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Author Topic: It's so easy to pirate content, some people don't believe it's pirated Frank Cox Film God Posts: 2234 From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada Registered: Apr 2011 posted 02-05-2015 02:01 PM                        I was at my accountant's office today and his secretary, a woman in her early 30's, said, "I see that you're playing American Sniper. I watched it on television a while back, and liked it quite a lot." Turns out that she has some gadget called a Showbox that attaches to her television and allows her to watch, in her words, "all kinds of movies and television shows, sometimes before they are in the theatres and all for free!" Never having heard of Showbox, I said that it must be some kind of a pirated content service but she said, "Oh no, it's perfectly legal" and she wasn't trying to kid me. She really believes that, and I think you would have a very difficult time convincing her otherwise. It's now become so easy to obtain pirated movies that at least some of the people who are watching them don't even realize that it isn't a legal service.  |  IP: Logged Mitchell Dvoskin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1869 From: West Milford, NJ, USA Registered: Jan 2001 posted 02-05-2015 02:29 PM                     I have never used it, or even heard of it before Frank's post. Showbox Link  |  IP: Logged Justin Hamaker Film God Posts: 2253 From: Lakeport, CA USA Registered: Jan 2004 posted 02-05-2015 02:50 PM                        The fact it's not available in the App store should be the first clue it's not on the up and up.  |  IP: Logged Frank Cox Film God Posts: 2234 From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada Registered: Apr 2011 posted 02-05-2015 02:59 PM                        It's my understanding that she has an actual dedicated "showbox" gadget that she purchased at a store. I know that the local hardware store here has some kind of an "android television box" for sale but I never looked at it since it wasn't of any interest to me. They had a sign up to advertise it a few weeks ago, though. Perhaps that's it. If this is a device that you buy in a local store and hook it up to your television at home, I can see why most people would never question its legality.  |  IP: Logged Carsten Kurz Film God Posts: 4340 From: Cologne, NRW, Germany Registered: Aug 2009 posted 02-05-2015 03:14 PM                     Obviously you can use the showbox stuff with a Google chromecast device. That goes for 35US$... go figure! - Carsten  |  IP: Logged Justin Hamaker Film God Posts: 2253 From: Lakeport, CA USA Registered: Jan 2004 posted 02-05-2015 03:18 PM                        I just did a quick search, and there are methods for getting it to play on Roku players, XBox 360, and SmartTVs. If she's so ignorant as to whether the content is legal, I would guess it was set up by someone more tech savvy - probably using something purchased from an electronics store.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 02-05-2015 04:04 PM                     Popcorn Time is another torrent application that has grown very popular for streaming pirated movies and TV shows.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-05-2015 05:26 PM                        Why do I get the feeling that this "Showbox" thing is basically a pipeline through which all your personal information will flow once you've connected it? It makes no sense why something like that would be completely free and not have any ads or anything.  |  IP: Logged Marcel Birgelen Film God Posts: 3357 From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands Registered: Feb 2012 posted 02-05-2015 06:04 PM                     The minute they start putting ads on those kind of services is when the stuff gets interesting, because that's when a traceable money trail comes into the picture. But sure thing, many of those services are most likely not as harmless to the end user as they seem, besides the fact that most of those services are indeed totally illegal in most places on this world. Or rather, the services themselves might not necessarily be illegal, but their usage sure is. (A rather interesting conflicting situation.) I've heard of Popcorn Time and someone told me actually today he bought some "whatever box", probably an Android based media player that seemingly came pre-loaded with it. Also, if you Google "Popcorn Time alternative", all kinds of stuff comes up, including one called Flixtor. Now, I've never tried this thing before, but looking at the screenshots, this looks just like Netflix and Amazon Prime, only with all the movies you otherwise couldn't have.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 02-05-2015 06:25 PM                        quote: Marcel Birgelen The minute they start putting ads on those kind of services is when the stuff gets interesting, because that's when a traceable money trail comes into the picture. There was a screenshot doing the email rounds a few months back of a Nigerian pirate torrent site showing a banner ad for an MPAA anti-piracy campaign.  |  IP: Logged Steve Matz Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 672 From: Billings, Montana, USA Registered: Sep 2003 posted 02-13-2015 02:02 AM                     I just talked to an employee of CHARTER CABLE today. He says he has watched dozens of New Movies before they are in the theaters. Apparently before the film is released to Theaters. The Studio Burns a DVD/S that are sent to members of the Motion Picture Academy. Granted they have something like not for public viewing or whatever is across the top of the Video; but apparently some Academy Members are Burning extra DVD's to give to their Family/Friends. Every Film that is playing at our 14 theater Multiplex he said he saw more than a month or more before they ever hit the Theaters How many times are these Academy DVD's being burned over and over ????? Academy Members? "Who can you Trust anymore"  |  IP: Logged Marcel Birgelen Film God Posts: 3357 From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands Registered: Feb 2012 posted 02-13-2015 02:17 AM                     If you haven't been living under a rock the last 10 years or so, you might know that those leaked "screeners" are probably the single biggest piracy problem around. Exhibitors all over the world have jump trough all kinds of difficult hoops, have to buy extra-expensive, certified gear, all just to keep Hollywood's content secure, while on the other hand they keep leaking it out and giving it away on discs to Academy Members and whatever other award's jury members. At least some of them claim that those discs they give to jury members, etc. are now watermarked, so they could, theoretically, quite easily follow it back to where the leak happened.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 02-13-2015 12:37 PM                        You'd have thought that the problem of screeners would have been addressed by now, given the overwhelming evidence that they are a major source of leaks to pirates. Maybe the Academy could give its members a set-top box that enables them to watch nominated movies streamed directly from their own secure server through an HDCP 2.0 link to their TV? OK, even that's not completely secure, but it would be an improvement on mailing out thousands of unencrypted DVD-Rs and BD-Rs all over the place. I suspect that the reason is more political. It's easier to blame kids videoing a movie on their phones in a theater in Pumpkin Junction, KS, than it is to admit that AMPAS members, many of whom are well connected and politically influential within the industry, are in any way a part of the problem.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 02-13-2015 03:00 PM                     There's another one called "DareTV" that's floating out there that does the same thing.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 02-13-2015 05:23 PM                        The "watermark-on-screener" solution is also something the industry has claimed to have for years. If they really do have this capability, why is this still a problem? Sure looks like Academy promotion is more important than protecting against piracy. On the other hand, we all know it's those damned theatres that are causing all the trouble!  |  IP: Logged

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