Forum

Fallout2man wrote:

Sure you could decrypt the files and burn them to DVD, but that is very illegal, and why bother having to buy a burner, blank media and a case that will look horrible or bland just to back up your twelve downloaded episodes of Naruto (which while you bought them legally you are still breaking the law by backing up)

Maybe in the US but it's perfectly legal to back up your media in most of the developed world provided you don't distribute the back up to anyone else.

Fallout2man wrote:

Ad-supported makes more sense, why? Because it's more of an apples to apples approach. People like TV, they watch TV and even if it isn't always the best, it presents the content most people want in a format they'll accept and in the end people get paid. TV is a service, and internet TV is also a service, both are quasi-free (free to us, but they make money anyway.)

Agreed. Given the numbers downloading anime, why not provide it free at a higher picture and translation quality than fansubbers can provide and make money from advertising in addition to later sales of DVDs to collectors and dub fans?
Done right, it could see a complete reversal of current trends in the anime industry and put the pirates and bootleggers out of business in a stroke.

The only problems are (a) providing the content in a streaming format that prevents viewers from fast forwarding through the commercial break and (b) getting to a point at which hidebound Japanese corporations can get their heads round such a concept.

Moomintroll wrote:

Maybe in the US but it's perfectly legal to back up your media in most of the developed world provided you don't distribute the back up to anyone else.

Most developed nations actually have a DMCA-alike, such as the EUCD for Europe. There are some vague differences but for the most part bypassing technological protection measures is banned except in smaller developing nations that don't have huge trade agreements. The USA unfortunately has done a pretty good job of tying IP law requirements to its trade agreements with, well, everyone.

Quote:

Agreed. Given the numbers downloading anime, why not provide it free at a higher picture and translation quality than fansubbers can provide and make money from advertising in addition to later sales of DVDs to collectors and dub fans?
Done right, it could see a complete reversal of current trends in the anime industry and put the pirates and bootleggers out of business in a stroke.

There'd still be piracy (there always will be), but it'd become largely irrelevent. You wouldn't even need to make anything signifigantly better than a fansubber. Most people just want a decent value, free at good quality will convince most people to forgo legal risks.

Quote:

The only problems are (a) providing the content in a streaming format that prevents viewers from fast forwarding through the commercial break and (b) getting to a point at which hidebound Japanese corporations can get their heads round such a concept.

You can prevent fast forewarding by using something similar to a java or flash-based player that locks the controls. A lot of websites already use this format for their videos. It doesn't need to be super complex, just good enough most people would rather just deal with it then take a hassle to get around it.

Another way to prevent fast forwarding is to only load a portion of the show at a time, and then have a commercial break while the next portion loads. Abc.com uses this format and I think it works great. I get to watch free content at my own pleasure with a negligible inconvenience.