Slashdot Mirror
Big Ugly Dishes Grab Primetime Shows Early
ActualClient writes: "According to an article on CNET certain tech-savvy satellite TV customers are able to receive their TV shows days before they are actually aired. This has been going on for a while, the TV networks paying little attention, but now these people are taking it a step further and distributing these episodes online. Recently, season finale episodes for NBC's 'Frasier' and Fox's 'The Simpsons' were distributed along with the last-ever episode of UPN's 'Star-Trek: Voyager,' all viewed hours before they were aired locally. There is no end to what people will pirate(and I personally don't mind that one bit)."
If you're lucky, the season finale of The Simpsons will end up in your SETI@home work units. Just run an mpeg player on the work units and there you go.
My understanding from this FAQ is that the networks were already moving slowly to moving towards obscuring these backhaul signals. Regardless of the debate whether this is moral or legal, if this becomes more prevalent, the networks and their affiliates will simply speed up the process of changing their equipment so that these backhauls can't simply be sniffed from the air by someone who has a BUD. End of the distribution problem.
And cheaper for them for two other related reasons. By simply updating their upload/download method, they won't have to pursue this matter in the courts. This saves them legal fees. This may not concern them as much being rather large corps in the first place. But it also would allow them to avoid losing in court, which may set a legal precedant (although of little consequence since most stuff is going digital anyways and is already covered under the DMCA).
While this makes an interesting story, all those that participate in this are simply accelerating their own demise. Yes, plain signals will always be around for those folks with BUDs, but no one will care because it won't be NBC or some made for mass consumption network.
There's a story in YRO about something that looks really heinous but actually isn't so bad when you read the actual article.
There's a story about some pointless factional war between two microfactions of the open-software-free-source community.
There's a story about somebody who wrote something being pissed off about people using the Internet to copy it, with 200 slashdotters chanting "if I can see it, I can copy it".
There's a story about some corporation collecting marketing data and making copies of it for its corporate buddies and 300 slashdotters posting "that's my information, they shouldn't copy it unless I say so".
And there's an important story by Jon Katz, first in a new series, but I won't spoil the surprise by telling you about that one.
And finally, some troll named ThiotimolineDude keeps posting goatsex links way before the articles even come up. Forget first post -- he's going for -147'th post.
This is *not* piracy. It has nothing to do with stealing and murder on the high seas. It is however *copying* and I suggest that that is what you call it.
Whats kewler is that living in Canadia I get to see many programs before they're broadcast in the US. Unfortunately this also means I get the same Rosie O'Donnell show from two Provinces and two States all at staggered times (if anything would make someone impact-test their TV...)
Even more kewl is (and getting back to the topic) is that it's legal to view unpaid US satellite TV here, just not Canadian stuff. Presumably it's the same the other way round but most USAians haven't been turned on to the glory that is "North of 60", "Wind at my Back", "The City", or "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" but instead get by on "The Red Green Show" on PBS or Mike Bullard on Comedy Central.
Make friends with folks up North, we'll send you tapes of your favorite shows in advance in return for cheap gas & handguns (oh, keep the latter, it makes your TV news more exciting, we just get car accidents.)
(Allow pause before rabid nationialist-zealots begin required anti-any-country-but-USA rants)
I don't read ACs: If a post isn't worth so much as a nom de plume to its author then I wont bother either.
I used to do this years ago with a big dish and game shows. Watch the feed in the morning, then amaze your friends and family by solving Wheel of Fortune puzzles without any letters and answering all of the Jeopardy questions correctly.
If only I could get early dibs on the lottery results, NASDAQ tips, and the latest mention of Nix releases
Project Megiddo a year and we still waiting
Want Root?
Big dish owners have always had access to feeds and alternates and such. This is something especially useful when it comes to finding things like sports broadcasts you can't find otherwise (and hey if they're feeds they're commercial-free!).
But when it comes to pre-recorded Tv shows, it's a few hours, people, almost always 24 hours max. Not the end of the world.
-- Primis
Sky in the UK is basically Fox + 6 months, and I guess it must be the same elsewhere too. I already know how cool it is to have seen the lastest movie (on holiday in the US) a few months before anyone else, so I figure there's going to be a greater demand for the latest Ally McBeal episode too.
This happened with Star Wars: Episode 1 - I knew loads of people who'd seen it before it was released because it didn't come out until the middle of the summer here. People like to think they're in some sort of exclusive preview club.
Now, if only BT would hurry up and unbundle the local loop so's I can get DSL....
Big corporate America wants to push their content to you in a manner they see fit, when they see fit.
Us techo-geeks want to pull the content in a manner we see fit, when we see fit. This enables us to digitize it, make copies of it, strip out commercials, etc.
Pushing it, corporate America is in control. Pulling it, we are in control. That's what the issue is about.
Praying for the end of your wide-awake nightmare.
"Slashdot discovers unpaid satellite TV, film at 11....or at 9.30 if you're viewing on C-band."
--
jambo
system.admin.without.a.clue
-- js.
Huh? What are you smoking? How can you call something piracy when it's given away free to anyone who wants it?
Perhaps you are unfamiliar with what the word BROADCAST means as applied to television. It means programs are transmitted from an antenna to anyone interested in buying a device capable of reception. It is not point to point. It is not subscriber based. Receivers are not tracked nor counted nor registered. Anyone is welcome to listen in. It's a give away.
It is not possible to pirate things freely given away.
So some satellite owners got a hold of the BROADCAST early and distributed copies. That's supposed to be "piracy"? Did the east coast PIRATE the Voyager finale because they saw it three hours before I did in Los Angeles? Get a life!
Either keep it private, charge fees, and keep the program safely SHOVED UP YOUR ASS in the beforetime or boradcast it and shut the fuck up about piracy.
"No, Homer. Very few cartoons are broadcast live, it's a terrible strain on the animators' wrists."
As someone else has replied, many, many stations still use giant satellite dishes. Plus, they are a lot of fun. We used it for several experiments, including hooking up a giant antenna to the side of the 40-footer and bouncing signals off of the moon about two years ago.
Plus, nothing as impressive as turning a corner and seeing that monster. Scares the people who shouldn't be out there. :)
Random Musings
So what? All that means is that some people get crap earlier than others. Ooh...I'm watching the season finale of Jackass hours ahead of time...look at me...I'm so special. My brain is now decomposing hours ahead of the rest of the populations'...
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm about to watch the results of the 2004 election...
I tried to download one of these once.. I set it up and started recieving on my 56k modem.. after getting bored I sarted channel surfing.. only to find the show I was downloading.. I havn't tried again since..
all viewed hours before they were aired locally.
Isn't time-shifting of a program considered legitimate under Fair Use?
Is there actually anything that says which direction it has to be shifted in...?
It seems that unlike, say, burning pirated copies of games, there's no real advantage to TVrips. I mean, in exchange for hours of work in finding the rip you want, and another hour or so downloading the darned thing, you get to watch your TV show before it would normally come one.
:-)
I just can't see how this is useful. It takes so much trouble to get a rip, you reach a point of diminishing returns in your efforts.
Incidentally, what if the Aricebo telescope was used for TVrips and sent them out over seti@home? That might actually make the program useful...
I'm the stranger...posting to