Download time stops much movie vice

The Weekend Herald was taken through the process of downloading the recently released movie Miami Vice by a New Zealand "pirate" this week.

All we needed was a broadband internet connection - and a lot of time.

It began by downloading a software "client" that connected us to a so-called peer-to-peer sharing network. There were lots to choose from, the most popular being those that used BitTorrent system.

It took 10 minutes to download and five minutes to install it.

We then went to a popular file-sharing search engine called mininova.org. We searched for Miami Vice. It was up on another computer ready to be "shared" with whoever wanted it.

Download time depends on your internet connection, with a 2-5 gigabyte movie taking hours or up to two days. Most pirates leave it downloading overnight.

The pirate said the main thing stopping him from downloading movies was the time it took, but this would become better as people's broadband connections got faster.

This was the case with Miami Vice: we gave up.

The pirate had not heard of the pirate-hunting software being used by NZFAC.

He had soon found something he believed would protect him.

Costs

* Miami Vice at the theatre: $29 for two.

* On dodgy illegal DVD: $10.

* Downloaded to your computer at home: absolutely free.