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Amazon Pulls Kodi Media Player From App Store Over Piracy Claims
An anonymous reader writes with news that the Kodi media player (formerly XBMC) has had its app pulled from the Amazon app store after Amazon decided that it facilitates piracy. Amazon said, "Any facilitation of piracy or illegal downloads is not allowed in our program," and directed the development team not to resubmit the app. The team was surprised to hear this, since Kodi itself does not download or link to any infringing content. It does support addons, and some users have created addons to support pirated content, but the Kodi developers are fighting that behavior. XBMC Foundation board member Nathan Betzen said it's absurd that "Amazon won’t let us into their appstore, but they have no problem selling the boxes that are pushing the reason they won’t let us into their app store."
"selling the boxes that are pushing the reason they won’t let us into their app store"
What does that even mean?
"I'm a humble person really,
I'm actually much greater than I think I am"
.
How much money does Amazon get for selling things like Roku?
Big Corporations are the only ones who know what is right and what is wrong. Every ill in this planet stems from the fact that there are still some forms of live who dare practice informed free will.
So all computers, cell phones, tablets, any audio/visual recording equipment should stop being sold by amazon based on this premise, yeah?
Plex has spent a LOT of money greasing the wheels of the big players. Thats why they have official apps on Xbox one and PS4. Kodi doesnt play the 'pay me ' game.
Good-bye
But Amazon sells computers, and computers facilitate piracy.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Amazon have Fire TV, a media hub for you TV. That is exactly what Kodi is, but its free. Sure Kodi is just software, and Fire TV is a hardware and software package, but it is very easy to use Kodi (and Kodi based Linux distro, OpenElec) to turn cheap hardware (like a Raspberry Pi) into a powerful media hub.
It is likely the marketing bods at Amazon have been seeing slow Fire TV sales and also noticed that their own app store is serving up a free alternative. As an app Kodi does add key functionality to Fire TV, but if Fire TV users get used to Kodi then sooner or later they wouldn't need the Fire TV.
They can't just outright state that they are pulling it to promote their own competing product; there would be public outcry. However, a 'facilitating piracy' claim does accomplish this and also damages Kodi's reputation as a result. Look to see Amazon pumping the Fire TV as a piracy free alternative in the very near future.
Can't you just side-load KODI? I have it installed on my fire-stick and that's how I got it on there. I didn't know it was in their app store.
But this is about the Kodi APP on Amazon, it apps while you app too!
APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
100% pure speculation on my part after watching Plex spread over the last few years. Plex monetizes via subs, Kodi doesnt. Plex uses that money to pave its way into various app stores, even the Windows store.
Good-bye
What are those plugins that enable piracy?
But the Kodi app supports apps so you can app your app while you app.
Firetv shouldn't Amazon pull that off their website since I infringing copyrights?
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
Why don't they pull all apps that utilize the cam and microphone since they can be used to record and then transmit copyrighted material
Sure... it's "stealing" despite the fact that you never actually "stole" anything and have actually paid for it too.
It's not "piracy". It's a violation of the DMCA.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
It's hard for a community project that doesn't have any revenue to "play the 'pay me' game". Plex is a commercial product.
I suggest that if you have cabletv now that you use your computer to DVR all the content you can then you have local content to watch
How does that work if the cable box adds DTCP encryption to the digital output?
I have been using Amlogic based players recently as they run Kodi directly on Linux builds and seem to have good codec support. I was looking other options to ensure I was keeping up with the state of the art features and the Fire TV was one I looked at. I put it on my B list since they currently don't ship outside the USA, which find weird given they will export books to me. While I could get around the shipping restriction, it makes it less price competitive. With this negative Kodi attitude they are now dropped from my list completely. Yes I could sideload Kodi, but this could be sign of more aggressive restrictions to come, why take the risk?
You need a cablecard compatible tuner from Ceton, Hauppauge, or HDHomeRun.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
> facilitates
Oh go fuck yourselves. Or better yet, sleep with the MAFIAAs.
They got called out on teh boxez and rightfully so. They all facilitate piracy. The internet facilitates piracy. OH HEY, AMAZON SUPPORTS THE INTERNETS, WELL-KNOWN FOR BEING A MAJOR TOOL OF PEDORISTS AND OR DRUG DEALERS.
Oxygen facilitates piracy. This associative bullshit is for politicians, go fuck yourselves.
I agree, and we are now seeing Plex's wisdom in playing the game. I LOVE XBMC/Kodi, and apparently i need to give them some money so they can play the game too.
Good-bye
VLC is still available, too.
Or, do it all from your browser via "airdroid".
While Plex does indeed have a paid tier, and they do charge for (some) of their apps, it's pretty much a free product. The paid tier gets you some of the newest features and access to the most recently supported platforms, but beyond that, the free product is not crippled in any way. None of that is my point.
Plex and Kodi started from the same project, and although the two products are not 1:1, they're pretty goddamn close. Plex is available in the Fire TV App Store but Kodi is not. Amazon could have believably cited the approval process to keep Kodi out of their app store (you could only sideload it as it was [and still is]) - hell, they haven't let a Plex update through since I bought the box - but they chose to go this piracy route. Pretty disingenuous, it seems to me.
Also, Plex rules. Kodi is a great product, but Plex is very full-featured, if less extensible, and is a lot easier to support.
I have the strange feeling Plex pays a bunch of shills as well. Every article I ever read about XBMC/Kodi has a bunch of rabid a**holes insisting Plex is better in every way and you should never need to use Kodi, despite the fact that they have completely different strengths and use cases. It may be that a lot of Plex users are just idiots, but there seems to be too many of them and they are far too insistent, either way it puts me off Plex.
Which DVR applications will work with CableCARD compatible tuners once Microsoft withdraws Windows Media Center from distribution in July? I was under the impression that CableCARD's "compliance and robustness" rules excluded all DVR applications distributed as free software.
Logged in just to comment on this without being taken as a shill. (seriously - check my karma.) In much the same way that CryptoCat’s dev team have realized that usability is a core feature of security, and not a nice-to-have, so too has the Plex team made usability a core feature of their product in ways the XBMC team was late to implement.
Plex’s lack of extensibility, scraper support, and local storage support drive me up a goddamn tree, but Plex works and XBMC doesn’t. I’m not a linux person, but I am a nerd - code is not my day job, but I’m teaching myself at night. Sweet baby Jesus, I tried XBMC so many freaking times that eventually I just gave up. And when my certified-Mac-tech friend showed me this miraculous XBMC fork that worked on OSX, with his remote control, and without fucking around, I spent a few years not looking back. I think I got myself banned from the TVDB trying to get Plex to identify shows properly, but it offered me the ability to play back home videos and fansubbed anime on the TV when I could not afford a dedicated HTPC - and that included salvage, scrounged laptops, and selling my body for transistors. (it was a rough patch in my life)
Ironically, I more or less quit watching even foreign television about when I got Plex to sit down and play nice and XBMC became Kodi and began to make setup less infuriating for people who didn’t hack C in their spare time.
More ironically - nay, infuriatingly - I spent most of my free time a couple weeks ago trying to sideload Kodi on my FireTV to try it out, and only found out there was an official app for it after the app was taken down. Way to piss in my cheerios, Bezos. :(
You did not buy it. At least that is their claim. You bought the media - the disk. On that disk was content. You licensed the content for a specific use per their terms.
You and I both know this is bullshit and you should be allowed to make a backup or alternative playing format. However, we are not the owners of the copyright and we do not have a say, legally. What would be nice, I think, is having a single time download that can be purchased and the onus is on me to ensure that it remains backed up. This downloaded version should, perhaps, also be available (single time only) when you buy a disk so you can back it up. It needs to ensure that the download is completed and resumable, of course.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Amazon sells TVs with USB plugs. You can play any kind of pirated content from there. I expect Amazon to retire those TVs from their shop soon.
I don't think it's considered 'piracy', it's a different crime. The copyright is not infringed (fair use applies), but the circumvention of the protection is a crime on it's own regardless of copyright being infringed in the US.
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
Actually backup is fair use. If the media is sold under the exact same terms but not explicitly protected by CSS or whatever then a backup is perfectly legitimate.
DMCA created a weird world where you can break copyright law without infringing copyright. Circumventing a technology intended to protect against infringement is made illegal even with the copyright is not infringed. Circumventing it just to *play* the content is also illegal.
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
HDHomeRun just did a kickstarter for a new DVR/live app platform that will work with the Prime (though it won't allow restricted content to be recorded). It's my understanding that other than technical glitches almost all providers just leave things on copy freely unless it's a premium channel like HBO.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
Kodi is still available on Google Play. Amazon pulling it from their app store only really matters if you have an Amazon tablet or a Fire Phone; anything else that has access to the Amazon Appstore should also be able to access the Google Play store.
almost all providers just leave things on copy freely unless it's a premium channel like HBO.
I've read horror stories on Slashdot about cable providers that put "copy once" on everything but local channels.