Why do I pay for Netflix??

Last Post · 03-08-2008, 01:36 PM

I guess I am late to the party but it appears I can torrent just about any movie I want to see....including recent releases that are STILL in the movies!

Wow.

So should I dump NetFlix and just start downloading from torrents?

Last Post · 03-08-2008, 01:37 PM

Oops OT.

Eli Broads #1 Fan · 03-08-2008, 01:43 PM

Maybe I am really late to the party. Tell me more about this torrent please. I have never heard of it, but I like where this is going..

Thanks in advance.

Loose Stools · 03-08-2008, 01:49 PM

Their instant play movies are few. Mostly older TV shows and unpopular movies. Plus, the playback quality sucks. Youtube qualtiy is seriously better than Netflix instant view movies.

Last Post · 03-08-2008, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eli Broad

Maybe I am really late to the party. Tell me more about this torrent please. I have never heard of it, but I like where this is going..

Thanks in advance.

Want to catch Semi Pro? Oh wait, it's not on DVD yet....

Well....

semi pro | isoHunt - the BitTorrent and P2P search engine

Floyd Robertson · 03-08-2008, 01:56 PM

Well, let's see.

The movies that are still in theaters but available via torrents are all created by screen cams. That is, some schmo smuggles his video camera into the theater in records what he's watching on the screen. Then he goes home and cleans it up as much as possible, and makes it available via torrents. Quality is not the best, the camera is shaky (how steady can you hold a video cam for 1.5-2.0 hours) and you generally get what you pay for...

So, when you're looking to download a torrent and it says "cam" or "TS" that means the image is captured off the theater screen.

Last Post · 03-08-2008, 02:01 PM

Ive seen some versions of the downloads, they aren't that bad.

PortlandSpartan · 03-08-2008, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SparTodd

Well, let's see.

The movies that are still in theaters but available via torrents are all created by screen cams. That is, some schmo smuggles his video camera into the theater in records what he's watching on the screen. Then he goes home and cleans it up as much as possible, and makes it available via torrents. Quality is not the best, the camera is shaky (how steady can you hold a video cam for 1.5-2.0 hours) and you generally get what you pay for...

So, when you're looking to download a torrent and it says "cam" or "TS" that means the image is captured off the theater screen.

Watching one of those is about the dumbest thing ever. What a waste of time. Just spend the $8 bucks and watch it at *gasp* the theatre.

Msudionysus · 03-08-2008, 02:04 PM

puckhead · 03-08-2008, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Last Post

I guess I am late to the party but it appears I can torrent just about any movie I want to see....including recent releases that are STILL in the movies!

Wow.

So should I dump NetFlix and just start downloading from torrents?

sure, start downloading with torrents, beware that it is generally a copywrite infringement to do so. Might not bother you, but it does bother some. (mainly the studios that sell the movies)

Floyd Robertson · 03-08-2008, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PortlandSpartan

Watching one of those is about the dumbest thing ever. What a waste of time. Just spend the $8 bucks and watch it at *gasp* the theatre.

Or just ******** wait until Netflix has it

The middle ground, if you really don't want to pay anything, is wait until the DVD comes out and then download it from a torrent of decent quality. But that's not exactly legal either.

loobis · 03-08-2008, 02:21 PM

Because a high-quality torrent is still compressed a ton and not nearly as good as a DVD. Especially if you're watching on a big screen TV. Plus, Netflix has great service. I've had my account for over a year and still love it.

That being said, there are plenty of good quality torrents out there (or so I have heard...) of movies that are still in the theatre. I think this is generally done by someone grabbing an Oscar Screener DVD of the movie. For example, this was the case with I Am Legend.

If you're looking for torrents, look for anything by aXXo. They're always top quality (or so I have heard...)

Last Post · 03-08-2008, 02:42 PM

I love Netflix. But if I can just download all the movies for free, I'm kind of a sucker for paying for it. No?

Has anyone ever gotten busted for downloading? It seems like it's a huge deal out there. Why hasn't someone clamped down on this torrent sites?

Foxbat · 03-08-2008, 03:10 PM

First, you're likely to get a letter from your ISP these days threatening you. Torrents are cool, but they eventually catch up to you.

Second, with a DVD burner you can get quite a home library set up. I go through 9 movies a week on their 3 at a time unlimited plan. I'm currently acquiring the A-Team

Last, how out of touch with reality are some of you?

A DVD is roughly 6GB of movie. If it's two hours, it takes 900K/s to stream to you. Netflix gets this quality with 1/3 of the bandwidth available:

A screenshot I took from Letters from Iwo Jima. What more do you want?

Ocens11 · 03-08-2008, 03:17 PM

Who has time to watch all these movies/TV shows??

I go to the movies like 3 times a year, rent like 2 times a year, and I've got stuf that I bought 2 years ago that's still sitting in plastic. I wish I had that kind of time!

loobis · 03-08-2008, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Second, with a DVD burner you can get quite a home library set up. I go through 9 movies a week on their 3 at a time unlimited plan. I'm currently acquiring the A-Team

DVDShrink is a wonderful thing...

loobis · 03-08-2008, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ocens11

Who has time to watch all these movies/TV shows??

I go to the movies like 3 times a year, rent like 2 times a year, and I've got stuf that I bought 2 years ago that's still sitting in plastic. I wish I had that kind of time!

I exercise for about 30-40 minutes when I get home from work, and I watch movies during that time. I can get through a couple/week, and that's not counting if my wife and I watch one on the weekend. The tricky part is getting a good mix of movies that she DOESN'T want to see, so that I can watch them by myself while I'm working out. NetFlix has been completely worth it.

No, we don't have any kids. I'm sure if that happened, I'd suddenly find myself exercising less and watching less movies...

Big Bank Hank · 03-08-2008, 03:24 PM

I get Netflix because I enjoy watching foreign films, cult films, old tv shows, and hard to find, barely released movies. For me, its totally worth it because I can't see those on cable and I can't rent them from most video stores. If all you want to do is watch movies you can see in any multiplex in America, on PPV, or with cable movie packages...then NO its not worth it. Just go to the mall or blockbuster every once in a while.

loobis · 03-08-2008, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Bank Hank

I get Netflix because I enjoy watching foreign films, cult films, old tv shows, and hard to find, barely released movies.

It's awesome for music documentaries too. They have everything and most are really interesting. I've been through The Ramones, Sex Pistols, New York Dolls, Bob Dylan, The Who, Pink Floyd, The Clash...

Fun AND educational.

Floyd Robertson · 03-08-2008, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loobis

DVDShrink is a wonderful thing...

It works well for a lot of movies.

MattR644 · 03-08-2008, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Last Post

I guess I am late to the party but it appears I can torrent just about any movie I want to see....including recent releases that are STILL in the movies!

Wow.

So should I dump NetFlix and just start downloading from torrents?

You probably pay for NexFlix because you respect the movie studios' intellectual property rights

Big Bank Hank · 03-08-2008, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loobis

DVDShrink is a wonderful thing...

USed to use, but now I use 1 click DVD copy. Better compression tools.

Give it a look.

Foxbat · 03-08-2008, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ocens11

Who has time to watch all these movies/TV shows??

I go to the movies like 3 times a year, rent like 2 times a year, and I've got stuf that I bought 2 years ago that's still sitting in plastic. I wish I had that kind of time!

I've collected 300+ DVD's at 50 cents a piece, I've probably watched 20% of them

. It's probably more a packrat mentality than anything else, which is why I'm not dumb enough to buy something that'll likely sit in plastic on a shelf for $20.

It's kind of like asking if I'll ever watch the MSU hockey NC game ever again. In it's entirety, probably never, but that doesn't mean I don't like having it on DVD. Most of my watching gets done when I'm sick or at work in the lab during a slow experiment.

I use DVDShrink in conjunction with DVDDecrypter/Ripit4Me. The latter extracts/decrypts to the hard drive, then I can let Shrink analyse and compress without straining the drive

Dont Punch Babies · 03-08-2008, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loobis

If you're looking for torrents, look for anything by aXXo. They're always top quality (or so I have heard...)

aXXo has since left the "scene" because of a dispute with the pirate bay and comments left on his torrents. He hasn't released anything since early november. 2 groups that I've seen no issues with are KLAXXON and FXG...both groups put out top notch as far as the sub 900 meg movies go. That said, I do use Netflix and torrents, if the movie rocks I'll buy it, so-so I'll download it, and if I want a hard copy I'll Netflix it and burn. On top of seeing my fair share in the theaters.

It's really what your preference is. If you want the quality keep with the DVD's, if you've got a rig that quality wont make the movie better, go torrents.

Cym Jim · 03-08-2008, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Last Post

I love Netflix. But if I can just download all the movies for free, I'm kind of a sucker for paying for it. No?

Has anyone ever gotten busted for downloading? It seems like it's a huge deal out there. Why hasn't someone clamped down on this torrent sites?

I got a slap on the wrist from MSU a few years ago - I just told them someone else must have been using the computer in my office.

I haven't found it's worth the risk of downloading Hollywood movies from torrents - and if you do it, make sure you delete the torrent as soon as it's done - i.e. don't share it longer than you have to. I certainly don't need the risk of downloading music from them, because once you've downloaded a couple of albums, a week later you'll have 57 torrents lined up every night! I mostly just use torrents for English TV shows, documentaries, the occasional piece of hacked software, and porn. Lots and lots of porn.