tv-links.co.uk Shut Down

[Stupot]

I like that Covox.

It show's that not everybody who downloads music/video's etc (in my case i tend to watch streams) is necessarily a tight-wad who keeps his wallet in a locked chest under his bed.  Sometimes its necessary to check things out before deciding if it's worth buying.  If that means downloading a couple of tracks, then so be it.

When it comes to video, yeh sure I watched the first half of Heroes season 1 on tv-links, but now that BBC2 has caught up to where I was I'm gonna carry on watching it on there (the quality's ten times better anyway) and I fully intend on buying it on DVD, and i can wait for season 2.

I also watched a few movies on there, but more often than not, actually they were movies that I've already bought on video at one point or another... Pink Floyd's The Wall, Pi, Crouching Tiger.. I watched them because I was in a different  country but fancied watching them and it would have been foolhardy to buy them again or have them shipped to Japan from home just to watch them again.

Another film I watched on there was The Cube... I'd never seen any of these films before and since watching that out of interest I now plan to buy the whole trilogy as soon as I'm earning... I would never be thinking about buying them had I not seen it on tv-links...  so in one way, the makers of The Cube films will benefit from tv-links when I  buy their films.

[Sparky]

I agree with others here that record and TV companies have yet to come up with a good answer to the problems and opportunities presented by internet distribution. Here's food for thought- the companies that make 3D (and 2D) art programs have for years used a strategy that seems like a good fit for today's market:

Art programs are sold at a different price to each buyer. Students get extremely low prices, schools get reasonable but reduced pricing, and professionals pay full price. Most companies also offer a limited functionality version for free, but only for non-commercial use.

Obviously the same strategy wouldn't work for music or TV shows, but it's only a matter of time until a new sales model emerges. For instance the television network NBC puts all their programming online for free, supported by banner ads. Unfortunately the same can't be said for game distribution. All that seems to be happening in that arena is an arms race between anti-piracy measures and the cracks/warez community.

[Nikolas]

Sorry to bring this up, and for those who took part in the discussion this may come as a shock, but... hey a man should be able to think for himself outside himself.

I was wondering if watching tv-links is illegal in any chance. And I've decided that not only it isn't but it is preferable. Here in the UK (and in Greece with a simmilar system) you get the tv license (= money to the BBC that noone watches). This entitles you to have a tv in your house or your computer and watch whatever you want. BBC, Sky, Virgin, etc. So why not tv-links?

Under the above idea, I have little trouble thiking that I did use it occasionaly, and if the chance comes will use it again.

The trouble comes if you check if tv-links (the owners) too the permission to broadcast those channels. I'm 100% sure that sky pays to get all those channels, same with Virgin (of course they get the money back by the monthly subscription). So if tv-links (which either way had a strong legal case, as we did examine earlier), had not paid to get those channels, then it is briching copyright. (even if tv-links was just a database, as voh mentioned and blah blah, to which I agree).

Sorry for the bump, but had to get it out of my chest.

[Stupot]

This entitles you to have a tv in your house or your computer...

Hold up... You're not allowed a computer without a TV license?
Didn't know that... and think it's outrageous if it's true.

[Nikolas]

sorry, it entitles you to use your computer as a TV. Sorry... 

[Stupot]

Sorry to resurrect it seeing as it was halfway down page 2, but I thought some people might like to know I've come across a site very similar to tv-links and just as useful (if not quite as pretty to look at).

http://www.alluc.org

Sorry if everybody already knows this site, but I didn't, and I figured that it must be news to someone else as well as me, so if you're that person then I'm sharing it with you.