• TWeaK@lemm.ee
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    11 months ago

    Frog with hacked firestick and a pirate subscription: huh?

    Frog who downloads media himself and hosts it on his own server: you guys are in water?

      • TWeaK@lemm.ee
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        11 months ago

        I dunno exactly, I just know many people have “hacked firesticks” that basically run Kodi, then they pay some dodgy dude on WhatsApp like 30 euro a year and get e v e r y t h i n g as a streaming service. Sometimes the service gets shut down, but apparently they’re pretty decent at referring you to their new operation with credit - and even if not, you’ve paid far less than a full legit TV package.

        I’m honestly a little jealous, as they even get live sports streams. Meanwhile, if I try and get them I have to go to very dodgy websites, and often the stream cuts off at key times. However, I just can’t bring myself to pay for piracy.

        • Dick Justice@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          I met a guy in the city that supported himself selling cracked firesticks, I shit you not. 40 bucks a pop and it’d be plug and play all the way supposedly, and that’s all he did, sell those via word of mouth.

          As an old, I have to chuckle at the whole thing as it reminds me of the '80s when (if you knew who to talk to) you could pay a guy to open up your 13 channel, wood paneled cable box, move a few things around, and give you free Home Box Office. It was the tits, let me tell you.

          Fuck, I’m getting old.

          • TWeaK@lemm.ee
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            11 months ago

            For me, it was the guy in the pub selling bootleg cigarettes and tobacco. Then, for a time, they would sell CDs and DVDs. Although now that I think about it they did VHS back in the day also.

            These days I’m pretty sure all hacked firesticks have moved to a subscription model. There’s a game of whack-a-mole being played with rights holders and streamers, particularly with sports, so there is some back end work being done keeping it seemless for the user.

    • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Frog who downloads media himself and hosts it on his own server: you guys are in water?

      And when that frog realizes that all the other frogs in the water have been caught and eaten already, where do you think the predators are going to turn to next?

      • CileTheSane@lemmy.ca
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        11 months ago

        You’re right! People should stand against this NOW by not paying for these shitty services!

        Wait a minute…

      • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        If someone could explain to me why that comment is getting downvotes?

        The point I’m making is that just looking out for yourself is never enough, sooner or later its your turn.

        • TWeaK@lemm.ee
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          11 months ago

          I dunno why the downvotes, but I think your analogy doesn’t quite work. If anything, piracy keeps prices down for paying users - so long as piracy is an option, media services cannot raise their prices to such an obscene level, as the more they do it the more people will turn to piracy. So really pirates are on the front line.

          Also, a lot of piracy is still done by torrents, which inherently helps others to pirate themselves - especially if you leave it to seed.

          It’s just kind of sad that fewer people do it these days. Just like it’s sad how few people use ad blockers.

        • CileTheSane@lemmy.ca
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          11 months ago

          If someone could explain to me why that comment is getting downvotes?

          It’s absurd. You’ve strained the metaphor by pushing it too far and it makes no sense.

          1. The boiling frog analogy has nothing to do with predators. Predators do not put live frogs in pots of slowly heating water.
          2. How exactly do you think ads are going to be forced on people who pirate their media?
          3. Telling people “stop giving money to trashy companies” is looking out for them. When companies get too greedy and start being shitty towards paying customers, the reaction absolutely should be “we’re going to pirate it instead” so that these practices actively hurt profits.
          • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            It’s absurd. You’ve strained the metaphor by pushing it too far and it makes no sense.

            And when that frog realizes that all the other frogs in the water have been caught and eaten already, where do you think the predators are going to turn to next?

            The point I was trying to make is that at some point it’ll be impossible or nearly impossible to do piracy, that you have to do more than just look out for yourself, you have to vote people into office that’ll pass fair laws for consumers.

            I’m not passing judgment on piracy, just that someday there will be a point where DRM will be too much, so you need to fight by other ways than just piracy, like getting the right laws passed.

            • CileTheSane@lemmy.ca
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              11 months ago

              The point I was trying to make is that at some point it’ll be impossible or nearly impossible to do piracy

              Piracy has always been illegal, and has always happened anyway. There is no way to make it impossible. Even Denuvo, the currently best anti-piracy measure, can be cracked and makes the experience worse for paying customers.

              you need to fight by other ways than just piracy, like getting the right laws passed.

              I don’t live in the country that needs to pass those laws.

              • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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                11 months ago

                Piracy has always been illegal, and has always happened anyway. There is no way to make it impossible

                I hope you’re right, but I wouldn’t be so confident in that. As time goes on, and they bake more of the DRM into the hardware directly, it’ll be harder to circumvent (for the common person at the very least).

                For example, the Sony PlayStation used to be very hackable, now it’s not (last time I checked).

                I don’t live in the country that needs to pass those laws.

                I would imagine that, as the world gets more International and interconnected, that might change, at some point the future. If it doesn’t, then good for you.

                • CileTheSane@lemmy.ca
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                  11 months ago

                  I hope you’re right, but I wouldn’t be so confident in that. As time goes on, and they bake more of the DRM into the hardware directly, it’ll be harder to circumvent (for the common person at the very least).

                  This is talking about a Fires TV: TV shows and movies. I’ve yet to experience a streaming service with required hardware and baked in DRM.

                  For example, the Sony PlayStation used to be very hackable, now it’s not (last time I checked).

                  PS1 required acquiring a physical chip and making physical changes to the device. PS5 can be jail-broken through software alone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSJ8DKijRzA