Kickass Torrents News: Users Can Stream Torrent Videos Through Torrents Time
It looks as if copyright advocates have more work cut out for them as torrents sites are still very much up and running, despite several attempts to shut them down. With the appearance of a browser plug-in called Torrents Time, these torrent sites can now allow their users to stream videos without the use of a torrent client. According to a Tech Times report, Kickass Torrents recently allowed Torrents Time to stream their torrents, following Pirate Bay's earlier implementation of the tool on their own site.
The report said that with KAT implementing the tool, it has become "the Netflix of torrents," allowing its users access to their torrent videos through a dedicated section called "Online Streaming with Torrents Time."
When a user activates streaming through Torrents Time and the browser plug-in is not yet installed, there will be a prompt that will let the user install the plug-in. If the plug-in is already installed, a video player will directly open and play the torrent video. Another pop-up will also appear that will ask the user if they want to use a Virtual Private Network for a fee, of course, but this can be skipped, says the report.
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The streaming will only start, however, if it is able to find peers who have the content, through trackers, DHT and PEX. The video quality will also be largely dependent on the user's Internet connection speed. The video player also provides support for subtitles, Chromecast, Airplay and DLNA.
In terms of compatibility, Torrents Time is compatible with browsers such as Chrome, IE and Firefox, and operating systems such as Windows 7 or later and OS X 10.8 or later. Developers are said to be working on compatibility for Safari. Unfortunately, Microsoft Edge is not included in the list.
As expected, copyright advocates are not taking these developments sitting down. The Netherlands-based anti-piracy group BREIN, following the launch of the Torrents Time software, has already written to Torrents Time developers to "cease-and-desist." Their letter states that the software is "illegal" and that it "structurally and systematically facilitates, enables and participates in the making available of infringing content without the authorization of the respective copyright and neighbouring rights holders."
Developers of Torrents Time have replied to BREIN's letter with this statement: "No court has ever ruled that Torrents Time breaches any right of any sort, including copyrights and neighbouring rights, for two main reasons: One: It was published less than 3 days ago, and two: It was carefully crafted not to do anything whatsoever so as to breach copyright or neighbouring rights."
It is not yet known whether this will escalate into a legal battle, but as of the moment, Torrents Time is still being used by many torrent websites.
