Forum - View topicSimulcasts/Crunchyroll -- are you a member or not, and why?
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Mahzes
 Posts: 18 |
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Well, I'm doing a dissertation for University based on the Internet, video piracy and ethics focusing primarily on the anime industry, and thought simulcast sites such as Crunchyroll would make a great case study for the cause as it was one of the first sites to legally offer such a payment program and simulcasts.
So, for anime members: So, why did you get your anime membership? What made you want it? Was HD video quality and early access the main draw for you? What about the ethical side of it? To what extent was ethics a factor in you choosing an anime membership? Also, how do you feel knowing that certain groups such as Horriblesubs are stealing Crunchyroll content and uploading it elsewhere for free? Do you see that as one less reason to have an anime membership? Will you renew your membership once it expires, or does knowing you can still get the content for free put you off wanting to keep it? What are your thoughts on these matters? And for people who aren't anime members: Do you want an anime membership but can't get one for various reasons, or do you just not want one? If not, why not? Do you wait the one week for simulcast releases to become free, or do you try and watch them elsewhere? Also, for those who don't have anime memberships and watch the simulcast content elsewhere, how do you feel about it? Do you simply not care, or do you feel somewhat guilty about it? |
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Kimiko_0
 Posts: 1796 Location: Leiden, NL, EU |
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There's no point in looking into a subscription to CR or similar sites for me because I don't live in the USA and such sites always limit their access to USAians (or at most N-Americans). I'm grateful to the fansubbers who continue their work despite the legal competition, so that the rest of the world can watch anime too without having to learn Japanese first.
Please don't dismiss my opinion as that of a thieving freeloader. I spend most of my income on buying anime DVDs and soundtracks. I just prefer to watch them first before I decide which to buy. |
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Mahzes
Posts: 18 |
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Don't worry, I'm nor here to criticise, by any means. I just want to get an idea of people's views on the matter.
How do you feel about groups like Horriblesubs though, who aren't technically 'fansubbers', but basically just take content from sites like Crunchyroll and reupload it elsewhere? |
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Kimiko_0
Posts: 1796 Location: Leiden, NL, EU |
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I view them as just another fansub group. If their translations and video quality are good, I'll download them. I suspect though that they don't measure up in that regard.
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happymoose
 Posts: 62 |
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snip
Last edited by happymoose on Sat Aug 23, 2014 4:06 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 7585 Location: Wales |
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I signed up when they were doing an offer a while back. I kept it because I can wheedle my PS3 into playing Shangri-la fullscreen in 480P - if there was nothing I particularly wanted to watch or was locked out of watching what I did then I would drop it. I also bought all of the DTO episodes of Strike Witches from BOST as they were released and I much prefer this model.
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einhorn303
 Posts: 1180 |
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Same here. I prefer BOST (moment of silence), but if CR is what the market gods will anoint with success, I'll go with that too. I'm an Anime Member on CR right now, but it depends on them having shows I actually want to watch. So far they've done surprisingly well with this. I mostly just like otaku/moe/yuri shows, and they've had a great variety of them, much more, ratio-wise, than is usually on R1 DVD. I watch Saki and Aoi Hana every week regularly, and some of the other shows (Charger Girl Juden-chan, Kanamemo, whatever) when the mood strikes me. If they get Strike Witches season 2 right after Saki ends, I'll continue to use CR for quite some time. The one thing I do worry about is eventual DVD release. I look at CR as basically an analogue to Japanese TV broadcasts, but of course that needs to be backed up with DVD releases. So far, the only DVD release I know of for an originally CR-simulcasted show is Strike Witches. But that's also my favorite CR show, so I can deal with that.
Sends me into rages of ecstasy. Of course, they aren't fansubbers, they're just warez.
That is illegal internet piracy, however. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15594 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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I don't realy use Crunchyroll, I hear about it, and I hear somthing about paying subscriptions and good quality, but I actualy feel a bit guilty in watching a realy good quality video. I mostly go to a bunch of streaming sites, not the best quality, but I don't want to eat up all my internet usage for a month quckly, like what I had last couple of days. I don't know if what I am doing is realy wrong, though it probably is, but I am trying realy hard to buy anime DVDs, and I entice myself further, by not downloading and the fact the DVDs will be a lot more clearer. I am wondering though if this question is breaking a forum rule, the moderators are fairly strict on site recomendations.
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quikbeam1
 Posts: 150 Location: Behind you |
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Im a member of crunchy roll. Its nice to be able to see the show an hour after they have aired. I like paying for things i feel are worth watching. So I have no problem with paying for the crunchy roll service.
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LKK
 Posts: 426 Location: Virginia, USA |
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I'm not an anime member because Crunchyroll has yet to offer a series that I'm so anxious to watch that I won't wait until it is offered for free the next week. I have considered getting a membership for the increase in video quality. But again, Crunchyroll has yet to offer a series that I want to watch in higher quality so badly I would pay for it. If Crunchyroll offered a series that I desired that much, I would be willing to pay the membership fee. But so far, that hasn't been the case. (For the record, each season has produced a series or two I feel that strongly about, but Crunchyroll hasn't offered those series.)
Generally, if Crunchyroll offers a title I'm interested in, I avoid fansubs in favor of the legal option because it's a principle I believe in. The only exception has been Natsume Youjinchou season 2 because I wasn't really aware of Crunchyroll's offerings at the time. |
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PetrifiedJello
Posts: 3782 |
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Okay, I'll bite. Enjoy the read.
Despite not being a member, I see nothing wrong with this. Details below.
Absolutely not. Content isn't the issue.
I'm opposed to membership fees, especially those that are monthly based. I fully understand the viewpoint for bandwidth costs, but that's the provider's issue, not the users. As a professional in this industry, the costs of bandwidth aren't as extreme as distributors would like to have us believe. I'm sure some will refute this, but their objections will fall upon "blind eyes". My reasoning is quite simple: Licensing fees. To keep it short, this model is dead, but remains only because no other options are available. An $8/mo. fee for viewing content online is extortion, especially when most of this goes towards paying licensing fees. What's the solution? No one really knows. But at the same time, no one's really trying, either.
Neither, honestly. I'm not particularly interested in having to see the latest episode as quickly as possible. But I'm in the minority on this one.
I simply don't care. Whether it be "free" via a legal or illegal streaming site, content is content to me. I've never paid for it, and I'm sure as hell not going to start with a membership fee. Why I don't care is subject to open a can of worms on this site, but the truth of the matter is art is meant to be shared, not thrown into a bucket of legal bullshit regarding property rights. Yes, artists and distributors need to make money as a salary, and I fully understand this, but the notion of the "pay per view" with everyone is stupid beyond words. If I stream an episode freely available anywhere else at no cost, what's lost? Ad revenue? Give me a break. In fact, if anything, my hosting helps alleviate bandwidth costs and I'm doing it at no charge. In addition, I'd be helping spread anime to a larger audience, which is needed. Anime's "decline" isn't based on content. It's based on sales of both merchandise and DVDs (which has me at a loss why these two are constantly separated, as they're the same thing). Throw in licensing fees, which seem to increase daily, and even "legal" streaming websites will start to feel the pinch. There's no way, logically, all this can continue without failure down the road. YouTube's impact into uploading availability (whether the content be copyright or not) is a particularly interesting option to watch. Speculation of it losing millions (though not factual) can only derive a single question: Would it be more profitable if it didn't have to pay licensing fees? Hulu, another streaming website, has an interesting blog section. Why is it this company has to continually apologize to its customers for decisions made by content owners? Fan sub sites rid themselves of this overhead, which is why they're here to stay. Cost, as a viewer, has nothing to do with it. It's about what these sites offer me that no "legal"/pay-to-view service has yet to offer. My DVD purchases are solely based on the fact that streaming content is going to get so mired down in licensing issues that I'd be lucky to find any in three years. What's "legally" available today can be gone tomorrow. All due to licensing. Thus, not one red cent will ever go to a "membership" based on this model. |
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The King of Harts
 Posts: 6712 Location: Mount Crawford, Virginia |
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If I had a different ISP, I'd be a crunchyroll member. I'm just not allowed to stream whatever and whenever I want due to tight bandwidth restrictions. They have a ton of shows I'm interested in watching, but can't as I'm limited and I won't resort to fansubs if there is a legal option available. I'd also probably subscribe to theanimenetwork.com because they, too, have a lot of shows I'm intrested in. I have no problem paying for these subscriptions because they could actually save me money because I wouldn't have to buy the DVD's if I didn't like the show that much.
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ninjapet
 Posts: 1517 |
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Right now I'm not a member of there site but I do use it, as they have the one week waiting time between ep airings. Which is nice seeing as I don't mind a wait for the one series they have up that I care to watch right now. In the future if and when they get some more titles that interest me other then Hayate no Gotoku!! I will think about joining and paying monthly to watch day of release. Till then I'm fine waiting a week to watch
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 24475 |
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I became a member for all the reasons you cited above. I wanted the member privileges of getting HD video and early access to shows. I also wanted to do my bit to financially support legitimate anime streaming. I consider the monthly subscription fee pretty low and got more savings by getting a year subscription (I think) as opposed to going month to month.
I don't like the idea of fansubs stealing CR content, but it does not make me change my mind about my membership. I will renew with CR. I do watch fansubs, but mostly that is content that is not yet licensed in NA. If something is available here legitimately, I think it is wrong to use fansubs (although I'm not totally pure about this, I admit. There are some series I have started to fansub even though I can get them legitimately. Generally, this is with series that I'm kind of interested in watching, but don't have a huge desire to own.)
Nothing to really add to what I've already said, except to say I hope CR continues to add the list of titles it is offering. |
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Veers
 Posts: 1197 Location: Texas |
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I don't like watching streaming video. I prefer to have a complete file I can play on either my desktop or a disc I can pop in whenever I want because to me, that, not streaming, is "on demand". If streaming were the only way to watch something I'd probably just not watch it; it's that simple.
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