Streaming a film online (not downloading).

There is a HUGE market for online video.
There isn't a SINGLE legitimate website offering free movies (well, the sorts of films people want to see like blockbusters anyway) to stream.

Surely that would answer your question?

Reply 22

FinalMH

Original post by facetious

Problem is that it adds up. To quite a bit, and considering you can get it free with no trouble... well why not :dontknow:

Then you don't have it. I'm serious, the effort people go into make these shows, if you;re going to enjoy it pay for it. I know they charge about 1/3 higher for profit but at them prices its a bargain.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 23

noone has linked to anything that 100% proves its illegal, so if its not written anywhere that it is, then it isnt. Just because tv shows are free doesnt mean they are illegal, you watch ads or whatever to pay for it. You can watch stuff on bbc iplayer and itv player etc including moveis sometimes without paying but noone is questioning the legality of that.

I am the sort of person who would never do anything illegal at all ,i dont download music etc or anythink like that, buti watch tv shows online because i genuinely believe its legal, nothing on the sites tell me it isnt if i found out for definate they were illegal i would stop straight away even if ti meant giving up my fav shows which arent available in the uk

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 24

T.I.

OP

Original post by callum9999

There is a HUGE market for online video.
There isn't a SINGLE legitimate website offering free movies (well, the sorts of films people want to see like blockbusters anyway) to stream.

Surely that would answer your question?

Often the websites them selves are illegal (hence why they are hosted from other countries), but I dont beleive it is illegal to simply visit one of them websites.

Reply 25

Muninn

1

Like someone said already, streaming IS downloading, you've downloaded the exact same amount of data streaming as film as if you'd saved it to your harddrive - it's why people easily go over bandwidth limits.

Though, is downloading/streaming actually illegal? I always thought it was only the sharing which was illegal (like torrents are often banned on uni networks, because you upload in the process of downloading, but direct downloads aren't regulated at all)

Stuff related to TV license and watching television broadcasts is a separate issue, I've never really looked into the legality of that because tbh I couldn't care less about watching some crappy tv shows.

Reply 26

tazarooni89

20

It depends on the site you're streaming from.
If you watch an episode of Family Guy on TV, is it illegal? Well probably not, since the TV channel would have paid the makers of Family Guy a license fee to broadcast it. The same goes for websites. I think websites like Hulu and certain others (that are only accessible in the US, usually :s-smilie:

) can allow you to stream legally. Otherwise it'd be illegal, which is why so many of these sites get taken down after copyright claims are made against them.

Whether you're likely to get punished for doing it though is a completely different matter. It's such a small crime, and so many people do it. The courts have probably got more important things to worry about.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 27

its not illegal if its for private use wel not yet anyway, well not in US and they are much stricter than the UK, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-16/illegal-video-streaming-elevated-to-felony-under-senate-measure.html.

They say in the article that its not about targeting those that watch a film/tv at home but those who sell it for profit and make thousands, surely thats proof enough that at the moment it isnt illegal just to press play. it might be in the future.

another source: http://www.complex.com/tech/2011/06/us-senate-declares-illegal-video-streaming-a-felony , nothing illegal yet, those not for profit (mostof what people on here watch), not illegal. ALso clearly says "video streaiming is not really illegal" and only those that stream 10 or more public performances will be breaking the law. The bill if anyone i intersted http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112 :s-smilie:

N00978

@@L&summ2=m&#major actions

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 28

multiplexing-gamer

15

Free movie. Seems legit.

Reply 29

Wookie42

14

Streaming is still downloading the file, how else is the video getting from the server to your screen? The data has to be transferred just as completely as a download would, the only difference is when you stream a file the data is put into a temporary folder and then deleted as soon as you close your browser/however you have it configured. If you think about it, the law is the same regardless of how you get the film to your computer/on your screen. If you haven't paid for something that you know you would have to in a shop, its probably illegal. If you want to be safe from the authorities or whatever, download from http filehosts or get a server so you can torrent without directly downloading them.

Reply 30

T.I.

OP

Original post by aliasunknown

its not illegal if its for private use wel not yet anyway, well not in US and they are much stricter than the UK, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-16/illegal-video-streaming-elevated-to-felony-under-senate-measure.html.

They say in the article that its not about targeting those that watch a film/tv at home but those who sell it for profit and make thousands, surely thats proof enough that at the moment it isnt illegal just to press play. it might be in the future.

another source: http://www.complex.com/tech/2011/06/us-senate-declares-illegal-video-streaming-a-felony , nothing illegal yet, those not for profit (mostof what people on here watch), not illegal. ALso clearly says "video streaiming is not really illegal" and only those that stream 10 or more public performances will be breaking the law. The bill if anyone i intersted http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112 :s-smilie:

N00978

@@L&summ2=m&#major actions

This is the sort of responce I was looking for.

Thank you (you have proved me correct - woot! :biggrin:

)

The links are interesting.

For the US if the bill is passed:

"10 or more public performances"

So you can watch 9 and be fine.

Also "public performances" - that is talking about sports events, but what about movies and tv shows etc?

Reply 31

Original post by T.I.

This is the sort of responce I was looking for.

Thank you (you have proved me correct - woot! :biggrin:

)

The links are interesting.

For the US if the bill is passed:

"10 or more public performances"

So you can watch 9 and be fine.

Also "public performances" - that is talking about sports events, but what about movies and tv shows etc?

From the article i think "public performances" means showing them in public for profit, as it said tey arent bothered about a family watching a film in private so i presume its to do with showing a film to a group and charging entry.

Reply 32

Psyk

Original post by aliasunknown

its not illegal if its for private use wel not yet anyway, well not in US and they are much stricter than the UK, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-16/illegal-video-streaming-elevated-to-felony-under-senate-measure.html.

They say in the article that its not about targeting those that watch a film/tv at home but those who sell it for profit and make thousands, surely thats proof enough that at the moment it isnt illegal just to press play. it might be in the future.

another source: http://www.complex.com/tech/2011/06/us-senate-declares-illegal-video-streaming-a-felony , nothing illegal yet, those not for profit (mostof what people on here watch), not illegal. ALso clearly says "video streaiming is not really illegal" and only those that stream 10 or more public performances will be breaking the law. The bill if anyone i intersted http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112 :s-smilie:

N00978

@@L&summ2=m&#major actions

I'm not sure that means it's not illegal at the moment. It just means it's not against US federal law, doesn't mean it isn't covered by state laws. Also when I say it's illegal I don't necessarily mean the police will come and arrest you and put you in jail. Downloading or streaming a film or TV show without permission (i.e. from a legit site that has the right to distribute it) is violating copyright. It's not a crime, it's a civil offence which means the film/TV company can sue you. It's illegal but not in the same way that physically stealing something is.

Reply 33

FinalMH

Original post by aliasunknown

noone has linked to anything that 100% proves its illegal, so if its not written anywhere that it is, then it isnt. Just because tv shows are free doesnt mean they are illegal, you watch ads or whatever to pay for it. You can watch stuff on bbc iplayer and itv player etc including moveis sometimes without paying but noone is questioning the legality of that.

I am the sort of person who would never do anything illegal at all ,i dont download music etc or anythink like that, buti watch tv shows online because i genuinely believe its legal, nothing on the sites tell me it isnt if i found out for definate they were illegal i would stop straight away even if ti meant giving up my fav shows which arent available in the uk

Do you not understand copyright? You don't download music cause it breaks copyright laws. Which is the same as streaming videos on websites that don't have permission to do so. Some websites like Youtube its allowed but that is about it lol

:laugh:

got to love this site, 17 year old think they know the law ha

Reply 34

Aj12

18

Original post by T.I.

Hi all

Ok, we all know watching live tv without a tv licence is illegal.

You can things on i player etc without a licence legally.

Download films (unles you have bought it legally of i tunes or something or it is a free release) is illegal. For both the downloader and distributer.

What i want to know, is hwat about streaming a film (or tv show, family guy, American dad etc), is that illigal for the viewer.

Can somebody who knows for a fact please answer this and if it is illegal for the viewer find me the exact law that states it is illegal.

Thank you

If you have not paid for it then its illegal unless the film is not under copyright

Reply 35

T.I.

OP

Original post by Aj12

If you have not paid for it then its illegal unless the film is not under copyright

Already been answered that its not illegal.

Reply 36

Original post by FinalMH

Do you not understand copyright? You don't download music cause it breaks copyright laws. Which is the same as streaming videos on websites that don't have permission to do so. Some websites like Youtube its allowed but that is about it lol

:laugh:

got to love this site, 17 year old think they know the law ha

No i dont and i think 99.999% of people dont. ALl the websites i use say they are legal and arent in breach of copyright, some have even been sued by copyright companies and the copyright companies lost. SO i really dont get how it is illegal, also from hours and hours and hours searching online i cant find something that says its illegal. So if people dont know about it and we cant reach consensus as you cant prove its illegal and i cant prove its legal then surely it isnt illegal. So what about websites lke youtue such as megavideo, how do we know they are illegal, we dont.

Reply 37

FinalMH