I'm baffled at the amount of users arguing that piracy is easier than those streaming services.
It feels like such a mental gimmick.
1) finding and downloading torrents requires know-how
2) finding and downloading subtitles that match the audio is often a chore and requires know-how, often time consuming
3) using a decent player on most devices and finding the files on the filesystem requires know-how, especially on mobile devices
While I understand that users on HackerNews are more tech savvy and don't find any of those particularly troublesome, to compare it to the ease of launching Netflix is just mental gymnastics. Average users won't find any of this convenient and will require to acquire know how in search engines and setting up players.
You're behind the times. These days piracy is available through a Netflix-like interface, without any buffering, subtitles are automatically loaded in from all major websites like OpenSubtitles, and this experience is shared across all platforms (desktop, smart TVs, mobile).
It requires a bit of up-front setup (no more than 30 minutes if you're tech savvy and pick one of the less friendly options), but it really is easier than Netflix on a daily basis.
I don't think this is the right forum to discuss this in depth. Paid Plex sharing used to be great and required no setup at all, but they started cracking down on huge Plex servers.
Kodi doesn't offer the best UX in this space [1], but certain addons 4 kodi should at least set you on the right path. (:
I should mention that this isn't a free solution. It's inexpensive, but someone still needs to be paid to provide the bandwidth for a smooth experience, typically $5/mo or less.
At least for the last point i can recommend jellyfin. It has a web interface, a android tv app and an iphone app. I use it on my phone, tv and in the browser.
It feels like such a mental gimmick.
1) finding and downloading torrents requires know-how
2) finding and downloading subtitles that match the audio is often a chore and requires know-how, often time consuming
3) using a decent player on most devices and finding the files on the filesystem requires know-how, especially on mobile devices
While I understand that users on HackerNews are more tech savvy and don't find any of those particularly troublesome, to compare it to the ease of launching Netflix is just mental gymnastics. Average users won't find any of this convenient and will require to acquire know how in search engines and setting up players.