Downloading copyrighted movies via torrents is illegal, which we’re sure many of you guys are well-aware of, although admittedly that hasn’t stopped many from continuing to do so, which is why services like Netflix are pretty popular because it means that users won’t have to wait for the delivery of their DVD or Blu-ray since content can be streamed directly.Interestingly enough it seems that even movie streams can be pirated, which is what Popcorn Time is looking to do. Popcorn Time is a desktop app available for Mac, Windows, and Linux computers, and when installed it allows users to stream movies, all sorts of movies including the latest ones, onto their computer for free!
What it does is that it actually streams from the torrent itself, meaning that you will not have to wait for the entire torrent to finish downloading before you can enjoy your movie. In the process of streaming, you’d also be seeding the torrent to other users who are streaming the movie as well. In a way we guess the smoothness of stream might depend on the connection of others.
Naturally streaming torrents doesn’t make it any less wrong, and Popcorn Time does give users warnings, reminding them that if they get caught that they are on their own and that Popcorn Time will have nothing to do with you. On the website’s FAQ when asked if this is legal, it reads, “Depends on where you’re from, really. Once again: we’re using torrents, so if you really care, you’d better google what the legal situation around these protocol is where you live.”
Naturally we don’t condone or advocate piracy, but this is an interesting development and if you were so inclined to take it for a spin yourself, well you’ve heard and read the warnings, so proceed at your own risk!