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  • VRBangers got rid of the download button

The no downloads thing, it's not only about if streaming is okay for you at the moment or you can live with the download workaround it's also about vr bangers greatly diminishing your rights as a consumer. They can at any point mess up your download workaround, make other stupid anti consumer limitations like forcing you to keep an active subscription to watch your movies or limit what you can download and how frequently, pulling scenes which will be gone forever like SLR did, etc. But they can't do it all at once, so they chip away at your rights till it's too late.

It's a slippery slope and user should stand up to this anti consumer behavior before it's to late. Before you know it we'll have traded in all our rights like we did with streaming and games and be much worse off because of it. Porn would simply suck when we only have streaming only walled gardens. We would pay much more (if you want content from multiple sites), couldn't use the vr players we want, have to switch between a shit load of players, wouldn't be able to manage our own library, couldn't make playlists and compilation of multiple studios, generate subtitles or passthrough for your own videos, permanently keep your favorites, have the best quality for the video (not capped to 30mbs, which will be a big deal once 8k+ content will become available), and on and on. Really VR bangers should be boycotted for this until they revert this decision

I did actually e-mail them regarding the download issue, and this was their reply for anyone who's interested...

Hello,

Thank you for getting in touch. The video download functionality has been moved from the website to the PLAY'a app. Make sure to download the PLAY'a app to continue enjoying video downloads with the enhanced features of PLAY'a.

We understand that this change might be disappointing for some who prefer downloading files. However, based on a thorough analysis of our website data and logs, which revealed that less than 10% of members use the download function through browsers, we have decided to remove this function from the website.

This change will help reduce server load, improve speed, enhance streaming quality, and ultimately enhance the quality of our future content.

We recognize that some of you still prefer downloading files, so we have kept the option to download videos through the free PLAY'a app. The app also offers a wide range of functions not available in the browser, as well as many video adjustments, hotkeys, and much more.

To download a video in the Free PLAY'a app, please follow these steps:

  1. Open the PLAY'a app.
  2. Add vrbangers.com and log in to your account.
  3. Choose the video you want to download and click on it.
  4. Click "Download Video" and choose the video quality.
    ​
    We assure you that the process is straightforward and easy to follow. You can find more information about the app at https://vrbangers.com/app/

    tallbloke35 Those lame generic responses of theirs is the cherry on top of a slap on the customers face.

    I'm just glad this insane business-decision happened before my renewal.

    As you mentioned above, the statistics they provide as a reason is laughable.

        takabom The insane thing is that i'm a lifetime subscriber and yes i'm pissed, but pretty much nothing i can do about it except spread the word of this decision and trust me alot more than i'm willing to reveal.

        But.... who in their right minds would now subscribe as a monthly user to their site where the option to watch their admittedly high quality scenes in the best player available is taken away from them.

        They have amazing image quality and now that is reduced to the shitty Playa option where 8k looks shitter than 4k.

        You may as well just download 4k pirate copy for free, and even as a lifetime subscriber my only option to watch their scenes is piracy at 4k - I literally cannot watch their scenes as a subscriber.

        In... flippin insane but it's Friday and i'm feeling good !

        Fortunately i'm in control of my other subscriptions and as soon as they follow suit i will cancel - I have more than enough downloaded content to see me through but prefer to support creators who are honest and i feel should be rewarded or payed for content they create.

            Silly-Sausage They moved the download options to Play'a, so if you want to download onto a computer you should think about making Play'a work on that computer...

                Silly-Sausage Life is full of contradictions. The new deal is: We recognize that some of you still prefer downloading files, so we have kept the option to download videos through the free PLAY'a app. Play'a app is available for computers. Unfortunately, on my platform limited to 6K, but you may be luckier.

                Frankly, I have no idea what the genuine reason behind this move is. To me it seems like a desperate move, one of the kind you make when every penny counts, one or two steps away from bankruptcy.

                    SchnuppiLilac one or two steps away from bankruptcy.

                    At least that would be honesty, I hope they go out of business with this move, but i guarantee 100% they won't because they know how to manipulate people into sympathy.

                    They stole my money - i want them to fail and with their response to my messgaging i'll do everything i can to make it so.

                      It doesnt even work, I cant add the vrbangers.com website.

                      Damn, I have a lifetime account there and feel scammed now.... What a HORRIBLE move

                      Silly-Sausage it already happened to SLR. I only watch passthrough now that I own a Quest 3, and most of it is AI passthrough, which can't be downloaded. SLR keeps implying that they're moving to streaming only, so I wouldn't be surprised if they never add the option to download AI passthrough scenes

                          lolitovtb Well I wouldnt mind that much IF they had a good player that supports all headsets including the AVP. Right now AVP support for streaming downright s*cks, so anyone with an AVP really needs to be downloading. But if you can just stream at max quality without hiccups, personally I wouldnt have any issues. I guess the only risk then would still be that if the company stops, then you're left without any content.

                            There's over 100 negative responses on that forum thread now (mostly all unique users too), and here's a summary of what I gathered from there:

                            • Apple Vision Pro users can't access VRBangers in the app, so they are fucked
                            • Pico users can't use PLAY'a, so they are fucked
                            • Meta 3 users can't download the files successfully, so they are fucked
                            • Linux users can't download the files, so they are fucked
                            • PLAY'a doesn't allow resumes, so people with less robust wifi are fucked

                            VRB is a total joke. They can't do anything right. They sail only on their marketing and getting some big names every once in a while. Just a greedy and unethical company.

                              • [deleted]

                              • Post #23

                              PLAY'A doesn't work for me and Streaming through the browser only offers 4K quality. Unfortunately, I'm a lifetime subscriber, so it's too late for me. But the rest of you can step back and let that site rot!

                              I don't post on forums often but, as a lifetime subscriber to VRBangers, I'm fucking pissed about this. Who in their right mind would want to sign up for this bullshit?! Fuck VRB

                              My back and fourth so far:

                              ME:

                              Hello,

                              I am currently unable to download any videos even though I am able to watch them streamed. The download button just isn't there.
                              Did I hit a download cap halfway through my last download? It seems strange to me if that's the case as I have a 2 year subscription. I travel for work and have to deal with horrible download speeds in hotels, so to watch anything it has to be downloaded. This effectively makes the site unusable to me and any help would be appreciated

                              VRB:

                              Hello,

                              Thank you for getting in touch. The video download functionality has been moved from the website to the PLAY'a app. Make sure to download the PLAY'a app to continue enjoying video downloads with the enhanced features of PLAY'a.

                              We understand that this change might be disappointing for some who prefer downloading files. However, based on a thorough analysis of our website data and logs, which revealed that less than 10% of members use the download function through browsers, we have decided to remove this function from the website.

                              This change will help reduce server load, improve speed, enhance streaming quality, and ultimately enhance the quality of our future content.

                              We recognize that some of you still prefer downloading files, so we have kept the option to download videos through the free PLAY'a app. The app also offers a wide range of functions not available in the browser, as well as many video adjustments, hotkeys, and much more.

                              To download a video in the Free PLAY'a app, please follow these steps:

                              1. Open the PLAY'a app.
                              2. Add vrbangers.com and log in to your account.
                              3. Choose the video you want to download and click on it.
                              4. Click "Download Video" and choose the video quality.
                                ​
                                We assure you that the process is straightforward and easy to follow. You can find more information about the app at https://vrbangers.com/app/
                                ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

                              ME: (changed supports name cause they didn't make this decision but are getting ALL the blowback)

                              VRB,

                              I know this wasn't your decision, but that is one of the dumbest things I have heard...
                              Just so I understand correctly, the only way I can download a video is if I download it to the headset and am actively using and wearing it?
                              Please let me know if I am misunderstanding.

                              If not, why? What harm was done by leaving a download button on the website?
                              I don't know who made that decision but they are a twat.

                              VRB:

                              Hello,

                              Thank you for your understanding. The downloads are exclusively available in the PLAY'a app, which is compatible with various devices. I can provide you with more information about how to use the PLYA'a if you provide me with the type of your device.

                              We understand that switching to the app might not be convenient for everyone. To better understand your needs and improve our services, we would love to hear your thoughts on the following:

                              1. Why do you prefer using the website over the app?
                              2. What specific challenges or inconveniences do you face when using our app?
                              3. What features or improvements would make the app more appealing and useful for you?
                              4. Your feedback is invaluable to us, and we are committed to making adjustments based on your input. Please feel free to share any additional comments or suggestions.

                              Some reasons for removing this feature from the website are that most of our users prefer streaming videos, it requires additional resources to support, and it helps prevent the illegal distribution of our content.

                              Thank you for your understanding and continued support.

                              ME:

                              "I can provide you with more information about how to use the PLYA'a if you provide me with the type of your device. "

                              I'm familiar with how the app works and already use it when it's appropriate for me to do so.

                              1. Why do you prefer using the website over the app?
                                I travel for work, so I stay in hotels mostly and hotels almost always have a download speed of 15Mbps or less, which will stutter on a 2k video.

                              2. What specific challenges or inconveniences do you face when using our app?
                                None, I use the app when it is convenient, at home. Though the poor controls for the handy are less than ideal and leaves me using 3rd party apps like heresphere.

                              3. What features or improvements would make the app more appealing and useful for you?
                                Being honest, the app is very simple with clunky controls. For instance, using the thumbsticks to move the center of vision instead of just grabbing and moving with a trigger or grip and moving the hand. The lack of ability to manually sync the handy is also a big turn off to it. It's just nowhere near as feature heavy nor intuitive as many other competitors. But that's fine cause I didnt subscribe for the app, I subscribed for the content. And now the content has been effectively taken away from me unless i go home and download the videos onto my headset (which requires I wear it the whole time to do so). Then I need to copy the files out of my head set to an external drive cause the headset can only hold a few videos worth of content before the drive is full.

                              4. Your feedback is invaluable to us, and we are committed to making adjustments based on your input. Please feel free to share any additional comments or suggestions.
                                Just please include the download button. It REALLY inconveniences me and makes your service near useless where as if people really still want to pirate it they can. Just it takes more effort, but someone going through the steps to make the content available to pirate is obviously going to do this extra bit. So nothing solved, your site saves a couple bucks cause now no one has to put a download button on a website, and your content has become borderline useless to me and anyone without an amazing internet connection capable of streaming high resolution 8k content.

                              I really just don't get how this wasn't a foreseeable issue for end users and I will be very surprised if this doesn't heavily impact subscriptions in the future. If it stays this way, I know for certain that I won't renew.