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#248100 - 30/01/2005 22:01 A little TV rant
Dignan
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12318
Loc: Sterling, VA
Okay, I know this is probably a stupid rant but I can't help it, and maybe I can get some help from somebody.

I'm a fan of the show Alias. I admit it. No, I don't watch it for Jennifer Garner. If anything, I watch it for Ron Rifkin and Victor Garber.

Anyway, I've been a little pissed, because due to circumstances I only got around to adding the season pass to my Tivo this weekend, meaning I've missed five hours of the show so far this season.

So, what do I do now? Personally, I find it impossible to start a show in the middle of the story. I went and rented the first three seasons of the show last summer in order to catch up. Now I'm up the creek and the only paddle I can think of is to Tivo the rest of this season, and wait until the fourth season DVD set comes out. Yeah, in the past I would have thought "Bittorrent!" No more. Not since I got busted for downloading an episode of Charmed of all things. Grr.

What recourse do I have? It doesn't look like these programs are repeated on any channel at any time, I can't download it, and it doesn't seem to make much sense to wait like six months while I have the rest of the season recorded on my Tivo.

Any ideas?
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Matt

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#248101 - 30/01/2005 22:06 Re: A little TV rant [Re: Dignan]
cushman
veteran

Registered: 21/01/2002
Posts: 1380
Loc: Erie, CO
Quote:
Yeah, in the past I would have thought "Bittorrent!" No more. Not since I got busted for downloading an episode of Charmed of all things. Grr.

Details! Or is litigation pending?

I've been known to get shows from torrents when I miss them and forget to Tivo them too. Once my cable was messed up and I missed an episode of 24, I then promptly downloaded it from a torrent. I DO buy the box sets when they come out each year, though.
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Mark Cushman

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#248102 - 30/01/2005 22:53 Re: A little TV rant [Re: Dignan]
drakino
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
Quote:
Yeah, in the past I would have thought "Bittorrent!" No more. Not since I got busted for downloading an episode of Charmed of all things. Grr.


Oddly enough, thats the same series a friend of mine got smacked on the hand for downloading.

Regarding missing a show, I was in the same boat. I forgot 24 was starting Season 4 since I watched 1-3 via DVDs. I managed to web log into DVArchive and schedule it to catch hour 4 and beyond. I then headed over to Poopli.com and requested the first 3 hours. My replay informed me new shows needed to be accepted in 10 minutes, and the download process ran over the week to grab all three.

It's really a shame internet show sharing via PVR units got smacked down. I'm just glad it is still legal for Replay 45xx and 50xx owners to share though.

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#248103 - 31/01/2005 00:17 Re: A little TV rant [Re: drakino]
Dignan
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12318
Loc: Sterling, VA
Yeah, if I had Replay I'd be all over Poopli. It's a great idea.

No litigation here. Fortunately this was about 5 months ago, before the MPAA started handing out the lawsuits as well. MGM handled it in a better manner than the RIAA at that time. Basically they caught people, then handed them off to the ISP to deal with as they saw fit. Naturally, ISPs don't want to lose customers, so they (at least Cox) have a "three strikes" policy. I've heard of others getting eight or nine strikes, though

*edit* To elaborate: One day I simply got a scary email in legalize that listed my exact downloading details for two episodes of Dead Like Me and sounded very threatening. However, it also said that they were passing the info to Cox and letting them deal with it as they liked. They did say, however, that if I did not delete the file that they would take legal action (how would they know?). Basically, all Cox wanted was for me to call a special hotline for downloading sinners and swear on my mother that I had deleted the file.

I actually got caught a second time for some other show (I can't remember which one). This time I was a little slower to call, and they actually suspended my account. I gave them a ring and was back up in around 30 minutes. The last time (third time's a "Charm" - haha) scared me enough to stop, and I haven't downloaded any illegal files since.
*edit*

It mainly ticked me off because I got caught for something that is free over the airwaves. Sure, people in countries that don't have the show could get it too, but isn't that being picky? I sort of understand the reasoning behind when I got caught for episodes of Dead Like Me, which could have been downloaded by people who don't have Showtime, but when I'm getting a WB show it's a little more frustrating. It's also harder to make the claim that I can get the show in Hi-Def anyway, because the greatest feature of Bittorrent (swarming) means I'm also uploading to people all the time.

Oh well. I loved BT while it lasted.


Edited by Dignan17 (31/01/2005 00:29)
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Matt

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#248104 - 31/01/2005 01:59 Re: A little TV rant [Re: drakino]
mlord
carpal tunnel

Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14483
Loc: Canada
Smacked on the hand by who??

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#248105 - 31/01/2005 02:58 Re: A little TV rant [Re: mlord]
drakino
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
If I remember, the letter he got was from lawyers representing Paramount. The main point they had is he had no legal right distributing the show.

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