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Poll: How would you eliminate the desire for piracy?

2 points by dylangs1030 ↗ HN
NB: This question is not how you'd eliminate piracy itself, but rather how you'd entice people to convert from piracy first. I'm looking for some feedback, which of these options would you use? Which do you think is the most important?

If you were going to be convinced to start renting movies from a different platform other than Netflix or Blockbuster, which of these options (or some other option) would appeal to you the most to influence your decision?

11 comments

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antonwinter
something like hulu, but without the limitations. advert sponsored or reasonably priced subscription for payment.
dylangs1030
Do you believe subscription or advertisement is necessary to sustain the platform? What about membership without a fee, based on a choice of plan or individual purchases?
antonwinter
the business model is probably a big topic. You would need some surveys to find out what the general public think ( maybe that is why you are asking on HN )

From what i know of tv show pricing, the purchasing of prime time shows is 2-5million per episode for the tv channels to air it. so they have to play it many many times and get advertising and maybe subscription against it to pull a profit.

I guess Itunes is a "pay per episode like model", but i would be more interested in not thinking about purchasing each show.

zoowar
Eliminate copyright.
dylangs1030
Following this to its logical endpoint, this would probably be incredibly difficult to monetize, would it not?
damian2000
Introduce reasonable pricing along with an easy to use web app. And remember that existing technology (such as Netflix) is not yet available outside of the US.
dylangs1030
Excellent point about unavailability, thanks.
jamespcole2
For me the requirements would be:

A flat monthly fee of less than $120AUD

An open API so apps like XBMC, Boxee, Plex etc. can integrate the service.

NO ADVERTISEMENTS! - this is a must I refuse to pay for something and have to watch ads.

Shows are available as soon as the first airdate in all regions(If you air a show more than 48 hours after first airing in its country of origin you will never compete with piracy)

The ability to download DRM free SD versions of content so I can watch them while travelling on planes etc.(This may seem far fetched but if you seriously want to compete with piracy you need to match its functionality, people could easily do this illegally now anyway so why not just make it part of your service and actually make money)

It is a must to match the ease of use and functionality of piracy to compete with it, piracy allows you to watch a TV show within an hour of it's first airdate anywhere in the world at the quality of your choice with no advertising or DRM. At a minimum you must meet these requirements to compete effectively.

dylangs1030
You make a very good point about having to compete with piracy.

If piracy is so easy and so ubiquitous, it has to combated with features that are at the very least equal in order to persuade the on-the-fence pirates. Thanks.

jamespcole2
I think it's also generally a misconception that people pirate things because they are cheap and don't want to spend the money. I think most people would be happy to pay if it matched the ease of convenience of piracy. I'm sure some people do pirate to avoid paying but they are never going to be your target market anyway.

Are you doing market research for a startup? This is an area I am particularly interested in and have a bunch of ideas for the industry. The major problem I see it is navigating the legal minefield of copyright law in different regions etc.

dylangs1030
Yes, I am doing market research for a startup. If you're interested you can contact me about it.