Why do you pirate movies/TV shows?

Tools    





“I was cured, all right!”
I pay for musics CDs (yes, I still buy them) why not paying for films?
I love having my blu-rays and not depending on internet. I appreciate good editions.
I don't pay for Netflix, don't like them. I have Prime Video.
Sometimes I buy digital copies on YouTube films.
I pirate only films I can't find anywhere or films like Avengers, 'cause it sucks (...why do I watch? dunno).
I have a very good pc gamer. I like buying my games. Doesn't like to pirate them.
Honestly, I like to support the artist.



I do it quite rarely, but I definitely do and I can’t say I feel bad. Netflix does have quality things occasionally, and I do have Prime and whatnot, even subscribed to a French streaming service at some point and to Shudder on and off to get some exclusives. But I do watch a very wide range of films, and the ones I like most tend to be niche & not present anywhere. Things I remember streaming off the top of my head only because I could not get them anywhere, even as a DVD:

Beautiful Kate (2009)

Pour Sacha (1991)

Lilya 4ever (2004)

In the Company of Men (1997) - that was a while back.

Jar City (2006)

TBC. They may have appeared somewhere since, but at the time, they were not widely available.



I buy blu-rays for everything I can, if not then DVDs. If they really aren’t streaming anywhere and one can’t buy the physical version then one really has no choice. Especially for more obscure movies.



I buy blu-rays for everything I can, if not then DVDs. If they really aren’t streaming anywhere and one can’t buy the physical version then one really has no choice. Especially for more obscure movies.
Winter’s Bone I think I have never seen for sale anywhere in my life, even pirating it was hard and required scouring the entire internet.

But it was worth it though, wow, what an extraordinary film. A film I waited a decade to see that delivered.



I used to pirate but I dont anymore. Streaming services are cheap enough to pay for, and if theres something I want to see that's not available on Netflix, Prime, or Disney then I'll live without it as theres no way I'll be able to catch up on what interests me that is available.


Worst case scenario I just buy the film on Prime. I do use torrents to keep up with The Walking Dead, but I dont think that counts.



You’re the disease, and I’m the cure.
I'd rather not, nor do I.
__________________
“I really have to feel that I could make a difference in the movie, or I shouldn't be doing it.“
Joe Dante



I have in the past..but don't anymore... I have many streaming services that I actually pay for... and a few sites where I can watch for free.



It's generally more trouble to steal them than it is to either buy a legal copy or get it from a streaming service. I haven't done that since the days of recording movies shown in TV networks with a VCR. My movie budget is fairly modest but generally, I manage to see most of what I want. I do wish that there were one basic source where you could steam anything in order to cover what's not on a service I want to buy, but I guess that won't happen any time soon. I can usually at least see where I can get anything by just going to Google and doing "stream Gone With the Wind" or whatever.



The trick is not minding
When I pirate movies I like to dress for the part. Eye patch, Peg leg....right down to the talking parrot. Unfortunately I grabbed two, and both sit on opposite shoulders whispering in my ear, like an opposing Angel and Devil.
One tells me I shouldn’t pirate films.
The other suggests I cook the other parrot for dinner and do as I’m told.

What’s a guy to do but give into his basic desires?
Ahoy matey!



Registered User
Some of this problem is the movie studios own fault. A lot of times, the pirated stuff is better than if you were to buy it. I've tried being the eagle scout of morality, and what do I get for my troubles? Half an hour of trailers before the movie even starts, region codes that won't play on my DVD player, absolutely no concern about catering to where I live so I have to gamble with amazon, and sometimes get shipped the wrong movie and the seller refuses to make good on their mistake.

My last DVD purchase was The Ritz. It cost 40 dollars to have it shipped to me, and it took a month to get here. Of course the region code doesn't work on my good player, so I have to use my region free DVD player to watch it. Another time, I bought the complete box set of Andy Griffith, and they shipped me an incomplete set missing all of season 3. After four or five emails complaining, they told me I would have to suck it up because they refused to send me the missing season.

Then what if some new format comes out that turns my DVD collection into a couple boxes full of betamax tapes? I paid for the right to watch the movie, but can't because there hasn't been a betamax player sold here in half a century. I have to buy the new updated format, so my license to watch a movie legally has been upgraded to the right to pay for what I've already paid for.

I don't want to be that guy, but everyone who still has a large collection of 8-track tapes knows my pain and frustration.



I really don't do it much anymore. Between Netflix and Amazon, there's almost alway SOMETHING I want to see. I also make passes at bargain DVD and Blue Ray bins so I have a lot of those. My most recent bargain bin binge was several box sets of Noir movies. Ironically, what I look for when it's a keeper is movies that are way off either being current or way off being mainstream....late night junk, classics, etc.

It's purely a psychological thing, but when I put a disk in the player, it feels like I have quit the world for a while, have come unconnected, unlike streaming, where I'm hooked to somebody's pipeline and they monitor what I do. It's not unlike how I feel when I go to a movie in the theater, which hopefully will happen soon



You ready? You look ready.
It’s too much work to pirate stuff these days. It does bother me that there are large content libraries strictly tied to DVD. I have yet to find a good way to watch Tenchi Muyo outside of tracking down expensive discs or pirate copies.



I pirate movies because I won't be able to see them otherwise. I do not own a Blu-ray, DVD, or VHS player; I only watch movies through streaming services (I have access to all the big ones through family members). Usually if I want to watch something specific, I can find it on one of them by using justwatch. Occasionally, however, a title is unavailable. Only then will I resort to piracy.

Even in that situation, I have a strict set of rules I follow:
- I will not pirate a movie if it is in theaters currently or was within the last year
- I will not pirate a movie if I can find it on youtube, dailymotion, or another "legal" site.
- I will not pirate indie films released in the last 10ish years
- I will only torrent a movie if I cannot find a way to stream it

I do not pirate TV shows; if I can't access one, I just won't watch it.



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
It’s too much work to pirate stuff these days. It does bother me that there are large content libraries strictly tied to DVD. I have yet to find a good way to watch Tenchi Muyo outside of tracking down expensive discs or pirate copies.
Woah, I forgot about TENCHI!!!!!!! I had a crush on the Pirate chick. With white hair? That show confused me as, if I remember correctly, there were two versions of it with main characters being switched around or something weird. Like in one run, the crazy pirate girl had white hair. In the other run, the pirate had blue and a completely other personality.

YES, I'm wrong in that description. It was the late 90s since I've seen the show. I'm kinda short-handing it all the best I can from 20+ year old memories.
__________________
"My Dionne Warwick understanding of your dream indicates that you are ambivalent on how you want life to eventually screw you." - Joel

"Ever try to forcibly pin down a house cat? It's not easy." - Captain Steel

"I just can't get pass sticking a finger up a dog's butt." - John Dumbear



I used to indulge in the free torrents quite awhile ago. Before there was so much content streaming legally.
I have to say (I hope the feds aren't monitoring this forum), I don't blame anybody for doing it. This is not a well thought out position, But meh! Who cares? If I had to do it for financial reasons I certainly would watch pirated material. Gotta get my movie on.