Battlestar Galactica Available for Download 357
blankgm writes "The SciFi channel has made Episode '33' (Season 1 Episode 1) of Battlestar Galactica available for free, uncut and commercial free, online at SciFi.com. Also available are deleted scenes from the series.
Is this a ploy by the SciFi channel to grow a viewer base as well as loyalty, or an extremely bold move since the series isn't even out on DVD yet? Hopefully it's both. In either case, I believe this is unprecedented, especially since season 1 hasn't even concluded here in the states.
Bravo SciFi. Keep 'em coming!"
For download? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:For download? (Score:5, Insightful)
This is still a remarkable thing - i just hoped it was something i could watch outside a tiny window.
Re:For download? (Score:2, Insightful)
I managed to grab the whole series, through ep.13, from a torrent sharing site. Watched every single one of them on a single sunday several weeks back.
And p
Re:For download? (Score:2)
I'll download it off BT if that's the case - i'm no saint, and i have downloaded/download my fair share off BT/P2P, but i end up buying what i like. What i've seen / readed about BG so far sounds extremely promising.
Re:For download? (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, you are confused. It's not specifically illegal, but dipping babies in vats of liquid mercury isn't specifically illegal either. One is a kind of copyright infringement, and the other is a kind of murder, and those two things are illegal.
Whether you earn money directly is irrelevant, theoretically. (Exchanging cash money isn't really a factor for many definitions of criminality- besides prostitution). Practically, the exchange of money creates further legal jeopardy, because it leaves an undeniable trail of evidence, and the appearance of greed will make a jury less sympathetic to you.
Even recording for your own use is a copyright infringement, except that it has been found to be a permissible Fair Use. However, if you watch it more than once, that's illegal again.
and sharing recordings (which is akin to recording a show on your VCR and letting a friend borrow/copy the tape).
Lending a VHS tape to a friend is illegal too, although it's such a minor offense that no one would bother to press charges. Because it's a slow process of physical transmission, you are unable to commit nearly as many illegal acts as a megabit P2P operation can. Digital data transmission renders the infringement fast enough to endanger the TV-advertising revenue model.
Re:For download? (Score:5, Insightful)
My recording/watching/sharing of media that has already been shown publicly is NOT the same thing as "dipping babies in vats of liquid mercury", as is abundantly clear. These shows are offered to anyone with the hardware to view them. If my recording of a television show is "fair use", then watching a downloaded copy and recording the original myself and then watching it are the same thing with the exception of who did the recording. And regardless of what the law specifically says, I say it's entirely fair and will act accordingly.
And before you go talking about avoiding commercials, let me ask you: if the downloaded copies of these retained the original commercials, would it matter to you (or the law)? No? Then it's a bogus issue.
I'm not going into a movie theatre and taping a movie, I'm watching shows recorded from what are essentially freely available transmissions. And copyright lawyers aside, I'll keep doing so, with a clean conscience.
Re:For download? (Score:3, Interesting)
They will probably float. It should be quite impossible to drown in liquid mercury. I am not sure what other side effects may arise ;-)
Re:For download? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:For download? (Score:2)
Um, no. Your skin does not need to breathe. Only insects get oxygen through their skin. (For lack of a better term.) If this were true, you'd die any time you went swimming.
Urban legends page: http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/goldfing.htm
Re:For download? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:For download? (Score:2, Flamebait)
In your twisted view of reality, libraries would be illegal.
Re:For download? (Score:3, Informative)
No. Where the hell are you getting this, anyway? Private performance is not part of copyright; you can do it as much as you want.
So if you lawfully record it, i.e. if the infringing recording is noninfringing per fair use, then watch it all you like. (Of course, watching it a lot might indicate that it was a commercial subst
Re:For download? (Score:3, Interesting)
Copyright is about restricting the right to copy works of art. Recording telivision shows for home use was judged to NOT infringe on copyright by the supreme court in 1984 (sony vs Universal Studios).
However, if you watch it more than once, that's illegal again.
What? If I have a copy that I legally obtained, where in copyright law does it state that I can't view it multiple times?
Re:For download? (Score:5, Informative)
Or just jump over to the BBC now and get it:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/audiohelp_install.shtml [bbc.co.uk]
Available for Linux, Mac, Solaris, and Windows. Enjoy ad-free RealPlayer today! ;-)
Re:For download? (Score:2)
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/02/06/15352
Re:For download? (Score:2)
i find it interesting that its been over 1 year since the annoucement that Microsoft would support WMA on Linux, and nothing has come of it since. To quote Shakespeare, "and lastly, they are lying knaves.".
Total FUD (Score:2)
In fact, most the trouble I've had has come from Real Media files.
Re:For download? (Score:2, Funny)
Nah, couldn't have been. Must have read that somewhere else. The crack squad of editors here at Slashdot wouldn't let something slip through the cracks and be posted twice...right?
Guys?
Re:For download? (Score:2)
Re:For download? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:For download? (Score:3, Informative)
I believe you can also install mplayer-plugin [sourceforge.net] for mozilla and have a setting to save all temporary file streams...here it is, use the option "keep-download=1" [sourceforge.net].
Dupe (Score:2, Informative)
Nice (Score:3, Interesting)
Now just go ahead and buy Enterprise and I will love you!
Re:Nice (Score:2, Informative)
Sorry to disagree... (Score:2)
The worst thing I felt was wrong with Enterprise was the unneccessary trip down time-travel lane... SciFi just can't seem to leave that plot device alone, and it corrupts many more stories than it helps. You start out Enterprise with this great start to a story (human kind just learning warp travel, the universe is open!), and years of canon material, and what do they do? Introduce a time-travelling war between two factions barely m
Re:Sorry to disagree... (Score:4, Insightful)
I agree, I love how the writers on BSG have done things. I felt a cold fear when they loaded that Boxy kid on the ship during the initial mini-series. However, when he turned up again as Starbuck's sidekick, instead of sugary cute and vulnerable he was a greasy, angry, pissed off cynical asshole. Nice. His best line was when Commander Ty asked where is mother and father were, and Boxy answers, "Dead." Also so far, and I pray never, no stupid robot dog.
I like the humanistic way the characters do things, as when Starbuck was lost and Ademna just refused to move the the fleet or stop the search. As utterly wrong a command decision as that was, his character had obviously decided that at that point, there would be no more retreats, surrrenders or fallbacks. It was completely real (and would have gotten him relieved of duty during normal times, of course).
When Archer did the same kind of thing to help attempt to recover the son of the transporter inventor re-materialize after the scam was revealed (and the half materialized son had melted off one guy's face and done major damage to the ship) it was just stupid. A commander of warship would just never do something like that or if he did, it would be the last thing he'd do as commander. (I don't know how it works in the real Navy if the captain starts giving crazy orders, if people on the crew just wait till the ship docks and report it or if the XO takes over right away.)
I think because The SciFi Channel is shooting for a smaller, specific audience (us) and doesn't have to care about reaching out to all demographics, being family conscious, etc. they can really let loose. Another really funny scene you'd NEVER see on Enterprise was when Baltar was trying to talk to the to other guy taking a dump in the john. Even more funny was when the Cylon chick came in to use the toilet. You wonder if she's crapping out machine oil or something. Do StarFleet ships even have toilets? And what about the femdom scene on the roof of the building on Caprica, where the Boomer cyclon gets its ass kicked by the blond one? Wow.
StarTrek is also caught in the complexity of its universe. With the history, mentalities, etc. of all the aliens worked out, it comes off more like a history channel documentary. If they diverge too far (and they've really pushed it as it is ... ) away from the established canon, the show isn't acceptable to hardcore fans. But, at the same time, to someone channel surfing, Enterprise would be very hard to get into because of so many things assumed to be known. BSG is much simpler: evil robots want to kill everyone. (And some of the robots are hot fembots who hold sexy parties ... lol)
This rules (Score:5, Insightful)
This sucks.
Re:This rules (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:This rules (Score:5, Informative)
Re:This rules (Score:3, Interesting)
wget STREAM_URL
mplayer `head -n 1 DOWNLOADED_URL`
(The actual stream URL is in the file that the link points to)
But it still does'nt play - I on't know why
Re:This rules (Score:5, Informative)
mplayer -dumpstream 'pnm://rx-wes-sea138.rbn.com/farm/*/usanet/usanet
it dumped the file OK, and viewing the header it appears to be of the right type but I can't even get realplayer to play it, nor mplayer, kaffeine etc.
Anybody know why?
Re:This rules (Score:3, Interesting)
I've not been able to get either RealPlayer or HelixPlayer to play the original URL even after installing both just now. Their website says rtps is supported in Helix but not Real.
BTW, it really pisses me off we can't purchase channels from the cable monopolies. Paying $25/mon for 2 watchable channels is a rip off IMO.
LoB
Re:This rules (Score:2)
Re:This rules (Score:2)
But other than that I think this is a brilliant marketing move. People who wanted to get it "illegally" probably could do so anyway - but by doing this they will in fact grow their viewer base - and probably sell more DVD sets as well.
Very smart move in my opinion.
Re:This rules (Score:3, Insightful)
By letting them see every time its watched (for now forgetting about the few stream ripper ppl around), they can go back to their bosses with some hard figures about demand.
Fingers crossed that this is the start of subscribing (yes I would pay) to entire series direct from the web legally
Re:This rules (Score:2)
Getting the feed directly from the provider would be great as long as they didn't force MS DRM or some other viewing restrictions.
LoB
Re:This rules (Score:2)
They think that we can't get a copy of it (which we can) and therefore they can control the release of the video by taking it away whenever they feel like it (yes, it's a fallacy, but that's how people think, they want control over you, and this is the one way they comfortably feel like they have it)
Re:This rules (Score:2)
The 5 years it'll take till its on terestial brittish TV - Unacceptable.
Dupe! (Score:2, Informative)
Geez (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Geez (Score:2)
A little ironic, to be sure, but it's mindshare - now when it comes out on DVD, I might buy it and watch it again, instead of just downloading DVD rips and watching for the first time.
Re:Geez (Score:2)
Of course, converting a PAL .avi into an NTSC .mpg in (S)VCD format took time as well as some playing around with transcode [transcoding.org]. I'd have paid a buck or two per episode to be able to just download an iso I could burn directly to disk.
direct link (Score:5, Informative)
Already covered. (Score:3, Informative)
Easiest and Best way (Score:5, Informative)
Registrizzle frizzle. (Score:3, Informative)
http://software-dl.real.com/26624ed225a
http://get.real.com/RBR3/200.96.9
Thanks btw. Real alternative works pretty well, but I will have to check it out.
Very smart marketing move (Score:2, Insightful)
Ah, but ohhh that evil red dress robot!
Will it always be so....? (Score:2, Interesting)
RealMedia my ass -nothing Real about it.
bah!
Battlestar Galactica Available for Download (Score:2)
Most of you who hate real audio, and won't download/stream it/view it, are probably the same people who have already seen a few episodes of the series already, so I don't think that you fit into the target that they are aiming for.
But then again, there are probably a few, like myself, who won't download/install Real Audio, and haven't seen any epeisodes, let alone any c
A better idea (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:A better idea (Score:4, Informative)
Re:A better idea (Score:2)
Re:A better idea (Score:2)
Re:A better idea (Score:3, Insightful)
What you propose is yet another example of "security through obscurity". The commericals viewed this way would be secured against skipping only as long as very few sci-fi movies are distributed in this manner. Once they become common, someone will publish a modified video-player application including the same commerical detection+avoidance techniques as in any set-top PVR.
Re:A better idea (Score:3, Insightful)
More an negative than a plus (Score:2, Funny)
Then WTF did I buy last week at Suncoast?
Would this not be the "first" (+ others) episode? : 2003 Miniseries [amazon.com]
Re:More an negative than a plus (Score:2)
Battlestar Galactica Miniseries (2003) [imdb.com]
Battlestar Galatica TV Series (2004+) [imdb.com]
This is from the TV Series, not the mini.
Missing Informaton? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Missing Informaton? (Score:2)
What you missed... (Score:3, Informative)
Humans build Cylons. They rebel, fight to a standstill, then they leave. Now they're back, and they're bad, and they can look like humans, and they essentially wiped out humanity except for this little fleet. Plus, the brilliant scientist (Gaius Baltar) who is supposed to be figuring out how to defeat them is also the guy who enabled them to wipe out our heroes' defenses, and is sorta seeing one of them. Like, a really hot one. In his head, all the time.
Oh, and Adama had anoth
When the Revolution Comes They'll be at the Wall (Score:5, Insightful)
I will happily PayPal $1 per episode to download HDTV LOL XVID of Battlestar, Stargate SG-1/Atlantis. Which is far more than DirectTV is giving them on my behalf right now.
Please note that's download, not stream you ignorant broadcasters! And content in a real format, not Real format. Real is a bigger sell out than even Microsoft when it comes to hurting the consumer in order to brown nose the MPAA/RIAA.
And why PayPal? Because I wouldn't trust any broadcaster with my credit card. They're technical idiots and would be handing all my info out to any 13 year old script kiddie.
As it stands, this is just one more sad pitiful example of how broadcasters really really really just don't get it!
If they keep blowing it like this, when the revolution comes, Sci Fi is going to be standing there with their back against the wall along with NBC et al. I really don't think the current broadcasters know how to adapt, even to save their corporate existence.
Re:When the Revolution Comes They'll be at the Wal (Score:2)
I can't speak for other credit cards, but Discover does offer a way to generate single use credit card numbers (called Deskshop). Requires Windows though. :(
Re:When the Revolution Comes They'll be at the Wal (Score:4, Insightful)
You are waaaaay out on the bleeding edge.
SciFi shows + HDTV resolution + downloading TV shows/movies + paying w/ PayPal + getting that video to your HDTV to enjoy the HD part = 0.0001% of the population.
They're not ready for you yet. And that 0.0001% is being generous.
Downloading (Score:2)
Re:Downloading (Score:2)
too late.. (Score:4, Informative)
Does not play on linux (Score:4, Informative)
mplayer couldn't read it, and the url has an asterisk in it, anyway it wants realplayer.
Well I tried my old copy of Helix Player 0.4.0 and it gave an error (can't handle type x-pn-imagemap), so I updated the rpm to the latest 1.0.2 Gold. That didn't work, it said it was available only in RealPlayer not HelixPlayer. Okay, I buckle under and install the linux RealPlayer rpm 10.0.2 Gold. Same problem! I google and it seems that they have been waiting since October for Real to give them some information which is why they didn't get it into the code, and it has now been postponed?!?!
So nobody involved in the website or production uses linux, and no slashdot people have viewed it on linux? Or is there a secret I don't know about (hope so).
I would really like to view it as an open format file as I neither wish to use pay to use windows in a cafe, nor view it with what I perceive as a lossy protocol over an international connection. This is the broadband age, and bittorrent or a fiber (like I finally got) beats rtsp! Just give me the file! In the end we are done in by a clickable menu? Sheesh!
Can somebody record it to a file and post it?
Re:Does not play on linux (Score:2)
As far as the asterisk in the URL, just put quotes around the URL if you're typing it on a command line.
Re:Does not play on linux (Score:4, Informative)
Why is this news? (Score:2)
Well done, now, do it properly (Score:5, Insightful)
I believe the people want something of comparable quality to what's available in torrent sites. Non-proprietary 2-pass high quality mpg4 files.
If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well.
Battlestar Galactica Series available for purchase (Score:2, Informative)
If you go to the US Amazon store, it probably won't be released until the SciFI series has ended.
Re:Battlestar Galactica Series available for purch (Score:2)
Monthly Subscription (Score:2)
Like $5 a month or something per channel/show would be fine for me and would allow me to finally get rid of my "traditional" TV subscription for satellite, AND it would get me exactly what I want.
Works great on my TV too! (Score:2)
Go the full Monthy for bunny's sakes! (Score:3, Interesting)
But, when I saw this article and knowing the reputation of the show I was willing to try since I could transport a file on my laptop or media player.
And what do I get? The aberration of streaming media. No wonder, they are are a TV channel, they still think in broadcasting terms.
The first "TV" company that realizes the potential of giving stuff away for free (unencumbered, without lousy stupid formats) as an enticement for paid for services, will make loads of money and lead the industry during the nes couple of decades.
Re:A shame (Score:2, Funny)
Re:A shame (Score:2)
Re:A shame (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:33 or 1 (Score:5, Informative)
Re:33 or 1 (Score:2, Informative)
Re:How free is it? (Score:2)
Is this just some random troll post that you copied and pasted into this discussion?
Re:How free is it? (Score:2)
Dumb Zealots are well... Dumb
Re:How free is it? (Score:2)
IT'S COMPLETELY FREE!
oh wait. maybe you want to get into some free as in pretzels splitting hairs.... not me i've got much better things to do... like watch the free episode of BG on the scifi site...
Re:How free is it? (Score:4, Insightful)
Understand that somepeople actually have to get on with their lives - not everyone subscribes to the 'anything but REALLY FREE isnt good enough' dellusion.
Re:Not so good if you're completely new... (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes. Blockbuster. It's been out on DVD for two months now. Hoist yourself off your lazy ass, fork out your three dollars and rent the damn thing.
Re:Not so good if you're completely new... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Not so good if you're completely new... (Score:2)
Re:Not so good if you're completely new... (Score:5, Informative)
Basically all you need to know is that the cylons are religious and believe that its their god given destiny to destroy man for his wicked ways. After the first war they made a treaty to leave eachother alone (the humans didn't realize that it was a religious war and thought the cylons just wanted their freedom.. they still don't understand this). The hot chick the guy keeps dreaming about was one of the new cylons who are perfect human replicas. She worked with him in the defense ministry as a spy and suduced him into giving her access to many secrets. She obtained secret codes that could be used to shut down any defenses. This is how the cylons made their attack and were so successful and they nuked every major city in several different human controlled worlds.
Battlestar Galactica was a large carrier ship from the first war, as was in the process of a decommisioning celebration when the attack happend. It was the only one that survived as it had resisting having any new computer components especially any networks installed on it, as was the protocol in the first war. So the deactivating codes didn't work on it. So it and an enterage of other ships that had come for the celebration are the only surviving military group left and humanities only hope.
Re:Not so good if you're completely new... (Score:5, Interesting)
Battlestar Galactica was a large carrier ship from the first war, as was in the process of a decommisioning celebration when the attack happend. It was the only one that survived as it had resisting having any new computer components especially any networks installed on it, as was the protocol in the first war.
This isn't entirely certain, btw. There were 120 battlestars, and only thirty of them were confirmed destroyed in the war. It's possible that some of the others may have escaped destruction somehow. For example, a few may have been in deep space when the attack happened, heard the reports that the Cylons were somehow "deactivating" all the craft that they encountered, and stayed away from the colonies to avoid destruction. Mostly speculation, of course, but it's not farfetched speculation.
Re:Not so good if you're completely new... (Score:2)
I'm starting to suspect they are leaving BG around more from a Moses flood standpoint.
Re:Not so good if you're completely new... (Score:2)
Re:Not so good if you're completely new... (Score:2)
Re:Not so good if you're completely new... (Score:2)
Re:Not so good if you're completely new... (Score:2)
WRT 70's show ... (Score:2)
New for the current re-envisioned show. In the 70s they were all chrome.
wing-commander-like military comradery
A major theme of the original show, which predated WC and which has a basis in the real world. I read a little on WW1 pilots, people are about the same, much of the tactics are the same, the technology changes.
I've set my MythTV box to record anything battlestar-related
If it every records anything with 1980 in the name delete it without viewing. If you somehow miss
Re:Requires "Realplayer" (Score:3, Interesting)
I think Real 'Real'ized what they were doing wrong, and now have embraced the open-source community by releasing a full-powered player called Helix.
Go try it out sometime, and if you feel vulnerable, go make a linux acct and jail it, whilst running Helix.
Its seriously good. And its the 1'st "legit" way to play MP3's (they paid fraunhouffer MP3 fee so it can be include
Re:Requires "Realplayer" (Score:2)
Face it, they're the only ones who can legally include MP3 decoders for pay-distrobutions. Why you think Red Hat took out the libs to decode?
Re:haha! (Score:2)
But how would you explain the "summer blockbuster" phenomenon? Almost every one of those huge-budget, huge-revenue pictures is science fiction
Re:Is the whole series this bad? (Score:2)