Technology & TV Shows

I know I'm probably the last person to get hooked on Lost. I try not to watch a lot of tv, but after hearing so much about Season 2 I decided to watch first few episodes from Season 1. After watching the pilot, I was addicted.

To watch the first season as fast as possible and catch up, I got the 7 discs from Netflix, Blockbuster Online, and even the last two from my local Blockbuster store (they counted as one rental). To catch up on Season 2, I downloaded a few episodes from iTunes for $1.99 each. I know I could have used BitTorrent to download them for free (illegally), but this gave me an excuse to try iTunes Video downloads. I also set my Windows XP Media Center PC to record Season 2 while I was watching Season 1. I liked the excuse to use several different technologies (that didn't exist a few years ago) to watch an entire season of tv in a few weeks -- legally.

A few Lost resources: ABC's Lost Web site, The Official Lost Podcast, a Lost blog, and Lost on the Wikipedia.

Comments

[Zach]

Fair use allows me to record a television show and give copies to friends. BitTorrent is an extension of that same principle.

Discuss.

[Jeff]

Fair use does not allow for the distribution aspect, only the personal use and personal archiving of said materials.

Also, I think fair use would be more along the lines of allowing you to record it and then loan your recording, not copies of it, to friends. Either that or let 'em watch it at your place.

"Either that or let 'em watch it at your place."

I got 35,000 of my closest friends coming over tonight to watch!

[CJ]

Boy are you LOST even watching TV.

I don't watch anything on TV that has a laugh track, is a reality show, is a game show, is a soap opera, or is an alleged news show - IMHO they're all an insult to anyone's intelligence. So, Let's see, that only leaves sports since I use Netflix for movies, and I usually use a DVR to skip the ads for sports shows. If it weren't for sports (also Ebert & Roeper), I could skip TV entirely.

Man, you're dreams have probably been pretty weird after all that. It's like using an IV when you used to just snort a little.

[PlungeBob]

Zach, that was a troll....but I liked it! :0)

I have been thinking about slurping the second season of Lost...

I will probably get the DVD when it is available.

To CJ:
Lost doesn't have a laugh track, isn't a reality show, isn't a game show, soap opera, or alleged news show. There are still quite a few shows that meet those 'disqualifications'.

I have to agree with your criteria though, I watch none of the above as well. I still watch Mythbusters, PTI, Scrubs (when it's on), Modern Marvels, and some other documentary-type stuff.

Lost rocks. I would jump on Kate.

Can't wait for the 2nd season to release on DVD. Any idea when that will happen?

I've attempted to D/L several vids from BitTorrent with several clients and have never saw a D/L start, ever, even after being hooked up for hours. I miss Napster and Kazaa.

"I don't watch anything on TV that has a laugh track, is a reality show, is a game show, is a soap opera, or is an alleged news show - IMHO they're all an insult to anyone's intelligence. So, Let's see, that only leaves sports... "

LOL. Televised sports are the ultimate insult to society, let alone one's intelligence.

[Zach]

Ok, let me refine...

The Betamax decision explicitly makes it legal to record a show for the sake of time-shifting.

BitTorrent allows one to legally time-shift viewing of television shows.

Discuss. :)

[Jeff]

Zach, if you're not doing the recording yourself, you're not time-shifting it. If you were able to somehow record a show onto a bittorrent and then use it yourself (and I know full well it doesn't work that way), then you'd be in the legal clear.

[dopey fanboy]

I have been downloading eps off bittorrent when i missed them on tv, but the problem as always is that you never know how decent the encode is, and it can take forever to download an older episode.

with itunes I will NEVER use BItTorrent again, even if sometimes the BT eps are higher res Divx files. The H264 codec rocks and it's worth 2 bucks to keep up with one of the few shows a) worth watching and b) one you have to watch in order for it to make sense.

now that Battlestar Galactica is on iTunes, and most cable sucks, I plan on ditching cable, and getting high speed internet elsewhere and just paying for the shows I actually want. Screw Comcast, and screw DirectTV

[gn netcom]

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