
Popcorn-app - ilhackernews
http://github.com/Yify/popcorn-app/releases/tag/v0.2.7-beta
======
jeswin
Popcorn Time (or the next leeching app) isn't good for torrents and sharing in
general. If everybody switched to this type of software, there won't be enough
seeds. Or maybe seeders will predominantly be those with some commercial
interests (malware, ads?); and torrents will no longer be truly peer to peer.

Add: The old FAQ is gone, but quote from [http://www.ibtimes.com/popcorn-time-
movie-streaming-netflix-...](http://www.ibtimes.com/popcorn-time-movie-
streaming-netflix-pirated-content-explained-tech-novice-1560827) : "According
to Popcorn Time’s FAQ, you do indeed seed (upload) parts of the movie while
you watch. Popcorn Time does state that ‘your movies will stay buried in a
secret folder somewhere in your drive until you restart your computer. Then it
will be gone for good.’"

~~~
sergiotapia
This is incorrect. By design, torrent participants both download AND upload at
the same time. If you don't believe me, check your network activity using the
tool that comes with your OS. You'll see significant upload transfer. :)

~~~
mburns
I think you're missing his point.

The success of bittorrent as a swarming protocol is that each client tries to
download the least available snippet of the file it wants. This increases the
chances that other clients will be able to find 100% of the pieces of a file
as they go through the download process.

With popcorn and other streaming-torrent hybrids, the clients requests are
biased towards the snippets of file that the user is about to watch. This
makes the beginning of the movie widely available (as all clients start there
to begin a stream) but increases the chance that bits of the middle or end of
the movie aren't available when a given client needs them.

~~~
notimetorelax
This may be true, but on my network it takes less than 5 minutes to download a
2GB file and 20 minutes to have 200% upload. I usually stop uploading after
that. Now if I were to use Popcorn Movie I'd be uploading for much longer
period.

~~~
spoiler
In most countries, your average Internet consumer can't achieve the speeds you
described, though. Also, the download-to-upload rate is significantly higher.

For example, my peak download speed is 5Mbits while the upload speed peaks at
0.6Mbits. That's on one of the more expensive packages, too.

------
Daiz
The sad thing about Popcorn Time is the way it shows how little people
actually care about AV quality. One of the biggest reasons why I personally
resort to illegal options (especially with video material) is because of the
higher quality they offer compared to legal alternatives, but this aspect is
not present in Popcorn Time _at all_ since it sources all the video and audio
from YIFY.

YIFY is basically a bunch of morons producing nothing but total garbage who
would be better off encoding things in SD with the low bitrates they use.
Sadly, since their fork is likely going to be considered the "main" one for
Popcorn Time, decent AV quality will probably never be a thing with it. (I
found a couple issues on various GitHub forks about this subject and ran into
this image[1] which demonstrates the problem quite well.)

EDIT: Well, I guess there's some hope for the future[2]. Not holding my
breath, though.

[1]
[https://f.cloud.github.com/assets/1736009/2426834/15aa358e-a...](https://f.cloud.github.com/assets/1736009/2426834/15aa358e-abcd-11e3-894a-07cb33069ec7.jpg)

[2] [https://github.com/Yify/popcorn-
app/issues/51](https://github.com/Yify/popcorn-app/issues/51)

~~~
mistercow
>who would be better off encoding things in SD with the low bitrates they use

DCT quantization always beats down-scaling at the same bit rate.

~~~
Daiz
Look at the image I linked and say that again.

And it's not like this is particularly hard to test on your own. If you encode
the same video at low enough bitrate X in 480p/720p/1080p, the higher
resolution versions can have more definition at times but the 480p version
will generally end up having the highest overall quality and is usually the
most consistent in its quality as well. I've done this kind of comparing a
couple times myself and the results are exactly that.

~~~
mistercow
Comparing still frames from VBR video streams is spurious on multiple levels.

------
sillysaurus3
Wait, why are people so quick to download and install these binaries? This is
an excellent opportunity to piggyback a virus onto a ton of people's
computers, and the "Yify" github profile seems to have no other prior history:
[https://github.com/Yify](https://github.com/Yify)

EDIT: Nevermind, it's headed by jduncanator who seems to have done a lot of
public work. They also contributed to the original popcorn time.

~~~
balls187
I don't if it's the same dude|lady|group, but Yify is well known in the
torrent scene.

~~~
mistercow
It looks like it is actually affiliated, given that the group's email is
github@yts.re

------
forrestthewoods
It's obvious that $8/month for unlimited access to all TV and/or movie content
ever created ever just isn't an economic reality. So, how much would you pay
on-top of your $8/month Netflix subscription (assuming you have it in your
country) for access to new releases? Would you pay another $8 a month? Maybe
$12 so it's a round $20 total?

Would you pay $5 to rent a new movie if it could then easily be streaming
through Netflix on one of eleventy kazillion devices? What would you be
willing to pay?

~~~
egeozcan
I'm living in Germany. Here, for non-dubbed, easily accessible (on-demand
access on every device) and rich (all popular shows, movies and then some)
content, I'd gladly pay 100€/month. I hate having to use VPNs to make it look
like I'm in the US to receive crappy service.

------
cliveowen
I don't see the usefulness in this. On my Mac it runs very slowly and once you
start playing it takes an eternity to jump forward or rewind a little bit. If
you just download the movie with torrent in 20 minutes you can jump around
instantly and use the _much_ lighter Videolan Player.

I can see the convenience in searching movies though.

~~~
jaydz
Its quite useful for people who cannot download an HD file in 20 minutes.

~~~
marcosdumay
Those people will have an even worse experience with streaming than the GP.

I don't get what's all the buzz about streaming. Copy the damn file, watch it,
and erase (it's a new concept, let's call it "cache"). Not even Youtube works
anymore because everything must be online.

~~~
riffraff
> I don't get what's all the buzz about streaming.

There is a noticeable difference between starting to watch a movie in 10
seconds and waiting >15 mins to download completely.

Suppose a movie takes an average 25 minutes to download. I can start watching
it in my lunch break if I am streaming it. If I have to download it completely
first, I may not have finished downloading it by the end of it.

Streaming is a _much_ better experience, even if it has a bunch of downsides.

------
dphnx
Can’t help being a pedant but the plural of synopsis is synopses. “Synopsis’s”
refers to something belonging to a synopsis, e.g. “the synopsis’s true
meaning”.

------
Relys
With the Vuze torrent client right click on the file, select "Set Priority"
and select "Numeric...".

Next, right click on the file, select "Media Server" and select "Copy Stream
URL to Clipboard".

Now open VLC Media Player, select "Media", select "Open Network Stream", paste
in the URL and click "Play".

The cool thing about Vuze is that you can use a SOCKS5 proxy and/or restrict
traffic to a virtual NIC if you have a VPN. This way even if you turn your VPN
off (to play games etc.) you won't be exposed to the swarm.

If you use XBMC you can install the XBMCTorrent add-on which has an interface
similar to Popcorn Time.
[http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=174736](http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=174736)

XBMC is cool because you can use the Android app Yatse to control XBMC. If you
have two boxes running XBMC (i.e. in your living room and bedroom) you can use
Yatse to resume playback on the other box with the push of a button!

Unfortunately, XBMCTorrent and Popcorn Time don't support SOCKS5 proxies or
restricting traffic on specific NICs. Therefore you'll want to set up an
internet kill switch on your box as a fail safe.

------
DigitalSea
It makes me incredibly happy as an Australian with no access to a Netflix type
service (because none exists here) that isn't cable television that costs over
$100 per month via Foxtel to be able to stream movies.

Yes, I do feel bad for using apps like this, but I have no other legal and
affordable choice. I have Fetch TV which offers movies and additional content
bundled with my Internet connection, you get 30 free movies per month (usually
older movies) and have to pay for newer ones which can quickly add up if you
pay for a few of them.

Popcorn highlights a real problem in the entertainment industry and as someone
who's looked into starting a Netflix like service in Australia, the licencing
and costs associated with licences and obtaining decent content are way too
expensive to even consider starting something up.

Until the situation improves for us Australians and our New Zealand neighbours
amongst other countries, people will continue to use apps like this. Learn
from Spotify industry heavyweights and open up your content for streaming
globally via paid services like Netflix.

~~~
randorando
You should consider subscribing to Netflix and using a service like Hola
Unblocker to access it in Australia. This approach is still illegal but
arguably better than torrenting.

~~~
biafra
Is it really illegal or just violating the TOS? Can you be dragged to court
for it or only have the service terminated?

~~~
icebraining
IANAL, but I would say that if you're violating the TOS, you don't have a
proper license to the content (since that's contingent upon following the
terms), and so you're committing copyright infringement.

On the other hand,

 _" In relation to the use of VPNs by Australians to access services such as
Hulu and Netflix, on the limited information provided there does not appear to
be an infringement of copyright law in Australia," a spokesman for Attorney-
General Robert McClelland said. "Whether the Australian users have committed
an offence by deceiving these providers about their identity, or eligibility
to receive their services, would depend on state or territory criminal law."_

[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/technology/media-streams-
spa...](http://www.theaustralian.com.au/technology/media-streams-spark-piracy-
row-over-copyright/story-e6frgakx-1226078817583)

------
sergiotapia
Nice! I want this to continue to grow in popularity and mindshare. It's about
time the movie industry stopped being so greedy and selling things using
RIDICULOUS drm rules.

Why can I pay $8 for netflix and watch in on my phone, pc, mac, ps3 and ipad -
but any newish movie I need to use iTunes and locked there?

~~~
sailfast
You can pay $8 for Netflix because they pay movie studios the prices they ask
for the content. You can't watch those same new movies on Netflix because the
market value of that content is higher. The DRM allows companies to exploit
the price difference between "early adopter" customers and those that will get
it later on Netflix.

Same price strategy occurred with hard and softcover books and their release
schedules.

Studios should be allowed to charge more for their content when it's new -
they'll keep doing this until it's proven the streaming model works out to
more money over time. Popcorn Time only hurts that argument as it stands, but
could be an interesting Netflix competitor in the pay for play space (peer to
peer would save on infrastructure costs)

~~~
wpietri
I agree with the pricing differential stuff, but I'm suspicious about the DRM
claim. Is there any evidence that DRM allows companies to exploit the price
difference? I always thought it was studios' better marketing and
distribution. E.g., people buy real copies of The Incredibles not because DRM
keeps it out of the hands of criminals, but because criminals can't sell
movies on Amazon or at Walmart.

------
donpdonp
Is there any content in the popcorn catalog that is known to be license-
friendly with popcorn's distribution mechanism?

I want to see the mechanism of popcorn work without violating copyright. I'd
like to see a category for 'Creative Commons' or 'Public Domain'.

~~~
winningio
LOL, just watch a YouTube video of it.

------
cristianpascu
8 years ago I bought a small DVD player for my son from US. I can't use it for
any of the DVDs I bought from here, in Romania. But the AVIs will play just
fine.

------
rdl
It's weird that the absolute best video experience right now seems to involve
Plex plus either piracy or purchasing huge numbers of Blu-Ray and ripping them
yourself; it's pretty much your own Netflix, seeded with first-run content, no
spying, etc. But you need a seedbox, membership on private torrent sites
(which requires either starting from semi-open sites and moving up, or getting
direct invites from knowledgeable friends), some effort paid to keep ratio in
line, etc.

That's a pretty substantial investment; for $100/mo or more, it's hard to
believe the "legit" industry hasn't come out with something like "Netflix that
doesn't suck".

~~~
w-ll
As a long-long time XBMC user, this has been my main movie/tv setup for years.
Things have changed, I do spend $7 bucks a month on a seedbox, private
trackers are the way to go, and yea ratio is pretty key. So way less than
$100/mo or even $15/mo on Netflix. And for ratio isn't too hard to maintain if
you are always getting the latest content (new movies/episodes) and let them
seed for a day or until next weeks show airs your ratio will be top notch.

~~~
kenrikm
What seed box provider + private torrent sites do you use? I used to be a big
fan of demonoid or waffles. But have been out of it for so long that I no
longer have an "ins".

~~~
pikachu_is_cool
[http://What.CD](http://What.CD) for music

[http://BroadcasThe.Net](http://BroadcasThe.Net) for TV

[http://PassThePopcorn.me](http://PassThePopcorn.me) for movies

[http://WhatBox.ca](http://WhatBox.ca) for seedbox

My in was What.CD (open interviews). If you want quick access to the other
ones then you should get a seedbox on WhatBox. Upload 25GB with your seedbox,
and then upload 5 torrents. Now you will be a Power User and have access to
the invite forum which has unlimited invites for pretty much every other
private tracker (including BTN and PTP).

~~~
rdl
I thought the rule with private trackers was to try not to name them in
public?

~~~
pikachu_is_cool
Really? I guess I won't do that anymore. Sorry about that.

------
thefreeman
Question to anyone who uses this or torrents directly to their PC (rather then
via Seedbox). Has anyone heard of anyone that has received notice from their
ISP yet for the "6 strikes" changes that went into play?

As soon as I heard about those I transitioned completely to a seedbox setup.
It is actually great for media because I can stream directly from my seedbox
to my chromecast, but for some things like software / games it would be more
convenient to just torrent it directly.

I am basically curious if maintaining an up to date IP block list via
peerblock and using only private trackers is enough to keep you off the radar?

~~~
j2kun
I think ISPs gave that up...

------
daturkel
No need for the sensationalist title (currently "Popcorn Time is back with a
vengeance"). "Popcorn Time build 0.2.7" would suit it fine.

~~~
mcantelon
The original Popcorn Time team announced they were stopping the project and
their feed of torrents stopped working. So having someone else continue the
project fits the headline.

~~~
daturkel
I understand the context, but "back with a vengeance" doesn't exactly fit the
rule of "Don't abuse the text field in the submission form to add commentary
to links. The text field is for starting discussions. If you're submitting a
link, put it in the url field. If you want to add initial commentary on the
link, write a blog post about it and submit that instead."
[http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

~~~
Dylan16807
I suppose "Popcorn time is back" would be an ideal title, but "with a
vengeance" doesn't really mean anything so there's no harm done.

------
grannyg00se
"To allow any computer user to watch movies easily streaming from torrents,
without any particular knowledge."

The screen shot shows a bunch of very old looking movies, and categories like
film-noir and biography. Is there really a vast resource of torrents for all
potential movies with enough seeds to stream them for real-time viewing?

~~~
vnchr
Those old movies are purposely used in the screenshot because they're public
domain examples. The actual library is as modern as up to date as the pirate
bay would be :-P

~~~
tommoor
I bet it took some effort to put that fake screenshot together :)

------
fnsa
The app is terrific. Can't wait for a revision that includes all the popular
tv shows.

~~~
sirdogealot
Unfortunately I doubt the sparse uploading of most older TV shows means it
will be a long time before we see a full-blown netflix competitor.

Moderately popular TV shows that aired last year are fairly difficult to find
a complete season of via torrent for example.

------
kzahel
I can't see this going bad! [/s]

------
miah_
Interesting, Yify picked it up. If you don't know, Yify is a movie release
group.

[https://torrentfreak.com/yify-torrents-announces-
retirement-...](https://torrentfreak.com/yify-torrents-announces-retirement-
of-yify-but-show-goes-on-140124/)

------
pd0wm
It would be great if they could build a version for music streaming. Something
like spotify...

~~~
jjsz
There's: [https://github.com/mopidy/mopidy](https://github.com/mopidy/mopidy)
...

------
quackerhacker
I wonder if it's the _real_ Yify who did the dev on the popcorn app revival?

------
manishrc
Inspired by Popcorn-time, Hacked together a cli tool: Morrent - Command-line
Search and Stream Movie Torrent.

[https://www.npmjs.org/package/morrent](https://www.npmjs.org/package/morrent)

Uses yts.re API and peerflix.

------
wyager
I played around with the original a bit, and I couldn't find this anywhere;
does Popcorn Time support/allow me to require encrypting my torrent traffic?

------
daGrevis
I wonder what's GitHub opinion on this. What would they do if the government
would ask them to remove all code including forks from their site?

------
cantbecool
fantastic standalone app. I created something similar, a simple movie torrent
search engine: [http://www.moviemagnet.net](http://www.moviemagnet.net) I hope
people are not discouraged by Popcorn's exit, since torrent based applications
should force the issue, old media companies to change their archaic
distribution models.

~~~
higherpurpose
Are you the same owner behind the "original" movies.io, or did you just clone
it?

~~~
cantbecool
They stopped serving torrents, so I decided to pick up where they left off.

------
h1karu
xbmc + xbmctorrent plugin is way better than either popcorn app.

------
plg
so someone tell me the real risk of me getting sued (or even threatened) by a
movie company, by my ISP, by my police department, and then I will use it.
maybe

~~~
sergiotapia
Honeypot trackers log your IP and big media send ISP notices in batch. So you
may or may not get a 1st strike warning in the future.

Better to just using a private tracker with semi-lax rules, such as
ILoveTorrents.

~~~
neotek
How is a private tracker going to help if anyone can register an account
there?

------
jitl
The links to downloads 404 for me.

------
rishid97
The power of open source.

------
jhprks
People breaking the law should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Digital rights management protects the artists and the publishers from having
their rights violated by the criminals who watch movies using Popcorn Time.
Furthermore, the creators of Popcorn Time are subject to being accessories to
the crime.

~~~
andybak
> should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law

So - you feel the penalties set down in law are always just and appropriate?
And maximum sentences/fines are the ideal that should be aimed for?

What are you trying to say exactly?

~~~
jhprks
"So - you feel the penalties set down in law are always just and appropriate?"

I believe not all penalties set down in law are always just and appropriate,
probably even some authorities may see it this way too, but just imagine that
you were to ask that question if you were set in front of a judge to justify
your piracy acts, do you really think that'll get you out of trouble?

~~~
cdash
I think instead I will ask myself whether I give a shit how a judge rules on
enforcing laws I think are insane.

------
piratebroadcast
Whats the elevator pitch on what this is and what it does?

