Do you download TV shows?

[InsaneNutter]

After reading an article the other day about how a Norwegian TV stations were using torrents to distribute TV shows online it got me thinking people who download TV shows have it so much better than people who just watch TV.

Depending on your country people who download TV shows get:

· Better quality copies of the show, for example 720p versions can be downloaded off the internet, in the UK If you don’t have Sky TV at the moment we have 1 HD channel that broadcasts for a couple of hours a day and some interactive service for another channel where you can watch the odd episode here and there in HD, however on channel internet the majority of TV shows are now in HD.

· If you download TV shows you most likely get those months before the episode is officially broadcasted in your country, that’s if it’s even broadcasted there at all.

· Save the environment – bit of a strange one but if you think about it if everyone didn’t leave a video, hard disk recorder or pc on to record tv shows that would save a massive amount of power... yes you would need a pc or some device on to download it but usually when I’m downloading I’ll be doing other things on the pc anyway so it would be on.

· No adverts - I think this is what the TV stations have a big problem with, if you download a TV show you don’t have top stop and sit through 5-6 minutes of adverts every 10mins. Let’s be honest if you recorded a TV show you wouldn’t watch the adverts anyway.

· No worries – you don’t have to think about recording / watching the show, you just know it will be on the internet.

Of course I’m talking about torrents above, I realise a lot of TV stations at least in the UK now offer some sort of online service to catch up on shows, however these just can’t compete with TV show fans doing it themselves.

The main problem for me is most of these services expect you to watch some YouTube quality version online or If I can download it I have to watch it on a pc as the download is full of DRM.

I would sooner download a much higher quality versions elsewhere and enjoy been able to watch it on my Xbox hooked up to the TV and not my PC. 9 times out of 10 most torrent sites have TV shows online before the TV stations do anyway!

I realise some people are against downloading TV shows but is it really any different than getting a friend to record something for me?

I would be interested to hear peoples thoughts on this

 

[Nimrod]

No adverts? Thats not a good thing

I hate them as much as anyone but without them your favourite shows wouldnt exist!

 

[BonezOz]

I'll download shows that aren't available here in Oz, or if I missed an episode of something I was watching, or a series that I can't watch when it does come on due to not being at home or being in bed. Its not because I want to download them, it's because that's the easiest way to get them

 

[InsaneNutter]

No adverts? Thats not a good thing

I hate them as much as anyone but without them your favourite shows wouldnt exist!

I know, but unless you’re watching live you’re not going to force yourself to sit through all the adverts are you? An advantage to the viewer but the main disadvantage to the TV station.

 

[cardo69]

Ihave to download things series like Prison Break, Smallville and Las Vegas, we dont have the lovely fox and cable and all those other stations, so we'll get it like months, sometimes 1 year or so after the show has aired....

 

[KillerWhiteMan]

Usually I don't download tv shows. I'll just catch them when they are actually aired.

 

[InsaneNutter]

I’ve got a question for your Killer, or anyone else who’s in the US.

On shows like the Simpsons / Family Guy that are about 20 mins long how many sets as adverts are they? It’s always looked to me like adverts happens 4-5 times per show.
Just wondering as we have one set of adverts for about 5-6 mins for a 20min program over here.

 

[cardo69]

Thats the same here by us, our 20min shows normally have just 1 ad break of about 3-4 mins, but if a show is about "1hr" long, then the actual show is 45minutes long, and the ad break is about 15 min's in total???? why is that???

 

[Trebor]

Thats the same here by us, our 20min shows normally have just 1 ad break of about 3-4 mins, but if a show is about "1hr" long, then the actual show is 45minutes long, and the ad break is about 15 min's in total???? why is that???

Because 20 minute shows can be lengthened to 30 mins and 45 minute shows lengthened to an hour (including adverts obviously). I think it's just a scheduling thing and they've been doing it for so long I don't think they'll change their ways. The only time I have seen this not happen is on some digital channel like E4 or on normal TV very late at night (channel 4 past 1am don't show adverts for some reason).

As for downloading TV shows, I'm not fussed. If they released them in the same quality as to what I download, online and have a few adverts I'd watch it if it meant the show not getting cancelled. Also hate how people can already do this in the US but I get "We're sorry, this content cannot be viewed outside the US".

 

[KillerWhiteMan]

I’ve got a question for your Killer, or anyone else who’s in the US.

On shows like the Simpsons / Family Guy that are about 20 mins long how many sets as adverts are they? It’s always looked to me like adverts happens 4-5 times per show.
Just wondering as we have one set of adverts for about 5-6 mins for a 20min program over here.

Ya we have adverts about 4-5 times during a show and by the time you total them up, tha actual show is only about 15 minutes long if that.

 

[InsaneNutter]

Ya we have adverts about 4-5 times during a show and by the time you total them up, tha actual show is only about 15 minutes long if that.

Does that not annoy people? I don’t think I could watch TV live with so many ad breaks for a 20min show.

 

[BSmith]

I reckon 3 or 4 advert breaks for an hour show is about nominal.

 

[InsaneNutter]

I reckon 3 or 4 advert breaks for an hour show is about nominal.

Yep in the UK it is, I remember when channels like ITV only had 3 advert breaks, now they have 4 and seem to be getting longer... that’s probably just me thinking that though.

I would hate to imagine howmany advert breaks America has for a show like Prison Break.

 

[robotman5]

yes i download tv shows much better than sitting thought ad's

 

[Dark Scyth]

I usually don't even watch TV shows that much. I don't download them, unless its an anime that isn't on TV anymore. Sometimes I'll watch something like Aqua Teen Hunger Force or Robot Chicken. Since they are only 15 minutes long, there isn't any commercials.

 

[Icharus_Falling]

i've never heard anyone refer to the fox network as lovely before. TV shows or not, i would not be sad if the network went belly up tomorrow. its a conservative propaganda network here in the U.S.

not that the network has any real agenda, they whore themselves out to the highest bidder, but i'd still rather have a slow, painful death than sit through a half hour of fox news.