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"Widevine Dump":Leaked Code Downloads HD Video from Disney+, Amazon, and Netflix

(torrentfreak.com)
449 points bertman | 4 comments | 27 Dec 21 12:55 UTC | HN request time: 0.862s | source
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alufers ◴[27 Dec 21 16:43 UTC] No.29703989[source]▶
Can we just stop the shitshow with DRM? I have NEVER encountered a TV show/movie that I could't rip using a torrent either on public p2p sites or a private tracker.

But I have seen a lot of my non-technical friends and family having a degraded experience, who pay for their streaming services every month. It was either because they were using a browser or device which was deemed unworthy of full quality streaming by the mighty DRM authors. And now the poor users of the TB-X505X will also have a degraded experience.

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antihero ◴[27 Dec 21 16:46 UTC] No.29704017[source]▶
It's such a chain - even if a distributer didn't want to use DRM, the buck will stop with a lawyer for the content owners who's job it is to do everything in their power to make sure their clients get paid for the content. Why would one of those make it easier to pirate?

Corporate drone logic man.

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1. tgsovlerkhgsel ◴[27 Dec 21 17:22 UTC] No.29704453[source]▶
Because they can sell more views if paying customers are happy.

I refuse to pay for Netflix because even if paid I wouldn't be able to watch the content (including Netflix originals where the "rightsholders don't allow it" argument doesn't make much sense) in reasonable quality.

Meanwhile, people can watch it from an unlicensed source without paying (legality varies by country but generally low risk for users), and as long as adblock works, the experience really isn't much worse than with Netflix.

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2. darkwater ◴[27 Dec 21 18:43 UTC] No.29705368[source]▶
I'm all against DRMs but the friction nowadays is, if you stick to one platform, almost zero, way less than your average pirated experience. Now, if we talk about platforms balkanization and how you have to shell out 50€-$/month if you want to enjoy just the best content from major platforms, that's another topic.
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3. midasuni ◴[27 Dec 21 19:36 UTC] No.29705955[source]▶
I agree it’s really cheap. I know people spending three times that for some cable tv service which comes with adverts in the middle of programs!

At some point streaming will devolve to that, and it will be back to torrenting as the content providers kill the goose that lays the golden egg

4. tgsovlerkhgsel ◴[28 Dec 21 00:38 UTC] No.29708817[source]▶
The pirated sites are often streaming sites similar to Netflix. Search for a movie, click play. Quality of service does vary, but the catalogue tends to be much bigger.

As you pointed out, "sticking to one platform" isn't an option because the platform most likely won't have the content you're actually looking for. So step 1 is figuring out which platform that is. Step 2 is probably logging in if you don't keep persistent cookies, and that assumes you're subscribed. By this time your movie is already playing if you take the "alternative" approach.

Even if you didn't mind shelling out 50 EUR/month + whatever extra per-movie surcharges Disney+ charges, the balkanization would still cause significant friction.