here's a good question.

[bigfilsing]

If i pay for the TV channel ( start hub) and watch, for example prison break. But i prefer to download it on utorrent and watch it in better quality and without the adverts am i breaking the law??
I mean i've paid for it ( via my subscripton to starhub)

[durain]

tricky question!

i think it's all down to copyright. the version on starhub is copyright for you as a starhub customer. but the copy on BT is not copyright for starhub, therefore you could be breaking copyright law.

using BT itself is not illegal, depending what you are downloading.

[bigfilsing]

Yes OK. but i have paid for the privilage of watching the show. I just chose to watch it from a torrent. i've still paid for it.

I feel the TV show world is stuck in the old way of distribution. would i pay for torrents from the owner? yes i would.

It's taken the music industry forever to wise up. Way too late. There's so many illegal mp3 files out there it's untrue.

So many issues here. Does Bono deserve to be a superstar cos he can sing and write songs. rubbish. Why doesn;t the car mechanic down the road earn as much.?
It's the distributors making money protecting the artist that makes CD's 40 or 50 bucks ....way out of date
If a show is good of course i'd pay for it. but i need the choice ??
Don't need some starhub ripping me off for crap quality while pretending to serve us !!!

[ksl]

Unfortunately, you also know what the courts are like too, so if you are looking to convince yourself, that it's legal, try banging your head on the wall ha! No wonder we don't hear much to you anymore, your to busy downloading and looking out of the window

[bigfilsing]

Unfortunately, you also know what the courts are like too, so if you are looking to convince yourself, that it's legal, try banging your head on the wall ha! No wonder we don't hear much to you anymore, your to busy downloading and looking out of the window

Did you miss me Nah i've just been very busy last few months.

I'm not trying to convince myself at all . I know i'd be on thin ice come the day! But i still think it's a valid point

So lets say i record the TV show. Then watch it in the future. Then lend it to somebody who also has star hub but missed that show on the night.
We've both paid for the privilage We both have the right to see the show, record the show.

The tricky bit is if i download a show that will never be on TV in Singapore.
Not sure about that one.

Torrents is my only real option at the moment.
I'd be happy to download them from the TV producer for a fee. Kinda like itunes shop but then for TV shows.

[ksl]

True it is a valid point!

So lets say i record the TV show. Then watch it in the future. Then lend it to somebody who also has star hub but missed that show on the night.

I believe when one pays, it is applicable only to that downloaded address, and from the one licenced supplier or provider. A little like music being played at a radio station, they have to pay the royalties for broadcasting.

So therefore if you download from BT without paying the TV broadcasting send/recieve licence, you would be liable, even if you had paid Starhub.

The issue is with distribution rights, and once you have downloaded, you may not loan it out to your neighbour, because he/she will not have paid for the right to see it, unless you charge them, then the royalties are not passed on.

Personally there are far too many hangers on in the food chain, that i don't care... if they get their royalties or not, entertainment after all is gods gift, so why should we pay the individual and their egos

[Splatted]

You would think that having paid your hard earned money for cable content, that downloading a missed episode via a torrent would be legal. Unfortunately it isn't.

We can take the argument a step further and talk about free-to-air tv, such as channel 5 and channel 8. Many shows appear on these (including Prison Break) and we don't need to pay a cent to watch content via analogue transmission.

However, go to mobtv, where you can download missed episodes of home-grown tv content, and you quickly find out that:

a) You have to pay for it to view it
b) What you pay, only lets you view over a certain time period, ie a licence and not ownership of the files, and finally,
c) Files are crippled with DRM protection, which enforces viewing to the subscription time period as well as to users with the correct licence password.

Strictly speaking recording tv content is also a breach of copyright, although this is not regulated or monitored. Yes, Starhub sell set-top boxes that allow recording but again this is a licence you pay for in your subscription which allows for 'delayed viewing'.

As you probably also know, it's illegal to own Satellite receiver equipment in Singapore. Is it purely a security issue, or the fact that people would be able to completely circumvent and watch tv content for free? I think money is the biggest issue.

Other questionable options that exist are the TVUPlayer, which lets you watch TV internationally via the internet. Legal or not? We, the viewer would say yes after all we pay for our internet subscriptions. Naturally the cable providers would say no, as it's in their financial interest to say so.