Is it legal to watch tv shows via a stream?

36_Chambers · 22-10-2012, 17:13

If so where do I do it?

my blu ray has broken

and i need to watch boardwalk empire!

Esot-eric · 22-10-2012, 17:32

If you're talking about a US show from a legal US site then no. It's just as illegal as downloading the show (but with a generally poorer quality).

In the UK illegally downloading, or illegally streaming, is still just a civil offence, so you're not going to be done for it. It's the uploading (e.g. using BitTorrent) that pushes you from a civil offence to a criminal one.

stud u like · 22-10-2012, 17:38

Uploading gets you into the most trouble.

XxBlaKOuTZxX · 22-10-2012, 18:01

Something else Ive learned from reading the DS forums. I thought uploading or downloading were just as serious as each other. I mean it's THEFT isn't it. Your'e downloading a show or film u haven't paid for so it's still stealing isn't it.

It's a minefield imo. The original uploader must have got the content from somewhere (most of the time either a BD or DVD) so he's paid for it but the downloader hasn't. I admit I know next to nothing about laws when it comes to films or tv shows.

I understand that the buyer agrees not to make illegal copies of the product but the downloaders are just as bad imo. I dont condone it but perhaps if DB's and games and the like were sold cheaper then piracy wouldn't be a problem as much as it is now. I also understand that there's always going to be those that want something for nothing.

Peter the Great · 23-10-2012, 11:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esot-eric

If you're talking about a US show from a legal US site then no. It's just as illegal as downloading the show (but with a generally poorer quality).

In the UK illegally downloading, or illegally streaming, is still just a civil offence, so you're not going to be done for it. It's the uploading (e.g. using BitTorrent) that pushes you from a civil offence to a criminal one.

Is it illegal? It is legal to use internet proxys so I would say it is perfectly legal to watch a legal US streaming site in the UK.

wakey · 23-10-2012, 12:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esot-eric

If you're talking about a US show from a legal US site then no. It's just as illegal as downloading the show (but with a generally poorer quality).

In the UK illegally downloading, or illegally streaming, is still just a civil offence, so you're not going to be done for it. It's the uploading (e.g. using BitTorrent) that pushes you from a civil offence to a criminal one.

Wrong.

Downloading/Streaming is not an offence as you are not distributing copyright material

Uploading is Copyright infringement which is a civil offence not a criminal one.

When people get in trouble for downloading/streaming its because they are using a P2P method which sees them upload the data they have downloaded to others downloading that same file.

It's why the 3 Strike laws tgats been prooposed is designed the way it is. There is no criminal or civil conviction associated with them as they are laws aimed not at the end user directly but at the ISP who are technically receiving a copy of the file you are downloading, duplicating it and then sending it to you so what the ISP's are doing by agreeing to a 3 strike rule is covering their own backs

wakey · 23-10-2012, 12:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by XxBlaKOuTZxX

Something else Ive learned from reading the DS forums. I thought uploading or downloading were just as serious as each other. I mean it's THEFT isn't it. Your'e downloading a show or film u haven't paid for so it's still stealing isn't it.

No matter what they tell you in those piracy ads on the front of DVD's it isn't theft.

For it to be stealing you have to deprive the owner of the item you are taking. With digital items you aren't doing this, you are just making an exact duplicate. It is copyright infringement not theft

Esot-eric · 23-10-2012, 13:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by XxBlaKOuTZxX

Something else Ive learned from reading the DS forums. I thought uploading or downloading were just as serious as each other. I mean it's THEFT isn't it. Your'e downloading a show or film u haven't paid for so it's still stealing isn't it.

No, it isn't stealing or theft at all. It's copyright infringement, which is a completely different thing. As wakey says stealing deprives the owner of the item, copyright infringement does not.

English is a rich and finely-grained language. We have the words to describe different concepts and using the wrong ones dilutes the meaning of the words and makes communication of concepts that much more difficult. It's just like the masses calling someone who had sex with someone under-age a paedophile even if the person they had sex with wasn't pre-pubescent.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter the Great

It is legal to use internet proxys so I would say it is perfectly legal to watch a legal US streaming site in the UK.

Then you'd be wrong. Content is usually licensed on a geographical basis so accessing that material from outside those boundaries means you don't have a licence for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wakey

Downloading/Streaming is not an offence as you are not distributing copyright material

You don't need to distribute to violate copyright. The simple act of downloading/streaming material for which you don't have a licence violates it. This is only a civil offence in the UK and as an individual there's no way anyone is going to go to the effort of prosecuting you for it.

Quote:

Uploading is Copyright infringement which is a civil offence not a criminal one.

Uploading would count as distribution of copyrighted material which automatically escalates it from a civil to criminal offence.

captainkremmen · 23-10-2012, 13:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esot-eric

No, it isn't stealing or theft at all. It's copyright infringement, which is a completely different thing. As wakey says stealing deprives the owner of the item, copyright infringement does not.

English is a rich and finely-grained language. We have the words to describe different concepts and using the wrong ones dilutes the meaning of the words and makes communication of concepts that much more difficult. It's just like the masses calling someone who had sex with someone under-age a paedophile even if the person they had sex with wasn't pre-pubescent.

Then you'd be wrong. Content is usually licensed on a geographical basis so accessing that material from outside those boundaries means you don't have a licence for it.

You don't need to distribute to violate copyright. The simple act of downloading/streaming material for which you don't have a licence violates it. This is only a civil offence in the UK and as an individual there's no way anyone is going to go to the effort of prosecuting you for it.

Uploading would count as distribution of copyrighted material which automatically escalates it from a civil to criminal offence.

Only commercial copyright infringement is currently a criminal offence in the UK. Non commercial copyright infringement is still a civil offence, although there are proposals to change the law on that.

Esot-eric · 23-10-2012, 13:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by captainkremmen

Only commercial copyright infringement is currently a criminal offence in the UK. Non commercial copyright infringement is still a civil offence, although there are proposals to change the law on that.

Interesting, i wasn't aware of that. Good to know i won't currently be in danger of going to prison on the few occasions i have to fall-back to BitTorrent from Usenet.

Peter the Great · 23-10-2012, 14:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esot-eric

No, it isn't stealing or theft at all. It's copyright infringement, which is a completely different thing. As wakey says stealing deprives the owner of the item, copyright infringement does not.

English is a rich and finely-grained language. We have the words to describe different concepts and using the wrong ones dilutes the meaning of the words and makes communication of concepts that much more difficult. It's just like the masses calling someone who had sex with someone under-age a paedophile even if the person they had sex with wasn't pre-pubescent.

Then you'd be wrong. Content is usually licensed on a geographical basis so accessing that material from outside those boundaries means you don't have a licence for it.

You don't need to distribute to violate copyright. The simple act of downloading/streaming material for which you don't have a licence violates it. This is only a civil offence in the UK and as an individual there's no way anyone is going to go to the effort of prosecuting you for it.

Uploading would count as distribution of copyrighted material which automatically escalates it from a civil to criminal offence.

You are braking the terms and conditions of that site and that is it! You are never going to be prosocuted because it is not illegal to use a proxy. The most they could do is block your access to that site which is pretty difficult. Most of these sites don't want to Geo block but they do so to keep the greedy distributers happy. A practice that encourages more people to carry on file sharing.

jjne · 23-10-2012, 15:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esot-eric

Then you'd be wrong. Content is usually licensed on a geographical basis so accessing that material from outside those boundaries means you don't have a licence for it.

No more a licence breach than buying DVDs destined for another market though.

jenzie · 23-10-2012, 18:31

buy a new blueray?

the chimp · 23-10-2012, 19:18

Surely if you're watching a live stream of a channel, you are not the one breaking the law, the only one breaking it is whoever uploads it.

rfonzo · 23-11-2012, 19:01

Like what most people have already said it depends of the website. Netflix is obviously reputable but the problem is that Boardwalk Empire is American and if we were in the US you could easily get it to show on whatever station it is that broadcasts it, like what we do with BBC Iplayer. Nevertheless, whenever I have tried to watch a show a US show in the past on say CBS for example, it comes up that you are in a 'restricted area.' I do not know if there is way round that at all?

mooghead · 23-11-2012, 19:14

http://www.movie2k.to/Boardwalk-Empi...ow-937189.html

davebav50 · 24-11-2012, 18:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by 36_Chambers

If so where do I do it?

my blu ray has broken

and i need to watch boardwalk empire!

Its is legal to stream TV shows in the UK via a paid subscription to eg Lovefilm, Netflix, Now TV, Virgin etc.
Some progs like Breaking Bad have not yet been aired in the UK but are legally streamed.
Some Bluray players even have the streaming capability built in.

c4rv · 27-11-2012, 11:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfonzo

Like what most people have already said it depends of the website. Netflix is obviously reputable but the problem is that Boardwalk Empire is American and if we were in the US you could easily get it to show on whatever station it is that broadcasts it, like what we do with BBC Iplayer. Nevertheless, whenever I have tried to watch a show a US show in the past on say CBS for example, it comes up that you are in a 'restricted area.' I do not know if there is way round that at all?

As mentioned by several people, you need a US based proxy service to make it appear as though you are in the US.

tokenting · 27-11-2012, 12:33

i recommend you do not go onto these sites, normally they link feeds -- which will eventually show you the episode but after you have navigated countless adware/popups and possible viruses -- also episodes are of very poor quality.

always do a malware check after going to these places.

there are better methods out there without these risks -- legal; eg netflix ( with unlock us) or bit naughty ( usenet across a VPN)

c4rv · 27-11-2012, 13:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by tokenting

i recommend you do not go onto these sites, normally they link feeds -- which will eventually show you the episode but after you have navigated countless adware/popups and possible viruses -- also episodes are of very poor quality.

always do a malware check after going to these places.

there are better methods out there without these risks -- legal; eg netflix ( with unlock us) or bit naughty ( usenet across a VPN)

how is usenet access not worse then using a proxy to access hulu. At least with hulu your viewing gets regisitered and the appropiate people get paid.

ovbg · 29-11-2012, 08:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Esot-eric

Then you'd be wrong. Content is usually licensed on a geographical basis so accessing that material from outside those boundaries means you don't have a licence for it.

Actually, that's incorrect. What you mean is that the US broadcasts and streams have a licensing deal between the content provider and the broadcaster to broadcast or stream that content only in one region (in this case the US)

That contract was signed between the broadcaster and the content provider... The viewer did not sign that contract. If I sign a contract between myself and an importer to sell sunglasses in the UK, that signing does not automatically place every other person in the planet within my legal and contractual framework - only the two sides signing it. If I then sell a pair of sunglasses to an American, it is me who is in breach of my contract, not the American buying it.

Of course it is absolutely legal for us to access that content by circumnavigating the geo-blocking, as long (and this is the very important part) we are not circumnavigating some type of paywall - in other words, accessing free content is fine.

After-all, it is simply the virtual method of me flying to the US and buying DVD's, CD's and books which are not yet available in the UK and bringing them back - one is not breaking the law there either.

Remember, VPN's are fully legal operations. They are used by corporations all the time.

The only key to remember here is to ask yourself this question: Does this service require a payment or subscription fee? If the answer is "yes", then accessing it for free is either copyright infringement, or theft, depending on the legal definition. If the content is free, then your simply on a virtual holiday abroad and watching TV

c4rv · 29-11-2012, 09:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by ovbg

Actually, that's incorrect. What you mean is that the US broadcasts and streams have a licensing deal between the content provider and the broadcaster to broadcast or stream that content only in one region (in this case the US)

That contract was signed between the broadcaster and the content provider... The viewer did not sign that contract. If I sign a contract between myself and an importer to sell sunglasses in the UK, that signing does not automatically place every other person in the planet within my legal and contractual framework - only the two sides signing it. If I then sell a pair of sunglasses to an American, it is me who is in breach of my contract, not the American buying it.

Of course it is absolutely legal for us to access that content by circumnavigating the geo-blocking, as long (and this is the very important part) we are not circumnavigating some type of paywall - in other words, accessing free content is fine.

By using the site I believe you agree to the below which clearly state you should not be bypassing their geo-filtering.

http://www.hulu.com/terms

Quote:

The Content. You may only access and view the Content personally and for a non-commercial purpose in compliance with these Terms. You may not either directly or through the use of any device, software, internet site, web-based service, or other means remove, alter, bypass, avoid, interfere with, or circumvent any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices marked on the Content or any digital rights management mechanism, device, or other content protection or access control measure associated with the Content including geo-filtering mechanisms. You may not either directly or through the use of any device, software, internet site, web-based service, or other means copy, download, stream capture, reproduce, duplicate, archive, distribute, upload, publish, modify, translate, broadcast, perform, display, sell, transmit or retransmit the Content unless expressly permitted by Hulu in writing.

ovbg · 29-11-2012, 09:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by c4rv

By using the site I believe you agree to the below which clearly state you should not be bypassing their geo-filtering.

http://www.hulu.com/terms

I stand by what I said.

I just tried the free version of Hulu, and I did not need to sign in, or agree to any terms and conditions to watch, which included access over geo-blocking. Without any agreement to anything, or any signing in process, I managed to circumnavigate the geo-block and watch a stream.

If you read my post, I was clearly talking about free content.

However, it is still an interesting point you made. What you are showing is an extract of the terms and conditions regarding the paid subscription from Hulu. Here they do specifically ask you not to circumnavigate their geo-blocking rules.

Corporate terms and conditions however, do not in any way define law and legalities, simply a company's own terms of use. As an example, I could say that replying to me now, means you agree to my terms and conditions that you will not in any way openly disagree with anything I say, and disagreeing with me would be a breach of my terms and conditions.

Likewise here, Hulu here asks you, if you are a paid subscriber, to not circumnavigate their geo-blocking rule. If you still do however, you are NOT breaking any law. You are however, breaking a term you agreed to when signing up as a customer for Hulu. The absolute most Hulu can do, is to end your subscription as no law was broken.

Very few free sites demand these terms and conditions, simply because it is not against the law, and they can't easily regulate their terms without a paid subscription. This is why on the free Hulu they don't ask you to agree to these terms before you watch - after-all, if you ignore them, they can't easily stop you from still circumnavigating their geo-block.

This is also why you are still absolutely free to disagree with me on a reply post :O) Despite you breaking the terms and conditions I set forward, there is absolutely nothing I can do to stop you. Disagreeing with me is not breaking any law.

In that case, I withdraw my terms and continue to allow free speech and dissent :O)

22-10-2012, 17:13	#1
36_Chambers Inactive Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 911	Is it legal to watch tv shows via a stream? If so where do I do it? my blu ray has broken and i need to watch boardwalk empire!

22-10-2012, 17:32	#2
Esot-eric Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 1,173	If you're talking about a US show from a legal US site then no. It's just as illegal as downloading the show (but with a generally poorer quality). In the UK illegally downloading, or illegally streaming, is still just a civil offence, so you're not going to be done for it. It's the uploading (e.g. using BitTorrent) that pushes you from a civil offence to a criminal one.

22-10-2012, 17:38	#3
stud u like Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Sunny Side Of The Street Posts: 40,105	Uploading gets you into the most trouble.

22-10-2012, 18:01	#4
XxBlaKOuTZxX Forum Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Edinburgh / Scotland Posts: 2,773	Something else Ive learned from reading the DS forums. I thought uploading or downloading were just as serious as each other. I mean it's THEFT isn't it. Your'e downloading a show or film u haven't paid for so it's still stealing isn't it. It's a minefield imo. The original uploader must have got the content from somewhere (most of the time either a BD or DVD) so he's paid for it but the downloader hasn't. I admit I know next to nothing about laws when it comes to films or tv shows. I understand that the buyer agrees not to make illegal copies of the product but the downloaders are just as bad imo. I dont condone it but perhaps if DB's and games and the like were sold cheaper then piracy wouldn't be a problem as much as it is now. I also understand that there's always going to be those that want something for nothing.

23-10-2012, 11:21	#5
Peter the Great Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 9,078	Quote: Originally Posted by Esot-eric If you're talking about a US show from a legal US site then no. It's just as illegal as downloading the show (but with a generally poorer quality). In the UK illegally downloading, or illegally streaming, is still just a civil offence, so you're not going to be done for it. It's the uploading (e.g. using BitTorrent) that pushes you from a civil offence to a criminal one. Is it illegal? It is legal to use internet proxys so I would say it is perfectly legal to watch a legal US streaming site in the UK.

23-10-2012, 12:06	#6
wakey Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 2,763	Quote: Originally Posted by Esot-eric If you're talking about a US show from a legal US site then no. It's just as illegal as downloading the show (but with a generally poorer quality). In the UK illegally downloading, or illegally streaming, is still just a civil offence, so you're not going to be done for it. It's the uploading (e.g. using BitTorrent) that pushes you from a civil offence to a criminal one. Wrong. Downloading/Streaming is not an offence as you are not distributing copyright material Uploading is Copyright infringement which is a civil offence not a criminal one. When people get in trouble for downloading/streaming its because they are using a P2P method which sees them upload the data they have downloaded to others downloading that same file. It's why the 3 Strike laws tgats been prooposed is designed the way it is. There is no criminal or civil conviction associated with them as they are laws aimed not at the end user directly but at the ISP who are technically receiving a copy of the file you are downloading, duplicating it and then sending it to you so what the ISP's are doing by agreeing to a 3 strike rule is covering their own backs

23-10-2012, 12:10	#7
wakey Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 2,763	Quote: Originally Posted by XxBlaKOuTZxX Something else Ive learned from reading the DS forums. I thought uploading or downloading were just as serious as each other. I mean it's THEFT isn't it. Your'e downloading a show or film u haven't paid for so it's still stealing isn't it. No matter what they tell you in those piracy ads on the front of DVD's it isn't theft. For it to be stealing you have to deprive the owner of the item you are taking. With digital items you aren't doing this, you are just making an exact duplicate. It is copyright infringement not theft

23-10-2012, 13:01	#8
Esot-eric Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 1,173	Quote: Originally Posted by XxBlaKOuTZxX Something else Ive learned from reading the DS forums. I thought uploading or downloading were just as serious as each other. I mean it's THEFT isn't it. Your'e downloading a show or film u haven't paid for so it's still stealing isn't it. No, it isn't stealing or theft at all. It's copyright infringement, which is a completely different thing. As wakey says stealing deprives the owner of the item, copyright infringement does not. English is a rich and finely-grained language. We have the words to describe different concepts and using the wrong ones dilutes the meaning of the words and makes communication of concepts that much more difficult. It's just like the masses calling someone who had sex with someone under-age a paedophile even if the person they had sex with wasn't pre-pubescent. Quote: Originally Posted by Peter the Great It is legal to use internet proxys so I would say it is perfectly legal to watch a legal US streaming site in the UK. Then you'd be wrong. Content is usually licensed on a geographical basis so accessing that material from outside those boundaries means you don't have a licence for it. Quote: Originally Posted by wakey Downloading/Streaming is not an offence as you are not distributing copyright material You don't need to distribute to violate copyright. The simple act of downloading/streaming material for which you don't have a licence violates it. This is only a civil offence in the UK and as an individual there's no way anyone is going to go to the effort of prosecuting you for it. Quote: Uploading is Copyright infringement which is a civil offence not a criminal one. Uploading would count as distribution of copyrighted material which automatically escalates it from a civil to criminal offence.

23-10-2012, 13:06	#9
captainkremmen Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: DAVEVILLE, Daveshire DA1 1VE Posts: 33,621	Quote: Originally Posted by Esot-eric No, it isn't stealing or theft at all. It's copyright infringement, which is a completely different thing. As wakey says stealing deprives the owner of the item, copyright infringement does not. English is a rich and finely-grained language. We have the words to describe different concepts and using the wrong ones dilutes the meaning of the words and makes communication of concepts that much more difficult. It's just like the masses calling someone who had sex with someone under-age a paedophile even if the person they had sex with wasn't pre-pubescent. Then you'd be wrong. Content is usually licensed on a geographical basis so accessing that material from outside those boundaries means you don't have a licence for it. You don't need to distribute to violate copyright. The simple act of downloading/streaming material for which you don't have a licence violates it. This is only a civil offence in the UK and as an individual there's no way anyone is going to go to the effort of prosecuting you for it. Uploading would count as distribution of copyrighted material which automatically escalates it from a civil to criminal offence. Only commercial copyright infringement is currently a criminal offence in the UK. Non commercial copyright infringement is still a civil offence, although there are proposals to change the law on that.

23-10-2012, 13:26	#10
Esot-eric Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 1,173	Quote: Originally Posted by captainkremmen Only commercial copyright infringement is currently a criminal offence in the UK. Non commercial copyright infringement is still a civil offence, although there are proposals to change the law on that. Interesting, i wasn't aware of that. Good to know i won't currently be in danger of going to prison on the few occasions i have to fall-back to BitTorrent from Usenet.

23-10-2012, 14:11	#11
Peter the Great Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 9,078	Quote: Originally Posted by Esot-eric No, it isn't stealing or theft at all. It's copyright infringement, which is a completely different thing. As wakey says stealing deprives the owner of the item, copyright infringement does not. English is a rich and finely-grained language. We have the words to describe different concepts and using the wrong ones dilutes the meaning of the words and makes communication of concepts that much more difficult. It's just like the masses calling someone who had sex with someone under-age a paedophile even if the person they had sex with wasn't pre-pubescent. Then you'd be wrong. Content is usually licensed on a geographical basis so accessing that material from outside those boundaries means you don't have a licence for it. You don't need to distribute to violate copyright. The simple act of downloading/streaming material for which you don't have a licence violates it. This is only a civil offence in the UK and as an individual there's no way anyone is going to go to the effort of prosecuting you for it. Uploading would count as distribution of copyrighted material which automatically escalates it from a civil to criminal offence. You are braking the terms and conditions of that site and that is it! You are never going to be prosocuted because it is not illegal to use a proxy. The most they could do is block your access to that site which is pretty difficult. Most of these sites don't want to Geo block but they do so to keep the greedy distributers happy. A practice that encourages more people to carry on file sharing.

23-10-2012, 15:49	#12
jjne Inactive Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 6,487	Quote: Originally Posted by Esot-eric Then you'd be wrong. Content is usually licensed on a geographical basis so accessing that material from outside those boundaries means you don't have a licence for it. No more a licence breach than buying DVDs destined for another market though.

23-10-2012, 18:31	#13
jenzie Inactive Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: BUDDIETOWN Posts: 20,385	buy a new blueray?

23-10-2012, 19:18	#14
the chimp Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: ]]]-- N.F.F.C. --[[[ Posts: 11,635	Surely if you're watching a live stream of a channel, you are not the one breaking the law, the only one breaking it is whoever uploads it.

23-11-2012, 19:01	#15
rfonzo Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 8,641	Like what most people have already said it depends of the website. Netflix is obviously reputable but the problem is that Boardwalk Empire is American and if we were in the US you could easily get it to show on whatever station it is that broadcasts it, like what we do with BBC Iplayer. Nevertheless, whenever I have tried to watch a show a US show in the past on say CBS for example, it comes up that you are in a 'restricted area.' I do not know if there is way round that at all?

23-11-2012, 19:14	#16
mooghead Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 572	http://www.movie2k.to/Boardwalk-Empi...ow-937189.html

24-11-2012, 18:14	#17
davebav50 Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Great Yarmouth Posts: 723	Quote: Originally Posted by 36_Chambers If so where do I do it? my blu ray has broken and i need to watch boardwalk empire! Its is legal to stream TV shows in the UK via a paid subscription to eg Lovefilm, Netflix, Now TV, Virgin etc. Some progs like Breaking Bad have not yet been aired in the UK but are legally streamed. Some Bluray players even have the streaming capability built in.

27-11-2012, 11:54	#18
c4rv Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Essex Posts: 16,218	Quote: Originally Posted by rfonzo Like what most people have already said it depends of the website. Netflix is obviously reputable but the problem is that Boardwalk Empire is American and if we were in the US you could easily get it to show on whatever station it is that broadcasts it, like what we do with BBC Iplayer. Nevertheless, whenever I have tried to watch a show a US show in the past on say CBS for example, it comes up that you are in a 'restricted area.' I do not know if there is way round that at all? As mentioned by several people, you need a US based proxy service to make it appear as though you are in the US.

27-11-2012, 12:33	#19
tokenting Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 547	i recommend you do not go onto these sites, normally they link feeds -- which will eventually show you the episode but after you have navigated countless adware/popups and possible viruses -- also episodes are of very poor quality. always do a malware check after going to these places. there are better methods out there without these risks -- legal; eg netflix ( with unlock us) or bit naughty ( usenet across a VPN)

27-11-2012, 13:43	#20
c4rv Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Essex Posts: 16,218	Quote: Originally Posted by tokenting i recommend you do not go onto these sites, normally they link feeds -- which will eventually show you the episode but after you have navigated countless adware/popups and possible viruses -- also episodes are of very poor quality. always do a malware check after going to these places. there are better methods out there without these risks -- legal; eg netflix ( with unlock us) or bit naughty ( usenet across a VPN) how is usenet access not worse then using a proxy to access hulu. At least with hulu your viewing gets regisitered and the appropiate people get paid.

29-11-2012, 08:23	#21
ovbg Forum Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 1,348	Quote: Originally Posted by Esot-eric Then you'd be wrong. Content is usually licensed on a geographical basis so accessing that material from outside those boundaries means you don't have a licence for it. Actually, that's incorrect. What you mean is that the US broadcasts and streams have a licensing deal between the content provider and the broadcaster to broadcast or stream that content only in one region (in this case the US) That contract was signed between the broadcaster and the content provider... The viewer did not sign that contract. If I sign a contract between myself and an importer to sell sunglasses in the UK, that signing does not automatically place every other person in the planet within my legal and contractual framework - only the two sides signing it. If I then sell a pair of sunglasses to an American, it is me who is in breach of my contract, not the American buying it. Of course it is absolutely legal for us to access that content by circumnavigating the geo-blocking, as long (and this is the very important part) we are not circumnavigating some type of paywall - in other words, accessing free content is fine. After-all, it is simply the virtual method of me flying to the US and buying DVD's, CD's and books which are not yet available in the UK and bringing them back - one is not breaking the law there either. Remember, VPN's are fully legal operations. They are used by corporations all the time. The only key to remember here is to ask yourself this question: Does this service require a payment or subscription fee? If the answer is "yes", then accessing it for free is either copyright infringement, or theft, depending on the legal definition. If the content is free, then your simply on a virtual holiday abroad and watching TV

DS Forums

Is it legal to watch tv shows via a stream?

29-11-2012, 09:28	#22
c4rv Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Essex Posts: 16,218	Quote: Originally Posted by ovbg Actually, that's incorrect. What you mean is that the US broadcasts and streams have a licensing deal between the content provider and the broadcaster to broadcast or stream that content only in one region (in this case the US) That contract was signed between the broadcaster and the content provider... The viewer did not sign that contract. If I sign a contract between myself and an importer to sell sunglasses in the UK, that signing does not automatically place every other person in the planet within my legal and contractual framework - only the two sides signing it. If I then sell a pair of sunglasses to an American, it is me who is in breach of my contract, not the American buying it. Of course it is absolutely legal for us to access that content by circumnavigating the geo-blocking, as long (and this is the very important part) we are not circumnavigating some type of paywall - in other words, accessing free content is fine. By using the site I believe you agree to the below which clearly state you should not be bypassing their geo-filtering. http://www.hulu.com/terms Quote: The Content. You may only access and view the Content personally and for a non-commercial purpose in compliance with these Terms. You may not either directly or through the use of any device, software, internet site, web-based service, or other means remove, alter, bypass, avoid, interfere with, or circumvent any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices marked on the Content or any digital rights management mechanism, device, or other content protection or access control measure associated with the Content including geo-filtering mechanisms. You may not either directly or through the use of any device, software, internet site, web-based service, or other means copy, download, stream capture, reproduce, duplicate, archive, distribute, upload, publish, modify, translate, broadcast, perform, display, sell, transmit or retransmit the Content unless expressly permitted by Hulu in writing.

29-11-2012, 09:45	#23
ovbg Forum Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 1,348	Quote: Originally Posted by c4rv By using the site I believe you agree to the below which clearly state you should not be bypassing their geo-filtering. http://www.hulu.com/terms I stand by what I said. I just tried the free version of Hulu, and I did not need to sign in, or agree to any terms and conditions to watch, which included access over geo-blocking. Without any agreement to anything, or any signing in process, I managed to circumnavigate the geo-block and watch a stream. If you read my post, I was clearly talking about free content. However, it is still an interesting point you made. What you are showing is an extract of the terms and conditions regarding the paid subscription from Hulu. Here they do specifically ask you not to circumnavigate their geo-blocking rules. Corporate terms and conditions however, do not in any way define law and legalities, simply a company's own terms of use. As an example, I could say that replying to me now, means you agree to my terms and conditions that you will not in any way openly disagree with anything I say, and disagreeing with me would be a breach of my terms and conditions. Likewise here, Hulu here asks you, if you are a paid subscriber, to not circumnavigate their geo-blocking rule. If you still do however, you are NOT breaking any law. You are however, breaking a term you agreed to when signing up as a customer for Hulu. The absolute most Hulu can do, is to end your subscription as no law was broken. Very few free sites demand these terms and conditions, simply because it is not against the law, and they can't easily regulate their terms without a paid subscription. This is why on the free Hulu they don't ask you to agree to these terms before you watch - after-all, if you ignore them, they can't easily stop you from still circumnavigating their geo-block. This is also why you are still absolutely free to disagree with me on a reply post :O) Despite you breaking the terms and conditions I set forward, there is absolutely nothing I can do to stop you. Disagreeing with me is not breaking any law. In that case, I withdraw my terms and continue to allow free speech and dissent :O)