this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2023
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Piracy: ꜱᴀɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪɢʜ ꜱᴇᴀꜱ
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Hijacking this comment cause more people REALLY need to know about Debrid services, such as Real-Debrid. It "caches" torrents, so anything you want can be downloaded instantly at your connection's maximum bandwidth; no waiting for seeds. And since you're not distributing anything, you don't have to pay for a VPN, either.
EDIT: It's kind of like a seed box, except it's more of a collective seed box. So if at least one user added the torrent before, you can download it immediately.
I have a Gigabit connection and was able to download three different AAA titles, 50+ GB each, play all of them, then decide that I don't like any of them, all within a couple of hours. It's mind-blowing how much faster it is than using a torrent client.
Even better, you can integrate it with your favorite media center app like Plex or Kodi (personally I prefer Stremio for its Netflix-like interface). Now you have every show and film from every streaming platform -- all in one place -- streamed instantly to your TV. I'll never use torrent clients ever again. They take too long.
EDIT: It bothers me that so many people are willing to dismiss Debrid services without even giving them a chance. Here's proof that this is legit -- /r/Piracy megathread on reddit | Video 1 | Video 2 (sorry for the shaky phone video. I just wanted to get this evidence out quickly before people move on to a different thread, and it's kinda difficult to have a steady hand when you're trying to film and click at the same time.)
The "too good to be true" sell and complete lack of detail / pricing on their website is sketchy imo. I'm immediately suspicious of any org that profits off of piracy in such an opaque way
Bro, you have no idea what you're turning down. I get it; on the surface it does seem sus. I was suspicious too until I tried it. Debrid is an absolute game-changer. It's kind of like a seed box, except it's more like a collective seed box. So if at least one user added the torrent before, you can download it immediately.
I don't know what you mean by "lack of detail / pricing" on their website. The pricing is laid out very clearly, and there's not a lot of explanation cause it's really that simple. (EDIT: Looks like you need to make a free account to see the pricing; I'll admit that's stupid). So here's a screenshot:
https://i.imgur.com/5LQehRp.png
You don't have to use Real-Debrid. I just mentioned them cause they're the most popular. Google "Debrid services" for alternatives. There's also a megathread on reddit.
I get the "never pay for piracy" argument, but with torrents you need a VPN to keep your ISP off your ass, so at the end of the day, you're paying for piracy regardless. Debrid is cheaper than a VPN.
It bothers me so much that you're not willing to give it a shot, that I made a video to show you how fast, easy, and convenient it is. And here's another video of me streaming a movie almost instantly, in case you still think I'm full of shit. (Videos might still be processing when you see this, so try again later if the quality is too low for you to see what I'm doing.)
Idk, I've been using the free tier of torrents (except for a VPN, which I'd have anyway) and never not downloaded close to my full speed. Don't really know how what you say beats that.
Also btw if you load sequentially and first and last pieces first you can start watching your downloaded files immediately with any normal torrent. DL speed just has to be faster than total playtime of what you're watching.
Even if that were true, Debrid services are still faster. Torrents can take a minute or two even get started in torrent clients. Debrid is instant, even if the torrent doesn't have a lot of seeds. Think of it like a shared seedbox, where anyone can add to/download from it. And like I said, it's cheaper than a VPN.
But whatever, do what you want. If you don't want to try it, that's on you. I literally offered to pay for it, and you still won't give it a shot it. I give up.
(Some people, man.)
As I said, since I have a VPN anyway, torrents are literally free for me. I believe you, I just don't want to pay for another service.
Alright fine. I hope I managed to convince at least one other person, though...
Also the other problem I have is that when I start paying for a piracy service, then when the service gets busted and I'm in any way identifiable as their customer, I might very easily be in legal trouble. With a VPN at least you have plausible deniability that you're using it just to stay as private as possible.
Just wanted to chime in and say I was a skeptic till a few days ago. I tried the $4 30 day plan to see if it was for me, and wow, I'm amazed.
I did it for stremio as I don't have the storage to keep up with local hosting and it's simple for the non technical members of the house.
Blown away by how much faster it was to play a full 4k HDR stream with atmos. It was buffering like mad before. I'm a believer now.
Thank you. I was worried that I was shouting at brick walls for a moment.
I also use Stremio with Real-Debrid. The girlfriend knows nothing about piracy, but Stremio is so easy and convenient that my mother could use it. She uses it almost daily to watch anime that she can't find on Crunchyroll.
People are suspicious cause it does sound too good to be true; I get it. Being able to stream any 4K HDR video you want without buffering seems unbelievable. It's a little frustrating cause I always seem to get downvoted by a bunch of skeptics every time I bring up Debrid. Maybe cause I come on too hard and sound like an advertisement, but I can't help but be fanatical about it. It's just so much better than any other method for obtaining free content!
I think people are also reluctant to pay for piracy.
Absolutely understandable, this was my hold up for a long time. I believe it really depends on your setup, what I had before wasn't working as well as I wanted to and this was my solution. Unfortunately, I don't have the means for local storage, so this was the next best thing for me.
I'm just in the mindset of the fact that I went from $40 a month paying for my streaming services to $40 a year for this plus my VPN.
Buddy,
I saw your post by chance. I am an old sailor of the seven seas (15+ years) and torrent (with a seedbox) has been my favored ship for years. But I did à test with your solution: what a breeze it is (even for me who watch movies with french subtitles)
Thanks for putting that much energy in explaining and convincing that stremio + RD is a very convenient tool; it indeed is.
Use whatever works for you.
The *arr + torrent client setup just works so well, I can't be bothered to change it. The *arr software automatically picks out good torrents that are the format you requested and that are seeded. I never really saw it not saturate my connection. For movies, I have to wait a few minutes (depending on file size and my own connection speed). For TV shows, new episodes are downloaded automatically as soon as they are released, so I just have to select the episode under "new episodes" in my media center app on whatever device I'm on.
Even if I were to use a debrid service, I'd probably still use a VPN for it because I wouldn't want them to log my real IP.
If that works for you, that's absolutely fine. No judgment. You do you.
All I want is for people to know that there's another alternative to torrent clients and VPNs. That said, use what you're comfortable with, but if I can convince even one person that there's a better way, then my job here is done.
I have nothing to gain from my little crusade; I didn't even post an affiliate link even though the option is there. Just trying to inform those who are interested. There's no wrong way to sail the high seas, just faster routes to your destination. ;)
Edit: And BTW, your IP logging concerns were addressed in the reddit thread I linked to.
Can you point me to where my concerns are addressed? I read the following:
How does this address my concerns of the service itself logging my IP address though?
Logging IP addr and payment details unless they take monero.*
Can confirm, it's pretty great. I use it with Syncler. It can be a pain to setup, but once it works, you're golden.