Maybe I have the wrong idea about SSupload, a video sharing and uploading community made possible by EntertaimentScripts.com, a Web development company that creates advanced scripts for webmasters seeking to generate revenue from entertainment websites.
Visiting SSupload is like going to your neighborhood barbershop on Saturday and watching a movie that just came out on Friday. And the quality of many of the videos are just as bad as the ones you find street bootleggers hawking. Yes, you'll miss several minutes of the movie when someone decides to go to the bathroom or to the concession stand for a snack. We should've figured that eventually someone would have done something illegal with movies beyond P2P or Torrents.
The truth is, though the site's treading on some serious legal ground, is it any different than what sites like IMEEM or esnips offer? The ability to share content, without the ability to download. There's a constant thread with most of these sites, most of the community is sharing content that doesn't even belong to them. It's how YouTube got popular -- with clips from The Daily Show and SNL. And in this case, there's competition facing the distribution deals that entertainment companies have made with the likes of Bittorrent, Amazon, Netflix.com, and iTunes, or even Joost.
The old adage, "If you build it, they will come," is certainly true in this case. People always want something for nothing. And the same way that offline bootleggers continue to exist, so will the online ones. It's just that in the case of online, entertainment media companies have a better shot at making a partner out of a criminal.
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Recent Comments | 5 Total
April 18, 2007 at 1:53pm by Binary
You should rename your post to it's correct title.
next level movie bootlegging
Those aren't DVDs Those are camcorder rips from other countries. Maybe you should do more research before getting it so wrong. The fact is, in Asian countries, they allow camcorders into theatres. In the US, movies are released on the internet by someone who has access to the supply chain.
Lest ye forget, downloading is not illegal, and never will be. Uploading of copyrighted materials is the illegal part. The MPAA refuses to secure its supply chain. The movies get out and are released on the internet where they become de facto public domain. By dowloading, you aren't breaking any laws. The laws are being broken by those who upload and provide access to those copyrighted materials. You can't seriously compare bittorrent to netflix or amazon or itunes.
bittorrent is offering ad-supported content now. This shows how pathetic the MPAA's attempts are to keep their stranglehold on distribution.
did you forget about movielink.com and cinemanow.com ??
April 18, 2007 at 10:00pm by toobits
Amazingly lame post, and Binary points out the top level issues. Also, "bootlegging" as an outgrowth of "piracy" is so irrelevant as words since the real issue is about copying, not ever and never about theft since the Owner retains the original and all its rights.
RIAA+MPAA+MAFIAA means they claim it is illegal, but it is still alright according to the citizens.
April 19, 2007 at 11:51am by Lynne d Johnson
Binary and toolbit, thank you both for the discussion, clarification, and passion about this subject. I wanted to take this time to share a few points with you that I hope will clarify this post, and its intent, for you.
1. Binary - I call it "Next Level DVD Bootlegging" in the sense that there are many unofficial DVDs available of theatrical releases that recently came out. Therefore, I see this site as a form of distribution/sharing that is the next level of those DVDs.
Perhaps I didn't make that overall point in the post. But I was presented an analogy and thereby looked at what could be the potential for the site. If there is advertising around the movies on SSupload then the supplier/distributor (website admin) is making money, just as the guy in the barbershop or on the corner selling a DVD of a recently, or not-yet, released movie is.
2. Binary - I also say: "Yes, you'll miss several minutes of the movie when someone decides to go to the bathroom or to the concession stand for a snack." This statement clearly illustrates that the versions of movies found on SSupload were recorded in theaters. I also previously mention recently released movies, and it's a known fact that recently released does not mean available as a DVD by the studio.
3. Toolbits - Though I see both your and Binary's points, I feel I should provide some context to what I was writing and where I was coming from. I live in NYC, one of the primary homes of street corner DVD, CD, and mixtape sales. And because of this, in this post, I probably did not provide enough analysis and information in terms of clarifying my overall thoughts. I surmised that I made points that someone who experienced the same level of illegal movie and music sales on the street would comprehend.
When many of my fellow New Yorkers started interacting with SSUpload, they always referenced it in terms of now not having to purchase DVDs on the street or waiting for the official DVD to come out. And this is where I saw the connection, and proceeded to make that connection, on that level.
I have no personal interest vested in whether the site is illegal or not, but I know what the intent of the law is -- that people should not share, copy, or transfer copyrighted material without permission.
June 19, 2007 at 10:49pm by nigga dick
this site is good it shouldnt be illegal for people to watch movies for free, and not many people will care about the quality if it is free. so u all can blow me
November 7, 2007 at 4:44pm by amse
currently, this website has been shut down. according to notice on its frontpage, it will update its website. Hopefully, it can come back. some other websites are still alive, such as movie6, campusist.com, or moviefourms etc.