Pirates Frustrated After TV Release Groups Swap .MP4 for .MKV

crypirateWhile pirates may not appear to be the most organized people, the groups that make up the top of the piracy pyramid abide by strict rules.

Every so often they agree on a new set of standards, which determine what a proper release should look like. Most recently, new changes were announced for TV show releases, and these are set to go into effect this coming weekend.

The new rules are announced in lengthy documents, one for HD and one for SD TV-releases.

“Since the last revision of this document in 2012, TV-X264-SD has grown and become a major section that many people contribute to and depend on. This new revision aims to update the standards from 2012 to standards suitable for 2016 and the future,” the intro to the SD version reads.

The rules are intended for Scene groups only. These groups don’t share their work directly to the public, but between themselves on so-called “topsites”. However, most of the time their releases are also the source of TV-shows that end up being shared on public pirate sites.

This means that hundreds of million of people around the world will be affected by the changes, albeit indirectly.

For the most part the rules deal with technicalities regarding release formatting, tagging and various audio, subtitle and video settings. These changes are hardly noticeable to outsiders, except for the “container” part.

mkvcontainer

Instead of using .MP4 as the file format, all releases will be .MKV moving forward. This is the Matroska container which has been the standard for HD releases in recent years.

Some groups have already made the switch over the past few days, causing confusion among BitTorrent users.

“SUDDENLY everything (well many things) is MKV instead of MP4,” one downloader writes, adding “There is no way a way a whole bunch of encoders woke up today and suddenly decided to use MKV instead of MP4. Does anybody have any idea Whats going on?”

mkvlogo Others complain about not being able to watch MKV files on their video players, or branding MKV as inferior.

“All I can figure is that since things were just fine the way they were, a couple of people decided to screw everything up for everyone else,” another frustrated TV fan notes.

Several P2P TV-distribution groups, which are not part of the Scene, were also taken by surprise. However, TorrentFreak is informed that they won’t convert their releases to MP4, as some people have recommended.

Instead, the ETTV group advises TV-show downloaders to convert the videos to MP4 themselves if they want, pointing them to the free Rebox tool that can do this in a few seconds.

“SD tv shows will soon be released in mkv containers. If you’re an mp4 fan you can remux the mkv files to mp4 in 2 simple steps in less than 30 seconds with the app link below,” ETTV writes.

ETTVcomment

Interestingly, there were also massive complaints in 2012 when the SD standards changed from .AVI to MP4. At the time some people were literally outraged, vowing to ban certain sites and groups.

Whether we will see a repeat of this backlash will become clear after April 10, when the rules go into effect.

This time around it may not be as bad. Many video players support the MKV format and a lot of downloaders were already familiar with it, since HD shows have been released this way for years.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.


Source: TorrentFreak

38% of Young EU Internet Pirates See Nothing Wrong in Piracy

europe-flagIn 2013 the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) through the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights commissioned a study titled “European Citizens and Intellectual Property: Perception, Awareness and Behavior.”

Among other things the survey found that young people are often skeptical of the value that intellectual property can bring to the economy. With that in mind EUIPO ordered a follow-up study among 15-24 year-olds in all 28 Member States, aiming to learn more about the way young people behave online and why they obtain content both legally and illegally.

The resulting report, Intellectual Property and Youth 2016, has just been published and it raises some interesting points, including that young people do not feel particularly well-informed about IP issues.

Poorly informed

“The report reveals that young European citizens feel there is a lack of information about IP that would help them understand the issues. They also say that the information that is available is not communicated effectively to their age group,” says EUIPO Executive Director António Campinos.

“These factors combine to produce an atmosphere of indifference so that many young people who have been brought up in this digital age do not care whether they infringe IP or not.”

One in four admit to piracy

According to the study, one in four young people admitted to using illegal sources to access content during the previous 12 months. However, an impressive 81% of respondents said that they use legal sources for accessing online content, leaving a tiny percentage as self-confessed hardcore pirates.

“This means that only a minority (5%) solely uses illegal sources to access online content,” the report notes.

Overall, music was the most popular content downloaded or streamed by young people with 97% of respondents saying they do so from both legal and illegal sources. Just over half (56%) of young people said they use illegal sources to access music.

In contrast, 95% of respondents said they obtained movies and TV shows online in the preceding 12 months, with 85% admitting doing so intentionally from illegal sources.

EUIPO-1

Reasons for using pirate sources

Of course, the big question is why these young people choose to act illegally. Perhaps unsurprisingly, two-thirds cited price as the main driver for obtaining content from pirate sources.

However, the second most important reason according to respondents is that they simply do not see anything wrong with piracy as long as it’s for personal use. A not insignificant 38% of young people hold this opinion. Interestingly, that number reduces to 28% among the subset who graduated from higher education.

From this point on, however, the reasons for using illegal sources relate mostly to service issues. Content being available more quickly was cited by 33%, closely followed by 31% who enjoyed not being forced to register for a service. An equal 30% enjoyed both the larger choice on pirate sites while finding media easier to discover and access.

EUIPO-2

Reasons to stop being a pirate

In keeping with the finding that price is a key motivator to commit piracy, the survey found that the number one reason (58%) for young people to stop using illegal sources would be the availability of affordable content from legal sources.

In second place with 36% came the risk of punishment, followed by personally having a bad experience on a pirate site. Just 18% said that consideration of the harms caused by piracy would be a factor in avoiding illegal sources.

“Amongst those in the focus groups who are aware that they are using illegal sources to access digital content, the potential loss of income that music or movie stars could suffer caused by their behavior, does not seem to make an impression,” the report concludes.

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While the survey’s findings (pdf) suggest that there is an opportunity for the entertainment industries to gain ground with educational campaigns alongside the threat of some kind of punishment, nothing can trump available, affordable content presented in a convenient and timely manner.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.


Source: TorrentFreak

Steal This Show S01E08: Maybe Free Is Not The Future

steal240Featuring Ashwin Navin and Dave Harrison. Ashwin was one of the founders of BitTorrent Inc., and is now CEO of Samba TV; Dave was one of the inventors of BitTorrent streaming and is Samba’s CTO.

We discuss Screening Room, the founder of Napster’s plan to bring movies to your living room on release day; the BPI’s prodigious anti-piracy efforts and why the future may doom them to failure; and the ongoing war between Google and the MPAA.

Finally, Ashwin and Dave share what they’ve learned since the early days of BitTorrent, hint at where things are headed in the world of online TV, point to a couple of interesting developments in the P2P world, and wonder if maybe free is not the future, after all.

—

Steal This Show aims to release bi-weekly episodes featuring insiders discussing copyright and file-sharing news. It complements our regular reporting by adding more room for opinion, commentary and analysis.

The guests for our news discussions will vary and we’ll aim to introduce voices from different backgrounds and persuasions. In addition to news, STS will also produce features interviewing some of the great innovators and minds.

Host: Jamie King

Guests: Ashwin Navin and Dave Harrison.

Produced by Jamie King
Edited & Mixed by Eric Bouthiller
Original Music by David Triana
Web Production by Siraje Amarniss

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.


Source: TorrentFreak

UK Govt Issues Advice on Dealing With Copyright Trolls

In 2007, copyright trolls landed on UK shores. Targeting alleged downloaders of the video game Dream Pinball 3D, more than 500 people received demands for cash in exchange for making imaginary court cases go away.

After several disasters at the turn of the decade, trolls are now back in the UK in force (1,2) with tuned-up business models designed to intimidate.

Instead of hiring lawyers who are open to scrutiny, they employ middlemen who cannot be investigated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. This leaves their targets with little protection, and a dilemma of whether to fight the trolls alone or hire a lawyer.

Interestingly the UK government has now indicated an interest in these cases. In an advisory notice just published by the Intellectual Property Office, the government offers guidance on how copyright trolls operate and how people should handle them.

Outlining the problem

“You may have received a letter if the copyright owner believes someone has used your internet connection to download copyright protected material, such as a film, if the material was downloaded without their permission. For example from a file sharing website,” the IPO begins.

“Rights holders may seek compensation for the financial loss they have suffered. Companies such as Golden Eye, TCYK LLC and Mircom have taken action to get compensation in recent years.”

What all of these companies have in common is that when they correspond with the bill payer they insist that person must be either directly responsible for the infringement or must have had a hand in it. The Intellectual Property Office quite rightly points out that these assertions are not necessarily true.

“It’s important to understand that the copyright owner can only take action against the person who actually committed the infringement. This may not be you. Your internet service provider (ISP) can only provide them with details of the internet account holder. Who may not be the actual infringer,” the IPO notes.

Government advice

The first pointer provided by the government is for people not to bury their heads in the sand.

“Don’t ignore the letter. Even if you believe that you or anyone with access to your internet connection hasn’t downloaded the copyright protected material. You should respond, even if you request more time to seek advice before you provide a more detailed response,” the IPO says.

“If you didn’t know anything about the alleged copyright infringement check the letter is genuine. There are scams operating where letters are sent to try and gain compensation from you when you might not have to pay.”

Checking with people who have access to your Internet

At this point the IPO suggest that letter recipients should check with friends or family who have had access to their Internet.

“They may have downloaded or uploaded the copyright protected material. They may be responsible for the alleged infringement,” the IPO says.

While that may indeed be the case, there is no requirement of a bill payer to go around playing detective on behalf of copyright trolls. If these companies know who is guilty of the infringement they should say so up front. If they don’t they are simply on a fishing exercise and without using the same words, the government seems to agree.

“It is the responsibility of the copyright owner to prove who has committed the infringement. This may not be the internet account holder,” the IPO says.

In closing the Intellectual Property Office suggests that letter recipients could contact Citizens Advice or speak with a solicitor. Those seeking to do the latter can speak with Michael Coyle at Lawdit Solicitors in Southampton who handles these cases for less than £100.

It’s not clear why the government has suddenly taken an interest in the activities of copyright trolls in the UK, but the intervention of Ian Austin MP may have been factor. Austin says he was “disgusted” to hear that an 82-year-old woman had been accused of pirating a movie by troll outfit TCYK LLC. He vowed to raise the matter in Parliament.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.


Source: TorrentFreak