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Illegal Film Downloading Up 33% In the UK

moderators_are_w*nke writes "The BBC have picked up a report from 'internet intelligence' company Envisional showing illegal film downloading is up 33% in the UK since 2006. The solution is apparently for content providers to 'compete with piracy and get their content out there themselves as easily and as quickly and as cheaply as possible.'"

34 of 259 comments (clear)

  1. Will never happen. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "The solution is apparently for content providers to 'compete with piracy and get their content out there themselves as easily and as quickly and as cheaply as possible'"

    Will never happens, they live in the past, not in the future. Such a thing just isn't possible for them to even imagine.
    I'm still dreaming of a service similar to Steam, for movies.

    1. Re:Will never happen. by ElectricTurtle · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Except that Steam is DRMed shit. If anything what is needed is a GOG or Amazon music or other DRM free thing for movies. If I buy something I don't want some random suit somewhere deciding I can't have it anymore and flipping a proverbial switch that invalidates my purchase.

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    2. Re:Will never happen. by JMJimmy · · Score: 2

      ala Sony with PS3 Linux.

    3. Re:Will never happen. by Dynedain · · Score: 4, Informative

      Steam may be DRM, but they're incredibly smart in that they've made getting and playing content easier than BitTorrent and cracking. Time and time again, people have pointed out that this is the only way to compete with copyright violation, and the success of Steam is proof in the pudding.

      --
      I'm out of my mind right now, but feel free to leave a message.....
    4. Re:Will never happen. by ElectricTurtle · · Score: 2

      *Buy* porn?! Ahahahahahaha!

      Here's a tip that doesn't involve any torrents. Take any fetish you have, and put it into Google along with the term 'tube'. If you ever exhaust that supply, well, you might want to seek professional help.

      Honestly I wonder how the porn industry makes any money anymore. It must all be off of people over the age of 35 who don't know how the internet works.

      --
      I support the Slashcott and will not be reading or commenting from 2/10/14 to 2/17/14. Beta is steaming pile of dog shit
    5. Re:Will never happen. by alanthenerd · · Score: 2

      Not sure what you mean by "dynamically move my Steam install off my drive that's filling up" but it is very easy to move your steam folder to a different drive.
      This explains how: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7710-tdlc-0426

    6. Re:Will never happen. by _Sprocket_ · · Score: 2

      Will never happens, they live in the past, not in the future. Such a thing just isn't possible for them to even imagine.

      Media companies always live in the past. There is always a business model that transforms the industry until it becomes outdated yet held on to even as it drags the industry down in to near collapse. Then someone finally adapts to reality by implementing a new business model and the survivors all jump ship. Reality often involves disruptive technology. You can see this in the history of Hollywood (studio system, television) and music (radio).

      Of course - that history also shows a grudgingly slow adaptation to change. But change does eventually happen.

  2. Common Sense! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's about frikken time someone admitted that! I've been saying for years that I don't pirate stuff because it's free - I pirate stuff because it's the only way I can get the product that I want, without DRM and without archaic physical media, and that will actually work on my Linux HTPC.

    1. Re:Common Sense! by jedidiah · · Score: 2

      Since DRM hasn't stopped anything in this regard then what does it matter really?

      All DRM has done has made it impossible for the average Joe to fill his iTunes video collection with stuff he bought in the bargain bin at Walmart.

      If I buy music on physical media, it is not a bother for me to pull it into iTunes or MCE or MythTV.

      If I buy video that way, it is a considerable bother to do the same.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  3. Waaay to expensive by Rik+Sweeney · · Score: 2

    I completely agree that the cost of movies is getting stupid. I watched Transformers 3 last night (it's pretty crap, but the sequence in the city is amazing) and two tickets cost me 18GBP.

    For the 2D version.

    Fortunately I have Orange Wednesdays so I get two tickets for the price of one, 9GBP and then we split the cost, so 4.50GBP, which is a bit more reasonable and what it should have cost to start with (I'm in London BTW).

    I think you should be able to stream the latest releases even while they're in the cinema. For some movies I'd stream them but others I'd go to the cinema to see them on as large a screen as possible.

  4. My Impatience by improfane · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I torrent but I am not a pirate.

    How is this possible?

    I recently felt like watching DS9 so I started torrenting a season of it. After watching an episode I proceeded to buy four box sets online.

    I went back to watching my torrented versions. How convenient they are!

    When they arrived, I deleted all the episodes I watched and started watching the DVDs from the boxset on TV.

    Not only do I have Babylon 5 and SG, I have almost completed my DS9 series. They were all collected in the same fashion. Streaming or torrents first and then proper purchases.

    Why the fuck would I buy something before knowing what it is like first?

    --
    Slashdot needs Geekcode | Can anyone recommend any good SCIFI? My tastes: Foundation, Startide Rising, CITY, Ringworld,
    1. Re:My Impatience by geminidomino · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Saying you've bought the product does not, under current law, make it all OK.

      It does, however, invalidate every self-serving, self-righteous, and moralistic argument in support of said law.

      Which, when you think about it, says a great deal about the law itself.

    2. Re:My Impatience by improfane · · Score: 2

      If I could not have streamed or downloaded something in advance, I would never have bought it.

      This might be why music and movie sales are up these days.

      --
      Slashdot needs Geekcode | Can anyone recommend any good SCIFI? My tastes: Foundation, Startide Rising, CITY, Ringworld,
    3. Re:My Impatience by jedidiah · · Score: 2

      ...which is all a side effect of the fact that the copyright owner wants to trample all over your personal property rights associated with the legitimate copy you bought from them.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    4. Re:My Impatience by cdrguru · · Score: 2

      When I watch a movie or a TV episode I might watch it again in a few years if it was extremely good and memorable, but I would consider it a complete waste of my time to even consider watching most things more than once. Ever.

      I am pretty sure that most people that aren't glued to a TV set watching endless reruns of Judge Judy to feel that way. I do know there are some people that can pretty much watch the same 40-minute TV episode of something three times in a row (or more) without finding it repetitous, but I think they are in the minority. For this reason, above all others, try-before-you-buy is pointless.

      It is like a restaurant offering you a complete meal for free so you can see if you like today's selection. If you do, you are free to pay for another. That is pretty much a proven money-loser in the restaurant business. As it is in the entertainment business - once consumed most people don't feel the need to consume it again within the span of years.

      OK, there are some fools out there that insist they are "supporting the artist" when in fact they are supporting the distribution channel. Today, with a seemingly endless set of over-35 folks that don't understand downloading, BitTorrent or anything else about the Internet Economy there are plenty of people buying CDs and DVDs at WalMart. Maybe they just have dial-up Internet access or just use computers at the library. But in the not too distant future these people will be gone and the distribution channel and artists won't be supported by anyone anymore. Certainly there are not enough people pretending to try-before-buying to keep the distribution systems going. And without massive distribution nobody is going to spend tens of millions to make a movie.

      We are seeing the final act of mass distribution of entertainment. It has been a defining part of Western Culture. It will be sad when it goes, but plenty of people around the world will not be sorry to see it go. But it is going to pass on because the Internet Economy (only porn pays) doesn't leave room for it anymore.

    5. Re:My Impatience by TheThiefMaster · · Score: 3

      Personal property right to share your bought copy with a few thousand torrenters? I didn't know there was such a right.

    6. Re:My Impatience by hjf · · Score: 2

      This kinda reminds me of the Harry Potter books. The Gryffindor sword was made by goblins, and it's stored in Hogwart's castle. Goblins, however, think it belongs to them, since it was made by them, and sold to Gryffindor (and only him), it should be returned to them after his death, and not passed on to anyone else.

      Kinda like entertainment industry wants things to be, I guess.

    7. Re:My Impatience by elsurexiste · · Score: 2

      Don't argue with him. Have you checked the username? TheThiefMaster This fella knows what he's talking about. ;)

      Now, seriously, he's right. You got it all the way around: preventing distribution from other sources is the motivation; them trampling on your right to private copy is the side effect.

      --
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    8. Re:My Impatience by geminidomino · · Score: 2

      Kinda like entertainment industry wants things to be, I guess.

      Even that would be better if it was CONSISTENT.

      Those asshats want it to be that way for anyone who buys their pap, but they want the rights to said pap to be passed down for generations...

    9. Re:My Impatience by improfane · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I notice that the sources are from the RIAA.

      They're known for falsifying published figures inside and outside of trials.

      It holds very little weight. They have a vested interest to make it seem worse than it is. Provenance. If you search RIAA and misleading, you get lots of results.

      Give me a university backed study, not backed by the RIAA and I might feel sympathy. In other news, the 20xxs are the year of the independent artist using the internet to distribute and market music and movies. Good news!

      --
      Slashdot needs Geekcode | Can anyone recommend any good SCIFI? My tastes: Foundation, Startide Rising, CITY, Ringworld,
  5. Consider the source. by olsmeister · · Score: 5, Informative

    Envisional entire business is based on helping companies find out when their stuff is being downloaded illegally. Of course their study will show that piracy is as exploding ... at about the same pace as what they're projecting for next quarter's profits.

  6. Solution for TV shows: by Justin1313 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Make Bit torrents of your shows complete with commercials, I would download that. And you can track how many downloads for ad revenue.

    1. Re:Solution for TV shows: by jedidiah · · Score: 2

      Most people really can't be bothered.

      Most people don't even bother with PVRs.

      The industry is really paranoid over nothing. People are lazy and cheap. They are probably more lazy than they are cheap.

      Anything that involves some sort of rube goldberg what-if scenario is badly divorced from reality.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  7. And it's all coming down the same cable by Rogerborg · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Dear Virgin Media. You (try to) charge me approximately £4-£5 for a 24 hour window of opportunity to stream a bunch of bits to the cable box over there. Or I can use the exact same cable to stream much the same bunch of bits to the network card and hard drive over here, and then I can decode them as many times as I like, indefinitely, at an extra cost of £0.

    I'm not saying that I'd actually do either of these things, but you really aren't making it easy for me to pick the former.

    --
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  8. Transformers by improfane · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I had a similar experience but with the 3D version. It was 10 GBP plus 1GBP for the glasses! Rip off.

    There are sequences in that film that are really good fun. Unfortunately there is a lot of bad acting and ridiculous pro-American propaganda.

    The scene that left me gawping was when the voiceover said the Autobots agreed to help the US 'save humans from themselves'. The scene showed a nuclear power plant subtitled 'Illegal Nuclear Site' with Libya flags. Very offensive.

    The irony is that the film is all about freedom and yet freedoms in America are being taken away everyday (Slashdot YROs etc) Plus America supresses the freedoms of other nations too, UK, Libya, Iraq, Vietnam, Guatemala and so on.

    Other than that, the action is good fun but thoughtless. I found the prisoner scene with the Eeinstein robot particularly disturbing.

    --
    Slashdot needs Geekcode | Can anyone recommend any good SCIFI? My tastes: Foundation, Startide Rising, CITY, Ringworld,
  9. Universal Pictures / Lovefilm dispute by TheophileEscargot · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I wonder if the Universal Pictures / Lovefilm dispute has had an impact. Since November 2009 Universal Pictures have refused to make their movies available to most online DVD-rental services. So you want to see one of their movies you have to pirate it, buy it, or switch to Blockbuster.

  10. Please give us a legal download service. by What+the+Frag · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I live in Germany and I admire many BBC productions. The problem is, after many years of the industry 'fighting piracy', they are still missing the obvious.

    Yes, I consider myself a "TV show pirate". Why am I pirating? Let's say I want to watch the newest Doctor Who. There are a few ways to watch it:

    - legally: Visit UK: Expensive.
    - legally: Buy a huge satellite dish and watch/record it. Expensive and complicated, not possible anywhere.
    - legally: Wait month for DVD.
    - legally: Wait 5 years for any TV station to pick the show up again and show it in Germany with bad synchronization.
    - somewhat legally: watch it on BBCs iplayer via Proxy: Complicated to set up, often slow
    - probably illegally: download it from Filehoster/Newsgroup: easiest and cheapest, also fast.

    So why am I pirating: I'm always picking the fastest, most comfortable and maybe the cheapest way. But I would pay for it, as I would pay for a filehoster or newsgroup provider.

    BBC and others: If you want me to stop piracy, please make a platform that
    - is available everywhere where I have internet access
    - that provides TV shows or movies to an affordable price, with original audio
    - that provides TV shows in decent quality (720p), unencrypted
    - that provides TV shows immediately after being screened.

    I will be your customer.

  11. Re:Shocker? by TenDollarMan · · Score: 5, Informative

    Lets just say that a baker has 13 loaves of bread, and I steal one.

    The baker now has only a conventional dozen, and will be angry because of that, as he is now only able to sell 12, not the original 13. Loss in potential profits of about 8%.

    Imagine the bread is digital, and I copy one of those loaves.

    The baker still has 13 loaves, and can still sell them. Repeatedly. His anger is now because his marketplace has diminished by one. Loss in potential profits of 0.000000001%

    It is still wrong, from the baker's perspective, but it's less damaging.

  12. Re:legal film uploading down 66% outside the UK by dkleinsc · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...but I left with the wrong woman.

    That wasn't a woman.

    --
    I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
  13. Re:No, no, no! by ceoyoyo · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yup, there's been a marked decline in the amount of money Hollywood is making over the last decade and a half. They're really hurting now. Oh wait, no there hasn't: http://www.the-numbers.com/market/.

  14. Envisional... by Heed00 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    It's not like this company has a vested interest in the numbers going up -- oh no of course not:

    http://www.envisional.com/

    Envisional’s business is built around unique, patented search technologies and a superb team of experienced analysts. We use this powerful combination to help corporations protect themselves and their customers from fraud, fakes, piracy and online brand abuse.

    --
    Thought thinks itself.
  15. Re:best solution ever by jedidiah · · Score: 2

    I can wait.

    The only reason I ever go to a cinema is the expectation that the movie will deliver a different experience in a real movie house.

    Otherwise I just wait for the DVD. If I forget about that movie by the time it gets to DVD/Netflix, I might lose track of it until it pops up on my PVR.

    Very few movies rate much attention. Most don't benefit from the "cinema experience".

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  16. Re:Shocker? by PlatyPaul · · Score: 2
    --
    Misery loves company. Online misery loves unsuspecting random strangers.
  17. Re:Ahh... the good ol' days. by sgbett · · Score: 2

    And the huge irony? I now spend more a month (every month, without fail) on usenet than I have ever or likely would ever spend on buying physical media. Before usenet, I just went without or listened to the radio (fwiw!) watched the TV.

    I dont get what they studios are scared of? Its a constant revenue stream, the holy grail of business models, yet they seem blind to this concept. Baffling.

    You know, if you sell stuff that people want, then you might find that people will be inclined to buy from you... but no they persist in trying to hawk those shiny, awkward, fragile and altogether inconvenient little disks. Or there is always the cinema, mind that overpriced popcorn doesn't stick in your throat eh... (though having said that there always ahs and always will be people who want the big screen experience - at least it has a USP)

    They see "losing millions of dollars to piracy", I see "voting with feet" roll on "iTunes in the cloud" (or equivalent) for movies...

    --
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