It would be a mistake for Hollywood and TV executives to, "embark on a legal crackdown" against European file-sharers, says Mark Mulligan, an analyst at Jupiter Research in London, England.

Quoted in a Reuters' September 18 Punishing UK downloaders will alienate customers, Mulligan says to go against this consumer segment, "which could some day be a media company's best customers," would be unwise.

Earlier, the Reuters report said Europe's internet downloaders are "avid music fans who own multiple gadgets and are as likely to buy a CD as anyone else," belying the notion of the "slacker teenager trawling the internet for free music to hoard".

The results came from a Jupiter survey of 5,000 internet users this summer in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy, Spain, France and Germany, says the report.

Mulligan says 15% of Europeans surveyed download a movie each month from a free file-sharing service and Spain tops the list with 38%, "admitting to downloading a movie each month.

"In contrast, a separate Jupiter survey of US Internet users reported that 12 per cent of Americans download a video file each month."

Europeans, "are more likely to listen to digital radio and visit artist websites," and "There is compelling evidence that this group is the bedrock community for those willing to pay for legitimate [online] music services in the future," Mulligan added.

Europe's file sharers prefer services such as WinMX and Donkey, "which are havens for film, software and music videos. Services such as Kazaa, which runs on the file-sharing Fasttrack technology and are teeming with songs, are more popular in North America," Chris Colman, European, Middle East and Africa managing director of Sandvine, a Canadian company which makes products aimed at minimizing the "escalating bandwidth costs associated with file-sharing," saysin the same story.

North Americans and Europeans appear to be using p2p for different purposes, but there is one constant: file-sharing usage is escalating as the market for high-speed, broadband internet grows, he said, going on, "We're finding that new broadband subscribers are sharing files earlier and existing broadband subscribers are sharing files more."

Downloading movies, even with broadband, takes a long time, and if the movie is of poor quality, to me, it's worse than not watching it at all.
It seems that the audience probably can tell a decrease in technical quality of an image (as in movie) than a decrease in bitartrate quality.

I wouldnt down load a movie, If I want to watch a movie I would watch it in surround sound and my larger than my monitor television.

You CAN download a movie to watch on your big screen in DVD quality. Most consumers just don't know how.

Myself, I only download movies like 'The Two Towers' because I prefer to bypass the studio arbitrarily forcing me to wait 8 months after the theatrical release before the consumer DVD is availabe (just to maximize their box office profits.) And, I STILL buy the DVD when it comes out even though I have already downloaded it.

One thing is certain, the average price of a DVD at $25 and CD at $15 definately doesn't reflect the PERCEIVED value of the media. Music CD's should have been in the $5-$10 mark all along, reflecting their far cheaper manufacturing costs over cassettes and compete better with the prices of other entertainment products such as DVD and video games.

I'd much rather spend $25 on a new DVD, even if it wasn't all that great, than $15 on a CD.

Somehow The MPAa and the RIAa better learn to go along to get along. Otherwise they will drive filesharing underground and to countries where a little bribe will keep you out of the police crosshairs.

There have been many Movies I wanted to go see in the theaters. But did not, because of Shotty Reveiws by critics and annoying people in the theaters. The only movie I saw in the box office was matrix reloaded. And it was a month after it came out. why did I wait so long you ask. IMAX baby! The experience is so much more enjoyable. The seating arrangment's are way better then traditional theaters. The Picture quality is unreal. And the sound systems are even enhanced. Plus one more reason I saw it was a Trailer I downloaded off a P2P network!! And buy the time I did see the movie I could have downloaded the whole thing but did not because I knew IMAX would be the better choice.

The MPAA has nothin to worry about. Even IF i d/l movies...i STILL wanna see em in the theater. you cant bring that home...big screen viewing rocks.

Agreeing w/ Accipiter777...Can't wait to see UNDERWORLD..ok, concept could be funny, Vampires v. Werewolf (sounds like Jason v. Freddie) but, where else can you see a war between vamps and werewolves...
gotta get back on topic be4 I leave, so
ummmm...yeah, how about those Europeans and those wacky downloads?
~code

Hmmm....... Buffy meets The Matrix....

Exactly...going to the theater is almost analogous to watching a music concert. Artists have nothing to lose by letting people freely share music since they still make tons of money via concerts and merchandise... the same is true for movies. People will still frequent movie theaters even if the movie is on the internet months before release. Most people know if a movie is worth seeing based on reviews by friends anyway so internet downloading is unlikely to have any real impact on box office receipts. The MPAA better not follow the path of the RIAA and piss off the entire population even more with pointless self-damaging legal action.

The only thing the internet does do, is make it very easy for professional pirates to distribute anything they want nearly instantly, globally and securely. These are the people that turn around and bootleg and sell for cash, and these people definately should be sued because they are actually taking legit consumer dollars away from the industry. The average consumer is *NOT* hurting the industry. Professional bootleg pirates, and the industry's own stupid legal actions, are what is hurting the industry.

Sorry, couldn't help it. Back OT: Yeah, how 'bout those Europeans & those wacky downloads?

But it's still a good idea to sue Americans?

Hollywood should be nice to Americans period.

I don't think the MPAA really has anything to worry about when it comes to their films popping up all over the place on Kazaa. Let's face it - most people want to see the latest big, loud blockbuster on the biggest screen with the loudest DTS system. You can't get that experience out of an XviD file, no matter how decked-out it may be. Even the best home-theater system can't fully capture the magic of seeing something like "Lord of the Rings" on a massive screen in a theater (even if theaters with truly massive screens are hard to come by these days).

I will say that if they want to keep their profits from slipping any more than they already have, they should start making some higher quality product. Hollywood is cruel to everyone when they signed on Michael Bay. But that's another topic altogether.

we made Hollywood to what it is today we can easly destroy them......heck i dont download movies that much and i still rent the movies and go to the theaters

Yeah but the RIAA did a survey of 800 people and it clearly showed that 53% of the people surveyed are satisfied with the actions of the RIAA.

purfus...i think that survey came before they started sueing children and grandparents

Every single thing the RIAA publishes, including its surveys and especially its statistics, are exaggerated, twisted and misleading, if not outright lies. Before they started suing 12-year-olds, that was the target of their market research.

They lie without compunction in government hearings, using blatantly false data. If you believe a word they say without verifying it through other sources, you are a fool.

you tell them Z-man the riaa are almost like little kids the mpaa is almost like a grown up but thay still fail but as fars as saying that thay are one best entertanment related indastry next to the indies would be fair so far thay have dun nothing to the public about file sharing excepte say stop sharing my files with is like thair grown up :0P but in the same sence thay keep trying to make it impossable for us to back up are DVDs well that is unless thay are producing the dvd rippers :0P and that would be the reson why thay are not quite grown up after all but thay are much better about things then the riaa so all and all thair is no big bisness thats consumer friendly but we will pick are battles carefully and leave battles like the mpaa for after the the fall of the riaa then we will deal with them dirty little scum buckets

Im one of those movie-downloading Europeans, and proud of it .

There are a fair number of people in the UK complaining that out British film industry is suffering because of competition from the Hollywood Giants, who can use their marketing power to promote their own films at the expense of British cinema. One recent film has been forced to distribute online in a DRMed WMV download largely because cinema scheduals are full of US-made hits.

Asside from the complaints about the US monoculture spreading its cultural influence worldwide, and the related issue of the steady increase in special effects budgets over the last three decades, I and many other people in this part of the world just dont think about films in the same way as the Americans (who we make fun of for their intrest - I have a parody cover of the harry potter book which says "Harry Potter and the Magic Rock - Now further simplified for American readers"). Films are entertaining, and occasionally something to spend money on, even to look forward to seeing. But not something which must be seen without hours of release.

I think the US could benefit a lot if it had an equivilent of the BBC, a government-funded content producer comitted to unbiased news and produceing quality programing, often reflecting the countries culture. A producer than can focus on culture and inteligent programing, instead of dumbing-down to appeal to the widest possible audence so advertiseing is maximised. Of course, if the US government tried to set up something like that the studios, networks and channels would probably lobby hard against it, complaining (ironicly) about "unfair competition" from a company which doesn't have to please advertisers.

The American obsession with the Geat Television is a constant irritation. Children dont read, or even leave the couch too often, instead watching program after program. The term "idiot box" is certinly an accurate description of that device. A thousand channels, and still never anything good on, just violence, hardly-concealed sex, more violence and a lot of advertiseing. Wars, famine and natural disasters barely acknowledged in some far off country with a name the viewer doesn't even bother remembering. Celebrities social lives dominateing the news, while the mention of a serious issue triggers a wave of channel-hopping. Its a nation of couch potatos, people who can recite the actor list for every big film made in the last decade but struggle to do simple maths, and children who relax after school by watching four or five hours of cartoons.

Ok, thats the Anti-American rant over. Sure, they have a reputation for stupidity but im sure they cant be all bad

Nah we are not too bad.

I don't know but i think the TV market is going to go down the tubes in the next few years. its sooo boring. Plus there is not even any TV series that is interesting.

i used to watch tv somewhat when i was a kid but got bored. i've not watched any tv in the last few years at all. (i've been wondering if hollywood is going to sue people once TV starts losing like 20-30% of the viewers.)

plus with tv you spend so much TIME watching the stupid advertisements which is really a waste. Plus the news on the internet offer a lot more differant points of views on topics.

i really do like video games a lot. For pretty much one reason GOOD STORIES.
plus at least tidus from final fantasy 10 does not ask for 30 million dollars for a movie(arnold for terminator 3!!! - i think thats kind of nuts even tho i do like his movies at times)

tho i've been downloading/renting some cool sci fi tv shows and movies a lot. I think i might quit watching hollywood movies after LOTR: Return of the King and Matrix Revolutions come out.

I don't really know HOW a lot of games seem to have a lot better stories(and acting at times) then regular movies but i like it. Why can't hollywood make a more thinking mans movie like Metal Gear Solid 1 you know?

Actually i don't think you even need to worry too much about special effects these days. I would not mind a tv series with like older star trek sci fi special effects if it had a good story and good characters(the most IMPORTANT things). There is no TV series worth watching too much at this moment really.

--tho i might start watching some more japanese anime and seeing if i can get into that because a lot of my games come from japan which i really like so much. Plus i hear they got some good characters and stories. know any good sci fi ones. plus hey its non hollywood

(sorry if there is spelling errors rlol. i'm kind of lazy with doing internet talking)

We don't need a US Government content "producer"... but a US Government content "distributer" might be a good idea.

Think about it...

A website open to ALL content producers, famous, not famous, big, small, funded, or not, not in itself discriminatory, not for profit of any kind... you know, the "Great Juke Box in the Sky"

...oh,

they already invented it...

...it is called the Internet.

(no wonder the RIAA and all their monopolistic oligopoly is up in arms...the Internet could level the playing field.)

Shmoo, of Electric Gypsy
Support Local and Independent Music! (and movies, and words, and ideas, and, etc. etc. etc.)

Anime certinly fills in the areas US TV misses (and doesn't draw birds with reversed legs like most American animators . The trick is wadeing through the rubbish to get to the good bits. Of course, like US TV it contains plenty of variety, includeing plenty of violence-for-no-reason and psudo-science nonsense. But theres an intelligent side as well, something US TV producers really should try to include. The rapidly increaseing popularity of anime certinly highlights the falling appeal of more conventional US programs.

One channel here is showing 24-hour live coverage of David "no-pain-no-brain" Blain, who has locked himself up in a box with no food for 40 days for an endurance stunt (I suspect his water drip might contain added sugar through). Standards are definately falling.

heres where i empathize with the mpaa, and believe me my heart does not bleed for these assholes. but the fact is, hollywood spends millions upon millions of dollars to make a movie. which still bogles me, when a movie that takes millions to make is cheaper, than the Soundtrack which is cheaper to make but is more expensive.

as long as there are theatres the mpaa will still continue to thrive producing movies.