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Comment by saltyfamiliar | Hacker News Reader

I truly cannot relate. All one needs is a VPN, a torrent client, a browser and an internet connection. Most tv's nowadays are smart enough to either connect to a simple Windows share or at least be able to play movie files. My SO and I watch a new movie almost every single night with a very simple setup and rarely encounter problems. It reads to me like you've over engineered movie night and are now complaining about the complexity.

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Three comments so far that highlight the exact point the parent was making, a true lack of empathy. VPN alone is enough complexity for most... it's hard to find one that doesn't have comments calling it potentially insecure, questioning the owner, nevermind keeping tabs on if it sells to another owner.

Maybe. It is still more complex than just using Netflix. OTOH, there’s enough stable software for this out there that’s it can be a “set it up and forget about it” experience if you want it to be. The right client will search N sources for you with the click of a button, instead of you having to search Netflix, then Hulu, then HBO, then Disney+, then Funimation, Crunchyroll, and so on until you find (or don’t find) the thing you’re looking for.

At what point does the daily time savings from having a unified view into all the world’s media outweigh the initial time cost of setting it up? It surely varies by person. Personally, spending one day setting up a media server is a far better experience than spending 5 minutes every #%$!ng night searching for some show on all these platforms and still not finding it.

I don't think VPNs are that complex. At least if the ads on just about every YouTube video I watch are to be believed. I think VPNs are actually pretty mainstream now.

> VPN alone is enough complexity for most...

Where is it complex? Most VPN providers these days provide a one-click solution to connect your devices to a VPN.

You can use a seedbox and then download via sftp. The seedbox is exposed and the service takes the piracy notices.

This eliminates exposing your IP from torrents and the file being downloaded.

For a site like HN, I'm really surprised at this discussion.

> All one needs is a VPN

You don't need that. At least, I don't.

> a torrent client

All good operating systems (i.e. Linux) come with one. Though obviously most non-technical people don't use Linux.

> a browser

Pretty much standard on everything.

> an internet connection

Which they would be using anyway for streaming services.

> Most tv's nowadays are smart enough

Aaagh! Don't use "smart" TVs!

You do need a VPN to mask your IP. Especially if you're going to be using public trackers. Otherwise you'll get copyright notices and you're ISP could terminate your service.

Depends on where you live. At least in the UK, ISPs can kick and scream but generally won't terminate you.

Get a seedbox and download the files over sftp from it. All your ISP will see is a large transfer, no file names or knowledge of content.

> Aaagh! Don't use "smart" TVs!

This response is the perfect example exactly what the OP was talking about.

Smart TVs are great. Click a button, see the show you want.

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