Comments on: Which is Better, Original DVD or Pirate MP4?

By: Chris Smart

Chris Smart — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:00:08 +0000

Came across this and thought that it might appeal:
http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/02/pirate-vs-pay.png

-c

By: Felipe Sateler

Felipe Sateler — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:58:40 +0000

I think we are talking past each other here. There is no artificial control on exchange rates. Sometimes markets develop differently in different circumstances. In Chile, basic needs (food, transport and accommodation[1]) seem to be cheaper than in Australia. However, less basic items, like technological gadgets and books seem to be more expensive here. This causes pirated books to be more attractive, since original books are so expensive.

When a book costs over 100 times the price of a public transport ticket, one is more likely to look for (illegal) alternatives than when the price is only 10 times more. Which is why book piracy is pretty common here in Chile, and not so much in Australia.

[1] Perhaps something is being lost in translation here. By accommodation I mean a permanent flat/house, as opposed to hotels.

By: etbe

etbe — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 02:12:30 +0000

Felipe: I will note that Sydney is expensive by most Australian standards. Lots of things in Sydney are 50% more expensive than I would pay in Melbourne. But that is probably nothing compared to the price differences you are considering.

I just used http://www.wotif.com to search for hotel rooms in Santiago, they have some options for around $70US ($80AU) for a 3-star room while the rates for a 3-star hotel in Melbourne and Sydney in Australia are about $110AU. So it seems that by that metric Chile is not much cheaper than Australia, although part of that may be due to Wotif catering for people from countries like Australia – I could negotiate my own good deals with Australian hotels if Wotif failed me but for reservations in Chile I have to take what I’m offered.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage

I may still be missing your point. Is there some sort of artificial control on exchange rates that leads to comparative advantage here?

By: Felipe Sateler

Felipe Sateler — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:26:36 +0000

etbe: Sorry for the very late reply, but I got sidetracked by other stuff.
By price level I mean that living in Chile is much cheaper than leaving in Australia or the USA. Any given (nominal) salary will give you a better purchasing power in Chile than in Australia or USA. However, this is the overall price level: food, commutes, accommodation, etc[1]. Specific items, such as books or technological gadgets, may be more expensive than in the USA or Australia. Which means that, for a Chilean, paying US$100 for a book is more expensive than for an Australian.

Which (back to the original point) makes buying pirated books much more attractive.

[1] I cannot get a precise quote on this, but I have lived in Sydney, and food, commute and accommodation are quite expensive by Chilean standards.

By: Neil McGovern

Neil McGovern — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 09:53:34 +0000

Russell: But you can’t unwatch/listen to it :) But agreed, yes, there’s plenty of fair use clauses. It’s a shame that the studios also don’t recognise that DRM doesn’t stop piracy and simply harms people who want to give them money. Treating your customer base as criminals isn’t usually the best business plan I’ve seen.

By: etbe

etbe — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:25:37 +0000

Np237: Thanks for that information, it’s very interesting. Mplayer was already my favourite video player so now I just need some suitable data. If you could recommend some good free French videos that are subtitled then I would be interested in watching them.

Chris: I think that having my money moved to the supplier of some goods that you desire counts as it being in your possession.

Neil: You can always rm the file. Note that copyright is not an absolute right either, there are exclusions such as fair use/dealing.

Anon: Fair point, obey the copyright laws and you are less likely to be sued. But the point of this post is about the quality of the experience and whether it encourages piracy. I can’t imagine them ever suing enough people to make much of an impact on the piracy.

Felipe: I’m confused, you say “that price level here in Chile is much lower than in the US or Australia” and note that the exchange rate makes the book be $US100. Is there some sort of artificial currency exchange rate that causes this? Or is everything in Chile really expensive? Perhaps you could write a detailed blog post about this and provide the URL in a comment here.

ZombB: Thanks for that information. If I feel the need to rip DVDs I will try out Handbrake.