Paying for direct movie downloads (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by Painfinity@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/piracy@lemmy.dbzer0.com

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This recent YouTube video from LTT on the topic of ripping DVDs and Blu-rays has got me wondering:

I'm not a big fan of stores, hoarding physical stuff and DVDs and Blu-rays, but I do love owning my stuff digitally and supporting the artists. Is there a service that let's you buy the movie, TV series or anime that you want to watch and then simply download it to your drive? No app, no subscription bs, no delivery, just straight money for an .mkv file and that's it?

TL:DR: Is there an equivalent to Qobuz but for visual enjoyment?

Edit: So in summary, the often repeated mantra of "piracy exists because it is more convenient than traditional services" doesn't just apply to subscription streaming services, it applies to direct digital movie purchases too. I suppose the best approach remains to split the "supporting artists" part from the "digital file getting" part, at least until a service with a modern catalogue pops up that unifies the two parts.

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[-] catloaf@lemm.ee 7 points 3 months ago

Looks like Amazon offers digital purchases.

If you find a company you support that offers a digital purchase, I'd do that and then "pirate" it through normal means. You've already paid for the digital copy, and "pirating" is easier than ripping your own.

[-] Painfinity@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 3 months ago

Oh I nearly forgot but specifically Prime Video is indeed a service that allows direct movie downloads, thanks for the suggestions!

Altough......now that I've looked at it more closely and if I understood it correctly:

one can only use their proprietary app to initiate a download
one can only watch the downloaded content on their proprietary app, and
the downloaded movie expires after 30 days.

I'll try it out as soon as I can, but if true then this is just a horrible experience.

[-] SaltySalamander@fedia.io 5 points 3 months ago

They do not offer downloads like you think. The downloads from basically any service are wrapped in DRM and can only be downloaded and played through their interface. You don't own it. They can revoke your access to it.

[-] Painfinity@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 months ago

Yeah....thanks for the clarification, when I read the download part I expected to get a file, not just an offline viewing experience. I'll be more careful now whenever I read that a service offers downloads, I came in from the perspective of someone buying music and thought I would get a file.