If you type “watch online” after any movie title in google, you can find a tonne of free streaming sites.
But i’v always wanted to know how it operates. If a movie is just released, there is usually a cam version of the film where someone is recording the screen. Then after a while they get a HD version. Usually before I ever see it advertised on a legit streaming service. How do they get the HD copy so quick?
And how do they keep the websites running? Shouldn’t they be getting shut down every time for illegal streaming?
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ta
In: Other
The HD copies:
Sometimes they’re screeners. You’ll see “for your viewing pleasure” or “for the viewing of XYZ Association only” or something like that at the bottom. These are advance copies of the film given to whoever – awards committees, media (so they can have a review day1 when the film drops), ratings committees, etc. There’s a process to hand copies of these films out and somewhere along the way, someone steals or bribes someone for a copy.
Sometimes, they’re stolen from the production company itself. Same as above.
Sometimes, esp when they’re released much much later (like a few months after), they’re ripped froom DVDs/ Blueray/ Streaming sites. These are a bit harder for a layperson to do (and also illegal), but there are plenty of people who are skilled enough to do this.
The websites:
Ads.
And yea they’re also illegal. The problem is that unless someone says something (send a C&D), most people including the webhosts just don’t care. This happens in the anime world often too. A site uploads videos, and liters the site with ads (pop-ups and the like). Sometimes they go under the radar long enough to amass a huge collection. Then someone spots them and sends a C&D or DMCA takedown to the webhost so they shut the site down. Then they start up again on a different site, and the cycle repeats. If it’s egregious enough, they try to file a case IF they can, but this rarely happens (since, as you’ve noticed, there are tons of them, and everyone you take down another just pop up the next day).
They are illegal.
They operate out of locations where it’s not possible to prosecute them for what they’re doing or the authorities just don’t care.
They do get shutdown. They just pop up on a different provider. Sometimes with a different URL though it is clearly the exactly same site. How they get paid is selling ad space and hosting malware.
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