Streaming services are expensive, and I’m tired of not owning anything. I was thinking of starting a video co-op where you buy-in with a DVD/VHS/etc and then you own a share of the co-op and can stream from its library.

Q: Why not just let people access your streaming server?

A: In the US at least, it’s illegal to stream movies you don’t own or don’t have the license to stream. By participating in the co-op, when you stream a movie, ownership of that physical media and the digital copy is temporarily transferred to you.

Q: Why not just steal it? yarrr

A: Most people here would, for sure. But plenty of less tech savvy folks can’t do that safely. And there is some value in not helping my community do illegal shit.

Q. The hardware will be expensive to run

A: At first, nah. If it grows to a size where that’s a problem, then I’m doing something right and will figure it out.

Q: Libraries offer free streaming services, why not use that?

A: They are expensive for the library and don’t have great selection. Though I guess mine might not have great selection either. People might ‘bank’ garbage.

So it’s basically a ‘physical media (and corresponding digital copy) storage and trading platform’.

Crazy idea? Already done? Stupid and impractical? Help get this idea out of my head.

  • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
    2·
    6 hours ago

    A: In the US at least, it’s illegal to stream movies you don’t own or don’t have the license to stream. By participating in the co-op, when you stream a movie, ownership of that physical media and the digital copy is temporarily transferred to you.

    Is it illegal to stream or is it just illegal to upload files?

    Also how does ownership transfer to the user and how are they streaming physical, DRM-protected media? I would think it was the distribution company who determines who gets licenses not a coop that just happens to own a copy of the movie.

    I’m not sure I see the difference between this and you just giving your friends and family access to your Plex/Jellyfin server. It seems like the same thing but with more self-imposed hoops to jump through that don’t really change the legality of anything, but IANAL.

    • surewhynotlem@lemmy.worldOP
      2·
      6 hours ago

      The ownership transfer of the media is crucial. If I just give you access to my Plex, and you watch a movie that I own, that’s theft. If you have your own Plex, and watch a movie that you own the physical media of, that’s legal.

      All I’m doing is hosting and storing the physical media you own and the digital copy of that. Only you can access it. Only you can stream it. It’s still yours.

      And when you want to watch something else, you trade that physical media for someone else’s physical media. A one-for-one swap. Now you can stream the new physical media you own.

      • SolacefromSilence@fedia.io
        2·
        6 hours ago

        Interesting, so if I want to watch a movie that I don’t own, I can trade an already owned movie with someone who has a movie that I’d like to watch? Then after using, the trade reverses?

        Who holds the physical media? Is it held at one location, but only the ownership changes?

        That reminds me of how gold is traded… it stays in the vault, but ownership is swapped.