TV next big P2P file?
I was poking around the web and found a few sites that offer tv shows for download. I was shocked by how organized and reliable they were. They were mostly animation shows like South Park and Futurama, I assume because they look better under heavy compression. As an example last night there was a new episode of South Park on. It aired at 10 PM EST, but by 11:30 PM EST it was available for download. It was up before it aired on the west coast. With the growth of PRV apps and broadband it only looks like it is getting bigger.
So my question is will tv shows drive the next big wave of P2P?
So my question is will tv shows drive the next big wave of P2P?
Comments
Originally posted by Aquatic
Is this legal?
Well: I have been in contact with the administrator of one of the South Park sites (the sites that offer all the episodes). They have a constant need for bandwidth, and I have considered for a while to host some of the episodes on my server. The requirements were too high for me to meet them, but that's not really the issue here. During our talks, I asked him how legal this all was, and he told me:
No problems at all. We have been in constant contact with the people at the South Park Studios and in the 4 years that [snip] has been online we have not been told to remove the episodes ever.
So, there you go. You will notice that South Park episodes really are the only ones that are easy to come by on the web (http like, I mean, though I may be wrong). All the others are either well hidden, or are available through some less easily traceable means.
Originally posted by der Kopf
So, there you go. You will notice that South Park episodes really are the only ones that are easy to come by on the web (http like, I mean, though I may be wrong). All the others are either well hidden, or are available through some less easily traceable means.
Actually, I found a few sites that do not hide the fact that you can get Futurama, Family Guy, King of The Hill and Da Ali G Show.
But if you look for almost any recent tv show on your p2p app of choice (for research only, no downloading please) you can find an amazing amount. Is this what is causing the tv companies to release even the crappiest shows ever, Dr Quinn, Medicine Women I'm looking at you, on dvd as a preemptive strike?
Just for example, it's more or less entirely taken over as the medium of distribution for fan-subtitled anime. Out in Japan today, ripped from DVD, translated, and on your computer in a week or two.
As for ethics, fansubbers generally stop translating a particular show when it's licensed for commercial US release. Still illegal, but ethical in its own way. That's how it's always been done, and many companies realize the benefits of this system and allow it to continue.
hell, South Park owes its existance to people sharing the original Christmas episode among friends. otherwise it would just be a funny little idea that never went anywhere.
Originally posted by HOM
I was poking around the web and found a few sites that offer tv shows for download. I was shocked by how organized and reliable they were. They were mostly animation shows like South Park and Futurama, I assume because they look better under heavy compression. As an example last night there was a new episode of South Park on. It aired at 10 PM EST, but by 11:30 PM EST it was available for download. It was up before it aired on the west coast. With the growth of PRV apps and broadband it only looks like it is getting bigger.
So my question is will tv shows drive the next big wave of P2P?
pffft. in college last year, i would [have access to] the simpsons the day before it aired. commercials precut too. i love the internet.
as for legality, i would tend to think its illegal. vcrs, and pvrs, and similar technologies exist not for distribution, but for personal use. ianal, but i think the related copyright laws state that a person is allowed a personal backup copy. sharing that copy, i think, would be breaking the law. and mass-sharing, with cut commercials would be breaking the law in a higher degree. that the south park heads aren't going after that one particular site doesn't mean its legal. they just don't want to be assholes like the riaa/mpaa.
if one does a little searching, for the right words, they might find what they are looking for.