Weekend Open Forum: Where do you get your entertainment?

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Matthew DeCarlo

Posts: 5,271   +104
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With the distribution and consumption of media rapidly shifting to Web-based mediums, bigwigs are scrambling to carve out their niche. It's never been easier to hop online and download music, TV shows, movies, and games through entirely legal – and increasingly affordable – services like iTunes, Netflix, Steam and countless others.

About $10 a month gets you instant and unlimited streaming access to millions of songs, another tenner covers a wide range of shows and films, and outfits like Steam have mind-blowing sales every week, with games such as GTA IV for well under the $10 mark. Despite all of that, the entertainment industry still faces challenges with piracy.


While we don't promote violating copyright laws, everyone has at least one illegally-acquired song in their collection, so let's not pretend such things don't occur. Just about any form of digestible media is readily available on a myriad of P2P sites and it can be hard to turn your back on free goods – at least until you're served a $2,500 settlement letter.

Without dragging this on, we simply want to ask: What services do you rely on for your music, videos, and games? Have you always gone the legal route? Perhaps you're a longtime pirate scared straight? Feel free to comment as a Guest user if you'd rather the world not know about your torrented movie collection.

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Ok most games I buy for entertainment usually begin with a torrent. If I like it I buy it. I love the show criminal minds. I torrented the first season after I began watching it to see if buying the DVD was worth it compared to recording it on my shitty tube TV. So I bought em. The only things I really pirate are things like 3DSMax which no consumer in their right mind will buy just to look at a few models.
 
Music: I would rather not mess with the music industry right now, especially since they are coming down hard on many unsuspecting people. No more illegal music downloads for me. However, I am doing something quite similar to that... I have used iTunes in the past, but now with the 3-tier pricing scheme, I am turning to my friends to give me music, and I can almost always find one of them who has any song I want.

Movies: Currently using Netflix, watching movies on my computer, and occasionally getting a DVD when instant play isn't available. I got the streaming disc to watch from my Wii as well, but the quality is not the best.

Games: Games that I would most likely want to play online, I buy at a discounted price from ebay, and occasionally I buy at full price. (CD keys are very annoying ; D) I do admit that I have downloaded a fair share of games "illegally", but the games industry has not yet begun reprimanding us, although I am sure they will start soon.
 
I am a high school student with no money. I have pirated a few games for my PC that I already own for Xbox. I buy most games from steam. In my entire 17 years of existence, I have never bought music. We have full cable. I pretty much only pirate music and a few movies
 
captaincranky said:

@ Matthew; I simply can't figure this out, why would you choose this as a topic? You know all you're going to get is every ying-yang bragging about how much intellectual property they've pirated, then rationalize it. (sic) "If they had any good movies, music, or games I'd be willing to pay for them, but they don' so I steal them instead".

I can only conclude that you actually work for the RIAA, or MPAA.

I was wondering the same thing. Does anyone really think that Techspot would not hand over any identifiable information about its users if asked to do so by the RIAA or MPAA? Does Techspot get a reward for turning in its users? Money is money people.

Don't be lulled into a false sense of security and don't incriminate yourself. This topic should be killed.
 
I've never paid for a PC game. But I don't play that much, which is not an excuse. Music, I used to download a lot. Now, I rather buying my discs and then upload them to my mp4 and pen drive. I do download movies, but in Argentina it isn't a crime, making profit of it it's a crime. Besides, I own a video club, and ALL its movies are legal, perhaps in Europe or North America it's a common thing to have everything right, but here... it's like WTF! My father and I are very proud of it, but it's not a growing business anymore.

Furthermore, new PC games are like U$S45, which is a lot! Most games cost between 100-200 argentinian pesos. Do you know what's the avarage wage here? It's $2900! Buying ONE game means to spend 7% of your salary.

Well, I'm not saying that piracy it's a good thing, but I wish It was easier for us (south american people) to get legal material without bleeding... you come to your own conclusions.
Bye!
 
well I have to say that its really been a pleasure paying for all of you who pirate,steal, borrow, try out, or whatever gets you through the night. You are the reason that my copy of CODMW2 was $60, and the copy of Metro 2033 was $50.
And before some genius comes in here in a clever attempt to say that piracy doesn't cost anybody anything unless a physical object leaves the store in someones shorts, and proceed to tell me that I don't understand economics....yeah that's BS. I do understand and know first hand that theft is accounted for and built into the cost of goods and services. It has a place on the spreadsheet the same as turning on the lights and garbage collection. if it doesn't cost the rest of us at the POS, it costs us in the limited selection of quality products to choose from. But hey, you can get away with it right? BTW, im sure vehicles cost too much as well right? why not "try one out first" and see how that works out for you.
 
I have been using a lot of steam for my games, sitting around and catching weekend deals. Music? It's all about streaming! Legal and pandora is fun. Movies, Netflix and redbox. Jail = Fail
 
red1776 said:
You are the reason that my copy of CODMW2 was $60, and the copy of Metro 2033 was $50.

Untrue. Activision/Blizzard is a greedy company, straight up. They make solid games and know people will pay for them, so they charge more. This is also why they'll be charging $60 for Starcraft2, plus more for the Zerg/Protoss campaigns.

http://www.edge-online.com/news/activision-ceo-would-like-to-raise-game-prices-even-further

As to where I get my content: I buy most of my games nowadays through steam, and always wait for some kind of discount weekend. I can watch movies/TV shows through my GF's netflix account. I buy music if it's a band that I really want to support.
 
Untrue. Activision/Blizzard is a greedy company, straight up. They make solid games and know people will pay for them, so they charge more. This is also why they'll be charging $60 for Starcraft2, plus more for the Zerg/Protoss campaigns.

Nice try. by greedy you mean they actually want to make a profit?...how dare they! you are flat out wrong treeski. Theft is accounted for and calculated into the cost. that is fact.
 
First of all, for kg363, props to you for being stand up enough to flat out say you pirate stuff. Not that I agree with that, but it's miles ahead of the jerks who pony up the worst of excuses to justify doing the same. Those of you who routinely cry about why you steal here on TechSpot, take notice. If you're going to Torrent stuff you shouldn't, at least be man enough to admit it like kg363 who is a whopping 17 years old.

As far as my entertainment, I've been a computer game junkie from the very first Pong. I've owned everything from the first Pong game (plugged in to the back of your bad B&W TV set) to the Amiga to the Commodore 64, to a number of Nintendo consoles - you name it. These days, I am a PC gamer only (which is why I am so hard-core against PC game theft) and between those games and my blu-ray player - that's pretty much how I spend my digital recreational time.
 
Nice try. by greedy you mean they actually want to make a profit?...how dare they! you are flat out wrong treeski. Theft is accounted for and calculated into the cost. that is fact.
Red, you're theoretically a grownup, how many times do I have to tell, you can't change the mind of a sociopath, no matter how well intentioned you may be. There are so many self minted, "Robin Hoods" in this "brave new world", yet they all seemed to have missed the point of the story. No, no, silly, you're supposed to rob from the rich, then give it to others, not yourself. (And that, "but I'm poor", excuse doesn't fly either).
 
I see the editors of this website took down my last post warning people about incriminating themselves and that if asked Techspot may turn over information to the RIAA and/or MPAA. Maybe other readers can profit by turning in other Techspot members. Why censor me? What is your stance Techspot? I just want to know that if you are going to ask a loaded question that you aren't using it to profit off of the misfortunes or crimes of others. I am not being rude or impolite. I want your readers to have assurance where you stand on the matter so they do not incriminate themselves in some matter. I am taking a screen shot of this posting and future posts as to show your responses.
 
I just want to say that it varies on the age unless you or your parents are rich then you have nothing to say. I get most of my music P2P I always buy single songs of my favorite artist or if just a song I like that I heard in a movie. Videos; tvshows, movies mostly P2P and just plain google search heck I could watch youtube all day I have a TV in my house since 09 I stopped watching TVshows on my TV all I do on it is play games anyways I don't think I ever see myself buying a TV show movie maybe I'll occasionally see a movie in the theater if its a show like Transformers 3, Iron Man...etc. At this moment the only game console I pirate is the Wii and I'll probably still buy games like Brawl or any Mario related game always buy my 360 games PS3 of course I always buy them nothing else I can't do, DS ok I do have card to play mostly any game I want but I always buy my pokemon games always I will never dwnload a pokemon game... the new ones at least I play Pokemon Red/yellow on the PC once in a while why are they selling em' they should just give them away for free srsly.

Even if I was rich I will probably take the illegal route once in a while for TV shows and Movies probably there's really no point in having cable when all this is possible to get in a click of a button. Thats my 2 cents
 
Guest:
Even if I was rich I will probably take the illegal route once in a while for TV shows and Movies probably there's really no point in having cable when all this is possible to get in a click of a button. Thats my 2 cents

Captaincranky:
Red, you're theoretically a grownup, how many times do I have to tell, you can't change the mind of a sociopath, no matter how well intentioned you may be. There are so many self minted, "Robin Hoods" in this "brave new world", yet they all seemed to have missed the point of the story. No, no, silly, you're supposed to rob from the rich, then give it to others, not yourself. (And that, "but I'm poor", excuse doesn't fly either).

Your right Cap, its a different world....I give up
 
Actually Red, there must be something wrong with me. OTA television entertains the living crap out of me. You don't have to steal it, they pump it directly to your living room, in glorious hi-def, and it's free. All you have to do is adjust the rabbit ears once in a while.

But see, I'm old, and I really don't know how to have fun.
 
captaincranky said:
I see the editors of this website took down my last post warning people about incriminating themselves and that if asked Techspot may turn over information to the RIAA and/or MPAA. Maybe other readers can profit by turning in other Techspot members. Why censor me? What is your stance Techspot? I just want to know that if you are going to ask a loaded question that you aren't using it to profit off of the misfortunes or crimes of others. I am not being rude or impolite. I want your readers to have assurance where you stand on the matter so they do not incriminate themselves in some matter. I am taking a screen shot of this posting and future posts as to show your responses.
The reason I gave my original opinion was in response to your "loaded question" point. This site forbids talk of piracy of any kind, yet we start threads, that IMO, seemingly must gravitate towards that type of discussion.

At the end of the day, I think that the membership at large should censor themselves. Basically, do what you want in private, and have the good taste to shut up in public.

In my perfect world, P2P malware victims would not be given aid and comfort. Everybody has also "lost their Windows disc", which always makes me wonder if even the OSes are legit.
If you got your free malware with your free music, fix your own computer. At least you'll have some nice tunes to listen to while you reformat.

I agree cranky. People shouldn't post in public forums about illegal activity. I could care less if some guy illegally downloads or not. I just want to know what Techspot intends to do with the information collected. Most likely, this post was a simple "where do you get your digital entertainment from?" question. However, people should realize that there is a threat of their information being used against them whether it be from Techspot or just some reader looking to make a fast buck by collecting this information and handing it over. Just be warned people... downloaders have been sued for just leaving an IP address. Do you really want to go through that hassle?

"This site forbids talk of piracy of any kind"

This thread in general has broken that rule. The writer of the article tells you to use the 'guest' login if you don't want to reveal your identity. Why should I be told I can hide my identity if I have nothing to fear?
 
We aren't going to "do" anything with the information "collected" heh. This is nothing more than an open discussion about what digital entertainment services (of the zillions) people feel are worth spending money on. I didn't directly tell anyone to use the Guest account.

Frankly, I don't think people have a good reason to mask their fictitious screen name on a topic discussing torrents. That said, I don't speak for everyone, and I can recognize that it's a sensitive subject. Some people might prefer to post anonymously, and that's fine.
 
red1776 said:
well I have to say that its really been a pleasure paying for all of you who pirate,steal, borrow, try out, or whatever gets you through the night. You are the reason that my copy of CODMW2 was $60, and the copy of Metro 2033 was $50.
And before some genius comes in here in a clever attempt to say that piracy doesn't cost anybody anything unless a physical object leaves the store in someones shorts, and proceed to tell me that I don't understand economics....yeah that's BS. I do understand and know first hand that theft is accounted for and built into the cost of goods and services. It has a place on the spreadsheet the same as turning on the lights and garbage collection. if it doesn't cost the rest of us at the POS, it costs us in the limited selection of quality products to choose from. But hey, you can get away with it right? BTW, im sure vehicles cost too much as well right? why not "try one out first" and see how that works out for you.

If theft is already accounted in the price of a video game, then would the so-called "stolen games" already be paid off? Also, if the price of the game reflects theft, why are these software companies trying to get paid twice for the same copy of said game? They are, by your information, getting paid for these illegally downloaded copies by raising the price of legal copies then suing to get paid for the illegal copies. That is like someone selling the same car to two different people.
 
If theft is already accounted in the price of a video game, then would the so-called "stolen games" already be paid off? Also, if the price of the game reflects theft, why are these software companies trying to get paid twice for the same copy of said game? They are, by your information, getting paid for these illegally downloaded copies by raising the price of legal copies then suing to get paid for the illegal copies. That is like someone selling the same car to two different people.
We really need to defuse this discussion a bit, just a notch or two, nothing too radical.

Red is pointing to a fact of business life. If you go into Walmart and steal something, those losses are calculated into the selling price of the remaining items. If 20% are likely to be stolen, then next time you buy one, plan on paying 133% of the pre-theft price. That's a "gross profit margin" calculation. I know you're thinking it shout be 120%, but business doesn't work that way.
 
We aren't going to "do" anything with the information "collected" heh. This is nothing more than an open discussion about what digital entertainment services (of the zillions) people feel are worth spending money on. I didn't directly tell anyone to use the Guest account.
See, this is one of those points, that in good faith, you really shouldn't have to make. But since it appears necessary, I'll take a shot at it too.

In a technical sense, Techspot doesn't have any need whatsoever to "collect information". since in the forum, and by its very nature, it is a collection of information. So now, how can anybody complain about relinquishing information that they've contributed voluntarily in the first place?

Everybody knows that this is a public forum, you don't have to sign in to view the forum. You only have to sign in to place information into the >>> collection....! Who's viewing, who knows, Bill Gates, the FBI, Weird Al Yankovich, could be anybody.

Everybody gets lectured almost everyday, "once something is on the internet, it's there forever".

So then, if you don't want anybody to see what you've said, why not simply shut your yap. This of course, does presuppose, an individual's command of a certain amount of normally applied self control. Just shut up, it's that simple.

If you think spewing a bunch of information about how much illegal content you've acquired is an "admission absolves guilt" protocol, save it, I'm not your minister.
 
...If you go into Walmart and steal something, those losses are calculated into the selling price of the remaining items. If 20% are likely to be stolen, then next time you buy one, plan on paying 133% of the pre-theft price. That's a "gross profit margin" calculation. I know you're thinking it shout be 120%, but business doesn't work that way.

That percentage will probably increase to cover severence payments for their workers....at least the thieves need not worry about the Ninja Customer Services Managers
 
Netflix. Instant View Mostly. On my Roku Box. That and I like converting shows to MPEG 4 (or sometimes leaving them as is) and streaming them to my iPhone through my internet connection to watch at the gym.
 
If theft is already accounted in the price of a video game, then would the so-called "stolen games" already be paid off? Also, if the price of the game reflects theft, why are these software companies trying to get paid twice for the same copy of said game? They are, by your information, getting paid for these illegally downloaded copies by raising the price of legal copies then suing to get paid for the illegal copies. That is like someone selling the same car to two different people
.


I understand your thinking on that Dark, but the answer is no. I have 26 years of business experience and training, and 14 years of being on corporate budget committees and know that theft is calculated in many different ways. It can be that we finance their purchases and we know from experience that a certain number of customers will not pay the finance charges or interest we have to pay. Thus it gets figured in at higher wholesale cost of X%. It can be loss of economy of scale of only pressing 500k copies rather than 1M copies.It can be in the form of more employees salaries for tech support due to having to field troubleshooting for copies they didn't even sell and make money on. Whatever or however theft impacts the bottom line, The cost of the building,salaries,development,production, down to the electric bill and company garbage collection, is amortized over less units sold because of theft. and the folks actually purchasing the product pay more per unit. You can argue if you like that Activision ,etc , are reaping 'to much profit', and that's a different discussion. But you are paying for the pirating if you purchase the product.Another way that theft costs the consumer is by limiting the choice,quality, and competition in the marketplace. I don't know what specifically is not there, however I would wager a healthy sum that there are projects out there that will not be developed because the cost cannot be recaptured due to rampant piracy. And it always amazes me that the people who ***** the most about lack of, or poor quality games...are the ones stealing them. As far as pulling a financial 'double jeopardy' by going after the individuals who pirate, I don't think they expect to recapture their financial losses, they want to actually stop the theft to increase the market for legitimate sales. Weather that is an effective tool or not, again a different discussion.
I just hope that all of these people that think they can arbitrarily deem others labor and creativity grow up and decide what they want to do for a living. At least stay consistent about it when someone decides that they are entitled to their good or product and steal it...including intellectual property.
 
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