Because I've received quite a few requests, I've created a PPA for Popcorn Time. In other Popcorn Time news, the application was updated to version 0.3.1 today, getting new features and important bug fixes.
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As a reminder, Popcorn Time is an open source Netflix-style torrent streaming application for Linux, Windows and Mac. The application allows users to stream movies (with subtitles) and TV series starting with the new 0.3 version, at no cost, and that may be illegal in your country so make sure you read the disclaimer before using Popcorn Time!
On the other hand, Popcorn Time can't exactly be considered illegal in most countries since the application itself doesn't include illegal content, but it can be used to download such content, like any other BitTorrent application. For instance, Ubuntu ships with Transmission, a BitTorrent client, by default. Furthermore, qBittorrent and Tribbler, two BitTorrent clients which come with a built-in Torrent search features, are available in the official Ubuntu / Debian repositories.
On the other hand, Popcorn Time can't exactly be considered illegal in most countries since the application itself doesn't include illegal content, but it can be used to download such content, like any other BitTorrent application. For instance, Ubuntu ships with Transmission, a BitTorrent client, by default. Furthermore, qBittorrent and Tribbler, two BitTorrent clients which come with a built-in Torrent search features, are available in the official Ubuntu / Debian repositories.
Important notes about the Popcorn Time PPA:
- no Popcorn Time files are stored in the PPA. The PPA packages use an installer to automatically download and install Popcorn Time;
- using this PPA, the Popcorn Time auto-update feature won't work (you'll receive updates through the PPA so you'll be notified just like with regular system updates - via Software Updater. Also, I tend to push updates pretty fast!);
- besides official Popcorn Time releases, I may also push Git snapshots to the PPA if I consider that a feature or a bug fix is cool to have before the official release of a new version;
- the package installer will display a warning and ask you to read the Popcorn Time Terms of Service before installing the application and only by agreeing to that you'll be able to install it (only the first time you install it; it won't be displayed every time you update the package);
- this is the first Popcorn Time PPA installer release and there might be bugs;
- the installer might fail behind proxies, firewalls, blocked ports.
Not exactly related to the PPA but it's still worth mentioning: a while back, a Debian bug was submitted, requesting Popcorn Time to be included in the Debian repositories (and thus, by sync, in Ubuntu) - the bug was closed when the initial Popcorn Time was shut down but now that Popcorn Time was brought back to life, who knows, we might see it in Debian at some point.
Changes in Popcorn Time 0.3.1
Popcorn Time 0.3.1 was released today and it includes new features such as: advanced settings which let you change various connection, DHT and tmp folder options, etc., as well as the ability to position the subtitles anywhere on the screen via drag and drop, along with bug fixes.
Most importantly, the bug that caused various video playback lag / slowness / visual glitches in the previous release was marked as fixed. The performance is still not great, at least it wasn't in my test, but you can tweak it further by lowering (or even setting it to 0) the DHT connections from the new advanced settings.
Changes in Popcorn Time 0.3.1:
- added mirror fallback to yify subtitles;
- add methods to mark tv shows as watched;
- added quality filter for movies;
- added Advanced Settings with Connection, DHT, Tmp Folder options;
- you can now close modal dialogs by pressing Esc;
- added a help view for keyboard shortcuts which can be triggered by pressing the ? key;
- the subtitles are now draggable around the player - use drag and drop to position the subtitles anywhere you want on the screen;
- drag and drop subtitles on the player to load custom SRT file;
- subtitles are searched by filename for better results;
- rebuild TV Show API Endpoint with live data;
- subtitles encoding fixes;
- copy stream URL to clipboard directly. To do this, press U;
- catch exception to prevent blocking on initDb;
- fixed watched list;
- fixed scrollbar;
- fixed visual glitches, jumps, lag in TV Shows and various performance improvements for movies - if you still encounter video lag issues, try setting the DHT limit to a lower number (in the Popcorn Time Advanced Settings);
- pressing ESC cancels/stops download on "Downloading" screen;
- faster application startup.
Install Popcorn Time in Ubuntu / Linux Mint / Debian via PPA
Note: when installing Popcorn Time from the PPA, you'll be prompted to accept that you're installing it on your own risk and that you've read the terms of service (only the first time you install it; it won't be displayed every time you update the package):
To add the WebUpd8 Popcorn Time PPA and install the app in Ubuntu / Linux Mint (and elementary OS along with Ubuntu derivatives: Xubuntu, Kubuntu, etc.), use the following commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/popcorntime
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install popcorn-timeTo install Popcorn Time from the WebUpd8 PPA repository in Debian, use the following commands:
su -
echo "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/popcorntime/ubuntu trusty main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/webupd8team-popcorntime.list
echo "deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/popcorntime/ubuntu trusty main" | tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/webupd8team-popcorntime.list
apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys EEA14886
apt-get update
apt-get install popcorn-time
exitReport packaging-related bugs in the comments below and Popcorn Time related bugs @ GitHub.
If you don't want to use the WebUpd8 Popcorn Time PPA or you don't use Ubuntu, grab Popcorn Time from GitHub (or its official website, linked at the top of the GitHub page).