Movie Downloads

[Jazz_Shoes (Ash)]

Ok, when it comes to downloading off the internet i'm a muggle so need help from all of you smart computer people.

Firstly, are they safe?
Are they legal?
Will they mess up my lovely computer?

I'm a bit aprehensive about signing up as I don't really know much about them, but have been searching, any of these any good:

http://www.internetdownloads.org/

http://www.rocketspeedmovies.com/index.php

Thanks,
Ash

[El Salsero Gringo]

If they're mainstream Hollywood movies, or well-known TV shows then they're not legal (if they're what they say they are)

Are they safe? Who knows? Basic media types (like wmv files, or mpg files) are safe, but if first you have to load a special downloader program, or a special viewer program, then that's like handing the key to your front door to a total stranger who offers to stock your shelves - for free - with all the very latest video releases. Out of the goodness of their heart. Might be honest... might not. Up to you.

[David Bailey]

Ok, when it comes to downloading off the internet i'm a muggle so need help from all of you smart computer people.

Firstly, are they safe?
ESG's answered this.


Are they legal?
Ahh, now you're asking the toughies...

Looking at the disclaimer for rocketspeedmovies, for example, we see:
"Purchase of a membership, however, is not a license to upload or download copyright material. We do not condone copyright infringement and we urge you to respect the copyright laws of your Country.

*Using file-sharing (P2P) software for the uploading or downloading of copyrighted works without the permission or authorization of the copyright holders may be illegal and could subject you (or the ISP subscriber) to civil and/or criminal liability and penalties. For more information about U.S. copyright law, please visit http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/ and http://www.copyright.gov/title17."

Any movies, songs etc. you download may be copyright - so technically this would be illegal.

As far as I know, there's no officially-sanctioned movie download mechanism as yet, although I'm sure it'll come soon - the US movie industry and RIAA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIAA) is trying its best, Knut-like, to hold back the tide of technology for file downloads (mainly focussing on music, admittedly), but at some point they'll lose.



http://www.internetdownloads.org/

http://www.rocketspeedmovies.com/index.php


Both of these are P2P (filesharing) sites, from a quick look - like napster, limewire, etc.

I certainly wouldn't pay money to join these; limewire (http://www.limewire.com) is free and reasonably efficient, or so I've heard.

However, at the moment, I don't think what you want exists - and from a practical point of view, downloading a movie that could be 1Gb+ in size may be a waste of time if you don't know what quality the movie will be.

Stick with Blockbusters :)

[Dreadful Scathe]

whilst its possible to get anything you want somewhere or the internet, it does open you up to dodgy files (spyware,viruses and the like) as well as legal implications. Read this for a brief introduction :)

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/p2ppeertopeer/tp/p2pdownloading.htm

[Jazz_Shoes (Ash)]

Hey, thanks for your info, but I won't be joining, i knew it seemed too good to be true, lol.

Ash :)

[Dreadful Scathe]

joining what ? use bittorrent and dont join anything ;)

[David Bailey]

joining what ? use bittorrent and dont join anything ;)
Topical news item here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4463372.stm) - BitTorrent seems to have gone legit...

To quote:
... bittorrent.com must remove any links to pirated films made by seven Hollywood movie studios.

So, less movies from there, then. Not that anyone would ever do such a thing, of course, so that's OK. :whistle: