Paying for direct movie downloads (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by Painfinity@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/piracy@lemmy.dbzer0.com

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This recent YouTube video from LTT on the topic of ripping DVDs and Blu-rays has got me wondering:

I'm not a big fan of stores, hoarding physical stuff and DVDs and Blu-rays, but I do love owning my stuff digitally and supporting the artists. Is there a service that let's you buy the movie, TV series or anime that you want to watch and then simply download it to your drive? No app, no subscription bs, no delivery, just straight money for an .mkv file and that's it?

TL:DR: Is there an equivalent to Qobuz but for visual enjoyment?

Edit: So in summary, the often repeated mantra of "piracy exists because it is more convenient than traditional services" doesn't just apply to subscription streaming services, it applies to direct digital movie purchases too. I suppose the best approach remains to split the "supporting artists" part from the "digital file getting" part, at least until a service with a modern catalogue pops up that unifies the two parts.

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[-] Painfinity@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 1 month ago

Interesting concept. If I understand it correctly it didn't truly let you own the stuff that you bought. It instead gave you a proof-of-purchase allowing you to stream your purchased content on different streaming platforms (like Netflix, etc) as long as you have that one proof-of-purchase. However, if the platforms remove your purchased content from their catalogues at any time, it would be gone. So you're right, almost but not quite like DVD.

I wonder why the notoriously copyright-obsessed music industry allows retailers to sell digital copies (and high-quality ones), while the film-industry doesn't.