'Free TV' Android boxes finding their way into many households, study says

[KrazyK923]

Breaking News! We've discovered the mastermind behind the Android Boxes:

[PACOX]

let it be, that's what I say. Music industry has survived. Porn industry has survived. Video entertainment industry will survive too.

Music and porn survived because they are willing to innovate. Its also harder to keep talent from going independent in those two industries. TV/Telecoms like to stick their head in the sand.

What you do have is the rise of the streamer/youtube stars that will force innovation. Streaming, podcast, video hosting platforms mean that talent no longer relies on huge studios and network to get their content out. And most viewers just care about content, flashy projects can be budgeted if your content is good and blockbusters arent going anywhere.

[Jayburner]

people pay for stuff? lol

[Iriluun]

Couldn't care less. Media companies have been gouging the shit out of all of us for years with spotty service and selection. Now they can bite down on the rope for a while and take the plowing they have coming to them. If they want to continue operating in todays world, they need to update their pricing and service structures, because piracy is only getting easier and people are only getting more and more jaded with the way that "doing it legit" is treating them.

[PACOX]

I used Showbox myself, quite frankly if I like something I usually end up buying it, and with the way some films turn out, like X-Men: Apocalypse, I was able to see it without supporting Singer and Fox.

Spotify, Pandora, Netflix, Hulu, hell even Twitch show that people are willing to pay for stuff if you cut away some of the BS and make content accessible without hassle. The Android boxes prove the point.

[Alcomo]

What are they stealing?

This was my thought too. Last I checked, streaming copyrighted material for free wasn't illegal in Canada to begin with and considering the creator of this very thread is also Canadian, its kind of ironic to be posting this. These android boxes are even sold in normal electronic stores and even advertised as "free tv and movies" here in Ontario.

[Karamaru]

Eh the only thing you can do to combat pirates is to offer better services than the pirates of course you cant really beat free stuff but making it as easy as possible is to make people want to come to you.

[Dread Pirate Phayde]

Spotify, Pandora, Netflix, Hulu, hell even Twitch show that people are willing to pay for stuff if you cut away some of the BS and make content accessible without hassle. The Android boxes prove the point.

I didn't say people aren't willing to pay, I just said I didn't like paying for shitty movies, I used to have a Netflix account and probably will again because they are producing decent content I'm willing to support.

[Tennis]

people pay for stuff? lol

Yes. Most non criminals pay for stuff.

[Varitok]

People don't want to get constantly screwed by cable companies constant add on prices.

[Alcomo]

Yes. Most non criminals pay for stuff.

It's not piracy here though. So who is the criminal?

[PACOX]

I didn't say people aren't willing to pay, I just said I didn't like paying for shitty movies, I used to have a Netflix account and probably will again because they are producing decent content I'm willing to support.

No I was using what you said to show that people are willing to pay for what they like, agreeing with you. As you said, people pay for good content.

[Tennis]

It's not piracy here though. So who is the criminal?

It's not? They are accessing movies which are still in theatres.

[Alcomo]

It's not? They are accessing movies which are still in theatres.

In Canada we have a loophole in our laws that makes it legal. That is why android devices have been selling like hotcakes here and why people have been openly advertising it. Copyrighted material can be streamed legally in our country as of right now. While it may change in the future, it technically isn't illegal at the moment.

[Blur4stuff]

Solution already exists. I imagine Netflix alone has convinced a few million people to either ditch or lessen their piracy.

[Tennis]

In Canada we have a loophole in our laws that makes it legal. That is why android devices have been selling like hotcakes here and why people have been openly advertising it. Copyrighted material can be streamed legally in our country as of right now. While it may change in the future, it technically isn't illegal at the moment.

I see. Do you have such a device?

[MonsieuRoberts]

The downside with Android Boxes and Kodi is that the experience can be very inconsistent, so super surface-level users get turned off of the box quickly. If you get a subpar box with shaky sources, mom & dad will be calling you up to "get the box to work" all the time.

Can you really complain when you're watching shit for free though? These people aren't going to pay hundreds of dollars yearly to watch 3 channels anyway. Netflix for 75% of the content you regularly watch, Kodi for the 25% that you'd have to pay to get access to, or stuff that's too obscure for Netflix & cable altogether. It's an easy, cost effective duo that just makes sense.

[Iamanerd]

The best thing is I flip these like crazy for $90 a piece in my area, I buy them $40 and sell them for $90 a piece. It's not illegal to install Kodi with plug-ins, it's up to the user with how they use them. I've sold easily 300+ in the past few months, and it takes 5 minutes to set one up so it's been some decent side cash.

[Flatspriest]

People do things like this due to the fact that with paid TV, you are still getting tons of advertisements that you honestly don't want...otherwise those paid channels should simply be free like normal broadcast TV is.

[Rathwirt]

It's not illegal to view somebody else's pirated content. It's illegal for them to make it and distribute it. If somebody got a copy of a current movie, rented a blimp, then flew around playing that movie on a gigantic screen on the side of the blimp, it doesn't make it illegal to look at it in the sky. So just make sure your software doesn't work as a redistribution setup (like a torrent) and you're fine.