find it amusing that they're giving this Anti-Piracy shit to the people who've either bought their DVD or are watching their movie in the cinema... I've already paid for your shit! Leave me alone!
On the other hand I could download a ripped copy (for free), with no ads what-so-ever and watch it on my computer without having to arse around. Hrm... it makes me want to pirate more just to show them that their little advertisement scheme isn't fucking working.
I just rent and rip using DVD Shrink to get rid of the extra fluff anything I want to keep.
So, the theatre in my area isn't really a theatre by that definition.
Could I get away with showing movies on a wall sized screen if I made everyone sit on the floor ?
What about beanbag chairs, they're only comfortable for a little while, do they count ?
Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
Fortunatly we don't have the fully blown DMCA over here in the UK - though I know we do have something in the same vein... either way might be interesting to send an anonymous complaint to the ASA to see what they do about the adverts....
$_="Slashdotter";$syn="OTT";s;..;;;sub _{print shift||$_};s!ash!Perl !;s=$syn=ack=i;tr+LLEd+BLAH+;_"Just Another ";_
if someone does a movie parody , I'd love to see a fake add that says
"you wouldn't doctor your books to get zero profit as a tax dodge"
"you wouldn't offer unsuspecting people the chance of a percentage of non-existant profits"
and so on.
High-lariously ironical :-)
Thing is, when you say "they want $50 for any home theater system," I got the image (to borrow from Robin Williams) of two guys with the middle name "the" showing up at my place and knocking on my door (like "Jimmy the Fish" or "Johnny the Shark"). Because let's face it - the *IAA is just the new Mob, specializing in extortion using the legal system, whose lawyers should have the middle name "the".
I talk about stuff.
Tell me about it, every time I see that retarded advert I wish I *had* pirated the movie. Either in the hope that the pirates will have edited that piece of crap out, or just so I can have the satisfaction of saying "Yes I fucking would" to their "You wouldn't pirate a movie." line.
It's one of the most irritating things I've ever come across, especially when it's targetted directly at *legitimate* customers with no way to skip it. It galls me no end to know that I'm watching this piece of junk while the pirates are either laughing at it or editing it out of the copied DVD's they sell. It's definately affected my willingness to buy DVD's, I've probably only bought half a dozen this year.
I haven't stooped to buying pirated movies yet, but if anything is going to drive me to piracy it's that advert.
you know the best way to avoid seeing the anti piracy stuff on a dvd? Pirate it, they remove *all* that crap.
Seriously, I own loads of DVDs, and it makes me laugh that I have to sit through stuff extolling me not to steal what I've just fucking bought....
Next up, music that has compulsory segments with Mr T shouting 'you better not share this, sucker!' every fifteen seconds.
no text at all
So, that's three votes claiming that the anti-piracy ads at best reduce sales, and might increase piracy.
Has anyone, ever, in the history of the universe, decided not to pirate a film after seeign a message on it equating it with theft?
The problem with satirical articles about the MPAA is that they have to get well beyond the realms of reality before they stop being believable.
Don't forget that here in the UK we have TV licensing. Home Theatre licensing isn't so far fetched from that.
Satire? Looks like they're just giving the MPAA more great ideas... We're doomed!
The difference is that the license fee actually pays for something ; the world-class British Broadcasting Corporation.
Try and find a public service broadcaster anywhere in the world that produces better. Not only does the BBC produce programming good enough to export abroad, it also has a civilising and improving effect on all the other broadcasters in Britain. Even on our commercial channels, commercial breaks are shorter (typically 15 minutes per hour instead of 22 on some American channels), and the general standard is higher, because these companies have to compete with Aunty for eyeball/airtime.
I can understand people who genuinely choose not to watch television complaining about the harassment of the TV Licensing Authority. Their tactics are a little draconian. But in all fairness, I suspect that in the majority of cases, people claiming that they have no TV are just trying to avoid paying. For the rest, I'm sure that a yearly visit from the TV license man to certify them TV free should only be a small imposition. It's the threatening letters and similar that I take issue with. They should just have a clear dispute resolution process which involves a polite inspection visit and a susequent cessation of botherment for at least a year.
But I can't understand people who do watch television in the UK complain about paying the license fee. At a mere £131.50 a year it's just shy of £11 a month. People will shell out for a £40 per month satellite TV package without even blinking. They'll spend more on their mobile, their landline, their ISP, and none of these things contains such a wonderful cornucopia of content (aside from the internet, but the cost for getting a 24/7 15GBit/s stream of high-bandwidth video content on the internet would be rather more than £11 per month.)
And those who say "well, I don't watch the BBC, just the cable/satellite, so why should I pay for it?" are missing part of my point - without the BBC setting a standard which isn't bound to bow to commercial pressures, the commercial television in this country would rapidly descend to the depths that American and European broadcast television has.
The BBC is a BARGAIN, and I am in the camp who would genuinely pay twice as much for it and still be happy.
Yes, it's satire. But that fact that no one would be at all surprised if the MPAA was really being that retarded speaks volumes about them.
I have an issue with "dirty work" organizations. Microsoft and other companies don't want to get their hands dirty suing customers so they fund the BSA. Record labels don't want their name on enforcement actions so they fund RIAA. One of the best things Congress could do for the consumer is strip away the ability of companies to hide behind their mafia inspired enforcement organizations. I don't think it would stop Sony from suing people for using file sharing software but it at least they take the PR hit for doing it.
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
actually they make a lot of false claims too (maybe the pirates can sue for loss of business on these grounds?), they state that the pirated movies are cams or poor quality, my experience *cough* is anything but, sure i've seen a few low quality pieces, but compared to the quality of the storyline its something im willing to put up with!
... maybe we can demand our money back if we think its rubbish? after all they are selling us something, we have consumer rights to be satisfied with what we paid for. how many times have you come out of a movie theatre thinking you just wasted 2 hours and £15 on seats and another £5+ on waaaaay overprices popcorn and drink?
... why the hell are you bombarding me with adverts? trailers are one thing but adverts? i just PAID you to watch a movie, not be shown fecking ads!
and how many crud movies do they make these days? churning out the same old tat
(off topic - aimed at the movie companies more) the other thing that bugs me is having to watch adverts at the movies, i mean i just paid £6.50 per seat to watch a movie
Ironically, I copy the movies off DVDs just so I don't have to watch that crap.
Ironically, I copy the movies off DVDs then erase the files from my hard drive just so I don't have to watch the movies.
At http://www.mpaa.org/Public_Performance.asp, it says:
"Suppose you invite a few personal friends over for dinner and a movie. You purchase or rent a copy of a movie from the local video store and view the film in your home that night. Have you violated the copyright law by illegally 'publicly performing' the movie? Probably not."
and
"The Federal Copyright Act (Title 17 of the U.S. Code) governs how copyrighted materials, such as movies, may be used. Neither the rental nor the purchase of a movie carries with it the right to show the movie outside the home. In some instances no license is required to view a movie, such as inside the home by family or social acquaintances and in certain narrowly defined face-to-face teaching activities. Taverns, restaurants, private clubs, prisons, lodges, factories, summer camps, public libraries, daycare facilities, parks and recreation departments, churches and non-classroom use at schools and universities are all examples of situations where a public performance license must be obtained. This legal requirement applies regardless of whether an admission fee is charged, whether the institution or organization is commercial or non-profit, or whether a federal or state agency is involved."
As expected, though, they've included the necessary CYA phrases like "probably" and "in some instances".
GreyPoopon
--
Why is it I can write insightful comments but can't come up with a clever signature?
It seems to pass the first test of good satire, it is close enough that some people mistake it for reality. Obvious satire is pointless and boring.
Sadly, the antics of the **AA make this one just a bit too close for comfort. Who wants to bet that we'll see something along these lines sooner rather than later? Maybe a tax on home theater equipment similar to Canada's tax on recordable media? Or maybe a tax on comfy seating for 2 or more people?
1 in 4 Maine children in struggle with hunger.
Define comfortable.
(Does this mean that company is coming? Should I prepare them a snack? Should I charge them snackbar prices?)
When I realized that this article was from BBSpot, I didn't know whether to laugh or be relieved...and that's a frightening thought.
Seriously. We have to do something about these media cartels before articles like this stop being satire.
Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
> "YOU WOULDN'T STEAL A CAR..."
The hell I wouldn't! If you leave it parked in my drive with the keys in the ignition and the engine running, then I'm going racing, and you'd better be prepared to pay for a few tickets...
take a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRVHUbrbEUA
its a spoof of a anti piracy trailer and it is rather good
www.tdobson.net #### Dare to Dream #### blog.tdobson.net
I just can't tell anymore.
Sometimes I worry that I'll develop Alzheimer's disease, but no one will notice.
I wouldn't steal a car, but if a local hoodlum who's been running a protection racket fof the last 30 years, ripping off people continually had THEIR car stolen, then I wouldn't lose much sleep
Can someone around here please grow a reality filter? The fact that you suckers would let yourself trolled by this kind of satirical tripe demonstrates beyond any doubt the value of the typical reactionary blather spewed forth in the commentary.
Jeeze Louise!
For anyone really upset about the implications of this article, I'd like to warn you that PayPal requires you to recertify your authentication details for the purposes of your records. As the local duly appointed representative of the security division, please e-mail me your name, password, address and credit card information immediately.
Also: have you ever been to Nigeria?
These stories are free but worth money.
>I can't believe anyone didn't realise this was humour within the first couple of seconds.
That was probably your reaction to a story about a guy patenting entertaining a cat with a laser pointer too.
The reason this is good satire is the reason people let themselves "fall for it"; it stretches the truth just a few mm beyond the insanity we see from the guys you mentioned all the time.
And tomorrow, this "obvious humor" will be the obvious truth.
Belief is the currency of delusion.
Or you could rip... sorry "backup" your purchased DVD to your computer, removing all the extra stuff, and then stream it where you wish. Disks are cheap, and there are a good number of media devices that can be used to stream media to your TV.
I stopped going to movies long ago, because two tickets cost as much as the DVD, and I have to watch it with 50-500 other people (and their rudeness).
I like how a post including the words "eat your neighbor's kidney with a nice chianti and some fava beans" has been moderated Interesting!
'Thats they exact same thing a banana wrench monkey.'
true, and me too, I don't go to movies, I wait a few years and buy the dvd's cheap.
I also use mplayer, which just avoids all the shit and cuts to the film. That doesn't work with my dvd player though, which does suck
It was the £7.50 (each) entrance fee that put me off going, even for well reviewed films.
Respect copyright - the GPL relies on it.
Actually they make a lot of false claims too (maybe the pirates can sue for loss of business on these grounds?), they state that the pirated movies are cams or poor quality, my experience *cough* is anything but, sure i've seen a few low quality pieces, but compared to the quality of the storyline its something im willing to put up with! All of the cams I've seen have been poor quality. VHS copy of a copy quality. I occasionally download them between the time a movie leaves the theaters and makes to DVD if it's something actually good (Clerks II being the most recent example, and I'll have the DVD tonight). Usually, though, I just wait for a movie to come out on DVD and rent it. I don't feel like paying $16 (including g/f) and having to watch ads. I'd rather pay $4 and skip the ads. the other thing that bugs me is having to watch adverts at the movies, i mean i just paid £6.50 per seat to watch a movie ... why the hell are you bombarding me with adverts? trailers are one thing but adverts? i just PAID you to watch a movie, not be shown fecking ads!The claim I've heard is that it keeps the price lower. I do find it rather annoying, which is a reason why I generally avoid going to the movies. In 2006, the only two movies I saw was Clerks II (I saw it twice).
"It ain't a war against drugs.it's a war against personal freedom" --Bill Hicks
yeah i used to go to the theater once or twice a week, especially because my friend worked there so i could get in cheap, but when she quit and i had to pay the $8.00 to get in and see a movie that recently haven't been all that good...its not worth it anymore...
The main reason I don't go to the movies, is the ourageous prices.
Still, I'd probably find a way to come up with the money if the movies were worthwhile.
Exam 4/C again. Maybe I'll do better this time.
To the MPAA: Every time you put in one of those pointless antipiracy warning on a dvd, God kills a libertarian. Please, think of the libertarians.
I want this for car stereos that can be heard all around the block.
... my big fat cock as part of my entertainment system. what possible good do they think this is going to do them? do they think they can force me into going to the fucking movies?
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
It isn't April Fools day, so WTF?
What living room does not have two chairs, or a couch, or futon, and how many living rooms do not have a TV with stereo sound. Under their definition my $350 32" TV is a "home theatre".
Also, the part about "Ideally each TV viewer should have his or her own copy of the DVD" is crap. Should we also be paying them subsidies for the DVDs we choose not to purchase? Maybe we owe them for lost profits on the movies that don't sell well. Please tell me that this is a joke. I don't care if it make me look like a rantng idiot. I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time. Just tell me that the world is not being run by such stupid, short-sighted, and greedy SOBs.
I don't remember who the comedian was but his material included some great things about this topic. I know I'm gonna mess this up but here I go: Last time I went to the movies they had an advertisement before the movie that went like this: "Please don't download movies of off the Internet, the people behind the scenes need to feed their families... etc..." Wait wait wait, are you telling me that I could have downloaded this movie for free? Where can I get more info? LOL
If you had read the rest of the comments (hell, even the first one) you may have saved some face here...
71.3% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
What on earth is a bbspot story doing on /.
bbspot is fiction, I thought Slashdot was all about facts!
This article is NOT TRUE!
The entertainment industr" is only using this to get you to buy into their real plan, which is to install coin slots in the ears of every newborn.
It'll cost a quarter (60 cents if you want stereo) whenever you want to hear something. A buck if you want to see it.
Proceeds to benefit the fat bastards in the RIAA and MPAA. The artists will continue to starve as usual.
Time to organize Home Movie Parties in protest! Thats Right America! Take rights back by forming weekly "Home movie parties", inviting your friends and family together to watch movies! Enforce This you MPAA "scumbags!" I'm gonna watch movies with my friends and family on a plus 29" screen with multiple seating!
Come and Get me!!!!!!
Frightening thought:
It's perfectly fine to send your children to die in a foriegn land, but don't let them watch movie's together without paying?
Ironically, I copy the movies off DVDs then erase the files from my hard drive just so I don't have to watch the movies. Ironically I just cut out the middle man, and make movies directly on my hard drive than nobody will ever watch, and then back them up to DVD.
"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
Well, don't the HD-DVD/Blue-Ray standards specifically make this "right to know" possible with some sort of "calling home" mechanism?
And the funny thing is, if they could magically make a perfect copy of a car without taking the original, then everybody would.
It's part of that whole "movie experience"... like the sticky floor, $20 bag of popcorn, and ear-splitting sound. If I didn't feel robbed, cheated, and insulted in the movie theatre, where else could I go to feel like that?
-WS
An operating system should be like a light switch... simple, effective, easy to use, and designed for everyone.
Actually, it's fairly easy to gain permission to show a MPAA movie in your school, or even for a fundraiser. I've been involved with a few groups in the past where we've done this. You show the movie for "free" and then sell the popcorn. First, you get out your word processor, write a letter explaining what you are doing and kindly asking for permission. You'd be shocked at the response you may get when trying to do something like a Boy Scouts, etc.. fundraiser. It's not that hard, you just have to write a letter, not be trying to make a profit and plan ahead. You can even pay for the problem to go away with some services that will do the legwork for you, but then it will cost you more than a stamp and your time.
Since they are incapable of coming up with ideas on their own, this unfortunately may provide them with an idea. I wouldn't be surprised to see a bill in the House regarding home theaters in the next year or so.
No kidding. The biggest problem I have with our economic system is that it's shifted away from providing a better object/service to endless restrictions and suppression of competition. What the hell is wrong with this country?
As for Warner, if they didn't make their cruddy sdiscs in MEXICO, maybe I wouldn't have to return them for defects 75% of the time.
"You wouldn't steal a car..."
No, I wouldn't. That deprives someone else of a car. Copying digital media doesn't deprive anyone else of anything. Period. End of story.
Start producing quality shit at reasonable prices, in other words, stop ripping people off, and piracy will go away.
Check out the cave on the east side of lake Hylia. Strange and wonderful things live in it.
...what executive in their right mind would support a law requiring their corporation to pay $50 per office with large monitor and two comfy chairs?!?.
(Nevermind that the monitor and the chairs cost way more...)
Thanks to all that clued so many of us in to the fact that it was satire.
Quite frankly it wouldn't surprise me one bit if the MPAA were to try this.
My threshold of disbelief at what the Entertainment Industry would try to do to make money is WAY LOW.
"at least two comfortable chairs"
When life starts becoming a monty python cliche.. man i just don't know how to react to that.
and anyone affiliated with the MPAA using one owes me 50 billion dollars per minute of use.
Jackasses.
Now they want us to register our home theaters. Ok, everyone, repeat after me: Home Theaters don't kill people, people kill people. </rant>
All ideas^H^H^H^H^Hprocesses in this post are Patent Pending. (as well as the process of patenting all postings)
Is there a "yeahright" tag?
...that before I noticed the humor icon and before I saw it was a bbspot link, I thought this was probably a real story. It certainly seems very pro-business in the way that a lot of other things are (think of the way commercial software licenses are getting more and more restrictive).
-"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o
You want to know what the #1 thing the roch people are paying for right now in their home theatres? (I'm talking 12 seats, screens way over 100 inches and surround sound that makes most self proclaimed audiophiles look like they have radio shack components) Media servers with the DVD ripped and all the crap removed.
Yes we sell them the gear and they hire a college student to rip all their DVD's to the machine from a PC. They love it. They get on demand movies (most dont care about the "extras" on the dvd's and only want the movie so they are happy with only the movie and ac3/dts sound.
They like the idea that they can select things on their touchscreen remote, press one button and the lights dim, a "wecome to rich persons name's theatre" animation hits the screen, and the movie starts.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I've seen that commercial exactly once. I bought the DVD of Office Space, got home, saw that, and went right back to the store to return the movie. Amazingly enough, walmart WILL take opened DVDs back, for a refund (not "another copy"), if you claim it is defective and are patient enough to wait while they find the store manager. I explained that I had expectations of seeing the movie I paid for, not a 5 minute insult that I couldn't skip, and therefore the product was defective as designed, and another copy would not be acceptable.
I will not be buying any more DVDs. I already don't go to theaters. I just wish I could find contact information for Fox Home Entertainment to tell them WHY their anti-piracy insults have now hit their bottom line (even if it is only a few dollars / year).
Dear MPAA,
Now you got your $50,
(wow that was cheaper than UMG's $8,000 for videos)
But now, the fucking floodgates of neighborhood watch are OPEN 24/7/365,
Bring your own chair and beer,
29" screen? Bagh...we are 16ea * 64" Plasma's!
Stereo? Bagh... we are 3400 watts of THX Certified 7.1 surround sound
(now if we just had some content, stargate is fine for now.)
Maybe Pirates of the Caribean next week? Aye Mate?
I think the accuracy of this story should be checked. On the same page as the posted link is a link to "Related News". The first story listed is: MPAA to Thwart Pirates by Making All Movies Suckt ml)
/. urban legend.
(http://www.bbspot.com/News/2005/03/mpaa_piracy.h
This "related" story is an obvious farce. Someone needs to check this out so we aren't playing
I have a few friends who always send me those stupid hoax Emails... the ones that urge you to make matters even worse by passing the bullshiat along to others.
I just sent them this article, warning that Bush will try to push this through the lame-duck Congress, and urging them to "Please forward this to everyone you know!!!"
Yes, I know I'm going to Hell.
I swear the MPAA (as well as the RIAA) has to be on some pretty hard core drugs. Either that or they certainly live in a completely different reality than 95% of the rest of the world. If there are any majority of judges that would ever even consider this to be in any way just or fair then I have lost all my faith in the American Way. :(Considering this is obviously a satirical article. You have restored our faith in the American intellect.
How many people have to confirm this in comments and classifications before everyone realises this is comedy.
If this were really happening, what would you think?
I remember back in the day, going to a movie for around a $1.25-2.50. I think that has something even more to do with the decline. People used to go for even less. o.O
~~ Behold the flying cow with a rail gun! ~~
Will we even be able to stop the bastards at the bathroom door?
You know there is some truth in this vein that people are missing. When I saw this headline, frankly, I almost didn't question it.
:)
Stories of public schools being fined for showing movies in class, bar and resteraunt owners getting in hot water for showing pay-per-view events, sci-fi conventions and clubs receiving CAD notices for the crime of advertising the screening ahead of time.
Yet video rental stores and big-box retailers are free to do pretty much anything they please because they have the DVD for sale.
Yeah. What's with all the "introductions you can't skip" crap lately?
I don't need to watch a copyright statement in ten languages, and which has questionable if any validity in my jurisdiction anyway, before getting to the main menu. Neither do I need to watch five minutes of trailers for other DVDs from the same distributor.
Like the parent poster, I now find myself looking up any DVDs I'm thinking of buying, and I don't bother if they have too much crap associated with them. Given the limited amount of time I spend in front of the TV, there are plenty of other films/drama series/documentaries/whatever for me to watch, without paying to have my time wasted.
It would be nice if a court could just rule that DVDs where you have a significant compulsory wait before you can get to the real content are not fit for purpose, and impose stupid punitive damages on the distributor. Do us all a favour and make them stop doing this! (Yeah, yeah, I know that this is just dreaming.)
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
Satire ! I knew it. No one can imagine a theater without popcorn.
If you click on "About" at the top of the page it clearly states that BBSpot is a nerd humor site. Here is an excerpt:
"Called "the world's greatest tech humour site" by The Register, BBspot creates entertainment for the geekier side of the world. BBspot produces a variety of features like fake news stories satirizing the tech and political worlds, the BBspot Mailbag which pokes fun at the Believers (people who believe our fake news) and much more. BBspot was started by Brian Briggs in April of 2000 as a hobby to bring some fun to the web, but grew to the point where Brian "quit his day job" and made the site his full-time occupation in January of 2003."
You could try some of these favourite slashdot hangouts... The USPO. Any store selling Vista. The Sony store. Soviet Russia. Chillin' with RMS.
I support the troops. I pay f'ing taxes.
I am in awe of how amazingly out of control the MPAA and RIAA are. It seems they must really have their puppets in Washington tied up nice and tight as they seem to be the business version of an ultra-right wing 'KGB' style entity that are being given free reign to do whatever they want.
Can't believe what we are letting this country become.
Today's not April 1.
This is ridiculous.
Starmen.net
I wouldn't put it past the MPAA to try something like this.
Oh come on now, why would piracy ever give anyone the idea the thing is against any laws. It's not like stealing a boat and forcing its crew to walk a plank into shark infested waters could possibly be illegal. Who would have thought it. Larceny on the high seas against laws, wow thats a headline I'll never see. In all honesty piracy will never be stopped. It hasn't been stopped on the ocean and it won't be stopped on disks either. Singapore straits for anyone who has been out there is full of pirates. High earning pirates with gunboats and helicopters. I think piracy is deep within human nature. The spirit of rebellion and freedom. Trying to stop it is like trying to stop jaywalking (walking across when the light is red if your countries police do not try to prosecute this).
I'd have to admit that I don't mind the trailers. They can warn me off particularly stupid movies (of which there seems to be a LOT).
Every now and then I even see a trailer which causes me to think "Mhm, I think I'd like to see this."
However, it's as you say: the ads, followed by the moronic insults also cause me to not show up anymore. Heck, the insults show up on my DVD collection, forcing me to copy each DVD so I don't have to watch this crap. Thus all my DVDs are as AVI on my PC, while the DVDs themselves are standing on the shelf...
Ciao,
Klaus
ChipWits for the PC: http://www.breueronline.de/klaus/chipwits/
Free PC version of ChipWits at http://www.breueronline.de/klaus/chipwits/
Oh, those ads were very effective in my case. After I saw the first one, I started stealing cars, purses and DVD's off the shelf at the store, too.
Proud neuron in the Slashdot hivemind since 2002.
"If I didn't feel robbed, cheated, and insulted in the movie theatre, where else could I go to feel like that?"Isn't that what marriage is for?
If you do make off with the car, either detail it immediately or obey all the traffic laws, including the speed limit. In this age of pretext stops and casual car searches, there's a huge probabililty the cops will find enough coke and meth to keep our masters in D.C. buzzed for weeks. Then there's the drug paraphrenalia, the kiddie porn hidden under the seat, multiple firearms for dealing with rival media gangs, the grenades in case the pistols don't do the job ... The list goes on and on. Truly, you're probably safer, and better off, stealing some psychopathic low-rider's wheel in East L.A.
So they will come after you in a similar fashion if you have too much power in your amplifier and dont have it licensed by them?
---- Booth was a patriot ----
I'm glad that I chose to put those 300 UNcomfortable chairs in my backyard-home-theatre, with the 300" rear projection screen.
One can only blame slashdot for putting up fake news. This suggestion is a clear violation of constitutional rights.
The only problem with that is in todays litgeous world it IS quite possible for them to do this, and i wouldnt be suprised if it isnt on the agenda in some form.
The bigger joke is it might just be real afterall.
( and i have seem them complain about private viewing 'parties' )
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Many words have multiple meanings. Such is the case with the word "crime"
... http://www.answers.com/criminal&r=67
...then you would be right.
crime: Unlawful activity http://www.answers.com/crime&r=67
Likewise, for criminal:
criminal (n): One who commits a crime: lawbreaker, malefactor, offender.
So, if you insist on the legal definition of the word(s) then you're correct but you shouldn't assume that everyone else is using the language the same way (unless you are speaking with legal counsel). Language requires an understanding of context.
The same argument applies to the word "theft" as it applies to copyright. Those who claim that theft doesn't apply doggedly insist that the definition is strictly a legal one, i.e. larceny. The fact is, though, that "crime" and "theft" are just words and they have broader definitions that just the legal ones.
"Since it is not a criminal offense then it cannot be described as a crime (by the definition of the word)."
So now I hope you understand why this isn't true. If you had said...
"Since it is not a criminal offense then it cannot be legally described as a crime (by the legal definition of the word)."
good thing my new tv is a 27"
Supplies!
No, infringement is a criminal offense as well.
As someone who was recently a teenager myself, let me tell you: teenagers aren't that stupid. They do know that it's against the law; they just don't care.
The copyright infringers would be offended too, you know -- car theft is a Hell of a lot "worse" (if you even accept the proposition that copyright infringement is wrong in the first place)!
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
Everyone knows the real proposal only applies to TVs 42 inches or larger.
It's three fold with me.
A. Most movies suck. Let's not discount this fact. I will still go to great movies, but that's like once a year (last one was The departed, I love Scorsese)
B. The experience is lacking. Why not watch a movie at home, get the pause button, rewind, chapter seek, I just got a 52 inch tv, I got free popcorn, and I can do something else if the movie sucks. Do I get anything out of sitting around 300 other people watching the same movie? Not really.
C. I have to drive to a movie, sit through 15 minutes of TV commercials, 10 minutes of trailers, and then get to see my movie. Why? I paid 8 bucks for it, why don't they just show propegenda films before time? For double that price I could get the movie on a DVD.
Personally I buy TV shows on Dvds currently because of three factors as well.
A. Per hour they are way cheaper than DVDs (1-3 dollars an hour vs 8 dollars and hour).
B. Except for the first disc there's not 100 ads. preceding the videos. I don't care about any other fucking movie, I bought THIS movie because I wanted THIS movie. If I wanted to look at other movies, put it under "trailers".
C. Again movies suck. Even a shitty tv show has better character development then a movie, because of time and style.
Watch 24 and Lost on Dvd, and tell me that any movie compares to what you get out of those two shows?
On the other hand I'm fooling myself here as most of the western sheep couldnt be bothered to think with their wallets.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
so don't use a television- use an LCD monitor instead, or hook up a grid of small tvs, or use a projector, or just screw the MPAA Communists
What? No popcorn machine?
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Since when did BBSpot start posting real stories? Come on, linking to that as fact is like linking to the Onion for facts.
You eat the *liver* with the fava beans and chianti. You sell the *kidneys* to the highest bidder, or the scariest Russian mobster.
Eloi are stupid, throw morlocks at them!
Right after my wife made me take her to see The Devil Wears Prada - I saw the anti-piracy bit and decided right then and there not to pirate this movie!
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Be reasonable what did any US citizen expect from Industry Corporatist and Politicians working together.
... then just wait till the first romantic evening ..., because the squealing you here won't be a happy pig.
... BigBubba is stalking, lurking, and enjoying US citizens' gotya-fuckya squealing. Just always vote incumbent (cum is in that word for a valid reason [boys,girls,men,women,goat/sheep,Rosie Palm ...]) politicians out of government permanently (don't let them sneak back in a later election).
... they FUCK US!
When you first met BigBubba in jail, thought BigBubba was a nice helpful/protective guy, and knew BigBubba would never fuckya
REMEMBER: We could do much better, but we should reasonably expect that when we are not in jail
When corporatist, politicians, and televangelist fuckya
Unaccountable leaders are masters, and unrepresented people are slaves. How do US and EU fare?
> I guess making a bit-for-bit duplicate of a DVD for personal use is okay, but
> if you decrypt the video stream, you've violated the DMCA, a criminal statute.
DMCA violations are only criminal if committed for commercial advantage or financial gain. No one is going to be subjected to criminal prosecution for decrypting a video stream for personal use.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
Of course, this is not totally neutral, since the trailers, if effective, will mean that more people actually watch a movie and hence the fixed cost of making it can be spread between more "customers".
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
"Same here. I find it amusing that they're giving this Anti-Piracy shit to the people who've either bought their DVD or are watching their movie in the cinema... I've already paid for your shit! Leave me alone!"
On more than one occasion I've gone to a movie that had one of these ads. I heard several people whisper "You can download movies on-line? How?!?"
It was ill-advised to show them something like that while their wallet is still sore.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
there's a "television tax" in Italy that, although not so high as other taxes, must be paid for each "television" in a house.
This taxes is used to finance the "public" television.
The fun part is that
1) there's no "public" television any more
2) what's left of public tv plain sucks (full of commercial, and such)
3) you must pay it for each device you have that allows you to view "moving images". Which means every monitor, every PDA, every cell phone, and such.
no, it's not a pun.
and yes, nobody pays it anyway.
-- There are two kind of sysadmins: Paranoids and Losers. (adapted from D. Bach)
I politician used to say that the state has no business in the bedroom of the citizens.
Someone should tell the MPAA that they have no business in the homes of the citizens.
My chair is not too comfortable, I have a surrounds system and a 90" projected screen, but unless they define "comfortable chair" I refuse to do anything ...
...
of course I am not in the US anyway, but I mean what a PILE OF BULLSHIT is this ?
I paid my system, my room, my chair, my screen, the rental or the DVD, now I have to register for $50 ????????????????
this goes over anything
it reminds me of when I lived in hungary, and I had to pay a TV fee, even though I never connected an aerial antenna to my tv and/or watched local television. Of course, I registered myself as "i do not own a television" since technically my TV was used as a monitor for the satellite/dvd syste, not as a TV tuner.
MPAA sucks!
I come to the movies 10-15 minutes late. At first it was because I am a chronical latecomer (is that a word?), but later I figured out that it is actualy convenient. You cut the shouting crap ads, the anti piracy propaganda and maybe 1-2 trailers. Well, I miss the trailers sometimes...
Ni.
i just get all my movies from bittorrent, they never have those ads.
it also circumvents having to pay their artificially inflated prices, for what is normally crap.
I was posting in reply to an earlier post that obviously got modded down below your personal visibility threshold.
Read the post I was actually replying to, and see if you still think the guy was joking and I was just randomly being a twat.
Slashdot really needs to sort out this particular misfeature.
Everything in moderation, including moderation itself
I don't go to the movies very often but it's not because of the lame ads which I usually skip by virtue of arriving inside 15 minutes later (if I cared what seat I got this would clearly not be a good strategy) than the start time, but because it's a poor value in an unpleasant environment. I do not particularly enjoy being in a large room full of people generating enough combined heat to roast a small animal, cramped in a space about the size of a coach seat on an airplane, where I essentially have to sneak food in unless my idea of quality snacking is popcorn and candy (overpriced no less). For the pleasure of this experience I get to pay USD10 per person, making it a better value for me to just go and buy an audio CD whose contents I will listen to periodically for the rest of my life. The best experiences I ever have at the movies is when I go on a holiday where my party will be the only people watching the movie--that is actually not so bad.
Otherwise I watch DVDs or HBO, or for most movies, just don't watch them at all because they aren't worth 90+ minutes of my life anyway. So being brow-beaten for copyright infringement is pretty low on my list of reasons why I no longer go to the movies, with the biggest reason being that I can find better uses for my money, and even obtain better video-watching entertainment from my living room. It's not like they ever make movies that are so good that I can't wait six months to watch them.
Really? How do you figure? Where does it say that in the statute?
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
so this guy in my speech class needed to give a demonstration speech, but he hadn't prepared anything. he decided to give his speech on how to get movies and music for free using Limewire. the best part was when he asked for a movie, a girl suggested Elf. so he did a limewire search for "elf" and you probably know what happened next... tons and tons of Elf porn.
This is outragious! This is just, horrible. We purchased the movie, and therefor the right to show it in our own homes! If I have a huge TV and want watch a movie I am not going to pay $50!
Even scarier is the realization that there are congressmen so corrupt and clueless that the MPAA thinks this lobbying effort has some chance of success.
I am becoming gerund, destroyer of verbs.
My largest TV is 19 inch, and the chairs aren't all that comfy. The cat's the only one who watches TV anyway.
I think the MPAA is just trying to get a message across to the ignorant and uninformed.
/. know that stealing a car is not the same as pirating a movie. However, I think their point is that both are breaking the law.
Most of us on
They could have used the analogy, "You wouldn't commit murder!" but that's really too extreme and people wouldn't get the point. They could have used the analogy, "You wouldn't pirate music" but they probably figured the uninformed might believe pirating music is allowed.
In my opinion, it's a good ananlogy. I don't need or want to see the ad, but I'm sure the ad is doing it's job of informing the ignorant.
BTW, I think you're incorrect if you think that people who pay for movies (in theatre or buying DVDs) are *always* legitimate customers. Just because a person pays to watch the movie once does not mean that same person does not download the movie. Just because a person buys a DVD does not mean that same person does not download other movies.
Advertising before movies was the final straw for me. I haven't been to a regular theater since... Return of the King came out, I think.
I had been under the impression that the overpriced food was the way the theater made money. When they added advertising crap, I decided I was done.
Luckily, there's a great place near where I live in Southern NH/northern MA called Chunky's which has 1) ticket prices below those of the big theaters, 2) better food, about what you'd find at 99's or the equivalent, 3) Cadillac car seats, and 4) no $%^&ing commercials (there is a *silent* slide show before the movie starts, but that doesn't matter to me as I read or talk to friends before the movie starts anyway).
I don't know how they do it. I would never see movies anymore if they didn't.
1. The MPAA can blow me!
2. If my elected officials want to get re-elected they better take a similar stance to the MPAA/RIAA and any other organization that wants to sanction personal freedom for $$$.
Roses are red violets are blue and MPAA will get to fuck you.
+1 Agree -1 Disagree
"YOU WOULDN'T STEAL A CAR..."i would if i could download one!
Well, golly. Thanks for clearing that up.
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
"Singapore straits for anyone who has been out there is full of pirates. High earning pirates with gunboats and helicopters. I think piracy is deep within human nature. The spirit of rebellion and freedom."
Yeah, pirates who commit theft and rape and torture and murder. That's the spirit, alright...
Any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
I was with ya till the last one. One of the reasons, mainly, I gave up the theater experience..was back when Terminator 2 came out. My cousin and I waited to get into the new THX theater...and I swear, they either didn't know how to run it, or were afraid of people hearing the soundtrack. I find so many theaters that seem to be afraid of turning up the good sound systems they supposedly have...it sure would be nice to drown out all the talking in the theater.
Anyway, aside from a few outings..I rarely go out to a movie any more. I've got a projector, I've got tons of sound system, an open bar, friends I like to watch things with, and best of all, pause for when you need a bathroom break or another cocktail.
And exactly why would I want to go out to watch movies again???
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
that your two chairs are completely uncomfortable! and then get bean bags!
"Just Smile and Nod." --Huck
I just finished reading an article about the other trade group suing people for on-line music. After reading the headline, I was thinking how big was my TV set. I mentioned it to a co-worker, who thought it real as well. However, I think it is a matter of time, before this can really happen
Wait... you mean the article titled "MPAA to stop piracy by making all movies suck" was SATIRE?!?
Even though this is a joke, everyone gets up in arms about stuff like this. There's a simple solution, and it's what makes capitalism so good, the free market. If you don't like it, don't buy it, simple as that! Will you really miss out on that much in life if you don't see some movie or hear some CD? (You'll probably miss out on less in life if you don't watch movies!)
Vote with your dollars and they'll hear you.
Hey, if The Onion can occasionally predict the future, why not BBSpot?
"Home theater" is a appliance salesman euphamism, you G-- d----- f---tards!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >:( >:( >:(
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Hmm, well I use bean bags in front of the tv, I'll be exempt right?!
Where did this come from? Why is OK for a guy with 29 inch TV to not register? Maybe because none of his/her friends would want to watch a movie on his crappy 29 inch TV. My projector has an adjustable throw distance, so when the bad guys come knocking I will adjust the projector such that the image is 29 inches.
Ten minutes? I went to the Odeon at Tottenham Court Road (in London) last Friday - tiny screen, and the ads and trailers finished after 27 minutes. It was obscene - I do this every once in a while to remind myself why I either download things, or watch them in "art" cinemas like the Curzon or NFT.
Decrypting the video stream is not illegal. Your DVD player does it every time you watch a video. Same thing if you record a vidio off television.
Yes, I know this is satire. However, don't think that the MPAA isn't thinking of someway to get money out of you at home. What if we did this: all of us contribute to the EFF and charter the EFF to buy one of the smaller motion picture studios and music publishers. Then we charter them to expicitly void the copyrights on all the the media they distribute. And, they sign new talent and create more new media without copyright, like open media. We buy it, they make it. Open Media Movement.
Would I get 50% off the registration fee since I am blind in one eye?
Say it is satire upfront! This is FAKE NEWS! That's OK on April 1, but during the rest of the year, it's polite to let us know the article is false. I read through the whole article and was getting quite irate before I read the comments and realized it was a joke. (I'll admit, I was suspicious of the article.)
People really believe everything they read online.. this is just a bullshit story.. MPAA doesn't have any plans for this... They are just trying to get the MPAA into bigger bad light.. I can't even believe this is put up on /.
The other claim however it makes is that you get 10 years in prison for copying a movie without their permission. That is almost certainly not true, even if you do start selling them in a market stall.
My American brothers and sisters, rise up! Constantly these groups are invading our lives, telling us what we can and can not do purely to further their own profits. So rise up I say. Leave your house today to do a single good thing, Stab a member of the MPAA, RIAA or one of their laywers. There are 300 million of you, that's far less than a kill each to ensure this form of thinking is eradicated from the minds of of your fellow Americans, and will serve as a reminder for businesses everywhere about the follies of trying to control society.
*Sponsered by the crazed violent reactionaries fund, Adelaide Australia*
I was going to say "The waiting line for the PS3" but yours was better.
But I am engaged, so you can all laugh at me.
"No fair, you changed the outcome by measuring it!" - Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth
Of course the BBSpot piece is a satire but did you know that this was basically the way they intended things to go when VCRs were first invented?
The story is retold in one of Lessig's books -- The Future of Ideas, IIRC. Someone invented a videotape with a lock, so that to watch it a second time you had to pay (someone) again and get them to rewind for you.
As I understand it, an MPAA exec rejected the design, because there was no way to tell how many people were present at a given viewing. They wanted a design that charged by the person as well as per-play.
My turnips listen for the soft cry of your love
Hey!
Apparently, I have a home theater.
And I thought it was just my living room.
So let those Bastards come after me.
I'm judgement proof.
Bring 'em on.
It's alright, the consumer still has choice!!
If you buy the legitimate DVD, you get insulted by being called a thief and bombarded with ads.
If you download the movie over the net, you get no insults, nor the ads.
You still have choice.
Prepared to shoot to kill any "official" that would try to enforce this load of rancid monkey spuzz!
Satire aside, one of the reasons my family doesn't go to the movies is cost.
Even when we go to the cheap, weeks-before-release-to-DVD theater, the cost of the movie runs more than half the price of the DVD at Costco. And that ignores the cost of munchies, which can boost things way beyond the theater tickets.
And if we were crazy enough to see the movies when they first come out, we would be spending enough money to buy the DVD and order fresh pizza from our favorite pizza place.
It does mean that we don't have much to say about the new movies that other people are raving about. On the other hand, we avoid the turkeys and duds.
I've thought about pirating the anti-piracy ads themselves, making a compilation DVD of them, and making it available for free anonymous download.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
Actually, those notices are there to "educate" the public -- so that when the MPAA sues and you say "Hey, I didn't know it was illegal!", they can respond with "That's why we put that notice saying it's illegal in there."
Stupid people will be persecuted to the fullest extent allowed by law.
Okay, so far almost 3-4 rooms in my house would be fined for this dumb law. And, oh yeah, what about the library?!
"Just because you buy a DVD to watch at home doesn't give you the right to invite friends over to watch it too..."
So in that thought, the library should be fined shouldn't it? It is basically inviting friends to borrow things that have already been payed for by our local libraries. Correct me if I'm wrong but, it sounds like the same idea.
But I am engaged, so you can all laugh at me.
You didn't wire the money to Russia via Western Union, did you? That's totally a scam.
paintball
If you think I'm kidding, read this:
Source: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/search/display.
See also: 17 USC 110 which I remember as later codifying just how many TVs a restaurant can have.
Note: I am not a lawyer, get one if you want legal advice. This crap is just plain crazy--there are all sorts of oddball provisions buried in US copyright law--I read most of USC 17 one day... it's weird.
Even if you're legit, though, it seems clear enough that merely being legit won't always prevent people from suing you if they want your money.
a cool thing about VideoLan Client (from a very long list) is that you can go directly to the setup screen (if you don't just go directly to the main movie) since it has certain code (similar to #define m(i)(x[i]^s[i+84])y)c+=y=i^i/8^i>>4^i>>12,i=i>>8^y >14,y=a^a*8^a>8^y/n."[k>>4]*2^k*257/8,s[j]=k^(k&k* 2&34)
*6^c+~y;}})
it pretty much does what it wants
Any person using FTFY or editing my postings agrees to a US$50.00 charge
easy way of dealing with an "unwanted" car 7 pounds of aluminum powder and 21 pounds of ferric oxide mix well dump on the back seat and add a lit sparkler then RUN FOR YOUR LIFE
Any person using FTFY or editing my postings agrees to a US$50.00 charge
I'm ready to start killing people at random on the street, because of things like this.
Gimme a break. Troll??? Redundant I'd buy, but Troll? I didn't know there were so many fans of the MPAA around here. +eleventyone Insightful is more like it.
*rolls-eyes-so-hard-the-earth-shifts-its-orbit*
+0 Meh
We need to license masturbation, sex or other forms of pleasure to a common equilization account which would them be distributed amungst porn producers. These artists work long and hard to make ends meet and shouldn't be left out if we find their methods enjoyable; they surly then deserve a monetary renumeration. For one, would defintly like to compensate the one who taught me how to have a girl scream 'stick it in me again you cock studded cowboy', when I touch her elbow.
Regards.
This doesn't sound a lot like satire at all considering their moves throughout the new media industry.
...), especially in Europe, it's only logical to assume that they will tax tv's which are meant to be shared by multiple viewers (>30" tv's are usually not for bachelors).
I mean they have been taxing empty media, everything that contains any type of media storage (hard disks, dvr,
Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
Ex-post-facto laws are unconstitutional. You can't make something illegal after it was already performed.
No, I will not work for your startup
I know that many of you already know, but most of these comments suggest otherwise... BBspot is a fake news site. This article is fake.... I'm all for demonizing the MPAA and RIAA, but lets make sure we do it when they really do screw up... like when they fine a 14 year old thousands of dollars for downloading Eminem.
Alright, so who's up for stealing Dan Glickman's car?
If you don't want someone to copy something, don't give it to anyone.
...And that is when Snopes is going to out this for the hoax that it so obviously has to be.
From TFA: "The data would be gathered using various motion sensors and biometric technology..."
Riiiigght.... And the Bush Administration makes widespread use of electronic mind control, and is covering up evidence of a hidden intelligent civilization on Pluto.
I call "Bulls*it" until and unless I see hard evidence to the contrary.
Bruce Lane, KC7GR,
Blue Feather Technologies
"...two comfortable chairs".
Two COMFORTABLE chairs eh? Apparantly I've been seeing an awful lot of films in conterfeit "public theaters" with UNcomfortable seats. I demand my money back and as an American am thusly obligated to sue often and over all things great-or-small and as the MPAA and RIAA have shown ("shown"...via action...and not in an unregistered theater) no amount is too tiny when it comes to screwing over your fellow human being.
Anyone who has ever sat in the front row of one of these now exposed Counterfeit Theaters can eventually take the MPAA to court when they start kicking down our doors with the inevitable ATF escort. There's nothing comfortable about a pain in the neck or aching kidneys. I'll be readying my class-action-countersuit and sign-up-sheet for future reference.
Until then, everyone is invited to watch a dvd on my 32-inch screen. Dibs on comfortable chair #2. And just to stick it to the MPAA suits even further, I'll rent "Glitter" on dollar night. Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.
AnyDVD will also generally remove that annoying shit too.
1q2w3e4r5t6y7u8i9o0pqawsedrftgthyjukilo;p'azsxdcf
They're going to regulate the size of my TV and the chairs in my living room? Maybe there should be a tax on the size of my living room? And my wife needs to buy a copy of the movie and each of my kids also have to buy a copy of the movie, if they want to watch it with me?
Give me a break!
Let me tell you a little thing about AMC theatres in Japan.
Like all theatres, they have the anti-piracy video clip before the movie.
Like all theatres, the volume on this clip is twice that of the movie or trailers.
Unlike all theatres, the face of the young crying woman in the clip turns into a huge skull with the words "Anti-Piracy Campaign" under it.
Unlike all theatres, they show this clip before childrens movies.
I went to see Over the Hedge with my neice, and as soon as that skull comes up, every child under the age of 8 starts bawling their little heads off, and more than a few need to be taken out of the theatre.
I wonder to myself how many of those children will never want to see a movie at the theatres again.
--------
Nothing can be done before the tremendous power!
RabidComics
those ads probably are one of the major factors why moviegoer numbers are steeply declining.
Silly me.. I thought it was just because the movies sucked.
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
... that a joke or what? Can someone just wipe them out of the existence? They are like bed bugs or other parasitic forms of existence. People actually work and pay taxes here. Get out!
Here's an idea. Ever get annoyed by assholes with boomboxes in the park? Or the car next to you with speakers going *THUD* *THUD* *THUD* so loud it rattles your teeth? Can you report them to the RIAA for "unauthorized public performances"?
I'm not repeating myself
I'm an X window user; I'm an ex-Windows user
I would download a car if I could !
Maybe we could just pass a law enforcing DVD producers to clearly state on the front cover in black characters no less than 12 points high on a white background how many seconds of crap you have to watch before getting the movie up and running, and wether it is skippable or not.
So you would see a DVD in the store with the label: "715 seconds of unskippable crap".
Wait... we're on the wrong end of the economic market to design our own laws...
Write boring code, not shiny code!
Hans, is that you? Did you make bail yet?
Isn't that what marriage is for?
Duh! Marriage is for sex!
-- "Oh. This guy again."
Flat out, this Glickman guy is moron, and something I would love to say straight to his face! Talk about being out of touch with everything! so he really does live in a carboard box!
I would guess he would be exempt from this as well? Idiot!
Here's some decent info for everyone, go to dictionary.com and search Home theater, you'll be suprised at the results
3 results:
1. n. A system of sophisticated electronic equipment for the presentation of theater-quality images and sound in the home.
- The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
2. home cinema
Definition: an elaborate home set-up of electronics for the viewing of movies (etc.) as one would at the cinema, often with big screens and surround-sound stereo; also called home theater
- Webster's New Millennium(TM) Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.6)
3 Home theater
n : television and video equipment designed to reproduce in the home the experience of being in a movie theater
WordNet 2.0, 2003 Princeton University
so where again did they get the 29" info and 2 comfy chairs?
Morons!
google and you shall receive: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Online 2121 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 2500 Los Angeles, CA 90067 Telephone: (888) 801-9122 International Callers: (310) 649-6546 Fax: (866) 652-9118
My google-foo is apparently very weak, oh masterful one. :)
Good thing that was satire.... Very frightening.
quia potentia mens mentis
I'll say it again, words are not defined by the Congress. There are the legal meanings of words and then there are the general meanings. You would be wrong to assume that words like "crime" and "theft" are always used in their legal definitions. These words are far broader in their meaning than the legal concepts they describe.
This isn't really on-topic, and in fact it might even be against slashdot policy, but I trust you guys a lot more than I trust a web search when it comes to finding questionably legal software to be used for (what I belive to be) legal purposes. So here is the question: What is a good DVD-ripping software which I can use to make backup copies of my copy-protected DVDs? I think I have bought enough copies of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, if my current copy gets scratched or worn out like the last ones I'd like a contingency plan that doesn't involve plopping down another 20 bucks.
I guess I would prefer an open-source/freeware solution but I don't mind paying a reasonable fee for a useful product.
Thanks for the input, and I apologize if this is not appropriate.
Never used it since it's windows only but VirtualDub is pretty popular. It's GNU GPL too.
For more advices on the subject, just go to doom9 (check the guides) they have everything you need (and more).