Channels & viewing

[BNB]

@DBDukes I should have used defamatory but I wasn’t expecting you to provide the legal definition. I’ll concede your much smarter than me even though you missed the point.

VidAngel isn’t firing up their base as you keep accusing them. In fact, they are actually pointing their customers to other options and working hard to expand options for people to conveniently use their product post Roku. It is true that they had a judgement against them for past filtering practices but they haven’t offered that service since 2016.  The service they currently provide is totally legal and allows customers to filter content through their paid subscription to streaming services like Amazon, Netflix, and AppleTV.  The fact is, your facts are not facts.

People that use VidAngel are aware of the great original content and the unique service they provide and are disappointed that service will be discontinued on their Roku devices because we really enjoyed using it on Roku.

I find it strange that you are quick to condemn VidAngel, rooted in Christian values, and lump the company’s business practices in with a deplorable product such as Pornhub. VidAngel consumers, not VidAngel the company, may have made some incorrect statements fueled by their disappointment but the point was that your comments were much worse. 

[DBDukes]

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@BNB wrote:

@DBDukes .... I’ll concede your much smarter than me ...

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Not at all. That is a conclusion based on a lack of evidence. There are things about which you are more familiar than others. There are others that are more familiar with some things than you. That's all.

[Kenporon]

@Wraith1000 

VidAngel lost a $64-million decision against Disney and Warner Bros. A later agreement dropped it to under $10-million. Why did VidAngel have to pay anything and go bankrupt? Because VidAngel violated the rights of Disney and Warner Bros. As content owners, Disney and Warner Bros. have rights. You may not like it, that is the law.

By their fruits? VidAngel profited on the fruits of others, against the rights of others, and against the law. So, yeah, I know them. And their business practices are a low as the business practices of PornHub. And I bring that group up because they are telling their masses that Roku is leading a charge against them, imposing Roku's morality on them. Roku is being attacked from both sides, by two companies that produce very different products, but with the same dirty tactics.

Go follow VidAngel as a bearer of light in this dark world. Then go look up who else was called a bearer of light.

@Wraith1000, this is the most ridiculous post against Vidangel.  Explain How they are taking away from any of these companies by providing a service they do not offer, that allows those of us to watch their shows, when otherwise we would not, Again, Vidangel is providing a service that these companies to do not provide or offer, Vidangel is actually helping them sell their product to those that will not buy it without the filtering. Only thing that is dirty here is you bashing Vidangel for no logical reason. All Roku has to do certify Vidangel on there platform, problem solved! 

[DBDukes]

@Kenporon 

You're bashing @Wraith1000 for no valid reason. He's not the one that wrote that. I am.

Do you realize that you're arguing in favor of the actions that cost VidAngel money? You're saying that it's okay if people edit movies without permission and charge others for the service? Is that really what you're saying? I don't think it actually is. I think what you're arguing is worse than that. You're saying the law doesn't apply to anyone you like. Probably because you haven't thought this through.

Let's play what-if for a minute. Suppose a rival company, call them VidDemon, took movies and instead of editing out language, edited coarse language IN? Voice actors, it's possible. And instead of editing out scenes, edited x-rated scenes IN? CGI, body doubles, it's possible. And these edits done over the protest of the content owners. Is that okay? No? Why not? It's nothing more than editing content in a movie to appeal to a different audience, which is what VidAngel did. But it's not done in a way you like. So the rules don't apply? Is that what you're saying?

There are laws about this stuff. And VidAngel violated the copyright of the content owners. They edited without permission and resold it. It doesn't matter what the edit is. You can't legally do that.

Now, no company has edited such content INTO movies. Well, not yet. Who knows what some people may do. But if they do without permission of the content owners, they are subject to legal action. You can't edit movies without permission of the content owners. Period.

[Wraith1000]

@DBDukes 

You sir are a troll.  You have done nothing but bring negativity and sling mud at those who are trying to communicate a message to Roku. You are an expert of nothing and your comments are unhelpful. Please go away.

[DBDukes]

@Wraith1000 

Again, facts don't care if you like them or not.

[BNB]

There is a big difference of adding content to a copyright protected work and filtering out content out of that work after I purchased it.  One big difference is that filtering is protected by federal law.  These two things are not the same, legally or rationally.

The only reason VidAngel lost the suit is the filtering took place before the consumer purchased the work from VidAngel which technically violated the copyright, or something to that affect. They paid the penalty so you should let it go and stop pretending they are doing something wrong. 

[BrandonHaag]

Based on advice from this forum, I went to Walmart last night and bought the 4K Onn Android TV streaming box.  Apparently, the Walmart Onn 4k streaming box is for sale online for $20, so they price matched my purchase and saved me $10.  Setup was easy.  I was able to quickly and easily download VidAngel from the Google Play store and then disable almost all apps on the device, except VidAngel and Rumble.  I don't plan to request a credit from VidAngel since the problem with Roku doesn't seem to be any fault of theirs and, honestly, I love supporting their service and original family-friendly/Christian programming.  While I am upset with Roku and very un-professional forum moderators for lumping VidAngel in with Porn services -- any problem in life that can be resolved for $20 doesn't deserve this much angst. 

Have a blessed day, one and all!

Brandon.

[atc98092]

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@BNB wrote:

There is a big difference of adding content to a copyright protected work and filtering out content out of that work after I purchased it.  

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Unfortunately, there is no difference. You are permitted to do so with media you have purchased (although look at the actually license on the disc and you'll see you are only purchasing the right to play it in your own home), but the rules differ for a commercial venture. That is why VidAngel lost their suit.

I acknowledge that they are now operating under a different structure that appears to be legally compliant. I have no idea why Roku won't certify their channel, but my guess is the legal members of their staff are advising against doing so. Roku has similar legal problems in the past, mostly in other countries, because they didn't block channels from offering material illegally. They are likely being overly cautious about something that could draw them into someone else's issues. That's the reason for removing ALL non-certified channels. It's the only way Roku can ensure they aren't violating the law in one of many countries their devices are sold and used. 

[DBDukes]

@BrandonHaag 

One correction: No Roku moderators have responded on this thread.

Re: Onn device. The Onn streaming box is a decent little device. Its performance is not quite that of Google's own Chromecast with Google TV, but it is an okay little streamer. But stay away from the Onn stick. I know you didn't suggest it, but I wouldn't want anyone to think it's the same thing. It's not. The Onn stick is buggy and extremely sluggish. Using one of those is not a happy experience. The few dollars difference in price between the Onn box and Onn stick makes the box a much better bargain.