(2016-10-22, 02:01)Balfore Wrote: Also, isn't ripping DVDs illegal?
In some countries it is illegal to break the DRM, if there is DRM on the DVD. I actually have a few movies were there is no DRM on the DVD. While a technical violation of the law, it is not "piracy" because the user still paid for their copy. The act of copying wasn't the illegal part, but rather the DRM part. However people process these files really isn't Kodi's business anyways, since it just sees a video file. It has no way to know if the original media had DRM or not.
Even then, it is more than possible to build a massive library of movies and TV shows without even breaking DRM. For example, over the air, satellite, and cable TV recording. I have a paid cable subscription and a cablecard from my cable company, plugged into a network tuner. Kodi can act as a front end to both record shows themselves, as well as build a library out of those files. For every illegal use of Kodi you can find a legal use. Kodi is a tool, just as your TV is a tool. It's one link in the chain. It is neither good, nor bad.
While I'm beating around the bush, I will tell you that I honestly have not a single one of those "add-ons" for pirated/bootleg video streams. Even if I'm in the minority, as far as Kodi users go, it's that kind of use that Kodi was made for. It might be hard to believe, but it's true. Kodi was not made for add-ons. Kodi didn't even have add-ons long long ago when it first started (then called XBMC). It's like finding out a shoe can be used as a hammer, so everyone buys that shoe to use as a hammer. The shoe maker shrugs and keeps making shoes. He doesn't really care what you use it for, but he is just interested in making shoes.
The point of the forum rules is that Kodi isn't just a program, but it's also a project, a group, and a formally registered foundation. Regardless of if people think pirating videos is right or wrong, you must understand that they cannot support such things on their website. It doesn't just look bad, but it could mean that things get shut down, like servers, or people's day jobs.
This isn't a moral stand. I don't think any less of someone who pirates the latest episode of South Park. Most people here don't care how you got your media, but they do ask that you don't talk about the illegal stuff here. Especially the illegal stuff that is likely to cause major issues (DVD ripping is a gray area).
