FACT

[deathboy]

Interesting, if not surprising, to see after being taken down, TV-Links is being characterised (by FACT) as profitable, and OiNK as "lucrative".

I've not used OiNK, and I can't remember entirely if TV-Links had ads, but even if it did, I would venture a gues that they barely offset the hosting costs of such popular sites.

As I say, I didn't go on OiNK, but if it's like any one of the long list of torrent sites I'm a member of, far from making a profit from donations, they depend on them to soften the server rental and rarely break even.

I'm pretty sure that TV-Links did not, as reported, allow you to download anything, too, but again... I can't act surprised that people can't be bothered fact-checking and have swallowed FACT press-releases.

I wonder if FACT did, knowing his contact details, ever try talking to the TV-Links guy instead of just showing up and arresting him? And, as this article mentions, I wonder how they justify not going after Google (who own YouTube), but snapping up this small-fry (who won't be able to afford quite as robust a legal defence) instead...

Rather than improve their business practices, they make criminals of us all. Roll up, roll up, to buy your DRM-laden tracks and re-buy your favourite movies on this year's new format. Watch shows on TV, because we love the ad revenue, but don't you dare get interested in any streams we don't control. Piracy funds terrorism! You're all guilty, all of you! Wait... wait... come back... where did they go?

Comments

[ephemera.livejournal.com]

tv links was streamed, rather than downloads, as I recall...

[stevek.livejournal.com]

As ephemera correctly pointed out, not only did TV-Links stream the programmes, in fact (IIRC) they merely provided the links to other sites which hosted the actual content.

Therefore, FACT have only busted the middleman in all this. I recall watching Heroes via TV-Links and often ended up watching it via a Japanese website.

I've been at a Film Fair which got raided by FACT, they only targetted one retailer who was selling film merchandise rather than dodgy DVDs (which were in abundance if you knew where to look).

[emmelinemay.livejournal.com]

Tv-links offered nothing to download, and hosted nothing themselves. It was, in effect, a portal site, merely linking to content on other sites, for example tudou, which is like you tube, as far as i can tell, but I can't read the site for obvious reasons!

Your not the first to point out that google video/youtube are getting away with it here - they seem to be deliberately targeting the individuals who are easily threatened. Even if they have done nothing wrong, Big Business can bankrupt them easily by dragging out legal threats as long as possible.

I've said this SO many times this week, on LJ, in conversations both on line and in person - the media industries need to CATCH UP. They need to realise that people WANT to watch TV online. They WANT to download films. They WANT music on mp3 format. And these people aren't fools, and they know how much this information is worth, and how much they are willing to pay for it.

I only hope that more bands follow Radiohead + the Charlatans lead, and make their music freely available (or at least for nominal charge) which sends a clear message to the record companies in between - We Do Not Need You.

Demand for online tv/music/films won't 'go away' by getting rid of the 'pirates'. The pirates feed a demand which is already there, which is not being met by those with the money and the technology to do it.

All for the sake of power, control and revenue, eh?

I miss TV-Links :(

[shesmymonkey.livejournal.com]

Streamed. Used TV-Links a lot, here. And anything else I'd say has been said.

It's at this sort of time I can start on about having just been made redundant because people are proving that they'd rather watch tv/listen to tracks from the 'net than buy them from my place of employment. And I don't see why not either. It's a convenient method, I must admit I prefer shopping in a town/city but for convenience and price of public transport or parking and petrol to get to said town, internet wins!!! I mean, it's even free in all my local libraries of which there is one by my home.

If people like you and I can figure out the middle-man from the actual content-streamers, why can't the system figure that out and arrest the right person?

[markeris.livejournal.com]

It`s scum like this that stop decent hard working people from being able to shove cocaine up their noses whilst braying at each other over their new reality hit "your life is shit you awful proley scum, just look at you, you make us sick". So well done FACT.

[lineoutrecords.livejournal.com]

Better coverage:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/23/tv_links_trademark_law/

[markeris.livejournal.com]

Also "CLIP!" (shouted in same fashion as Choon).

Is there anything that Matt Berry can`t make better?

[aazell.livejournal.com]

Funny innit.

The music industry were in denial when they nailed Napster.
It didn't work for them and they had to conceed that making MP3's available for a small fee was the way to go.

Now it's happening with TV and movies. They have learned nothing!

[smarriveurr.livejournal.com]

After about a decade, Old Media still can't admit that people don't want to rip them off - people just don't want to be ripped off themselves. There are any number of people out there who'd gladly pay a reasonable fee to watch a silly TV program online. They just don't want to buy the stupid thing so they can watch it Wednesday morning instead of Thursday night...

But, no, if you don't want to pay for ridiculous levels of packaging and feature creep and advertisement etc, if you'd rather pay a reasonable cost for the actual product you're buying (that is, the half hour of entertainment etc), you're an insane criminal. You have to wait for the show's xth Series Box Set and buy the 5 DVDs with blooper reels and story boards, promos for other programs, subtitles in 8 languages and commentary from the actor, the director, the producer, and the producer's cousin's gardener, for the low-low price of sixty quid... If you don't... the terrorists win!

AND ALSO!

[smarriveurr.livejournal.com]

A Cleveland Police spokesman said: "This ... creative scheme consisted of a private file-sharing website being set up."

Hi. Police, this is the internet, internet, this is the police force. Familiarize yourselves. At least vaguely, please. Howabout "This completely unsurprising idea"?

[nevalicori.livejournal.com]

“YOU WOULDN'T SHOOT A POLICEMAN”

[devalmont.livejournal.com]

Fucks me right off. And what fucks me right off the most is that I pay for a TV Licence. So Therefore I have the right to watch all this shit anyway, just at a different time. But if everyone in the world videod 'My Name is Earl' and watched it back at a later time, what difference would it be to watching it on TV Links? Fucking none.