TV torrents, illegal?

[tbergman]

Ok, you pay for cable, you're a busy person, you can't watch every show you want, is it really illegal to download a torrent of that show to catch up? I guess situation isn't really a factor in whether it's legal or illegal, but do people feel it's wrong? Hulu can be a hassle with buffering and the fact that it's just not as easy to get up on the TV. What are your thoughts?

 

[mike c]

hmm, my thoughts:

i see no difference between tivo and tv torrent download, but that's just me.

 

[Seth=L]

It's illegal for sure, they want you to get a DVR so you can watch those programs. Nothing is free. You can download illegally and hope you don't get selected in the raffle for "who we're gonna sue for downloading illegal content jamboree", you can watch it on TV and have to pay the extra charge for the DVR, or you could watch it on Hulu.com depending on whether or not the programming is allowed there and be forced to watch their stupid ads whether you want to or not.

 

[yepimonfire]

It's illegal for sure, they want you to get a DVR so you can watch those programs. Nothing is free. You can download illegally and hope you don't get selected in the raffle for "who we're gonna sue for downloading illegal content jamboree", you can watch it on TV and have to pay the extra charge for the DVR, or you could watch it on Hulu.com depending on whether or not the programming is allowed there and be forced to watch their stupid ads whether you want to or not.

i agree with this, its not really a moral issue like downloading movies, games, and music to where your actually stealing money from bands etc. but getting sued is no fun. i may have the details incorrect but i remember awhile back when Directv was suing people for suspected "sattelite piracy" recording programs, and then torrenting them.

 

[highfigh]

Ok, you pay for cable, you're a busy person, you can't watch every show you want, is it really illegal to download a torrent of that show to catch up? I guess situation isn't really a factor in whether it's legal or illegal, but do people feel it's wrong? Hulu can be a hassle with buffering and the fact that it's just not as easy to get up on the TV. What are your thoughts?

Your cable company charges more for a DVR?

 

[yepimonfire]

mine does, they charged me 15$ a month, i didnt really need a dvr, but they refused to give me a cable box supporting dolby digital 5.1 and HD even though thats part of my subscription because they only give the old effing 1999 cable boxes out to my town. so i asked about a DVR box and they would let me have it because it puts more money in their pockets, and it supported HD A/V ugh.

 

[tbergman]

Your cable company charges more for a DVR?

Yes, at this point I'd have to pay for the DVR equipment itself and pay a higher monthly rate. I've been with directv for less then a year so I don't really have any leverage to use to get free equipment at this point. Do you have a provider that has a free DVR?

 

[jonnythan]

It's definitely illegal, no question whatsoever.

You simply have to ask: do you have explicit permission from the copyright holder to distribute the work? If you don't, it's illegal to do so.

 

[Shock]

It is technically illegal. However nearly every major network has their shows available online soon after their original air dates anyways. Some networks, like showcase in Canada, have the shows available the same day.

 

[yepimonfire]

im pretty sure the cable companies have to pay licensing fees as well to gain permission to DVR programs.

 

[supervij]

The frustrating bit is that many networks don't air re-runs until weeks later. If I miss the latest episode of a particular show, I'm stuck. I want to watch it before I watch the next one, and if it's not playing on TV -- and I'm paying for my cable anyway -- why would it be so bad if I were to download it in order to watch it?

I'm sure there are some sites at which I can stream the episode, but for we poor Canadians, some of those sites are not available to us. Personally, I'd rather stream it somewhere (less bandwidth use plus I can watch it right way). But frankly, I think that if someone is paying for their cable, downloads of TV shows that one has access to with their cable package should be legal. Of course, the reality is more complicated than that.

But the problem of many networks not re-airing current episodes is a frustrating one. Canada's Showcase channel does this, but most do not.

cheers,
supervij

 

[gmichael]

The frustrating bit is that many networks don't air re-runs until weeks later. If I miss the latest episode of a particular show, I'm stuck. I want to watch it before I watch the next one, and if it's not playing on TV -- and I'm paying for my cable anyway -- why would it be so bad if I were to download it in order to watch it?

I'm sure there are some sites at which I can stream the episode, but for we poor Canadians, some of those sites are not available to us. Personally, I'd rather stream it somewhere (less bandwidth use plus I can watch it right way). But frankly, I think that if someone is paying for their cable, downloads of TV shows that one has access to with their cable package should be legal. Of course, the reality is more complicated than that.

But the problem of many networks not re-airing current episodes is a frustrating one. Canada's Showcase channel does this, but most do not.

cheers,
supervij

But are you paying the extra 10-15 a month for a DVR?

 

[Nemo128]

To OP, yes. Simple answer.

Your cable company charges more for a DVR?

Mine does. Cablevision.

You simply have to ask: do you have explicit permission from the copyright holder to distribute the work? If you don't, it's illegal to do so.

Yet DVRs are perfectly legal because the cable companies have the rights to "distribute" the feed over their physical networks and have the device to store that feed for later viewing. Hulu only exists because the networks make money on it. TiVo isn't illegal either. Using a computer for the purpose is just a battle of semantics and implementation.

 

[jonnythan]

Yet DVRs are perfectly legal because the cable companies have the rights to "distribute" the feed over their physical networks and have the device to store that feed for later viewing. Hulu only exists because the networks make money on it. TiVo isn't illegal either. Using a computer for the purpose is just a battle of semantics and implementation.

Time-shifting a broadcast you legally received and recorded is a specific exemption to copyright law.

Downloading a recorded broadcast from an unauthorized source, however, is simply not legal. And it is unlikely ever to be. It might be ethically equivalent (ignoring the fact that all advertising was stripped out), the question was whether they are legal. And the answer is an unqualified no.

 

[supervij]

In my case, owning a PVR and having it activated by my cable company (Rogers) means that I automatically get certain channels, and I don't have to pay extra for them -- they're covered by the fact that I purchased the PVR. I don't get every channel, but I get a lot of them. And I subscribe to a few more. So yes, by the terms laid out by my cable company, I am paying for my cable.

Were I to download a TV show that is not aired on a channel that I pay for, then yes, that should be considered illegal. If I do subscribe and pay for a particular channel and I download something that's aired on it, I think it should be legal, particularly if it's an episode that doesn't get aired again prior to the next ep airing. But like I said earlier, I'm sure it's a lot more complicated than that.

cheers,
supervij