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More Unblocking Companies Give Up Their Fight Against Netflix (techspot.com)
Earlier this year, Netflix announced it was going to block the VPN services that were circumventing the streaming service's geoblocking technology, and it seems in the months since many of the top VPN players have given up on finding ways to workaround Netflix's block tech. From a report on TechSpot (condensed): Australian company uFlix discovered that some of its users could no longer access Netflix. It said that a fix was coming soon, but, uFlix announced recently in a recent blog post that it has given up the fight. "As of today we are going to stop supporting Netflix as an unblocked channel. Unfortunately every time we set up a new network or find a workaround it is getting blocked within hours." Uflix isn't the only service to throw in the towel -- most of the other unblockers have quietly decided to stop trying to evade Netflix's geoblocks, as more customers complain they can no longer watch the streaming site. Popular VPN TorGuard had assured customers that the crackdown wouldn't affect them. But there is no mention of Netflix on TorGuard's website, and its shared Netflix server was taken offline four months ago.
As a bonus, the VPN does a great job of neutering threats.
I pay Netflix because I hate the media companies. Netflix will win.
Netflix is not the enemy. The rent-seeking copyright holders are; so hit them where it hurts.
If they don't want my money.. the Torrents doth provide.
..don't panic
And what do you expect them to do?
It's not Netflix' choice, it's their content providers requiring them to do this.
- Don't do what I do, it's probably not healthy nor safe. -
So next year we'll be seeing the stats that piracy is increasing again since hollywood and so on decided that region locking was a really good idea. I know of quite a few people here in Canada who've simply cancelled their netflix subs, kept the VPN and now pirate everything like they did a few years ago.
Om, nomnomnom...
If you needed the VPN to use it, you should not have been a customer in the first place... They are doing it because the agreements require them to.
Do people understand that it is a product of whether Netflix wants to or even can buy the rights to a show in a particular reason. I find it hard to believe they are in the business of pissing off customers intentionally.
Yup, because you're entitled to someone else's work.
Typical thief.
Thief - Someone who makes a copy of something that someone won't sell to them.
Is that how you're defining it now. Piracy has never, ever been thievery, at least since you stopped needing a boat and an eye patch anyway.
Plenty of people went to netflix from the piratebay because it had all the content they wanted for one price. Was easy, convenient and fair. Yet with every step they erode that deal, one could say it's getting worse all the time. It might be ok in America where you have all the good content but try look out side where they charge more and give less. Australia gets a particularly raw deal as I understand it.
Wanna buy a shirt?
https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
And what do you expect them to do?
It's not Netflix' choice, it's their content providers requiring them to do this.
I'm not sure what I expect them to do. But the bottom line is cancelling one's service is the only real leverage one has over a company. You can complain, and they might listen. But at the end of the day if their product does not meet your needs, stop buying the product.
I know they have agreements with the content owners, but that is not my problem. I didn't negotiate those agreements. My problem (if I traveled outside the US much) is that I can't see the programs or movies that I want and paid for. If their licensing agreements become unprofitable because of lost business, Netflix will have to renegotiate or stop carrying that content. If they can absorb the loss of revenue but still maintain an acceptable profit, they will continue as usual. But all I can do is buy their service or not.
"What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
This is probably one of the driving forces behind their shift towards original content.
---- Sig. gone.
Who cares whether or not it's up to Netflix? If the content's not legally available, it's certainly still available.
You don't seem to know what you're talking about. People are using VPNs to circumvent the blocking of content based on location. Netflix's original content is already available everywhere, they don't restrict it by location, so your first statement is just nonsense, the content the control is not the content being blocked. As for allowing them some limited service when they're on a VPN, you are describing what is available if they stop using a VPN to circumvent the geoblocking. Doesn't take a "Netflix employee" to tell you you have no idea what you're talking about.
Well why don't we call it "murder" or "rape" while we're at it? They are also illegal, if that's what we're doing, lumping all illegal acts in together?
Why don't we call it jaywalking instead? Also illegal. But doesn't fit the narrative the studio's want to portray of it being a heinous act.
The point is that by conflating one crime with another you push an obvious agenda to try to make it seem more serious than it is.
Words do matter. And you can't have an honest discussion about a subject while using dishonest or misleading terminology.
No, "copyright infringement" doesn't "murky the waters" it describes EXACTLY What is happening. the only ones trying to "murky the waters" are those calling it Theft when it doesn't meet even the most basic definitions of such.
It's precisely because people know that theft is wrong, and understand WHY it is wrong (depriving someone of their property) that it is extremely dishonest to call copyright infringement theft. When talking to non-technical people, you don't need to come up with a completely unrelated example. Talk to them about photocopying books, they're all familiar with that, and it's exactly the same thing. Trying to pretend it's different is extremely dishonest.
I'm not getting in to value judgement of whether copyright infringement is right or wrong, but you can't have an honest discussion about it when you intentionally try to prey on people's feelings in regards to a completely different issue to cause them to feel that same way about this one.