Downloading TV episodes? shady?

[IllumEstVeritas]

Hey Guys,

I'm setting up my HTPC and had a couple questions.

Most of the shows that we like watching are shown on their respective stations websites as full episodes. We have a couple that aren't. I found a program that allows you to search for the show and it'll download all the new episodes when they come out via your bitTorrent client. Are they as stringent on TV shows as they are on music? I would prefer to not be shady.

Also, anyone know of a program that will tell/remind you when your show is coming on next so you can remember to flip over to watch?

FYI, the program is called TED.

[davids]

Yes that is illegal to download the show via torrents.
It is not illegal to record the show, aka DVR

[cyan]

Originally Posted by davids

Yes that is illegal to download the show via torrents.
It is not illegal to record the show, aka DVR

Which, as any intelligent person could ascertain, makes all the sense in the world.

[Low J.]

Originally Posted by cyan

Which, as any intelligent person could ascertain, makes all the sense in the world.

It does make sense.....one you are paying for and one you are obtaining in an unauthorized way without any compensation to the creators.

[IllumEstVeritas]

I, for one, am not intelligent.. LOL. They seem pretty loose with certain shows since you can watch the full episodes online as well. Just making sure from the folks that have HTPCs before I go through with it.

It's a moot point though. We called to cancel cable and TW basically gave us the digital cable for free. We have phone and internet through them and that package was about 5/month less than the deal they gave us. So in some ways the shackles are still connected, but the are a little lighter(70/month cheaper).

[cyan]

Originally Posted by Low J.

It does make sense.....one you are paying for and one you are obtaining in an unauthorized way without any compensation to the creators.

On what planet do you have to pay to watch television shows or record them on an HTPC? Unless you're referring to the cost of the hardware itself? it's just as free to record live as it is to download later.

Or more simply:
1) I can record sunday's broadcast of the German GP onto my HTPC for free. Or,
2) I can download it later from piratebay for free.

Either way it's free, either way I'm watching it. Only one way is illegal? something is wrong.

[Low J.]

Originally Posted by cyan

On what planet do you have to pay to watch television shows or record them on an HTPC? Unless you're referring to the cost of the hardware itself? it's just as free to record live as it is to download later.

Or more simply:
1) I can record sunday's broadcast of the German GP onto my HTPC for free. Or,
2) I can download it later from piratebay for free.

Either way it's free, either way I'm watching it. Only one way is illegal? something is wrong.

Unless you have rabbit ears, you're paying for every TV show you watch or record......unless you're stealing cable or DirecTV.

[cyan]

Originally Posted by Low J.

Unless you have rabbit ears, you're paying for every TV show you watch or record......unless you're stealing cable or DirecTV.

The money you give your cable or satellite provider goes to the provider iteself, to finance their operations, not the network. Network television generates revenue through advertising, not from the content providers and your subscription fees. The exception to that is obviously ad-free channels, such as HBO and PPV.

Regardless, I am watching TV OTA. So yes, I have rabbit ears. It's the only way to get good HD channels in my neighborhood. And of course, it's FREE.

[zulator03]

you can get tvshow its a program from thepiratebay.com which i am a admin of but ya use that

[IllumEstVeritas]

I'm surprised thepiratebay is still around... =)

[i8acobra]

Originally Posted by cyan

The money you give your cable or satellite provider goes to the provider iteself, to finance their operations, not the network. Network television generates revenue through advertising, not from the content providers and your subscription fees. The exception to that is obviously ad-free channels, such as HBO and PPV.

Incorrect. You cable provider pays the various networks for programming. In fact that's why you can't buy channels a la carte. Companies that own more than one station bundle programming together and require your provider to pay for channels they don't want in order to get ones they do. There was recently a court case against I believe Disney. They own ESPN and won't let cable providers purchase access to just ESPN. De-regulation at it's finest.

However, I do agree that it should be just as legal to download a TV show as it is to record it off the TV. When I pay for my TV service, I'm paying for the right to view the content. It shouldn't matter how I get that content. When I pay for BBC America, I'm paying to watch Top Gear. It shouldn't matter if I'm recording it on my DVR or on my computer hard drive.

[surfcity40]

Originally Posted by IllumEstVeritas

I'm surprised thepiratebay is still around... =)

I'm not. It's a wealth of information.

[Wired 24/7]

I don't believe it morally or legally wrong to download a TV show off of the internet that is

(a) not available on DVD
(b) can easily be Tivo'd and shared amongst friends anyway

in other words, why should it be legal on Tivo but illegal on a computer. The end result is the same, you possess a copy of the TV show on a hard drive, you can copy/backup the data, show it to friends and family, etc. In fact the Tivo is a computer. It really makes no difference. What is to stop me from sharing my Tivo or my Tivo'd show with my friends? Nothing -- so there should not be any reason why it is wrong to download TV shows that aren't available for purchase.

If legal expert Low J disagrees I'm sure he can come up with a news article where someone was sued or arrested for downloading TV shows.

I don't pirate music or games, but TV shows that are Tivo-able I do download. just search on any torrent site and look for the show you want, try to get an HD version and look for a high number of seeders.

The format for searching is usually something like this: "24 s04e11" for the show "24", season 4, episode 11.

i'd recommend uTorrent since it is very powerful and uses minimal resources compared to other torrent programs.

[IllumEstVeritas]

Originally Posted by surfcity40

I'm not. It's a wealth of information.

With movie, music, and gaming companies getting more and more anal about how their stuff is used and distributed it seems they would have tried to tackle piratebay. It's nice to see it around still - I did go browse through the TV listings.

I was surprised to see Fifth Gear there. I totally forgot about that show. I remember the one driver from Top Gear from way back. Too cool...