Removing copy protection from movies

There's a problem I have with removing copy protection from movies. It's not that I can't do it, or find it difficult to do. I do it all the time, in fact. But, there's an ethical problem that I have.

You see, there's copy protection for a reason. The reason is: people are awful.

Okay, I don't mean all people are awful. Obviously they aren't. I'm not awful. You're not awful. But there are a lot of people that are.

Awful people would, if they saw you drop a $100 bill, simply pick up the bill and keep walking. They know it's yours, but they don't care because they're awful. There's no different between that and not paying for a movie contrary to the owner's rights. They make up reasons to justify it, but the real reason is, they're awful.

Awful people are the reason it's difficult for decent people to have a proper library of movies. If you have DVDs, how to you add it to your streamer? You have to break copy protection, which is something that awful people do.

In the U.S., you have the right to have an archive of your movies you buy. You can add it to your streaming device for use in Plex or some similar setup, but you have to remove copy protection.

Now, you and I will use that capability to make legal copies and use them for our own private purposes. Awful people will use it to do wrong things. Even though I know my usage of software to break copy protection is legal, it bothers me.

If you're expecting me to recommend some copy protection removal software, I won't. I actually use a couple of different ones. I have a Mac that I use sometimes to remove copy protection from DVDs or iTunes. I also have a Windows device that I used for the same purpose. And, they are different software packages. They both work rather well for those purposes.

What about purchases from Amazon? Well, I have another software package I use for that. I'm not a great fan of it, but it does the job, just takes a little more work. I'm certainly not going to mention this package, because it also removes copy protection from Netflix, which is a no-no as far as I'm concerned. However, it's the best I've found for adding my Amazon purchases to my local library.

That piece of software kinda sums it up. Removing copy protection from Netflix movies, letting you download and keep them, is a violation of the agreement you enter into with Netflix when you subscribe to the service. I won't do that, even though I have the software. If I want the content to keep, I'll buy it. You'd do the same.

But those other people? No, they don't care about the same things you and I do. And that's why companies work so hard to copy protect their content. And that makes our Streaming Life more difficult,

Philo price increase, still a bargain

The cost of live streaming services continue to rise. That's not really a surprise, is it? Of course it isn't. Or it shouldn't be.

If you didn't know that prices were going to rise, you haven't been paying attention. Prices always rise. Sometimes, things go a while before the price increase, but the price increase will come.

Recently, Philo finally increased its price to $25/month, which is its second price increase ever, since its launch in 2017, nearly four years ago.

Philo launched with a $16/month package, and later added a larger $20 package. A year and a half ago, Philo dropped the $16/month package for new subscribers, essentially increasing prices. Now, the $20/month package is rising to $25/month.

Even at the new price, Philo is still one of the best bargains for those wanting a live streaming service. Currently, the lineup is:

• A&E
• AccuWeather Network
• AMC
• American Heroes Channel
• Animal Planet
• aspireTV
• AXS TV
• BBC America
• BBC World News
• BET
• BET Her
• CLEO TV
• CMT
• Comedy Central
• Cooking Channel
• Crime + Investigation
• Destination America
• Discovery Channel
• Discovery Family
• Discovery Life
• DIY Network
• Food Network
• FYI
• Game Show Network
• getTV
• Great American Country
• Hallmark Channel
• Hallmark Drama
• Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
• HGTV
• History
• IFC
• INSP
• Investigation Discovery
• Law&Crime
• Lifetime
• LMN
• Logo
• Motor Trend
• MTV
• MTV Classic
• MTV Live
• MTV2
• Newsy
• Nick Jr.
• Nickelodeon
• Nicktoons
• Oprah Winfrey Network
• Paramount Network
• PeopleTV
• REVOLT
• Science Channel
• Sundance TV
• Tastemade
• TeenNick
• TLC
• Travel Channel
• TV Land
• TV One
• UPtv
• VH1
• Vice
• WE tv
• Bloomberg Television
• Cheddar News
• Crackle
• Revry

You can also add premium channels from Starz ($9/month) and Epix ($6/month).

I've mentioned before that I'm not a fan of live streaming services. But, for those in my family that do insist on it, this one fits the bill. It's cheap, at least compared to others, and does have channels almost everyone can appreciate.

Not having sports channels means it doesn't have everything, but if that's not important, it has plenty to make your Streaming Life enjoyable.

Streaming your own content: iTunes movies

A few days ago, we talked briefly about setting up a Plex or similar server to play movies from your DVD collection. However, there's another way that you may be able to play local movies that is a little bit easier, if you have iTunes movie purchases and an Apple TV.

Although I had DVDs before I bought any Apple iTunes movies, I did purchase movies after I got my first video capable iPod several years ago. And, I kept buying iTunes movies after I bought my first Apple TV.

It wasn't aware -- or at least, I didn't think about it -- when I first began purchasing iTunes movies that I could download them to my computer. Then, it hit me that I could do that, so I did.

On my MacBook, I downloaded several movies I had purchased, then launched iTunes, and it showed up on my Apple TV. I was also researching Plex at the time, and tried to see if Plex would see my iTunes movies. It did. However, Plex wouldn't play them because of Apple's copy protection. But, they played fine from the Apple TV device using the built-in process.

So, iTunes was running as a server on my network and was able to play copy protected iTunes content on my Apple TV. No setting up Plex and building a library. iTunes did that automatically. And, if I did rip out content from my DVDs, I could add them to iTunes and watch them too. Even better!

So, for a while, that's what I did. Yes, I eventually moved everything over to Plex, because I wanted to do a couple of things that iTunes couldn't do, but for years this method worked just fine. The few benefits from Plex were countered by needed to remove copy protection from my iTunes downloads.

No, I won't go into how to do all that, because that's not really the focus at the moment. It is time consuming and a lot of work. And, if I didn't really want to do the few things I would need Plex to do, I'd still be doing it that way.

Sure, Apple no longer has iTunes for Mac, so it would be the Apple TV app for Mac to use. Or, with Windows, iTunes is still there and does the job fine.

Using iTunes with Apple TV was a quick and easy way to set up a local streaming server. It may be a good solution for you, too. If so, it will make your Streaming Life easier.

No Internet, no TV? Not really.

You're watching TV on your streaming device when the unthinkable happens. Your Internet service goes out. You have power, the lights all work, your network is still up, but there's no Internet connectivity. Now, you can't watch TV, right?

Well, maybe you can. I know I can.

If your Internet service goes out temporarily, you do have two or three ways to still watch TV. One is to watch from an antenna. If you have an antenna connected to your TV or to a network device -- Air TV, Tablo, TiVo or such -- you can watch TV that way.

Another similar way is that if you have a DVR, you can watch content you recorded earlier. This would be from an antenna, of course, so it's a lot like the first. The only difference is the time-shifting of the content.

And, there's your local library. If you've taken your DVDs and ripped them to Plex or some other local server setup, you can watch movies and TV from your local library. Actually, if you purchased downloads that are not copy protected, you can include them in your local library, too.

Of course, if you don't have a DVR, or an antenna, or a local streaming library, then you may be completely out of luck. You might have to resort to reading a book, or even talking to family members. And that's not a bad thing.

I really enjoy my Streaming Life. I just need to make sure it doesn't replace real life.

Xfinity Flex

Imagine if you will, a world where you are a Comcast/Xfinity TV subscriber. You suffer through the periodic price increases, channel changes, channel removals from your subscription tier, and the constant nagging that things could be better. However, you know that "better" involves that scariest of monsters -- Change.

You are someone who either grew up on cable, or have been with cable so long that you can barely remember without it. What can you do so that you keep the monster known as Change at bay?

Believe it or not, Comcast/Xfinity comes to your rescue and helps you drop cable.

No, this isn't the Twilight Zone or some alternate universe where Spock has a beard. This is here and now.

This is a pretty simple streaming device. There's no app store like you'll find with Roku, Apple TV, Google TV, or Amazon Fire devices. Rather, similar to the early Apple TV devices, there are a limited number of apps provided, and you can use them or not.

It comes with a remote that looks similar to the ones which an Xfinity cable user would already be familiar.

Not a lot of options, an Xfinity standard remote, and an Xfinity style interface. All of this may appeal to someone who is an Xfinity customer and wants to move to streaming. And did I mention that it's free?

Yes, it's free to Xfinity Internet customers. Well, one is. Additional ones are around $5/month if you want one. Trust me when I say you don't want additional ones. I'll explain why shortly. Oh, and if you're not an Xfinity Internet customer, none of this matters.

To cut the cord as an Xfinity customer, simply let them know that you want the Flex box. If you're unsure if you want to cut the cord, they'll still give you a box. Get one and try it. And make sure you get Peacock Premium. As an Xfinity Internet customer, you get the $5/month Peacock Premium service included.

As I said, Xfinity customers will recognize the interface, and the remote will feel familiar. Try it and see how you like watching TV that way. It won't cost anything, and as I said, it works in a way with which you are already familiar.

The down side of Xfinity Flex is the small number of supported apps. It didn't contain Disney+ when it launched, but it is supported now. So, yes, many of the bigger services are supported, and they do add new ones. However, don't expect any new ones, and you won't be disappointed if they take a while to arrive, or if they never arrive.

Oh, I mentioned not getting a second or third device, but didn't explain why. Well, here's why. They're $5/month. If you are actually into streaming, get a serious streaming device, such as a Roku, an Amazon Fire TV device, a Chromecast with Google TV or other Android/Google TV device, or an Apple TV. For six months rental of an additional Flex device, you've spent as much as a Firestick or an entry-level Roku device. If you know you want to stream in multiple locations, go ahead and get a full featured streaming device.

However, if you're testing the waters, and you're an Xfinity customer, this is an easy and free way to try out the world of streaming.

No, the device isn't perfect, but it is a good transition device. Comcast/Xfinity has really done something to help someone just starting their Streaming Life.