The Cost of Piracy: A Rant

[indolikaa]

Once the hammer starts it's hard to stop, unless you use bright colors

I got your bright colors...

[dosun]

dosun, I don't understand why we have to be their support center. Why don't you "independent filmmakers" help people with the playing, converting and burning of your clips?

I have an issue with you saying that all RAR files are warez. This is simply not true. Sometimes filmmakers that aren't popular like to distribute their work for the general public. Using the post office to to do this is not economical nor is it faster than the internet. Why should independent filmmakers help people with playing, convert, etc? Its like freeware, you don't get a dedicated tech support line when you can't figure out how to use DVD Shrink or GSpot.

[indolikaa]

Its like freeware, you don't get a dedicated tech support line when you can't figure out how to use DVD Shrink or GSpot.

Not true. We ARE the dedicated tech support line for freeware. That's part of the reason this forum exists.

[menes777]

Yes The hammer goes on!

Dosun, let me trasnlate some more, I don't recall ever seeing S2k write that ALL (keyword here) are warez, he is just saying that in the context of the posts that he responded to that

1 warez is mentioned openly
2 warez is suspected (and attempted to be covered up with lame excuses) and he is calling them on it

His comment about why we should be tech support for everyone refers to this not being a winrar (or other progs) forum. It's a forum for helping with DVD and VCD. Are rars part of the process involved with distributing those DVD's and VCD's (illegal or legal), yes but it's one step that is beyond the scope of this board.

Should this be an all encompassing board, that's not up to me. Do I really care if you help people, not really. But I do understand where S2k is coming from. He wants to help people with DVD and VCD related issues, but doesn't want to hand hold a newbie through every step of the way or have to deal with a lying newbie that is using warez.

[iooi]

iooi, while I could make a jab about your nationality, I will not lower myself. My main point was about asking for help with rars, so if you have no problem with your rars, fine.That means that you will not create a post like this. Again, why do we need to know the video was in 158 rars to help you with authoring?

Fair do's on the post in question although it is still a bit grey as no title is mentioned. Sure i would lay money on it being, shall we say a non-legal copy of a film.

I still see more post's asking help on how to "back-up my copy off" many from americians which as it stands is blatent breaking of current legistation. Yet you wont come out and say "Thats illegal"

[menes777]

Since your so picky

It's Americans, not Americians

[iooi]

Since your so picky

It's Americans, not Americians

Ohh, me spell checker missed that one.

[dosun]

Dosun, let me trasnlate some more, I don't recall ever seeing S2k write that ALL (keyword here) are warez, he is just saying that in the context of the posts that he responded to that

1 warez is mentioned openly
2 warez is suspected (and attempted to be covered up with lame excuses) and he is calling them on it

His comment about why we should be tech support for everyone refers to this not being a winrar (or other progs) forum. It's a forum for helping with DVD and VCD. Are rars part of the process involved with distributing those DVD's and VCD's (illegal or legal), yes but it's one step that is beyond the scope of this board.

My mistake regarding that all rar are warez comment, but he basically said why should someone use the internet(with programs such as winrar) instead of the post office. I could think of several reasons that someone would use the internet rather than the post office
1) its cheaper
2) its less time consuming
3) files on servers don't get "lost/broken in transit"

Regarding the software comment, its a forum. As long as its not against the rules it can be posted up. I don't see it as being one step beyond this board. People post what processor should I get for my computer and blah blah blah movie sucks, all the time. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it nor do you have to answer it. If you do feel something is against the rules, report it.

Not true. We ARE the dedicated tech support line for freeware. That's part of the reason this forum exists.

Funny, as I don't see either gspot nor dvdshrink's website list any references regarding this site. So if one can ask questions regarding freeware, why is not one allowed to ask regarding noncopyrighted video?

[mpack]

It pisses off some of us when we see someone getting help with doing something illegal.

I pretty much agree with you - I would only take issue with the sentence I quoted. My gripe that backups are technically illegal any many western countries, as is taping off air. So, I would make a distinction between illegal and immoral. I consider it immoral to make your own ripoff copies of DVDs (and other media) when the legal product is of high quality, and easily available at a reasonable price.

I don't consider it immoral to make my own DVD from a VHS of a TV show that will almost certainly never appear on DVD. Nor is it immoral to make a PAL DVD from an NTSC DVD which I bought legally (particularly when no R2 PAL version is available). That describes my two major DVD authoring projects to date. I don't /think/ it is immoral to make my own DVD of a commercial VHS I bought legally... but I'm not so sure about that last one and in any case I always go for quality in the end (so if I really want it, I'll end up buying the DVD anyway...).

I regard it as immoral, under any circumstances, to sell someone elses IP, or even to distribute it widely for free.

[mpack]

I'll be honest.... I started doing the pirate thing it intrigued me but it also educated me, Later I changed, I started to enjoy video editing, I rarely pirate movies

I think you should be careful about terminology. My understanding of the term "pirating" is that it specifically means ripping off something with the intention of selling illegal copies. What I hope you meant was ripping off for personal use, which is IMHO far less serious, regardless of the moral debate.

[menes777]

Dosun, I agree with you on the rars being an excellent choice to send files across the internet to someone with either an iffy or slow internet connection as well as the benefits of not having to spend the time or money on the postal system.



However, having said that I fall back on what I wrote earlier in that it falls outside the scope of this forum. Personally I don't mind when people help with topics unrelated to either DVD or VCD (but could be involved in the process at some point like rars), but Rar's carry a stigma with them that is not easily shed, even under the most admirable of circumstances. I feel that if people start helping others with RAR problems, that it will attract unwanted attention from both authorities and criminals (pirates, bootleggers, etc...), but I don't know if others feel that way. IMO

Is that right that RAR's should be so discriminated againt? I really can't answer that...

[gitreel]

[Gazorgan]

See what happens when I do a drive by? I haven't been on lately because there is absolutely no point, I know it all until blue-ray or EDVD hits.

This site has changed names twice, but nothing else. Well, SVCD has died and DVDR is no King. But DVDR-DL will ursurp the throne only to be again toppled by blue-ray/EDVD.

I stand by my prior statement: There is no such thing as a 700 MB public domain video in DivX format (with the exception of certain bands thet promote public recording of their concerts). Every public domain vidoe I have found is in VCD format or some arbitrary size of AVI.

[Supreme2k]

Okay, for the sake of dosun, I'll have one last go at the rar "issue":

You say you have a probem with those 106 rar files? Here's your solution: Go straight to the source at http://www.rarlab.com/index.htm

Look, we know that your friend sent you his 8Gig home movie in an email attachment, or rar'ed it up, rather than spending the $1 for the disc and shipping to send it to you. We know that friend is now dead, in a coma, or no longer speaks to you, so he can offer absolutely no help with something that he created and has expertise about, but that s not what this site is about either.

Nowhere do I talk about whatever form that you may want to use for widespread distribution. I was referring to posts like this, which earned me my first card
Simply put, I am talking about those who hide behind the story that their family or friends sent them the rars. If so, ask them about it. Those nameless, faceless masses are not your friends or family.

I have family and friends in Canada, Japan, Los Angeles, Florida and North Carolina. If I have a small clip to send them, I squeeze it down to a couple of megs then email it to them. When I'm ready to send them a couple of hours' worth, I send them a DVD. When I send videos, they're the meat of the footage, not five minutes of a tree while we get set up, or "turn off the camera!" for ten minutes. They are edited. You can celebrate the moments with others, but not every single second

[menes777]

Awesome thread I am still laughing

[ViRaL1]

You kids today...

For those of you struggling to walk upright, here's the gist. S2K was giving some rough guidelines as far the difference between getting help with your video problems, and announcing to the whole world that you can't figure out how to reassemble the unreleased copy of the new Batman movie. It seems a shame to have to ask because it defeats the purpose but, use a little Common Sense. That goes for the people who post those kinds of questions and those who say, "but I don't pirate," or "MY RAR files are completely legal." Good for you. Why waste your time trying to justfiy yourselves to the rest of us? We don't know, we don't care and we damn sure can't prosecute you. Less is more, we don't need to know where it came from (if we do we can always ask). We don't need to know how you got it.
I see two reasons for the post...

1) to help ensure that the site stays open and available for all those with legitimate (and maybe not so legitimat) video needs.

2) to save the posters from getting flamed for making the same self-incriminating one noob after the other.

BTW, for those who don't know (and I'm sure 90%+ do) RAR is NOT a video format, so don't be surprised if you get a little dirt kicked on you for asking for help with it.