From the IP holders point of view: Netflix streaming content they don't have the right to because the subscriber is using a VPN is no different than piracy.

The subscriber is just paying a middleman (netflix) for it. But they see no money for it. This is because one company doesn't typically hold the IP rights world wide.

Why does paying the wrong people make it better?

>I mean at this point the only reason people would want to use Netflix is feeling guilty about pirating.

That's ridiculous.

None of these streaming services offer quality streams. Terribly compressed "1080"p with some silly 2.1 downmix. There's more to Netflix than just "guilty". It's a genuine source for a relatively high quality material.

Availability beats quality. Given the choice between not watching anything because it's not in your Netflix region, and streaming/torrenting, most people would choose the latter.

I'm not disputing that. I am arguing that given the choice of full Netflix library and the pirate streaming alternatives, there are more reasons to choose Netflix (or iTunes or Amazon) than just convenience.

Yeah, if you want quality, use Usenet.

Usenet has become a cesspool of removed content and malware infected fakes for the most part (some password protected private posters exist, I am aware). It has become too famous for its own good. Private torrent trackers is where it's for me.

Use Sonarr and CouchPotato, it does all the work for you, if something fails it just gets another copy. You don't touch anything, just wait a few minutes and it works its magic. For TV at least, it's the perfect set up.

If you're having takedown issues though you need a better provider.

To be honest, I am good with the torrent trackers I have now. I have found the ones that take care of my niche interests (remux, usually).

> I mean at this point the only reason people would want to use Netflix is feeling guilty about pirating.

I don't think my Panasonic TV has a Popcorn Time app. Or my phone, for that matter.

You can get Fire TV or similar and install Kodi on it. You can also install it directly on many other Smart TVs (I know it is possible on Samsung) but it might take more effort.

Popcorn Time has both an iPhone and Android port.

He was talking about his TV, which is unlikely to run iOS or Android. Even the TVs with Android probably cannot run all Android apps, you have to specifically target TVs.

I was addressing the "phone" part of it, really. PopcornTime works fine on phones.

(I easily sideloaded it onto a set-top Android box, it works fine but you need a mouse or trackpad to navigate the interface. I think it would work fine on any semi-recent Android version)

Exactly, you're entitled to take what you want when you want for nothing :/

Pirating is not stealing, at most it is a lost sale for them.

If I want to watch a movie, am willing to pay and they don't make it available to me, what can I do? They wouldn't get my money either way. They are hurting themselves.

Wait, I always thought Netflix was a payed service?