Question:
does anyone watch downloaded films on here... i can say that i have watched all the films i have bought on dvd on some other medium before, and would never ever buy a dvd because of what someone said about it or the cover... whats eveyone elses opions on this? do you agree with me that im justified in fully reviewing what i am likly to buy or a theving git for watching all the films that i thought werent worth wasting my money on?
your a theiving git!!
like me :)
as I always say if films are released everywhere at the same time there wouldnt be as much piracy.
definately thieving git.
buy things you are interested in, if you don't like them head to the classified forum.
Mr. El Bandido is right, rock on :rocker:
Though I personally hate all the divx/VCD/SVCD camcorder/telesync crappy bootleg releases, they all suck and a torture to view, I've never seen one for more than a 1:30 sample, they're terrible and do not even represent the product correctly, especially those camcorder theater recorded trash.
I dunno, SVCD's are pretty good if you get the right ones (my LOTR for example) that was almost perfect apart from the scrolling text at the bottom every now and then telling me i shouldn't have it. In fact i held out on buying the recent release because of the quality of this one, though that 4-disc is mine!
I noticed that LOTR The Two Towers is available for download on Winmx, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. For a start even with broadband it's a 24 hour download. But more to the point, I think a movie you've got high hopes for deserves to be seen via a decent medium. So for this release I'll be doing the cinema thang.
Generally I rent before I buy. I have bought a few films soley on review, I haven't regretted it yet, but there's still time!
Oh by the way, Thieving git:clap:
Uhm well. I have downloaded before but I don't really care for it anymore now. I had Jason X, Harry Potter and From Hell on DivX. Picture quality mostly sucked not to mention the poor sound. I just buy the DVD's if I think they're worth it. And so far no purchase has disappointed me :)
Films I want to see a lot this would be Star Wars, Bond, MIIB among others) I will go to the cinema to see.
I will then most likely buy these on DVD (though not Goldmember - not good enough :( ) I will also buy others on DVD - ie ones I've heard about that I think will be good.
I don't often watch films on download, thogh I don't feel bad if I do - I usually end up buying them if I like them, or I'm grateful I didn't buy them if I don't like them.
James
Originally posted by sanejo
I noticed that LOTR The Two Towers is available for download on Winmx,
Never used winmx, but I'd say it's certainly a fake anyway.
How do you "download" a film ?
At present ( and only for a few more days ) I have only 56k connection but I am getting broadband and although iits nothing I could see myself doing regulary I would at least like to see whats available and the quality of the stuff
What do u need ? can you just use something like Kazzaa
Originally posted by DuncanWardle
How do you "download" a film ?
At present ( and only for a few more days ) I have only 56k connection but I am getting broadband and although iits nothing I could see myself doing regulary I would at least like to see whats available and the quality of the stuff
What do u need ? can you just use something like Kazzaa
You can.
Or Mirc (http://www.mirc.com)
Just out of interest of course :norty:, I tried out a download of an MPEG4/DivX format of Shrek. Does look very good. None of the poor quality you get with VCD and VHS bootlegs.
However, the industry should worry because...
1. Even with broadband it takes several hours to download (days/weeks on dial-up), and though initially some will use their bandwidth for downloading this kind of stuff, you soon get fed up of the wait.
2. An MPEG4/DivX film can take up at least around 700Mb of disc space (a CD's worth).
3. Audio is stereo/surround. No Dolby Digital/DTS.
4. No extras.
5. In the case of Shrek, it was full-screen.
It's given me a chance to flick through the film and realise I might want to buy it when the SE comes out.
You'll find most of the file sharing networks are full of fakes now because the industry has employed companies to overflow them with fakes. I've noticed on the Gnutella network there are servers that will return files of the same name you've searched for, only to find they're fakes.
Another thing about file sharing networks, is it can take weeks/months to download sometimes because not enough people share the files for long enough periods and at high enough bandwidth. This is a problem particularly with ISPs offering low upstream rates compared to downstream, and worse when some ISPs are considering charging on a per-byte basis for heavy upstream usage (which will kill file sharing on broadband completely).
P.S. Most file sharing software is full of spyware. Go for Gnucleus (www.gnucleus.net). No spyware, and it's open source.
it is actually possible to download a film as a dvd... and when i say that i mean full dvd quality, 5.1 sound etc etc. just need to burn them to a dvd-r and thats it... starwars 2 was "released" today btw
Originally posted by sleevus
starwars 2 was "released" today btw
Thought it was yesterday?
:D
Originally posted by DeadKenny
3. Audio is stereo/surround. No Dolby Digital/DTS.
You can have a Divx with a Dolby Digital soundtrack (http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&frame=right&th=36c3fe0f552a4fb6&seekm=3c2ec6d1%240%242592%24afc38c87%40news.optusnet.com.au#s)
Not heard one myself, but judging from that link it should sound the same as the original source, as there's no recompression.
I tend not to download movies like sci fi and action that you really need to see at the cinema or in a home theatre.I'm quite happy to download more drama based features and movies that I doubt I would rent or buy out of curiousity.
Downloads on p to p places aren't that bad with broadband,I typed in "One hour photo" earlier this week and was watching the movie two hours later and the quality was fairly decent.
I personally would never download a movie. Quite simply, its stealing.
I have been offered several movies before their release including spider-man, LOTR, AOTC and I refused them all. If I want to watch a movie before its release on DVD I'll go to the cinema.
GrossePointeJack is essentially correct - whilst it is very much the case that the vast majority of widely available pirate/download material does from cam/screener sources, the scene basically operates on the premise that any given media item is made available in the best form currently available - hence when you see piratedvds around, the best possible source at the time is a camera in the cinema - later on the film will be released again when a superior source becomes available. obviously there are still quality issues attached to such things to make them practically downloadable (though there are DVD-R downloads which in some cases feature a bit-for-bit copy of the retail dvd/otherwise marginally downsampled), but these are offset for those who download them by the time benefits - Blade2 for example was downloadable in a dvd-sourced pirate from the end of June. Personally, I would feel justified in downloading such a thing if I were intending to buy the dvd anyway, since it would get me the goods three months early....but I only have 56k...
I have a GBP5000 set up and I download movies so I can watch them in VCD quality and listen to it in stereo! :nuts:
Originally posted by sleevus
it is actually possible to download a film as a dvd... and when i say that i mean full dvd quality, 5.1 sound etc etc. just need to burn them to a dvd-r and thats it... starwars 2 was "released" today btw
Yes it is, groups recently started releasing DVD-Rs, most of the time 2 or 3 weeks prior to official DVD street date. Stuff like Blade II was available a couple weeks ago.
But, it's about 90x50mb files and unless it's a single layer DVD, they rip out all extras, all language tracks, DTS as in case of Blade 2, and of course don't even bother with disc2 of special features if there is one, then if it fits, great they say, pack and release it, if not, they downsample video and/or audio bitrates to fit it into 4.3gb DVD-R, so you get extraless, menuless, downsampled DVD that you download for 2 days, better rent the damn thing.
Originally posted by sanejo
For a start even with broadband it's a 24 hour download.
LMAO. :nuts:
who on earth told you that?
on average it takes about 40 minutes to d/l either part of a movie sized file as long as you find someone with a decent connection. and there are plenty of those, on winmx for example.
presuming most movies are downloadable in only 2 parts, you're looking at being all done in about as much time as it would take to actually sit down and watch the average film.
not condoning such activities of course, simply pointing out more acurate statistics :)
Originally posted by DuncanWardle
How do you "download" a film ?
At present ( and only for a few more days ) I have only 56k connection but I am getting broadband and although iits nothing I could see myself doing regulary I would at least like to see whats available and the quality of the stuff
What do u need ? can you just use something like Kazzaa
www.edonkey2000.com
www.sharereactor.com
DVDs are so cheap on the net theres little point in me getting copys anymore ... why settle for a copy when you can have an original for less then a tenner! :clap:
Originally posted by essexboyuk68
LMAO. :nuts:
who on earth told you that?
on average it takes about 40 minutes to d/l either part of a movie sized file as long as you find someone with a decent connection. and there are plenty of those, on winmx for example.Only in theoy, in reality, when you start downloading a film people who have boradband don't tend to stay on line long enough complete the job. And your stuck with some guy with 56K modem. I've got ADSL but it took me 4 days to download MIBII.
Also, The Lion King has never been released on DVD and won't be for another 2 years. The VHS is deleted so unattanable. But on Kaaza, you can download a rip from a laserdisc. and the pic quality was great! I'm i stealing? How can i steal something that's not avaiable? I will certainly buy the special edition when it come ot on DVD. but that won't be for another 2 years!
Originally posted by Roberto
Only in theoy, in reality, when you start downloading a film people who have boradband don't tend to stay on line long enough complete the job. And your stuck with some guy with 56K modem. I've got ADSL but it took me 4 days to download MIBII.
that doesnt make any sense. people with broadband are permanently connected, so why would they not leave their stuff shared long enough? sure, you get the odd user who may have a lame connection speed, but there are always hundreds of people with solid connections available at any one time. you just have to try a few until you get a good one.
maybe you're using the wrong type of programme?
never heard of multi source downloads?
seriously, if it takes you 4 days to complete a download, i'd be inclined to ask for a refund on that adsl. The longest i've ever witnessed a download to complete using a cable modem is 2 hours.
It also depends if they have been downsampled
Dont know how fast you Broadband is, but theres no way I could d/l 2CDs (1.5GB) in 2 hours
download speed is 1024kbps
Originally posted by essexboyuk68
that doesnt make any sense. people with broadband are permanently connected, so why would they not leave their stuff shared long enough?
Just because they've got broadband, doesn't mean they are connected permanently. Sure, broadband can be connected permanently but the majority of users switch their PCs off. The reason they wouldn't share their stuff for long enough is because they have no reason to. Once they've downloaded all their porn, they don't need to keep the PC on. They know that P2P software resumes anyway, so they don't care that they've aborted a connection. I've done the same when people are downloading but I want my bandwidth back, or I'm going out and don't want to leave my PC on, so I close it down.
You have to remember that on a 512kbps connection you've only got 128kbps or 256kbps upstream (in this country), and it only takes a couple of downloads to kill your surfing pleasure.
On top of that, those who are running their servers from a corporate or Uni LAN, have restrictions in place so that only a fixed number of people can simulaneously download.
I tried downloading some game ISOs once and the problem was that the game came on two ISOs and it was damn hard to find enough people sharing it. The majority were 56k users for a start :eek:!, and those with broadband just didn't last long enough. Whether they switched their PC off or deliberately killed the download because I didn't have any porn that interested their 14 year old mind :p, I don't know, but the connections disconnect. Took 3 weeks to get one ISO when it should only take a couple of hours, and never got the 2nd, and this was for a top 10 new game.
Of course, all of this was for research purposes only, and I owned the films/games anyway :D
I've given up with P2P pretty much now because it's impossible to find enough people sharing, and the industry is successfully flooding the networks with fakes.
seriously, if it takes you 4 days to complete a download, i'd be inclined to ask for a refund on that adsl. The longest i've ever witnessed a download to complete using a cable modem is 2 hours.
As I say, it's nothing to do with the cable speed. Whilst downloading it can be going flat out (on NTL I get 600kbps rather than the advertised 500kbps), but when it stops half way through and never gets shared again for a week, you can't do anything about it, short of calling the guy to turn his PC on ;). However, finding one person sharing the file at full speed is rare. Usually the guy is sharing it between lots of people, so you only get a small portion of his bandwidth.
In my experience most people end up giving you a 56kbps kind of bandwidth, even if they're on broadband, because they don't share exclusively. This means you need several people sharing exactly the same file, which is more difficult to find enough sharing at the same time and for long enough.
Certainly nothing wrong with my connection though. If I go to RedHat's site and download the 3 ISO images for RedHat 7.3 it takes about 7 and a bit hours on my 600kbps connection (around 2.5 hours per CD).
surely this thread is bordering on illegality...not just T&C's but international copyright laws!?
DONT DO DRUGS
sorry, have to disagree with several points there -
everyone i know personally with broadband (as opposed to those i chat to online) always has their stuff shared for hours on end (though i acknowledge there may be many who are more selfish)
i fail to see how you conclude that everyone on broadband is only interested in porn. most of the people i've witnessed sharing movie files don't have anything to do with those sharing porn, and usually killfile them, as would i.
whilst i agree there are plenty of fake files flooding p2p nowdays, its pretty simple to work out whats real and whats not within a few mins of starting a d/l and when you know who to trust regularly it soon becomes obvious what the real file size is. Fake files are a minor irritant, hardly a reason to give up bothering to search for stuff.
Originally posted by TimJBart
surely this thread is bordering on illegality...not just T&C's but international copyright laws!?
DONT DO DRUGS
its simply a debate. nobody is giving explicit instructions on how to obtain anything, nor are they condoning it. afaik, its not against the law to discuss the subject.
Quite right.
I believe we'll all start to see complete DVD copies (menu, multiple lanuages, subtitles, multiple audio, commentary etc.) in the very near future with slightly degraded re-encoded video quality available for download at 4.3Gb, purely to cater for the dvd-r market.
I've already started to see this myself. If you got the patience and the broadband connection, this is already out there.
Originally posted by essexboyuk68
its simply a debate. nobody is giving explicit instructions on how to obtain anything, nor are they condoning it. afaik, its not against the law to discuss the subject.
Exactly, and to be honest I don't think downloading off the net is a threat. From my experience, even with broadband, it's more hassle than it's worth, and even then the proportion of broadband users is very small, far smaller than the normal pirates who bootleg DVDs to sell down at the local market (who are more of a threat as they're the ones doing it all to make money at the expense of the industry).
Personally I think downloading movies is a non-starter at the moment. A novelty at first, but it's far easier and more satisfying to just order a DVD cheap from Australia :D
Its not a non starter as the most frequent downloads are the movies that have only just appeared at cinemas in the states.
The dvd wouldn't be out for months...
On sort of that note, there's an interesting BBC news article on region coding here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/sci_tech/2000/dot_life/2197548.stm).
Particularly...
"The whole issue of region coding is now somewhat irrelevant as the release windows in USA and Europe are getting closer," he says. If this happens then DVD owners will finally be able to buy films whenever and wherever they choose.
Still, doesn't mean you won't get a lag between cinema and DVD release, but even that window is getting smaller these days, and if you can see it at the cinema here at a similar time to US, then you don't need to download ;).
just to illustrate, these grabs are pretty indicative of the level of quality such things are at (mods please remove if someone feels violated):
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap0.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap1.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap2.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap3.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap4.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap5.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap6.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap7.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap8.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap9.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap11.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap12.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap13.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap14.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap15.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap17.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap18.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap19.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap20.jpg
the spider-man grabs are from a download totalling 1.4gigs, or 3.5hours with a 1meg cable connection (thru avenues a little more sophisticated than irc or p2p that is). Van Wilder and Clockstoppers are half that size. It should also be noted that these captures probably dont look as good as they might thanks to me messing around with overlay gamma correction with my video drivers...
anyway, as you can plainly see they dont look too shabby - Im not saying theyre DVDs, but given that all of these are freely available well in advance of any of us (even with early pre order shipping) getting our paws on them, one would have to be built of pretty strong stuff not to be tempted to take a look...
n.b. please note before you all start a petition to have me burned at the stake, that I willingly cripple myself with dvd debt every week. (http://www.dvdprofiler.com/mc.asp?alias=tezmo&acceptadult=true)
edit: kill me
thanks for adding around a meg of images there... just link to em for christ sakes (altho in all honesty, the only one truly needed was
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap4.jpg
and bleh @ divx. media geek boys format, for 12 year olds with pcs in their bedroom cos they're not allowed to go downstairs, so they can download their SMR/TMD reencoded cams from kazaa. how elite.
svcd/xsvcd should be the only formats used. can have dd audio, removable subs, dvd resolution and bitrates (in the case of xs) so all the people who think svcds look crap are just kidding themselves. hell i know what i'd rather have, a dvdrip 6months pre (the latter LOTR dvdrip was a retail rip, so contained no screener tickers of the earlier print) then buy it when it comes out and i've decided for myself whether its worth my hardearnerd (hah!) cash.
still , makes me giggle when people talk about their r33ty movie downloading, and the word "shared" always comes up. mwahaha.
and bleh @ divx. media geek boys format, for 12 year olds with pcs in their bedroom cos they're not allowed to go downstairs, so they can download their SMR/TMD reencoded cams from kazaa. how elite.
svcd/xsvcd should be the only formats used. can have dd audio, removable subs, dvd resolution and bitrates (in the case of xs) so all the people who think svcds look crap are just kidding themselves. hell i know what i'd rather have, a dvdrip 6months pre (the latter LOTR dvdrip was a retail rip, so contained no screener tickers of the earlier print) then buy it when it comes out and i've decided for myself whether its worth my hardearnerd (hah!) cash.
that's mostly crap, divx encoded well (gknot/nandub) is far better than svcd, there are loads of subtitle tools, dd 5.1 (yes, no problem). a standard 2 cd divx4 rip is very close to dvd - you can immediately tell the difference but visible macroblocks are rare and overrall quality is excellent. 1 cd rips are watchable, if ripped well they can be quite impressive on a computer monitor.
Originally posted by JayX
thanks for adding around a meg of images there... just link to em for christ sakes (altho in all honesty, the only one truly needed was...
I was going to say that if there's anything worth downloading from Spiderman, it's got to be that shot :norty: :D
One word: Usenet.
Some more words:
Those of you who have seen poor quality DivX films have probably got ones that have been captured from camcorders - people going into cinemas and recording what they see.
You get a real cinema experience - with people laughing and opening sweets :).
Of course the quality of these leaves a lot to be desired - I never download such pre-release films as this as I would rather see them at the cinema as they should be seen (if i see them at all).
The good quality DivX rips are from DVDs, or occasionally laser discs.
If i want the film i buy it on DVD.
If i would quite like to see it, ill download it, watch it and delete it.
A couple of times I have downloaded a film, converted it to VCD and kept it - the quality can be very good (especially for animated titles).
Yeah, so I'm a bad person - but I bet there aren't many of you holier-than-thou types who haven't got a copied CD.
I think I've contributed enough to the entertainment industry over the years to get a couple of freebies without feeling guilty.
The LOTR divx was pretty damn good! On a 32" TV it was very close to DVD qaulity. Though it was spread across four SVCD's
Oh, and mentioned above was getting Dobly Digital onto CD. Didn't think this was possible on the CD format. XSVCD / XVCD, is it possible to get DD onto this then?
im not arguing that divx rips aren't good quality, but they're more suited to the bedroom teenager on his pc than someone who owns a decent tv / dvd setup.
1. tvout is not that great, its ok, but not great.
2. cdrs cost pennies, so disc numbers aren't a problem
3. download times on a 512/1mbit connection.. you can probably do 3 svcd films a day on a 512kbit , so thats no problem
4. vobsubs. ew.
divx video compression is too high for my liking, and most audio bitrates are between 128kbit and 160, whereas svcd is 224 or its *nuked*. i'd rather a higher bitrate and a lower screen res (or same screen res in the case of XSVCD) than such high compression.
and you can't say XSVCD isn't as good as DivX, because you can make DVD>XSVCD rips that use the same resolution, and practically the same bitrate, so the difference is less than negligable.
and nobody uses divx4 ;p it SUCKS. 3.11a or XviD are the only standards worth bothering with.
at the end of the day, if u wanna spend time watching movies on a computer screen and messing around with codecs and other things that change far too often, then enjoy your divx. for me its too much of a geekboy format, and i'd rather watch my films downstairs with my friends on my dvdplayer and widescreen. or at someone elses house for example.
DivX is great for older films that have yet to get a digital release.
i.e. (http://www.asiansofvegas.com/gZa/greedo.avi)
[quotre]and nobody uses divx4 ;p it SUCKS. 3.11a or XviD are the only standards worth bothering with.
[quote]
well that's crap as divx4 with gknot will give *almost* the same quality as divx3 with nandub with a fraction of the effortt involved, and it's far less buggy.
Ive had absolutely no success downloading anything from Winmx.Its total crap, you wait ages for it to connect then ages for it to find anything.I stick to Kazaa or mIRC (which Im not too clued up to use very well just yet!). altho Im broadband I find that most people who download from me onKazaa often abort before they are finished-If I see someone is starting to d/l I often will keep the pc on overnight-nice chap that I am.
Can anyone tell me what server they connect to using winmx- I always seem to connect to the same one-great white north or something like that?
erm...what version of winmx are you using?
i didnt think it actually showed great white or similar anymore, just a selection between using north america, europe, etc etc.
if you're still using version 2.6, it might explain why you aren't seeing many results - version 3.22 has been running for a few months now, and is totally different (multi source downloads for starters)
also, version 3.22 runs on a completely seperate network, so as most users have upgraded, if you arent using open nap servers also, you won't find many people about on it! :D
p.s. if you haven't yet tried winmx with open nap servers added, its a doddle to add them nowdays in the latest version (3.22)
Has anyone read the latest PC Format? Those of you who admit to reading computer magazines. It has IMHO a great article about what you are all discussing.
I don't really download movies, although I have downloaded a few, mainly because I didn't want the DVD. Mainly I download TV episodes that have been released in America first or ones that I've missed or forgotten to record. It's great if you miss an episode of 24 or Buffy and you have broadband you just download the one you missed, which in the case of 24 was a life saver as you couldn't really watch it if you missed one episode.
Originally posted by Wooglie
Has anyone read the latest PC Format? Those of you who admit to reading computer magazines. It has IMHO a great article about what you are all discussing.
Erm - it's an abysmal article, which takes the usual "you can get full movies from P2P!" line, showing a complete lack of knowledge of what really goes on in terms of movie piracy on the Internet. Usenet is the main source for the more informed downloader - anyone who considers themself to be "l33t" or anything else (like the people mentioned in the PCF article) and uses P2P is just deluded.
My personal view on this: I don't download movies, but the quality of some of the stuff available (particularly DVD screener/retail rips) is very impressive. I do use Usenet to download TV episodes though - the HDTV rips of shows like Alias are particularly impressive, beating Sky's broadcast quality in some cases.
Personally, I don't see the point.
You can only ever watch a movie for the time once, so [imho] you want to enjoy that first viewing as much as possible. Watching from a compressed download is not going to be as good as watching the dvd (especially if playing back on a PC!)
Vcd is absolutely crap, and svcd isn't really to the standard I'd want. Someone lent me Spiderman on vcd a while back. I started to play it, and stopped it within a minute. I still haven't seen it....rather wait and see it on dvd at a good quality.
:nono:
My personal opinion.....
And I have adsl, btw, so have the capability. Tried it once.....won't bother again....!
I'm trying to get Alias on DVD and agree that TV episodes are ok for this sort of thing, but otherwise I think quality sucks, be it Divx4 or any other.
Those screenshots are relatively impressive but you don't see it in action, it's not that good when everything's moving and pixelating, plus why get DVDrips if the real thing is available.
Now TV shows that aren't on any media other than this, that I get.
Originally posted by Emanef
And I have adsl, btw, so have the capability. Tried it once.....won't bother again....!
He he, as long as everyone else in your contention band doesn't try to at the same time ;)
The point is...it allows you to see a film without paying any money.
There are some films I am quite interested in seeing, but won't pay money to see as I'm not interested enough.
Some films I have downloaded and enjoyed enough to go on and buy - so in fact the film industry has got more cash out of me this way, as i would never have bought them at all otherwise.
If you're patient, try edonkey/sharereactor.com - good p2p program.
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your a theiving git!!
like me :)
as I always say if films are released everywhere at the same time there wouldnt be as much piracy.
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definately thieving git.
buy things you are interested in, if you don't like them head to the classified forum.
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Mr. El Bandido is right, rock on :rocker:
Though I personally hate all the divx/VCD/SVCD camcorder/telesync crappy bootleg releases, they all suck and a torture to view, I've never seen one for more than a 1:30 sample, they're terrible and do not even represent the product correctly, especially those camcorder theater recorded trash.
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I dunno, SVCD's are pretty good if you get the right ones (my LOTR for example) that was almost perfect apart from the scrolling text at the bottom every now and then telling me i shouldn't have it. In fact i held out on buying the recent release because of the quality of this one, though that 4-disc is mine!
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I noticed that LOTR The Two Towers is available for download on Winmx, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. For a start even with broadband it's a 24 hour download. But more to the point, I think a movie you've got high hopes for deserves to be seen via a decent medium. So for this release I'll be doing the cinema thang.
Generally I rent before I buy. I have bought a few films soley on review, I haven't regretted it yet, but there's still time!
Oh by the way, Thieving git:clap:
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Uhm well. I have downloaded before but I don't really care for it anymore now. I had Jason X, Harry Potter and From Hell on DivX. Picture quality mostly sucked not to mention the poor sound. I just buy the DVD's if I think they're worth it. And so far no purchase has disappointed me :)
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Films I want to see a lot this would be Star Wars, Bond, MIIB among others) I will go to the cinema to see.
I will then most likely buy these on DVD (though not Goldmember - not good enough :( ) I will also buy others on DVD - ie ones I've heard about that I think will be good.
I don't often watch films on download, thogh I don't feel bad if I do - I usually end up buying them if I like them, or I'm grateful I didn't buy them if I don't like them.
James
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Originally posted by sanejo
I noticed that LOTR The Two Towers is available for download on Winmx,
Never used winmx, but I'd say it's certainly a fake anyway.
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How do you "download" a film ?
At present ( and only for a few more days ) I have only 56k connection but I am getting broadband and although iits nothing I could see myself doing regulary I would at least like to see whats available and the quality of the stuff
What do u need ? can you just use something like Kazzaa
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Originally posted by DuncanWardle
How do you "download" a film ?
At present ( and only for a few more days ) I have only 56k connection but I am getting broadband and although iits nothing I could see myself doing regulary I would at least like to see whats available and the quality of the stuff
What do u need ? can you just use something like Kazzaa
You can.
Or Mirc (http://www.mirc.com)
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Just out of interest of course :norty:, I tried out a download of an MPEG4/DivX format of Shrek. Does look very good. None of the poor quality you get with VCD and VHS bootlegs.
However, the industry should worry because...
1. Even with broadband it takes several hours to download (days/weeks on dial-up), and though initially some will use their bandwidth for downloading this kind of stuff, you soon get fed up of the wait.
2. An MPEG4/DivX film can take up at least around 700Mb of disc space (a CD's worth).
3. Audio is stereo/surround. No Dolby Digital/DTS.
4. No extras.
5. In the case of Shrek, it was full-screen.
It's given me a chance to flick through the film and realise I might want to buy it when the SE comes out.
You'll find most of the file sharing networks are full of fakes now because the industry has employed companies to overflow them with fakes. I've noticed on the Gnutella network there are servers that will return files of the same name you've searched for, only to find they're fakes.
Another thing about file sharing networks, is it can take weeks/months to download sometimes because not enough people share the files for long enough periods and at high enough bandwidth. This is a problem particularly with ISPs offering low upstream rates compared to downstream, and worse when some ISPs are considering charging on a per-byte basis for heavy upstream usage (which will kill file sharing on broadband completely).
P.S. Most file sharing software is full of spyware. Go for Gnucleus (www.gnucleus.net). No spyware, and it's open source.
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it is actually possible to download a film as a dvd... and when i say that i mean full dvd quality, 5.1 sound etc etc. just need to burn them to a dvd-r and thats it... starwars 2 was "released" today btw
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Originally posted by sleevus
starwars 2 was "released" today btw
Thought it was yesterday?
:D
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Originally posted by DeadKenny
3. Audio is stereo/surround. No Dolby Digital/DTS.
You can have a Divx with a Dolby Digital soundtrack (http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&frame=right&th=36c3fe0f552a4fb6&seekm=3c2ec6d1%240%242592%24afc38c87%40news.optusnet.com.au#s)
Not heard one myself, but judging from that link it should sound the same as the original source, as there's no recompression.
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I tend not to download movies like sci fi and action that you really need to see at the cinema or in a home theatre.I'm quite happy to download more drama based features and movies that I doubt I would rent or buy out of curiousity.
Downloads on p to p places aren't that bad with broadband,I typed in "One hour photo" earlier this week and was watching the movie two hours later and the quality was fairly decent.
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I personally would never download a movie. Quite simply, its stealing.
I have been offered several movies before their release including spider-man, LOTR, AOTC and I refused them all. If I want to watch a movie before its release on DVD I'll go to the cinema.
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GrossePointeJack is essentially correct - whilst it is very much the case that the vast majority of widely available pirate/download material does from cam/screener sources, the scene basically operates on the premise that any given media item is made available in the best form currently available - hence when you see piratedvds around, the best possible source at the time is a camera in the cinema - later on the film will be released again when a superior source becomes available. obviously there are still quality issues attached to such things to make them practically downloadable (though there are DVD-R downloads which in some cases feature a bit-for-bit copy of the retail dvd/otherwise marginally downsampled), but these are offset for those who download them by the time benefits - Blade2 for example was downloadable in a dvd-sourced pirate from the end of June. Personally, I would feel justified in downloading such a thing if I were intending to buy the dvd anyway, since it would get me the goods three months early....but I only have 56k...
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I have a GBP5000 set up and I download movies so I can watch them in VCD quality and listen to it in stereo! :nuts:
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Originally posted by sleevus
it is actually possible to download a film as a dvd... and when i say that i mean full dvd quality, 5.1 sound etc etc. just need to burn them to a dvd-r and thats it... starwars 2 was "released" today btw
Yes it is, groups recently started releasing DVD-Rs, most of the time 2 or 3 weeks prior to official DVD street date. Stuff like Blade II was available a couple weeks ago.
But, it's about 90x50mb files and unless it's a single layer DVD, they rip out all extras, all language tracks, DTS as in case of Blade 2, and of course don't even bother with disc2 of special features if there is one, then if it fits, great they say, pack and release it, if not, they downsample video and/or audio bitrates to fit it into 4.3gb DVD-R, so you get extraless, menuless, downsampled DVD that you download for 2 days, better rent the damn thing.
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Originally posted by sanejo
For a start even with broadband it's a 24 hour download.
LMAO. :nuts:
who on earth told you that?
on average it takes about 40 minutes to d/l either part of a movie sized file as long as you find someone with a decent connection. and there are plenty of those, on winmx for example.
presuming most movies are downloadable in only 2 parts, you're looking at being all done in about as much time as it would take to actually sit down and watch the average film.
not condoning such activities of course, simply pointing out more acurate statistics :)
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Originally posted by DuncanWardle
How do you "download" a film ?
At present ( and only for a few more days ) I have only 56k connection but I am getting broadband and although iits nothing I could see myself doing regulary I would at least like to see whats available and the quality of the stuff
What do u need ? can you just use something like Kazzaa
www.edonkey2000.com
www.sharereactor.com
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DVDs are so cheap on the net theres little point in me getting copys anymore ... why settle for a copy when you can have an original for less then a tenner! :clap:
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Originally posted by essexboyuk68
LMAO. :nuts:
who on earth told you that?
on average it takes about 40 minutes to d/l either part of a movie sized file as long as you find someone with a decent connection. and there are plenty of those, on winmx for example.Only in theoy, in reality, when you start downloading a film people who have boradband don't tend to stay on line long enough complete the job. And your stuck with some guy with 56K modem. I've got ADSL but it took me 4 days to download MIBII.
Also, The Lion King has never been released on DVD and won't be for another 2 years. The VHS is deleted so unattanable. But on Kaaza, you can download a rip from a laserdisc. and the pic quality was great! I'm i stealing? How can i steal something that's not avaiable? I will certainly buy the special edition when it come ot on DVD. but that won't be for another 2 years!
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Originally posted by Roberto
Only in theoy, in reality, when you start downloading a film people who have boradband don't tend to stay on line long enough complete the job. And your stuck with some guy with 56K modem. I've got ADSL but it took me 4 days to download MIBII.
that doesnt make any sense. people with broadband are permanently connected, so why would they not leave their stuff shared long enough? sure, you get the odd user who may have a lame connection speed, but there are always hundreds of people with solid connections available at any one time. you just have to try a few until you get a good one.
maybe you're using the wrong type of programme?
never heard of multi source downloads?
seriously, if it takes you 4 days to complete a download, i'd be inclined to ask for a refund on that adsl. The longest i've ever witnessed a download to complete using a cable modem is 2 hours.
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It also depends if they have been downsampled
Dont know how fast you Broadband is, but theres no way I could d/l 2CDs (1.5GB) in 2 hours
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download speed is 1024kbps
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Originally posted by essexboyuk68
that doesnt make any sense. people with broadband are permanently connected, so why would they not leave their stuff shared long enough?
Just because they've got broadband, doesn't mean they are connected permanently. Sure, broadband can be connected permanently but the majority of users switch their PCs off. The reason they wouldn't share their stuff for long enough is because they have no reason to. Once they've downloaded all their porn, they don't need to keep the PC on. They know that P2P software resumes anyway, so they don't care that they've aborted a connection. I've done the same when people are downloading but I want my bandwidth back, or I'm going out and don't want to leave my PC on, so I close it down.
You have to remember that on a 512kbps connection you've only got 128kbps or 256kbps upstream (in this country), and it only takes a couple of downloads to kill your surfing pleasure.
On top of that, those who are running their servers from a corporate or Uni LAN, have restrictions in place so that only a fixed number of people can simulaneously download.
I tried downloading some game ISOs once and the problem was that the game came on two ISOs and it was damn hard to find enough people sharing it. The majority were 56k users for a start :eek:!, and those with broadband just didn't last long enough. Whether they switched their PC off or deliberately killed the download because I didn't have any porn that interested their 14 year old mind :p, I don't know, but the connections disconnect. Took 3 weeks to get one ISO when it should only take a couple of hours, and never got the 2nd, and this was for a top 10 new game.
Of course, all of this was for research purposes only, and I owned the films/games anyway :D
I've given up with P2P pretty much now because it's impossible to find enough people sharing, and the industry is successfully flooding the networks with fakes.
seriously, if it takes you 4 days to complete a download, i'd be inclined to ask for a refund on that adsl. The longest i've ever witnessed a download to complete using a cable modem is 2 hours.
As I say, it's nothing to do with the cable speed. Whilst downloading it can be going flat out (on NTL I get 600kbps rather than the advertised 500kbps), but when it stops half way through and never gets shared again for a week, you can't do anything about it, short of calling the guy to turn his PC on ;). However, finding one person sharing the file at full speed is rare. Usually the guy is sharing it between lots of people, so you only get a small portion of his bandwidth.
In my experience most people end up giving you a 56kbps kind of bandwidth, even if they're on broadband, because they don't share exclusively. This means you need several people sharing exactly the same file, which is more difficult to find enough sharing at the same time and for long enough.
Certainly nothing wrong with my connection though. If I go to RedHat's site and download the 3 ISO images for RedHat 7.3 it takes about 7 and a bit hours on my 600kbps connection (around 2.5 hours per CD).
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surely this thread is bordering on illegality...not just T&C's but international copyright laws!?
DONT DO DRUGS
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sorry, have to disagree with several points there -
everyone i know personally with broadband (as opposed to those i chat to online) always has their stuff shared for hours on end (though i acknowledge there may be many who are more selfish)
i fail to see how you conclude that everyone on broadband is only interested in porn. most of the people i've witnessed sharing movie files don't have anything to do with those sharing porn, and usually killfile them, as would i.
whilst i agree there are plenty of fake files flooding p2p nowdays, its pretty simple to work out whats real and whats not within a few mins of starting a d/l and when you know who to trust regularly it soon becomes obvious what the real file size is. Fake files are a minor irritant, hardly a reason to give up bothering to search for stuff.
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Originally posted by TimJBart
surely this thread is bordering on illegality...not just T&C's but international copyright laws!?
DONT DO DRUGS
its simply a debate. nobody is giving explicit instructions on how to obtain anything, nor are they condoning it. afaik, its not against the law to discuss the subject.
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Quite right.
I believe we'll all start to see complete DVD copies (menu, multiple lanuages, subtitles, multiple audio, commentary etc.) in the very near future with slightly degraded re-encoded video quality available for download at 4.3Gb, purely to cater for the dvd-r market.
I've already started to see this myself. If you got the patience and the broadband connection, this is already out there.
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Originally posted by essexboyuk68
its simply a debate. nobody is giving explicit instructions on how to obtain anything, nor are they condoning it. afaik, its not against the law to discuss the subject.
Exactly, and to be honest I don't think downloading off the net is a threat. From my experience, even with broadband, it's more hassle than it's worth, and even then the proportion of broadband users is very small, far smaller than the normal pirates who bootleg DVDs to sell down at the local market (who are more of a threat as they're the ones doing it all to make money at the expense of the industry).
Personally I think downloading movies is a non-starter at the moment. A novelty at first, but it's far easier and more satisfying to just order a DVD cheap from Australia :D
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Its not a non starter as the most frequent downloads are the movies that have only just appeared at cinemas in the states.
The dvd wouldn't be out for months...
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On sort of that note, there's an interesting BBC news article on region coding here (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/sci_tech/2000/dot_life/2197548.stm).
Particularly...
"The whole issue of region coding is now somewhat irrelevant as the release windows in USA and Europe are getting closer," he says. If this happens then DVD owners will finally be able to buy films whenever and wherever they choose.
Still, doesn't mean you won't get a lag between cinema and DVD release, but even that window is getting smaller these days, and if you can see it at the cinema here at a similar time to US, then you don't need to download ;).
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just to illustrate, these grabs are pretty indicative of the level of quality such things are at (mods please remove if someone feels violated):
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap0.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap1.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap2.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap3.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap4.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap5.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap6.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap7.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap8.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap9.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap11.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap12.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap13.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap14.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap15.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap17.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap18.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap19.jpg
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap20.jpg
the spider-man grabs are from a download totalling 1.4gigs, or 3.5hours with a 1meg cable connection (thru avenues a little more sophisticated than irc or p2p that is). Van Wilder and Clockstoppers are half that size. It should also be noted that these captures probably dont look as good as they might thanks to me messing around with overlay gamma correction with my video drivers...
anyway, as you can plainly see they dont look too shabby - Im not saying theyre DVDs, but given that all of these are freely available well in advance of any of us (even with early pre order shipping) getting our paws on them, one would have to be built of pretty strong stuff not to be tempted to take a look...
n.b. please note before you all start a petition to have me burned at the stake, that I willingly cripple myself with dvd debt every week. (http://www.dvdprofiler.com/mc.asp?alias=tezmo&acceptadult=true)
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edit: kill me
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thanks for adding around a meg of images there... just link to em for christ sakes (altho in all honesty, the only one truly needed was
http://www.batbooks.co.uk/bscap4.jpg
and bleh @ divx. media geek boys format, for 12 year olds with pcs in their bedroom cos they're not allowed to go downstairs, so they can download their SMR/TMD reencoded cams from kazaa. how elite.
svcd/xsvcd should be the only formats used. can have dd audio, removable subs, dvd resolution and bitrates (in the case of xs) so all the people who think svcds look crap are just kidding themselves. hell i know what i'd rather have, a dvdrip 6months pre (the latter LOTR dvdrip was a retail rip, so contained no screener tickers of the earlier print) then buy it when it comes out and i've decided for myself whether its worth my hardearnerd (hah!) cash.
still , makes me giggle when people talk about their r33ty movie downloading, and the word "shared" always comes up. mwahaha.
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and bleh @ divx. media geek boys format, for 12 year olds with pcs in their bedroom cos they're not allowed to go downstairs, so they can download their SMR/TMD reencoded cams from kazaa. how elite.
svcd/xsvcd should be the only formats used. can have dd audio, removable subs, dvd resolution and bitrates (in the case of xs) so all the people who think svcds look crap are just kidding themselves. hell i know what i'd rather have, a dvdrip 6months pre (the latter LOTR dvdrip was a retail rip, so contained no screener tickers of the earlier print) then buy it when it comes out and i've decided for myself whether its worth my hardearnerd (hah!) cash.
that's mostly crap, divx encoded well (gknot/nandub) is far better than svcd, there are loads of subtitle tools, dd 5.1 (yes, no problem). a standard 2 cd divx4 rip is very close to dvd - you can immediately tell the difference but visible macroblocks are rare and overrall quality is excellent. 1 cd rips are watchable, if ripped well they can be quite impressive on a computer monitor.
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Originally posted by JayX
thanks for adding around a meg of images there... just link to em for christ sakes (altho in all honesty, the only one truly needed was...
I was going to say that if there's anything worth downloading from Spiderman, it's got to be that shot :norty: :D
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One word: Usenet.
Some more words:
Those of you who have seen poor quality DivX films have probably got ones that have been captured from camcorders - people going into cinemas and recording what they see.
You get a real cinema experience - with people laughing and opening sweets :).
Of course the quality of these leaves a lot to be desired - I never download such pre-release films as this as I would rather see them at the cinema as they should be seen (if i see them at all).
The good quality DivX rips are from DVDs, or occasionally laser discs.
If i want the film i buy it on DVD.
If i would quite like to see it, ill download it, watch it and delete it.
A couple of times I have downloaded a film, converted it to VCD and kept it - the quality can be very good (especially for animated titles).
Yeah, so I'm a bad person - but I bet there aren't many of you holier-than-thou types who haven't got a copied CD.
I think I've contributed enough to the entertainment industry over the years to get a couple of freebies without feeling guilty.
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The LOTR divx was pretty damn good! On a 32" TV it was very close to DVD qaulity. Though it was spread across four SVCD's
Oh, and mentioned above was getting Dobly Digital onto CD. Didn't think this was possible on the CD format. XSVCD / XVCD, is it possible to get DD onto this then?
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im not arguing that divx rips aren't good quality, but they're more suited to the bedroom teenager on his pc than someone who owns a decent tv / dvd setup.
1. tvout is not that great, its ok, but not great.
2. cdrs cost pennies, so disc numbers aren't a problem
3. download times on a 512/1mbit connection.. you can probably do 3 svcd films a day on a 512kbit , so thats no problem
4. vobsubs. ew.
divx video compression is too high for my liking, and most audio bitrates are between 128kbit and 160, whereas svcd is 224 or its *nuked*. i'd rather a higher bitrate and a lower screen res (or same screen res in the case of XSVCD) than such high compression.
and you can't say XSVCD isn't as good as DivX, because you can make DVD>XSVCD rips that use the same resolution, and practically the same bitrate, so the difference is less than negligable.
and nobody uses divx4 ;p it SUCKS. 3.11a or XviD are the only standards worth bothering with.
at the end of the day, if u wanna spend time watching movies on a computer screen and messing around with codecs and other things that change far too often, then enjoy your divx. for me its too much of a geekboy format, and i'd rather watch my films downstairs with my friends on my dvdplayer and widescreen. or at someone elses house for example.
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DivX is great for older films that have yet to get a digital release.
i.e. (http://www.asiansofvegas.com/gZa/greedo.avi)
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[quotre]and nobody uses divx4 ;p it SUCKS. 3.11a or XviD are the only standards worth bothering with.
[quote]
well that's crap as divx4 with gknot will give *almost* the same quality as divx3 with nandub with a fraction of the effortt involved, and it's far less buggy.
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Ive had absolutely no success downloading anything from Winmx.Its total crap, you wait ages for it to connect then ages for it to find anything.I stick to Kazaa or mIRC (which Im not too clued up to use very well just yet!). altho Im broadband I find that most people who download from me onKazaa often abort before they are finished-If I see someone is starting to d/l I often will keep the pc on overnight-nice chap that I am.
Can anyone tell me what server they connect to using winmx- I always seem to connect to the same one-great white north or something like that?
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erm...what version of winmx are you using?
i didnt think it actually showed great white or similar anymore, just a selection between using north america, europe, etc etc.
if you're still using version 2.6, it might explain why you aren't seeing many results - version 3.22 has been running for a few months now, and is totally different (multi source downloads for starters)
also, version 3.22 runs on a completely seperate network, so as most users have upgraded, if you arent using open nap servers also, you won't find many people about on it! :D
p.s. if you haven't yet tried winmx with open nap servers added, its a doddle to add them nowdays in the latest version (3.22)
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Has anyone read the latest PC Format? Those of you who admit to reading computer magazines. It has IMHO a great article about what you are all discussing.
I don't really download movies, although I have downloaded a few, mainly because I didn't want the DVD. Mainly I download TV episodes that have been released in America first or ones that I've missed or forgotten to record. It's great if you miss an episode of 24 or Buffy and you have broadband you just download the one you missed, which in the case of 24 was a life saver as you couldn't really watch it if you missed one episode.
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Originally posted by Wooglie
Has anyone read the latest PC Format? Those of you who admit to reading computer magazines. It has IMHO a great article about what you are all discussing.
Erm - it's an abysmal article, which takes the usual "you can get full movies from P2P!" line, showing a complete lack of knowledge of what really goes on in terms of movie piracy on the Internet. Usenet is the main source for the more informed downloader - anyone who considers themself to be "l33t" or anything else (like the people mentioned in the PCF article) and uses P2P is just deluded.
My personal view on this: I don't download movies, but the quality of some of the stuff available (particularly DVD screener/retail rips) is very impressive. I do use Usenet to download TV episodes though - the HDTV rips of shows like Alias are particularly impressive, beating Sky's broadcast quality in some cases.
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Personally, I don't see the point.
You can only ever watch a movie for the time once, so [imho] you want to enjoy that first viewing as much as possible. Watching from a compressed download is not going to be as good as watching the dvd (especially if playing back on a PC!)
Vcd is absolutely crap, and svcd isn't really to the standard I'd want. Someone lent me Spiderman on vcd a while back. I started to play it, and stopped it within a minute. I still haven't seen it....rather wait and see it on dvd at a good quality.
:nono:
My personal opinion.....
And I have adsl, btw, so have the capability. Tried it once.....won't bother again....!
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I'm trying to get Alias on DVD and agree that TV episodes are ok for this sort of thing, but otherwise I think quality sucks, be it Divx4 or any other.
Those screenshots are relatively impressive but you don't see it in action, it's not that good when everything's moving and pixelating, plus why get DVDrips if the real thing is available.
Now TV shows that aren't on any media other than this, that I get.
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Originally posted by Emanef
And I have adsl, btw, so have the capability. Tried it once.....won't bother again....!
He he, as long as everyone else in your contention band doesn't try to at the same time ;)
The point is...it allows you to see a film without paying any money.
There are some films I am quite interested in seeing, but won't pay money to see as I'm not interested enough.
Some films I have downloaded and enjoyed enough to go on and buy - so in fact the film industry has got more cash out of me this way, as i would never have bought them at all otherwise.
If you're patient, try edonkey/sharereactor.com - good p2p program.
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