release dates push people to piracy

donhughberto · 12-09-2003 6:58pm #1

Hi

I see alot of people are fed up with release dates for films in Ireland, why are we so far behind? I have bought films such as Tears Of The Sun on region 1 sites and it gets a cinema release here.

Who has bought pirate films hands up to find that quality is every bit as good as one we buy in the shops only at a third the price. Ireland seems like the last place a film gets released. I saw jason v freddy on dvd ages ago and now they hold it for release until halloween. What a joke and an insult.

Half the people i know import films from Malaysia and China. Before the mods erase this i would like to point out i am only giving my opinion on a much debated topic. What does everyone else think?

super_furry · 12-09-2003 7:12pm

I bought Jason vs Freddy on DVD (great quality) last weekend at a local market after hearing that it wouldn't be out here until October (if at all). I've been waiting to see it since it was announced and the fact that they delayed it, is directly responsible for me buying a pirated version. I don't usually mind the delays in release between Europe and the US, but when something comes out in Britain and the rest of Europe, while we're forced to wait months for it here in Ireland, well I'm just going to go for the pirated version.

donhughberto · 12-09-2003 7:22pm

I agree, its just not fair. I saw SWAT last night, it that released here yet. I find it dissapointing because i like the cinema but see all the films in advance. Girlfriend wants to go and suddenly there is nothing i want to see. If they could release them at least within a few weeks of the USA i could wait and see it on the big screen.

I also have received some dodgy pirate dvds in my time, like watching a snowstorm but in general they are alot better than people would imagine. Nice covers, artworks, subtitles and extras. I am not advertising them but they aint all as bad as people make out.

But they arent legal and sites like this aren't allowed to sell and buy them because they are likely to get sued but as free speech is available we can talk about them, or maybe we aren't allowed. would a mod clarify this for me as i don't wanta get booted.

Thanks

colinsky · 12-09-2003 7:35pm

From what I've heard, a lot of it is cost. It costs a lot to make each reel of film for distribution to theatres, so rather than make one for each theater world wide, they make a set of reels for the US, show the films there, then send the same physical reels to Europe to be re-used.

Digital distribution and project, should it catch on, would solve this problem. Then, the only delays would be for translation/dubbing/subtitles, or for film review and rediting by and for the various prudish censorship boards you folks have here.

ixoy · 12-09-2003 7:47pm

For a treatment of this issue, go find a copy of The Ticket, the Irish Times Thursday supplement, from a few weeks ago.

Essentially, as colinsky says, it's a matter of cost. There's a minimum outlay in distributing a movie here depending on the scale of release. It's not just a matter of finding a screen - you gotta import the film reel, convince people to show it, and then advertise it. Ireland, being small, creates narrow profit margins (approx. 100k on a very big movie) so distributors want to be very sure about a movie before releasing it.

Now take "Freddy vs Jason" - Jason X didn't do well in here. It didn't seem like there was much of a market to go to the hassle of advertising and showing the team-up movie. So they had no plans ever to do it. The only reason we're getting it now is 'coz it did quite well in the US (not sure how it performed in the UK) so it's got a reprieve.

As for "Tears of the Sun"... well September is pretty much a dead month financially for the cinemas as, with the summer over, people are returning to work/school. "Tears of the Sun" underperfomed in the US but they probably took a "what the hell" and decided to stick it into a market that's quite dead currently with a lack of new releases.

Other movies - say "Antwone Fisher" - they don't bother with all.

Having said that we do get the chance to check out some independent low-budget movies, e.g. "Goodbye Lenin!", "Rendez-Vous Belleville", "Respiro", etc. that you'd need to go to an arthouse cinema in the States to see...

donhughberto · 12-09-2003 8:25pm

Interesting! thanks Guys, explains a lot! The Italain Job is just released as well, now that is a fairly big film. I saw that one some time in april on pirate and it just got released on Region 1.

I must admit it hasn't been a great year for films, more bad than good but i still like to get to see films from the US Box Office Top 10 a week or two after i see previews etc.

byte · 12-09-2003 9:55pm

Where is the Italian Job available? It's not available on CDwow or Play.com until 7 October.

donhughberto · 12-09-2003 10:13pm

Mate

This thread is about cinema releases and pirate dvds. Italian Job has been available on pirate dvd since mid april. They bring camcorders into cinemas and copy it!

Usually start out average copy but watchable and then go to screeners released by companys which are very good quality but have warnings up on them every few minutes.

Two months before dvd is due for release the piraters have the full version available, with subs, extras the lot.

We are talking about how it can be improved and why people go to the lengths to get pirate dvds in the first place. Obviously boards.ie doesn't endorse this as they ban people who buy an sell these dvds as i myself was warned about a copy of matrix reloade, thats before i read the rules.

I am not sure if it is OK to talk about it even, i haven't been told otherwise as of yet by the mods but i presume since we ain't buying or selling it is ok.

fi · 12-09-2003 10:32pm

I couldnt believe ppl actually go to the cinema and tape it lol my god.

but as you say waiting a year for a mmovie to be released its too long.

but then the price of them is a rip off too.

i tend to buy region 1 from the states but now they are gone expensive too.

donhughberto · 12-09-2003 10:37pm

Yeah i buy alot of region 1 at www.dvdsoon.com, excellent, yeah they copy them with camcorders at first. I saw an american Pie the wedding, perfect and it was from a camcorder as you can see people getting up to leave at the end. the quality was excellent, Must have been no one in that cinema as i didnt hear laughing etc on the dvd, that was weird for american pie!

KdjaCL · 13-09-2003 8:41am

Why the hell would you buy a DVD a decent home cinema kit and nice tv then watch pirate videos (on dvd now woohoo) on them?

This completley escapes me , i buy DVDs to watch them in on a 32" tv with a good 5.1 amp there is no way i would play /watch /even allow into my house a pirate dvd.

The quality is unwatchable the sound is cack and if your lucky the cover is printed in colour.

I dunno how anyone could watch them.

kdjac

donhughberto · 13-09-2003 10:15am

First of all you can tell me whether this thread is legal under the rules as you are a mod!

I really am going to have to argue this point with you. I have come accross a few asian dvds that are of the highest possible standard, DTS sound, Subtitles, Etc and all.

As i siad before i dont promote them and films just out in cinema can be average versions at first but i have yet to come accross one which i couldnt watch at all. I have the widescreens as well and all the gear same as urself.

I buy most of my dvds new at play.com, i would watch pirates and hand them down to mates to watch. I usually wait for the prices at play to crash and then replace my pirates with new versions mainly because with pirates some extras are missing etc.

Have you come accross any good pirates in your time? There is allways colour covers, artworks on dvds etc.

KdjaCL · 13-09-2003 10:29am

Never seen a good quality pirate ever, watched a few minutes of Bad Boys 2 other day in mates house and it was imo unwatchable.

I watch DVDs because they are superior to anything else on the market sound and visually.
I dont have a video and havent had one for a long time, the wait for releases doesnt bother me i only watch movies in cinema or on DVD the odd movie on Sky with pseudo surround

As for whether its allowed it would be in the Charter and up to Draco but i think discussing the reason why pirates are available is a valid topic, its not being endorsed (certainly not my me

).

I know people who dont own one single released dvd all crappy pirates and they believe because they seen it before everyone else they cool or somfin.

kdjac

donhughberto · 13-09-2003 10:37am

KdjaC

I watched that last week with SWAT, SWAT wasn't the best quailty maybe 80% but Bad Boys 2 was on SVCD and was around 95%, really amazing quality, i like urself have bought dvds that are snowstorms with hurricances blowing but i found that dvds imported from the likes of Malaysia are really good. I wudnt buy of a market stall, thats for sure!

As you said we are discussing the matter and not selling or buying so i presume we can do this, see what the other mods think!

Rew · 13-09-2003 1:30pm

Originally posted by KdjaC
Never seen a good quality pirate ever, watched a few minutes of Bad Boys 2 other day in mates house and it was imo unwatchable.

There are rips of comercial DVDs available for download as soon as they go to press (eg Matrix 2 has be available for about 2 months or more). These are pirate and an exact copy of the retail DVD (eg the Matrix DVD is due on region 1 in oct/nov). Currently DVD rips arn't as big on the pirate scean simply coz most people dont have DVD-/+R burners but this will change quickly now that the are becoming afforable.

KdjaCL · 13-09-2003 1:39pm

I wouldnt class rips of proper dvds as pirates ,i always thought of pirates as prerelease versions of movies that hadnt hit DVD yet.

Where i work we made a few movies on DVD and they sat in our warehouse for over a month before being shipped out for its release date ,that annoyed me as it was ready just waiting for fiscal months and **** to end.

kdjac

donhughberto · 13-09-2003 2:02pm

Rew

I agree and the rips are same quality and we get them two months before other people, as i said i have a perfect rip of the matrix reloaded!

People pay roughly 30 euros for these in shop and even with middlemen in the pirate game you can get rips for a third of this. Most come in perfect covers and a swerd judge cudnt tell the differance between it and a region 1 version released. Alot of people buy region 1s second hand and all they are getting is rips and they don't know the differance. I have bought dvds that are rips because they aren't available on the market yet.

Its a personal choice but there is no differance in quality or appearance on some i have got. However i did buy some from England which were photocopied covers which didnt look 100 % but dvd was 100%.

fi · 13-09-2003 2:27pm

I buy my dvds, online and in stores if they have special offes on films i wish to own, ones i want to own would be a film i concider good and enjoyable to watch over and over again.

I get the pirate ones to see if the film is any good, i was about to buy [last year] AI on the net in USA while it was still in the cinema here, then i was offered it on vcd, so i took it and wa so glad ididnt buy it, it was dreadfull.

i dont blame ppl for exploiting the market as the prices here for a dvd is absoloutly ridiclous. if memory serves me right it costs them about €8.00 to produce one dvd. play station games are €10 yet look what we must pay for them.

I also now go to extra vision and buy thier copies of movies too.

Makaveli · 13-09-2003 2:36pm

Why would you buy it on DVD when it was still in the cinema and you had never seen it?

donhughberto · 13-09-2003 2:44pm

Why pay cinema money for the same reason haha, not much differance in buying it and going to see it and you can then pass it on to ur mates to see as well. You could have 30 people watch it for 10 euros!

Makaveli · 13-09-2003 2:55pm

But there is no justification for piracy in this case.
Also, the cinema is ultimatly going to be better than watching it on a television.

fi · 13-09-2003 3:01pm

Well not to give you my life story but sufice to say i dont get to the cinemas. last film i saw was the bond one, adn speaking of which i have the bond collection with the 007 and gun on the cover... but i am hoping they will bring out teh new one in same format soon. missing 2 movies from set, impossible to get at a good price. and region 2

Originally posted by Makaveli
Why would you buy it on DVD when it was still in the cinema and you had never seen it?

KdjaCL · 13-09-2003 3:07pm

Originally posted by fi
if memory serves me right it costs them about €8.00 to produce one dvd. play station games are €10 yet look what we must pay for them.

Actually less than 1 Euro for a DVD unless its getting special packaging ie those foldy cases are dear to make about €1.20 each.
PS2 games same price only difference is the Replicator would use coloured Polycarbonate to make em black

kdjac

Pigman II · 13-09-2003 3:15pm

Those who choose to watch movies on DVDs (and to a lesser extent) pirated films* are fine by me but personally for me the cinema is really the ONLY place to watch a movie. People on here are arguing on the various merits of DVD's against pirated VCDs etc but to me it makes no difference. At the end of the day you're not getting the experience that the filmmakers wanted no matter how good your screen/speakers are. You might argue that 'technially' you are but what I'm talking about is the 'experience' of sitting in a darkened room with a bunch of strangers who are feeling the same thrills as you from watching a great film.

It's equivilant to people who only watch football on TV and never go out to a real game. Sure you might have seen a good game on TV , but you weren't in the ground with the other fans soaking up the athmosphere and living a collective experience.

Also there is NO film that I would want to see THAT badly that'd I give up the first-time-experience of seeing it in a cinema just to get to see it a bit earlier. I think 'real' movie fans probably feel this way too.

* = means the actual act of watching it. I'm not condoning it legally.

fi · 13-09-2003 3:27pm

well that only points out my point even further. my got one Euro and we pay well over €30 for them, but ppl will keep buying so there is no reason for them to change anything.

If Irish ppl put thier foot down and refused to buy the produvts at sure inflated prices then they might do something, or may be not

fi · 13-09-2003 3:31pm

Originally posted by Pigman II
but personally for me the cinema is really the ONLY place to watch a movie. People on here are arguing on the various merits of DVD's against pirated VCDs etc but to me it makes no difference. At the end of the day you're not getting the experience that the filmmakers wanted no matter how good your screen/speakers are.

excelent point. i agree to some extent, but it is not always possible for some ppl to get to the cinema for different reasons. but i ahve to agree teh experience of tthe cinema is special and better then at home with the lights on!!!!

KdjaCL · 13-09-2003 3:35pm

Pigman i see your point but some movies i havent enjoyed in a cinema but when i seen them on DVD it was a far better viewing expericence.
Horror movies for instance dont come accross well in cinemas imo but at home they do.
Some comedies are the same Royal Tenebaum was a great movie but i enjoyed it more at home.

Oh and Fi i working in CD/DVD plant and every year they get cheaper and cheaper, we make some cds for free nowadays and only charge for the packaging, thats sad.

kdjac

Makaveli · 13-09-2003 3:40pm

Originally posted by fi
If Irish ppl put thier foot down and refused to buy the produvts at sure inflated prices then they might do something, or may be not

I havent bought a DVD or CD in the shops for ages, it's all bought online now.

fi · 13-09-2003 3:49pm

Well i buy online too when i can. and i would love if all sites who are selling products would ahve an option on the bottom of the page as to what currency you wish to view the page on, making it easier to work out the cost, i know in the US it is nearly the same as here but the stirling kills my brain trying to work it out.

Makaveli · 13-09-2003 4:01pm

http://www.xe.com/ucc/

donhughberto · 13-09-2003 4:26pm

really its ok being in dublin, but i come from a small town with no cinema, nearest one 30 miles away, and might go to it once a month if at all.

We don't even have a dvd selling and renting sshop in town, all VHS. I buy everything online. If agree that cinema can't be beat for thrills and spills, i will never forget Independance Day in Cinema, pure magic. I am not a patient type and i want to see films within a year of been released over in states and i have strayed to piracy cause there is no other way.

60% of my films are region 2
25% region 1,3,4
15% pirated

I have a collection of over 250, i had 400 but cut it a bit, i know people with nearer 1,000! Films are a hobby and some people think we are mad, but if i can get them cheaper i will buy them regardless of format, after all its the same film.

Rew · 15-09-2003 10:12am

Dont know abou the rest of the contry but my local cinema only gets some of the current movies and some movies never make it to thei neck of the woods. Sometimes my only option is to see it on pirate or wait a year for DVD.

There are some limited relase movies that only go to places like the IFC so again the only option is watch it pirated or wait a year for DVD.

A big factor for me is the quality of the movies. I dont mean picture and sound but the actual movie. Iv started watching some movies and just turned em off coz they are so crap. I hate that disapointment after you fork over your cash to see a movie that you thought would be ok and it turned out to be ****....

Any movie thats worth seeing in the cinmea i have no issues what so ever paying to go see it. Any thing woth owning on DVD i dont mind buying (at a decent price, not 30 euro). But decent movies seem to be getting few and far between these days....

I know none of this actualy justfies breaking the law but maybe the industry need to look at their distrabution schemes....

donhughberto · 15-09-2003 10:25am

Rew

I am totally with you on that point, i haven't seen a handfull of decent films in the last 18 months and it is a poor time in the movie business.

I like urself love films and woouldn't mind paying good money to see a great flick but everyhting is falsely advertised these days!

Rew · 15-09-2003 10:55am

Glad we agree on some things anyway (not SWAT though

)

It also sickens me that crap movies get the hard sell with plenty of $$$ behind them and good to execlent low budget stuff is stuck on the film festival circuit or on limited release...

Your right about the advertising as well they hype movies up even miss represent the storyline to make it sound better.

I wonder what the Gigli release will be like here (i hear its looming on our horizions) after its slating in the states...

donhughberto · 15-09-2003 12:03pm

I must admit i still like SWAT! Gigli i won't be in a rush to see, no way!

I just watched a low budget film on dvd called Frailty, i can say its very good and story is excellent. The main idea for us on boards is to inform each other of the sh**e we see, and the odd time we come across a gem.

But like everything options can differ and as does taste but thats life and thats why they get away with so much Sh**e in the film industry.

I find with pirate dvds i get to see all and pass on what i dont want to matye and so on until everyone has seen them, hardly a waste of money if a dozen people see it for 12 euros or so!

I was part of a club for a while that passed dvds between a group and everyone got to see everything. It was excellent but most of my mates have moved on now!

slave1 · 15-09-2003 12:24pm

why pirate?

dvd recorders for PC less than 180 yo yos
good blank dvds for just over 2 yo yos
plenty of back up dvdsoftware available, that encodes 5.1 too
and you can back up a region 1 dvd to region free

so pirates get a ligit region 1 dvd and copy and make a nice easy dollar

plus mates take in turn to buy region 1 and cross back-up

thats why they pirate, easy supply and easy demand

ykt0di9url7bc3 · 15-09-2003 12:44pm

what Rew said!

In my case I cant afford buying DVD's but i will actually break my budget to buy something that i have enjoyed...i have watched plenty of svcd's and DVD rips in my time and i have bought 10-15 DVD's based on what i have watched...

Trinity & beyond
Ring
Training Day
Swordfish
....

I rarely go to the cinema ($$$ again

) but i if get my hands on something wonderful i will again pay the good money i dont have on a nice seat, popcorn, large coke and a big bag of m&ms...I love films and enjoy watching them a couple of times over....

things i have seen in cinema because of previous viewing on svcd
LOTR
Ring
Matrix reloaded
About shcmit
......

donhughberto · 15-09-2003 2:17pm

There is a big market out there for pirate dvds. The problem most poeple haveis getting them for the right price, me included. I have seen them for around 18 euros a go, obviously first class robbery. best i can get them for is in or around 10 euros and believe me i have looked.

The web is censored now and its not easy to find sites selling them. The asians are the best piraters because of pure quality involved. I was buying a few for mates of a guy with an email address only, cant remember how i found him but it was gold, dvds are of a higher class and covers, artworks etc are excellent, price of around 10 euros was just a tad high for asians when i read you can get them for 4 us dollars on market stalls anywhere in asia.

If people have bought, how much have they paid and in what country so as a matter of pure interest on the matter!

donhughberto · 15-09-2003 2:19pm

Backup services on the web is another word for legal piracy!

ObeyGiant · 15-09-2003 3:07pm

I have yet to see a genuine, compelling argument for the piracy of films. The main reasons listed in this thread don't even come close to convincing me that piracy is even slightly acceptable.

donhughberto · 15-09-2003 3:37pm

Thats true, points haven't been what i expected at all!

My case is i have 50 euros in my pocket, i can go to the dvd shop and buy a dvd for 30 euros or i can get same dvd for 10 euros and go for a few drinks with my mates.

40 euros buys more drink than 20 euros and i get a good film. Studios and governments are robbing people with taxes and profit margins. If i can get something cheaper then i will buy it regardless.

Some people have high morals but hollywood studios and Irish government have none. look at difference in prices between other countrys and this one. Its laughable!

ObeyGiant · 15-09-2003 3:45pm

Originally posted by donhughberto
My case is i have 50 euros in my pocket, i can go to the dvd shop and buy a dvd for 30 euros or i can get same dvd for 10 euros and go for a few drinks with my mates.

40 euros buys more drink than 20 euros and i get a good film. Studios and governments are robbing people with taxes and profit margins. If i can get something cheaper then i will buy it regardless.

No offense, but your posts were mainly the ones I was referring to when I said that noone has yet managed to put up a convincing argument.

Regardless of whether shops, Hollywood studios or distributors (or.. uh.. governments) are setting prices unjustifyably high, piracy is against the law. This takes it far beyond the simple question of morality that you make it out to be.

donhughberto · 15-09-2003 4:07pm

God did i really offend you that bad, i am so sorry. i was expressing my views only and i am not converting people haha. The only question it gives me is "How i spend the pennies i make". You are entitled to give your option and i would have once backed you to the tilt but not anymore.

I would feel cheated spending 30 euros on a dvd now. I still buy most of my dvds at play.com and dvdsoon.com. I usually replace pirates when i get offical version at right price.

Piracy is against the law yep, but it also gives people a choice and people are entitled to make their own choices on what they buy with money we all work too hard to throw away.

there is more people on your side than on mine, but thats life. I would once again say i do not endorse it but would like to hear what people think!

ObeyGiant · 15-09-2003 4:23pm

Originally posted by donhughberto
God did i really offend you that bad, i am so sorry ... You are entitled to give your option and i would have once backed you to the tilt but not anymore.

You haven't offended me. Not yet, anyway.
As regards giving my opinion - so far, I haven't actually given my opinion. I just stated the fact that, no matter how you tart it up, or try to justify it as the lesser of two evils, it's against the law.

Originally posted by donhughberto
I would feel cheated spending 30 euros on a dvd now ... I usually replace pirates when i get offical version at right price.

I think most people would feel cheated paying that much for a DVD. And, for the most part, retailers are beginning to take notice of this. The overall price of DVDs has dropped dramatically in the past couple of years.

One question though - why bother with the pirate copy if you're just going to replace it with an authentic one somewhere down the line? I love films too, but there's nothing I can't wait for.

Originally posted by donhughberto
Piracy is against the law yep, but it also gives people a choice and people are entitled to make their own choices on what they buy with money we all work too hard to throw away.

See, the problem here is that everything after the "but" in your sentence was made completely redundant by the part that came before the "but".

Also, don't you think it's a little hypocritical to say it's a waste of money buying full-price DVDs, when in your last post you talk about spending your savings on drinks with your mates? Drinking is the biggest waste of my money.

fi · 15-09-2003 4:32pm

you asked how much one could get piarates for, well in the blackrock market you can get a deal of 3 DVD's for €40 he even has Verionica Guirean but i didnt get back into him to get it.

it dosnt matter if you agree with the piracy or not, it happens its out there and veryone has their own resons for getting them buying them or making them.

I love getting the real thing if i enjoy the movie but it has to be a the right price.

donhughberto · 15-09-2003 4:43pm

One question though - why bother with the pirate copy if you're just going to replace it with an authentic one somewhere down the line? I love films too, but there's nothing I can't wait for.

Price is the biggest thing, dvds that are out longer cost less, 6.99 or 7.99 at play. For the rest i just aint willing to wait to see the films, as mentioned earlier we have no cinema here.

Bring a couple of mates over, have a few beers and watch a few films, no harm no foul.

Beer a waste of money, i really dont want to answer that, you put that one on a thread and you will end up in a war!

I just like movies and i just want to see whatever is out there. Sometimes we buy films as a group and swap and share till we all get to see them, good or bad! Saves money.

Also I have bought movies at 20 pounds and they have been useless. Dying to see them, no cinema, hyped advertising and rubbish to end it all.

I concede the point that we are not justifing piracy but i never intended to do that, i just want to hear what people think!

Rew · 15-09-2003 9:38pm

While we are still on the topic...

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994166

"Most pirate copies of popular movies circulated online are the result of leaks by industry insiders rather than home or cinema copying, according to US research"

Nothing new here personally i think the figure of 30bn is heavily inflated...

Id like to clarify my position in all this:

Iv never bought or sold a pirate copy of anything (games/CD's/movies) but iv downloaded quite a few. I dont belive that anyone should profit form a pirate copy of anything.

You put no work into its creation and there fore deserve no cash as part of that. My morals are far more lax when it come to donloading and watching movies. I havae no issuse with that.

If its any good ill wait and pay to see it tin the cinema anyway. If its really good ill buy the DVD for the quality of picture, sound and the extras etc... I firmly belive that they only deserve my money when they have produced something worth while (not utter ****e as of recently).

donhughberto · 15-09-2003 10:16pm

Rew

I find myself agreeing with you. Mostly we buy between 7 or 8 people, a few each and then swap them around. It can be fun. You are right about profiting from it, its not on but we have to get them somewhere, i have like urself downloaded a few movies as well.

You make some very good points and i have to say your views are the best i have heard yet on the Topic. ObeyGiant also has interesting points to make even if i don't agree with him.

Everything distributed in screeners etc are leaked from insiders within the studios or distributing networks.

The crap that has been released in 2003 is really poor and i cant't remember a film this year i enjoyed as i am not a matrix fan but it was one of the better ones. T3 was a shambles and have to wait for T4 now! I find some of the stuff released on dvd to be better. some of the films with no budget to speak off and without big casts.

ObeyGiant · 15-09-2003 11:01pm

The strange thing here is that I'm not actually trying to make a point here. I'm just highlighting the fact that, regardless of how you put it or how you justify it, piracy is against the law. All those big copyright notices that appear at the start of videos and DVDs? They're telling you that piracy is against the law.

It's unfortunate that there is such a huge gap between public perception and the law. If it was any shorter, this thread would have been finished hours ago. As it stands, we're onto our third page of, essentially, the same two posts: "I think piracy is okay", "Piracy is against the law", "But I think it's okay", "it's against the law".

Rew - piracy isn't against the law because other people profit from the film studios, but rather because it means the film studios are losing out on potential profits. It doesn't matter whose pockets these profits end up in. This is another case of perception interfering with what is basically a pretty straightforward law. It can be easy to think that simply because you didn't pay anyone for your copy of Finding Nemo (or whatever), that noone is getting hurt, or at least, it's "less bad" than giving money to some grubby, rat-faced guy for a copy. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

In both cases, this adds to this (possibly inflated) figure of $30bn lost to the film industry each year (having heard reports from both Tokyo and Thailand, I'm doubting this figure is inflated). As well as this, it means that the film industry is always researching new and better ways of preventing piracy - which doesn't come cheap. And of course, you have the damage this is causing to our rights as consumers - one could quite easily argue that without such a huge market for pirate material, DeCSS would be a perfectly legal piece of software, and watching videos on my choice of operating system wouldn't be such a legal mess.

Makaveli · 15-09-2003 11:06pm

Originally posted by donhughberto
You make some very good points and i have to say your views are the best i have heard yet on the Topic.

Because they basically mirror yours.

sceptre · 15-09-2003 11:29pm

Originally posted by donhughberto
Must have been no one in that cinema as i didnt hear laughing etc on the dvd, that was weird for american pie!

The best screeners pipe the sound directly into the camcorder. Quite common in HK apparently.

It's been well over two years since I downloaded any screeners from the web. Actually it's been over a year since I downloaded any movies from thwe web, though I've grabbed quite a few Seinfeld eps (not available on DVD unfortunately)

release dates push people to piracy

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