Has it been shown that it is illegal to sell video that has been recorded off of commercial television? Is it viewed as selling the content, or the convenience of having it recorded?

Is this what you mean?

http://cgi.ebay.com/THE-KILLER-CRITE...QQcmdZViewItem

Just for the record, the dvd I got was Without Warning (1980), one of the AWFULEST movies ever made, but, I saw it as a kid on HBO and it warms my heart to see it again.

I know it's illegal, I just DON'T CARE.

Right now I am watching a movie on a tv that I illegally spilt off the downstairs cable, so, you can see I am an anarchist.

Extreme measures usually reflect low income. When you start making more money, you'll want to pay for your cable and legit DVDs.

I'd say so. the seller has about 3 "sealed, brand new, not a bootleg" discs he's selling at the moment.

I think most of us agree when it comes to pirate copies or bootlegs of movies that are available through official releases. As I said before, it's the thousands that remain unreleased in any video format, many of which I want to see, and might wait my whole never being able to if I were to wait for an official release. In that case, I have no problem buying the most quality version of the film I can find at a price I'm willing to pay. If the studio later decides to release the film, I almost invariably buy that version as well. And I think most film fans would do the same.


Thankfully, many people inside the industry whose welfare you're trying to protect don't have the same ethical integrity as you.

Do you think the massive video collections of Tarantino and DePalma are made up exclusively of official releases?

When Scorsese tells his assistant to get him a copy of Park Row, so he can incorporate some techniques from it into the movie he's making, do you think he cares that he's breaking the law?

If someone is writing an essay on the films of Edgar Ulmer, should they only be able to view the films that are officially released or in public domain?

I respect your stance and am not trying to be combative with you personally, and I also don't like these people who brag about how many Netflix DVDs they've burned and how they'd never pay $50 for a DVD set when they get a bootleg for $15, etc. But those morons shouldn't be grouped in with anyone who knowingly purchases a bootleg tape or DVD of a movie he can't elsewhere.

I agree, Ripley. I kind of feel sorry for those who simply refuse to buy anything unofficial, since it's an undeniable fact that some movies simply will NEVER be released on DVD. If they're okay with doing without I guess that's their prerogative, but I still think it's sad for people to keep waiting for something that'll never come.

I despise people who "rent & burn" just to avoid paying for DVDs, as well as pirates who sell copies of existing DVDs or bootlegs of films currently in theaters that you know damn well will be on DVD in a few months just to make a buck. That's where the diamond metaphor comes in. The people I just mentioned are the ones selling fake diamonds, since there really are genuine diamonds, but people are coming in with fake ones to capitalize on the demand for the real thing, and they don't care that they're misleading people.

PDTV kind of falls into the other category, where there isn't an actual example of the item, so as opposed to capitalizing on demand, it's more a matter of filling a hole in the market. Since many PDTV titles come from existing VHS, Beta, or Laserdisc releases, you could certainly argue that the diamond metaphor still fits, since there are genuine examples out there, rare though they may be. That being the case, PDTV is more like a legitimate jeweler selling cubic zirconia jewelry. Sure, you'd like to have a diamond, but they're rare and expensive. There's also an added dimension that transcends the diamond metaphor -- if you're going to strictly adhere to a policy of buying only official product and price is no object, you can track down the original VHS, Beta or Laserdisc (plus the equipment on which to play them) and have a clear conscience. The alternative of course is to buy the DVD equivalent of a cubic zirconia, in that the title doesn't actually exist on DVD, but there does exist an official Laserdisc or videotape if you have the time and money to track one down and buy it, and don't mind maintaining special equipment just to play it. You also of course assume the risk that the equipment will break down without the ability to buy parts, or that the media itself will cease to play properly.

The most important thing to remember is that like jewelers who sell cubic zirconia, PDTV is always 100% transparent about what buyers are getting, and of course there's the fact that we mostly just trade anyway.