Pirating wrong when paying TV subscription?

[ErwinS]

So I was watching the archive and was thinking, I have a TV subscription that I pay monthly which enables me to watch movies and series as well as record them so I can watch them later or re-watch them. Most of the movies and series are not evenprovided in 1080p, so I prefer downloading higher quality ones from... sources.... I find it to be more convenient as well. So my question is, is it still wrong? In my opinion I see nothing wrong with it, however I would like to hear other peoples views on this. 

[ForeseenVisionz]

no. i dont pay and still do it so if ur paying and doing it its probs justified but thats MY OPINION and ur mileage may vary.  i would say if ur not using the service man y u giving them free money? lol

[TheDigitalRealm]

No, I don't see it as being wrong. I pay for Sky+ HD here in the U.K which comes with a range of about 50+ movies at any one time which are rotated, as well as Movie channels which regularly show movies that are relatively new. The way I see it I'm already paying for the content through my TV package, so I feel it's justified when I download higher quality FHD alternatives.

[ErwinS]

no. i dont pay and still do it so if ur paying and doing it its probs justified but thats MY OPINION and ur mileage may vary.  i would say if ur not using the service man y u giving them free money? lol

True. Some local series are unfortunately not available on the Internet.

[das affe]

I'd say theres nothing wrong if you pay for tv and the studios and people involved get their money. I'm sure they don't give a damn where you watch the material as long as they get paid

[lufihengr]

What about when you download movies that are not available in your country? It's still ok? Because then you aren't paying for that movie in any way, but there is no way for you to pay for it. So morally it would be fine?

[Ertman]

If you were downloading of similar quality, maybe, but your not. Its kind of like saying I own a dvd of a movie and therefore I am entitled to the bluray for free.

Also the whole, because I can record it therefore it is mine in perpetuity doesn't hold a lot of weight either.

These are really moral and ethical decisions, and one person's opinion will vary from the next.

What about when you download movies that are not available in your country? It's still ok? Because then you aren't paying for that movie in any way, but there is no way for you to pay for it. So morally it would be fine?

Grey area. There is the internet, you can always try sourcing the movies in question from another country.

[TheDigitalRealm]

Grey area. There is the internet, you can always try sourcing the movies in question from another country.

Yeah, I'd still say that in that situation you could use a VPN to get hold of the movie. When it comes to only having purchased the Standard Definition version of a movie, I really don't see any reason (morally) why you can't pick up the FHD version of said movie. 

[HexaGuy]

The reason that pirating is illegal is that if everybody pirated, it would destroy the industry. Film producers would not produce any profit, because of the decreased sales and reduced box office profit. It would kill the industry. And as Ertman said, it's really a moral decision that varies from person to person. It is really up to you.

[lufihengr]

Grey area. There is the internet, you can always try sourcing the movies in question from another country.

 

 

Yeah, I'd still say that in that situation you could use a VPN to get hold of the movie. When it comes to only having purchased the Standard Definition version of a movie, I really don't see any reason (morally) why you can't pick up the FHD version of said movie. 

But what about the place you try buying it from won't accept your credit card and paypal is not an option? 

[Ertman]

Yeah, I'd still say that in that situation you could use a VPN to get hold of the movie. When it comes to only having purchased the Standard Definition version of a movie, I really don't see any reason (morally) why you can't pick up the FHD version of said movie.

 

I don't disagree, but at a certain point the difficulties of getting a particular movie may make it near impossible to get without pirating. However, in a situation like that, I would just go without.

'Pickup the FHD version' as in purchase or pirate?

When purchasing a DVD, you are purchasing the content at a given quality, not the right to have whatever future quality that comes out. So if I like a movie enough and the prices are appropriate, I'll purchase a bluray of a title I might already have on dvd.

 

But what about the place you try buying it from won't accept your credit card and paypal is not an option?

Try another place, or go without, or it's the greyer area of piracy (not right but not necessarily as wrong).

[smjpl]

So I was watching the archive and was thinking, I have a TV subscription that I pay monthly which enables me to watch movies and series as well as record them so I can watch them later or re-watch them. Most of the movies and series are not evenprovided in 1080p, so I prefer downloading higher quality ones from... sources.... I find it to be more convenient as well. So my question is, is it still wrong? In my opinion I see nothing wrong with it, however I would like to hear other peoples views on this. 

 

Have you paid for the higher quality content?

Have you paid for the extra convenience?

 

You haven't paid for either so yes it is wrong.

 

Should you do it or not? Well that is a totally different question but most people on here don't really give a shit if you do or not. That is up to you. If you are having some sort of internal struggle where you think you are crossing some boundary into sin and evil, then don't do it. If you believe in karma, give money to a charity. If you don't give a shit, do it. Yes it may be wrong but on the scale of 1-fucked up, I think you're okay.

[BrightCandle]

The big issue here is one of availability and capability. Sky TV is fine but the record feature is well known to be buggy and miss stuff as the box has a tendency to crash. While its about the best TV delivery in the UK a lot of shows never make it onto sky and they are often years after they air in the USA.

I suspect the op is watching these episodes and movies long before they ever reach the TV service. I think its important to consider whether it was ever even possible to watch the episode or movie to begin with. If a show never even came to the UK then its download is certainly not a lost sale. If its released later in the UK then its earlier watching is also not a lost sale.

If the media companies could just embrace the amazing power of the internet to reach their audience instantly and release everything world wide they wouldnt have the issue we have today, TV would have been revolutionised already.

[smjpl]

The reason that pirating is illegal is that if everybody pirated, it would destroy the industry. Film producers would not produce any profit, because of the decreased sales and reduced box office profit. It would kill the industry. And as Ertman said, it's really a moral decision that varies from person to person. It is really up to you.

 

I disagree. People who enjoy making/doing things will always keep doing it. The internet shows us this everyday. So by destroying the film industry, we would only be destroying the people who produce utter shit in order to make a quick buck. Would it change the industry, yes very much so and there would definitely be some backlash for a while but it wouldn't kill the industry. There might not be action scenes with 1000's of cars/buildings blowing up, shit loads of CGI etc. but that would in no way stop people from producing good quality content. The people who are passionate could get crowd funded and people will pay if they believe in that person.

 

What it might do is destroy the infection that is modern television. Do you remember when the Discovery Channel and History channel actually showed documentaries? Why not go over a take a look at what shows are listed on it now (http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows). Its just mindless drivel. They are produced to make you sit there and watch them for hours and hours. They completely stifle motivation and creativity. People have been brain washed to enjoy pure shit and don't get me wrong, I am no different. I can find these shows entertaining from time to time but then I feel disgusted at myself because I know they are shit yet they still managed to suck me in. I grew up in a time where I wasn't subjected to this sort of shit every day. I went and played outside. I am scared for children who aren't as lucky. Especially since TV is mommy and daddy's most reliable baby sitter. They will grow up on this shit and be content with the fact that they are mildly entertained while the trawl through life.

[orangecat]

The way I see it they don't care about the content you watch only how you get it. So yes to them its wrong you pirate stuff even if you have legit access to it. I personally don't see a problem with it but that's not for me to decide now is it.

[Dr_Orpington]

If they offer the same show, pirateing it (in my oppinion) isn't wrong.

[Legion]

This is the problem with backwards content distributors I don't believe in Piracy and pay for content where ever possible. But the occasional tv series which airs 4 months after the US is a joke.

I also run into the issue of having to import DVD's because I don't want to pirate a movie which wasn't released here. Thank god my Media PC has two drives. Region locking is even more retarded than the 4 month delay.

[Milesgaming]

No, when you purchase like for example netflix, you pretty much buy the rights to watch the series on netflix, but if let's say Modern Family season 4 is not up on netflix, I'd still say that you could watch them from ''sources'' considering that you've got the ''rights'' to watch that series

[MRL]

It's up to people to interpret, but in the POV of the producers you are not licensed to download it from other sources.

 

You subscribe TV services, you can record it. I'm pretty sure if you read somewhere in the agreements it will says that you cannot share what you recorded. If you cannot share, I would say getting something shared by others who isn't supposed to share is legal. In fact, if you use capture card, capture the show and store it into your own hard drive so that you can watch it again for your convenience might be illegal... I don't know much about that, I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure that's the case.

 

Like what @Milesgaming said, you just buy the rights to watch on your subscribed channel... not the whole contents like you purchased a car where the whole contents of the car is yours.

[dalekphalm]

So I was watching the archive and was thinking, I have a TV subscription that I pay monthly which enables me to watch movies and series as well as record them so I can watch them later or re-watch them. Most of the movies and series are not evenprovided in 1080p, so I prefer downloading higher quality ones from... sources.... I find it to be more convenient as well. So my question is, is it still wrong? In my opinion I see nothing wrong with it, however I would like to hear other peoples views on this. 

Legally it's very much a grey area, as others have said.

The way I see it, is if you download THE SAME QUALITY LEVEL of what you can get on your TV subscription, and the show/movie airs on a channel you pay for, then it's not really wrong.

 

HOWEVER, if you download a higher quality source then what is available through your subscription, then yes it is wrong. As others have pointed out, if you buy a DVD movie, that DOES NOT entitle you to get the blu-ray version for free. Same as if a game developer makes an HD Remake of a classic (Final Fantasy or something), and you owned the original, then it does not mean you can just download it for free.

 

As for sources not being available in your country: Yes it's still morally wrong, but not by much. You could always import the movie off of eBay or find online retailers that specialize in selling movies worldwide, that accept paypal as an option. If you cannot find the movie under any circumstance, THEN pirating it goes from wrong to ambiguous. It's still not right, but it's not wrong either. This is a large problem with piracy actually - content distribution problems.

 

SyFy (Formerly Sci-Fi network) and Sky are two big examples. The same show will air on both, but SyFy will get it 4 months (or more) ahead of Sky, Should the brits have to wait 4 months for content that the americans have already seen? Especially in the age of the Internet, where one wrong click can spoil and entire season and the finale before it even starts airing in your country? It's not right for them to air the show that far apart.

[Misanthrope]

You inadvertently made a pretty strong argument for the piracy = distribution problem.

[Yoinkerman]

If you're actually paying for it yourself and not your parents, and are downloading shows that the tv networks are showing regularly, I don't see a problem with it.

I pay $100++ per month for television, I don't feel the least bit bad about downloading a show I didn't record that week.

So I was watching the archive and was thinking, I have a TV subscription that I pay monthly which enables me to watch movies and series as well as record them so I can watch them later or re-watch them. Most of the movies and series are not evenprovided in 1080p, so I prefer downloading higher quality ones from... sources.... I find it to be more convenient as well. So my question is, is it still wrong? In my opinion I see nothing wrong with it, however I would like to hear other peoples views on this.