Jose has issues with his 4K HDR TV connected to Roku Ultra. He's getting HDCP copy protection errors. Leo says that copy protection never stops pirates. He can even order a box that strips copy protection from Amazon. So what's the point? All it does is punish those who follow the rules.
Martin wants to build a video channel that he can monetize. Leo says it's really hard to create a paywall to charge for videos because people can easily pirate content. People can password-protect, sure, but Leo found it's just simpler and better to give away advertiser-supported content. But there are companies that do it. Brightcove, Starforce, Sprout Video. The best way to do it is to do stream content live and charge for it.
According to a recent report, 11 million streamers are mooching off of other streamers by using their passwords. One in three shares their login with someone else. The report also saw that Millenials are more likely to share, causing a billion in lost revenue.
Janet wants to cut the cable. She's heard of the StreamSmart TV box. Does Leo know anything about it? Leo says that there's a lot of boxes for sale on the internet that pirate content online. The StreamSmart TV box is one of them. Leo recommends getting a Roku device and YouTubeTV. But if you think you'll save money cutting the cord, it's not really going to happen. Internet access. Over the top live TV. A premium channel here or there. Netflix. Next thing you know, you're paying $200 a month again. It all adds up.
Carlos would like to cut the cord with DirecTV, but he has 2TB of movies on their service. How can he get them? Is NitroTV a good deal? Leo says that NitroTV is an over the top service, and it sounds a bit suspicious. They charge just $20 and you get everything including premium channels? How can that be when HBO charges $15 a month? And they're offering all channels for no extra charge? No way that isn't piracy.
Jim wants to use an app called Morpheus, but it can't be installed through the Google Play Store. He's been told he needs to be in Developer Mode to install an app from somewhere else. Leo says that's a bad idea because it'll make his Chromebook less secure. Not all apps are approved for ChromeOS. If he can't install it and run it directly from the Google Play store, he shouldn't do it.
John has heard of a small stick like the Fire Stick that can pickup local TV stations. Leo says it's a hacked Amazon Fire Stick that has been modded to include Kodi. It has software that can also pirate pay TV services. So, it's very illegal. And the legitimate live TV channels are from overseas, like the Croatian Soccer League. Not the NFL.
George is having issues viewing images on Google Images and downloading them. Leo says that was due to users not buying clipart anymore when they can simply go to Google Images and download them for free. He can still save them, but technically it is piracy. That's why Leo recommends going into the tools section under "rights" and selecting "creative commons" or "approved for reuse".
Michael wants to know if he can get the programs off his TIVO. Leo says it was possible with the Series 1 TIVO. But now the data is encrypted, so it's almost impossible to decrypt it and copy it off. TiVo does have a feature called TIVO to Go, but the only way he could really do it is to exploit the analog hole. That will lower the quality a bit, but he can use the analog connections that would go to his TV and connect them to a recorder. Then he could play the content back and record it in real time. It can be complicated though, because of HDCP.
George bought some music from Walmart, but he can't play them anymore because the copy protection servers have been shut down. Leo says that this is the reason not to buy copy protected music. These are unplayable sadly, but there may be a way to strip out the DRM. George should Google "strip WMA DRM" or "Strip WMA copy protection." It may seem like he bought the music, but if he looks at the terms of service, he technically rented it.
