Louis C.K.

[mjmacky]

You may think this would belong in the Movies & TV section, but I assure you, I'm here to discuss filesharing and progress in terms of digital content. I won't be discussing how much I love his shows and how he his my favorite comic and gay shit like that. The very thing that I constantly tote as an appropriate response to piracy, Louis C.K. is doing just that. He's allowing you to buy the content on his site (https://buy.louisck.net/), $5 an item through Paypal or Amazon. Here's his note about filesharing (as he restricts it to commentary on "torrents").


To those who might wish to "torrent" these shows:

Look, I don't really get the whole "torrent" thing. I don't know enough about it to judge either way. But I'd just like you to consider this: I made these files extremely easy to use against well-informed advice. I was told that it would be easier to torrent the way I made it, but I chose to do it this way anyway, because I want it to be easy for people to watch and enjoy this video in any way they want without "corporate" restrictions.


Please bear in mind that I am not a company or a corporation. I'm just some guy. I paid for the production and posting of this video with my own money. I would like to be able to post more material to the fans in this way, which makes it cheaper for the buyer and more pleasant for me. So, please help me keep this being a good idea. I can't stop you from torrenting; all I can do is politely ask you to pay your five little dollars, enjoy the show, and let other people find it in the same way.

Sincerely,
Louis C.K.





Here's the rundown of what he means (plus any criticisms I'd like to share).

The video of Live at the Beacon Theater is encoded in the H.264 video codec, including the 720p version, and the audio is encoded in AAC 192 kbps CBR, and packed into an mp4 container. Basically, it's compatible with virtually anything. (Baseline 3.1 w/ 2 Ref frames, could have saved on filesize with better encoding parameters if the production company did a better job). Still a win.
It is 100 % DRM free. Play on anything you heart desires. A huge win.
It doesn't require a registration to direct download from his site. You simply use your email address to attach your purchase. Another big win.
You get a limit of 4 downloads for any item you buy. I ran into a problem with this. Download accelerators like jdownloader and Downthemall will eat these "download credits" the fuck up. I now have "-1" downloads left for videos, and since I paused my audio downloads for Carnegie Hall, it won't let me download them again. This is a bit problematic. The solution, hey you already paid for it so go pirate that booty if you run into download problem. This is not so much a win, but a workable solution exists.

In summary, this works. This is exactly what I've been asking for. Thank you, you fat idiot.

[IdolEyes787]

Could you please add a "Who is Louis C.K. ? " option.

[dljesse]

I bought his Beacon Theater performance a few days ago and really liked the way he handled this. I'm pretty broke most of the time, but he put his stuff out there for a reasonable amount of money and made it really accessible. I bet you could contact support about the download limit issue too.

Edit: In fact, right on the FAQ page it says "... If you have no luck or need a download back, contact our support staff."

[mjmacky]

I bought his Beacon Theater performance a few days ago and really liked the way he handled this. I'm pretty broke most of the time, but he put his stuff out there for a reasonable amount of money and made it really accessible. I bet you could contact support about the download limit issue too.

Edit: In fact, right on the FAQ page it says "... If you have no luck or need a download back, contact our support staff."

I did, and I told them I pirated it, so issue fixed. Should they really have a problem with that if I already paid for it?


Could you please add a "Who is Louis C.K. ? " option.

Much like what I'm doing right now, that wouldn't answer the question.

[Hole69]

The problem here is why spend $5 when you don't to? Still, if I was a fan I would consider buying though (I'm not I prefer Roy "Chubby" Brown and Jim Davidson more).

[IdolEyes787]

The problem here is why spend $5 when you don't to?

Strange I read that and the question I see is "When someone isn't ripping you off,only trying to be nice while in the process making a reasonable living ,why the fuck would you want to steal from him?"

[Cut-Copy-Paste]

I like Louis C.K. Since they are accepting amazon i am sure gonna buy it. The only problem is they dont make subtitle for it. So some part of his joke just goes above my head

[megabyteme]

While this was/is a success, and a good model to follow, I believe there is still a limit to how effective this could be. I don't pay for pay-per-view shows because even at $4 per show, watching several adds up quickly. Most shows aren't worth $4 per viewing, either.

Netflix wins because I get A LOT of programming for a little bit of money. I'd rather feed my kids than him (so to speak)...

[dljesse]

While this was/is a success, and a good model to follow, I believe there is still a limit to how effective this could be. I don't pay for pay-per-view shows because even at $4 per show, watching several adds up quickly. Most shows aren't worth $4 per viewing, either.

Netflix wins because I get A LOT of programming for a little bit of money. I'd rather feed my kids than him (so to speak)...

Well It's not $5 for a viewing, it's $5 to own the thing. Compared to the prices on other DVDs (and CDs too, he's got those for $5 on his site) the deal is great.

[megabyteme]

While this was/is a success, and a good model to follow, I believe there is still a limit to how effective this could be. I don't pay for pay-per-view shows because even at $4 per show, watching several adds up quickly. Most shows aren't worth $4 per viewing, either.

Netflix wins because I get A LOT of programming for a little bit of money. I'd rather feed my kids than him (so to speak)...

Well It's not $5 for a viewing, it's $5 to own the thing. Compared to the prices on other DVDs (and CDs too, he's got those for $5 on his site) the deal is great.

I wouldn't know whether or not I'd want to own it without seeing it first. Having seen it via torrent, I don't believe that single viewing was worth $5 (as a PPV), and I don't need to see it again. If I were to support his project now, it would be a gratuity, not a purchase.

There is a subtle difference here between paying for an item, and paying for a viewing. If I were to attend his show, I'd pay $5 for the seat. As a television program, I want to know what I am "purchasing" is worthy of repeated viewings before paying.

[dljesse]

Well It's not $5 for a viewing, it's $5 to own the thing. Compared to the prices on other DVDs (and CDs too, he's got those for $5 on his site) the deal is great.

I wouldn't know whether or not I'd want to own it without seeing it first. Having seen it via torrent, I don't believe that single viewing was worth $5 (as a PPV), and I don't need to see it again. If I were to support his project now, it would be a gratuity, not a purchase.

There is a subtle difference here between paying for an item, and paying for a viewing. If I were to attend his show, I'd pay $5 for the seat. As a television program, I want to know what I am "purchasing" is worthy of repeated viewings before paying.

I think you should look at this more objectively. I'm trying to compare his way of releasing his product (unlimited viewings, $5) to a DVD release (unlimited viewings, $20). I'm not bringing in whether you personally think it's worthy of multiple views, because that's completely subjective.

You shouldn't liken it to a PPV just because you don't like it or don't feel it worth of multiple viewings, you should be likening it to a DVD because that's what the product basically is.

[megabyteme]

I wouldn't know whether or not I'd want to own it without seeing it first. Having seen it via torrent, I don't believe that single viewing was worth $5 (as a PPV), and I don't need to see it again. If I were to support his project now, it would be a gratuity, not a purchase.

There is a subtle difference here between paying for an item, and paying for a viewing. If I were to attend his show, I'd pay $5 for the seat. As a television program, I want to know what I am "purchasing" is worthy of repeated viewings before paying.

I think you should look at this more objectively. I'm trying to compare his way of releasing his product (unlimited viewings, $5) to a DVD release (unlimited viewings, $20). I'm not bringing in whether you personally think it's worthy of multiple views, because that's completely subjective.

You shouldn't liken it to a PPV just because you don't like it or don't feel it worth of multiple viewings, you should be likening it to a DVD because that's what the product basically is.

There is no physical product, so it is basically a TV program. It is more similar to TIVO than a DVD. The fact that I can rewatch something I didn't enjoy as often as I would like (zero) does not improve the value to me.

[dljesse]

... The fact that I can rewatch something I didn't enjoy as often as I would like (zero) does not improve the value to me.

It's not about whether or not you personally enjoyed it. It's whether or not the way in which he's releasing his product is superior to a DVD release.
Let's assume for a minute it's not Louis CK, but a movie you enjoy watching more than once. Would a $5 digital download be more or less appealing than a $20 DVD release to you?

[Hole69]

The problem here is why spend $5 when you don't to?

Strange I read that and the question I see is "When someone isn't ripping you off,only trying to be nice while in the process making a reasonable living ,why the fuck would you want to steal from him?"

Because I can. Simple.

[mjmacky]

The only problem is they dont make subtitle for it.

I believe I remember seeing subtitled downloads.


I wouldn't know whether or not I'd want to own it without seeing it first. Having seen it via torrent, I don't believe that single viewing was worth $5 (as a PPV), and I don't need to see it again. If I were to support his project now, it would be a gratuity, not a purchase.

There is a subtle difference here between paying for an item, and paying for a viewing. If I were to attend his show, I'd pay $5 for the seat. As a television program, I want to know what I am "purchasing" is worthy of repeated viewings before paying.

They did air it on FX. But you'd need to compare it more to a movie rather than a TV episode, it being a one shot deal. The reason I never bought DVDs in my life is because there's virtually nothing I'd really care to watch more than once per decade (very few exceptions). If you wanted to consider the purchase a rental, it's still not so hefty a price. It's less than 1/2 of a monthly HBO subscription for that matter.





Strange I read that and the question I see is "When someone isn't ripping you off,only trying to be nice while in the process making a reasonable living ,why the fuck would you want to steal from him?"

Because I can. Simple.

I don't think I designed this post to be for people like you, to be honest.


In case anyone's wondering where the money goes, he made a post about it after making just over $1 million the first 2 weeks:


So I'm breaking the million into four pieces.

the first 250k is going to pay back what the special cost to produce and the website to build.

The second 250k is going back to my staff and the people who work for me on the special and on my show. I'm giving them a big fat bonus.

The third 280k is going to a few different charities. They are listed below in case you'd like to donate to them also. Some of these i learned about through friends, some were reccomended through twitter.



The Fistula Foundation (http://www.fistulafoundation.org/)
The Pablove Foundation (http://pablove.org/)
charity: water (http://charitywater.org/)
Kiva (http://kiva.org/)
Green Chimneys (http://www.greenchimneys.org/)

That leaves me with 220k for myself. Some of that will pay my rent and will care for my childen. The rest I will do terrible, horrible things with and none of that is any of your business. In any case, to me, 220k is enough out of a million.

I never viewed money as being "my money" I always saw it as "The money" It's a resource. if it pools up around me then it needs to be flushed back out into the system.

The thing is still on sale. I hope folks keep buying it. If I make another million, I'll give more of it away. I'll let you know when that happens because I like you getting to know what happened to your 5 dollars and bringing awareness to the bla bla bla.

[IdolEyes787]

Strange I read that and the question I see is "When someone isn't ripping you off,only trying to be nice while in the process making a reasonable living ,why the fuck would you want to steal from him?"

Because I can. Simple.

I like the way that your petty self interest supersedes any thoughts of morality.
Ever consider a career as a lobbyist?

[megabyteme]

... The fact that I can rewatch something I didn't enjoy as often as I would like (zero) does not improve the value to me.

It's not about whether or not you personally enjoyed it. It's whether or not the way in which he's releasing his product is superior to a DVD release.
Let's assume for a minute it's not Louis CK, but a movie you enjoy watching more than once. Would a $5 digital download be more or less appealing than a $20 DVD release to you?

My initial post indicated that I liked the way he offered it, but the novelty of its distribution would wear off as more people/companies offered their products that way. Essentially, it becomes a $5 PPV coming from a likable individual. If you like it, tip him the $5.

I don't want an increasing amount of my viewing to turn into PPV.

[dljesse]

It's not about whether or not you personally enjoyed it. It's whether or not the way in which he's releasing his product is superior to a DVD release.
Let's assume for a minute it's not Louis CK, but a movie you enjoy watching more than once. Would a $5 digital download be more or less appealing than a $20 DVD release to you?

My initial post indicated that I liked the way he offered it, but the novelty of its distribution would wear off as more people/companies offered their products that way. Essentially, it becomes a $5 PPV coming from a likable individual. If you like it, tip him the $5.

I don't want an increasing amount of my viewing to turn into PPV.

Why would it become a Pay Per View? You're buying it ONCE, and are able to watch it an UNLIMITED amount of times. That's the complete opposite of PPV, and this method of release has nothing to do with PPV at all.

[Hole69]

Because I can. Simple.

I like the way that your petty self interest supersedes any thoughts of morality.
Ever consider a career as a lobbyist?

I am amoral. Gave up on morality after my philosophy degree. No right or wrong for me. Decisions based on what I want/need/feel like.

[megabyteme]

My initial post indicated that I liked the way he offered it, but the novelty of its distribution would wear off as more people/companies offered their products that way. Essentially, it becomes a $5 PPV coming from a likable individual. If you like it, tip him the $5.

I don't want an increasing amount of my viewing to turn into PPV.

Why would it become a Pay Per View? You're buying it ONCE, and are able to watch it an UNLIMITED amount of times. That's the complete opposite of PPV, and this method of release has nothing to do with PPV at all.

The fact that I would only watch it once makes it a pay-per-view. There is noting there that I would need/want to see a second time regardless of my ability to watch it. You are hung up on your warm fuzzy feelings for the marketing. It may be a bargain for you, but for me it's $5 for a one-time-viewing.

[mjmacky]

The fact that I would only watch it once makes it a pay-per-view. There is noting there that I would need/want to see a second time regardless of my ability to watch it. You are hung up on your warm fuzzy feelings for the marketing. It may be a bargain for you, but for me it's $5 for a one-time-viewing.

I see the point you're trying to make, and it'd be terribly expensive to pay for every instance of viewing television episodes. But if you consider the way films are, that's essentially what we already do. I find subscription services to work quite well for TV, and I could see these services being both independent and centralized, with the centralized distribution costing a little more. That's how it's processing in my head anyway.

[Funkin']

Could you please add a "Who is Louis C.K. ? " option. You'd like him. He's plump downstairs.

[IdolEyes787]

The fact that I would only watch it once makes it a pay-per-view. There is noting there that I would need/want to see a second time regardless of my ability to watch it. You are hung up on your warm fuzzy feelings for the marketing. It may be a bargain for you, but for me it's $5 for a one-time-viewing.

I see the point you're trying to make, and it'd be terribly expensive to pay for every instance of viewing television episodes. But if you consider the way films are, that's essentially what we already do. I find subscription services to work quite well for TV, and I could see these services being both independent and centralized, with the centralized distribution costing a little more. That's how it's processing in my head anyway.

I remember when TV was "free" and now I pay $110 dollars a month to watch what largely amounts to a huge, steaming pile of shite.

If there is a way to get people to pay for something someone will find a way to make them do so and if suddenly "forced" to pay people are amazingly adaptable in that regard.

Like I said earlier it's nice that someone like Louis is not out to ring every dollar out of us and is also very forthright in where the money goes.
If you can't at least in principle ,support that then you are either very selfish or very stupid.



Could you please add a "Who is Louis C.K. ? " option. You'd like him. He's plump downstairs.

I'm such an incredibly nice person I can't believe that you would say something like that to me.

[Funkin']

Actually you're right. I take that back. I don't know if it's the alcohol swimming around my head or what but I honestly feel bad for that comment.

[IdolEyes787]

Actually you're right. I take that back. I don't know if it's the alcohol swimming around my head or what but I honestly feel bad for that comment.

I showed your apology to the 4 year old next door and even he didn't buy it.

[manker]

The problem here is why spend $5 when you don't to?

Strange I read that and the question I see is "When someone isn't ripping you off,only trying to be nice while in the process making a reasonable living ,why the fuck would you want to steal from him?"
This.

I've never heard of this Lewis guy before but he seems like a decent spud.
I'd definitely pay $5 if someone good decided to sell their material in this way.

[mjmacky]

Strange I read that and the question I see is "When someone isn't ripping you off,only trying to be nice while in the process making a reasonable living ,why the fuck would you want to steal from him?"
This.

I've never heard of this Lewis guy before but he seems like a decent spud.
I'd definitely pay $5 if someone good decided to sell their material in this way.

Then you should definitely buy his special, and watch the first two seasons of Louie, and the 3rd season starts airing on FX on Thursday.

[megabyteme]

This idea is subject to the good feelings of the consumer. If it worked on a large scale, the grocery store would not have prices on their products, they would just ask people to pay what they felt the merchandise was worth. This idea is new enough that people are behind it. Once that warm fuzziness gets to be commonplace, people won't do it anymore.

Personally, I find the value of most media to be $0.00. If I can't have it for free, I probably won't seek it out. If media companies want to use product placement to support their shows (and they do), I'm fine with that. I really don't care about the economics of programming, but if a media company wants my attention, they better produce something interesting.

[manker]

This.

I've never heard of this Lewis guy before but he seems like a decent spud.
I'd definitely pay $5 if someone good decided to sell their material in this way.

Then you should definitely buy his special, and watch the first two seasons of Louie, and the 3rd season starts airing on FX on Thursday.I'm just going to hang fire on that since I let Idol make all of my primary tv watching decisions. I am, as yet, unclear on his views.

He actually has pretty good taste which is to expected when you consider that he's dedicated his life to this kind of thing, forgoing interaction with humans without a modem interface since approximately 1997.

[IdolEyes787]

I'm just going to hang fire on that since I let Idol make all of my primary tv watching decisions. I am, as yet, unclear on his views.

He actually has pretty good taste which is to expected when you consider that he's dedicated his life to this kind of thing, forgoing interaction with humans without a modem interface since approximately 1997.

That's true btw but the really disturbing part is that I didn't get an actual computer until 2005.

Anyway since you asked and since I have never actually seen Louie I'm an going to give you my opinion based purely on wild speculation, conjuncture,flawed logic and outright fallacy.
Which is how I basically do everything so am incredible good at.

To simplify, I'm breaking it down into pros,like Funkin's mom and cons like ziggy's dad.

Pros: You seem to like Mary and as people tend to try and emulate their heroes ,Louie could then well be an approximation of Mary only funny. Btw hero emulation is why I spend much of my spare time bedding unbelievably hawt womins and trying to stop madmen seeking World domination.
Louie is apparently a well regarded show and Louie C.K. one of the best current stand-up comics but then again so was Ray Romano(note to self: remember to change to "cons" before posting)
No matter how bad it turns out to be it still can't possibly be as boring as soccer.

Cons: Has Mary ever demonstrated good judgment about anything before?

[megabyteme]

[snip]cons like ziggy's dad.

Pure speculation as no one, including ziggy's mom, has the slightest idea who he is.

[manker]

I'm just going to hang fire on that since I let Idol make all of my primary tv watching decisions. I am, as yet, unclear on his views.

He actually has pretty good taste which is to expected when you consider that he's dedicated his life to this kind of thing, forgoing interaction with humans without a modem interface since approximately 1997.

That's true btw but the really disturbing part is that I didn't get an actual computer until 2005.

Anyway since you asked and since I have never actually seen Louie I'm an going to give you my opinion based purely on wild speculation, conjuncture,flawed logic and outright fallacy.
Which is how I basically do everything so am incredible good at.

To simplify, I'm breaking it down into pros,like Funkin's mom and cons like ziggy's dad.

Pros: You seem to like Mary and as people tend to try and emulate their heroes ,Louie could then well be an approximation of Mary only funny. Btw hero emulation is why I spend much of my spare time bedding unbelievably hawt womins and trying to stop madmen seeking World domination.
Louie is apparently a well regarded show and Louie C.K. one of the best current stand-up comics but then again so was Ray Romano(note to self: remember to change to "cons" before posting)
No matter how bad it turns out to be it still can't possibly be as boring as soccer.

Cons: Has Mary ever demonstrated good judgment about anything before?I think the line that sold me on the show was when you said it could be like Mary, only funny. Can you imagine Mary if she was funny as well as awesome.
It would be the greatest thing ever to hit the internets since your sister did that webcam show when Darth Cicero paid her £5 and 'forgot' to set it to private.

Btw, I've also got much more time for you now that I've found out that your hero is Angel or Dean from Supernatural. Or Ronaldo.
From the description it could be either one but idrc which.

[mjmacky]

Cons: Has Mary ever demonstrated good judgment about anything before?

Is that a con? I mean, with the context from which we're working, my displaying of good judgment would be a con for you all.