The original post: /r/piracy by /u/DongusMongus8 on 2024-12-01 14:28:36.

I’m just writing this because I feel like it but basically my point is, even if something is on a streaming service, I’ll still choose to pirate it.

To preface this, I have Disney+, Netflix and Amazon Prime. Now, this started essentially when I went to watch Top Gun Maverick on Netflix and even when it was on 4k, it was just horrible to watch. The bitrate was so low that it essentially made the watching the film less enjoyable than say if I had a Blu-ray. Another gripe with this is you just don’t know what kind of sound you’re getting, if you’re getting Dolby Atmos or some shitty compressed audio and quite frankly, it sucked, especially when you’ve put money into getting a really nice TV setup and speakers.

So, the alternative is of course to pirate. And it’s so easy. I turn on my VPN, get a 50gb 4k file with everything I need; HDR, Dolby Atmos, High Bitrate, and OLED compatibility. Then after downloading the file, I just stream it directly from my PC to my TV with Plex, then in plex I can freely download subtitles, tune the compression, switch between audio codecs, etc… and essentially just get more features from something that is free. And the best part is, watching it of course, crystal clear quality equivalent to buying a Blu-ray in a store, which I will do for films that I want the true experience, like the Nolan Films.

This doesn’t just apply to Netflix of course; I’ve found the bitrate on Disney+ to be fantastic and it is the clear winner when it comes to streaming quality. But… I have an ultrawide and Disney+ just doesn’t support that, even for ultrawide films, I just get black bars all-round. Easy fix by just downloading it and again, watching it on Plex. This only applies when I’m watching something on my PC, but still… And Amazon recently started introducing ads into my subscription which is ridiculous. But the reason I’m writing this is because I stopped watching a film halfway through last night and this morning, I went to finish it and it’s no longer available???

I will pay for subscription services if it is beneficial to me, such as Spotify premium simply because it is good. Movie streaming services are no longer ‘the better option’. Netflix, Amazon and Disney+ just won’t offer the same quality as a pirated service will.

TLDR; Quality and features of streaming services sucks, pirating will give you a better viewing experience in every way possible.