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Battlestar Galactica Available for Download
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!"
No, wait. Streaming only?
This sucks.
Will code a sig generator for food
Seriously. BG doesn't air where i live, and i keep hearing about how good the show is - so the idea of watching it for free and legally appealed to me a lot. I hate RealMedia with passion though.
This is still a remarkable thing - i just hoped it was something i could watch outside a tiny window.
For this 'demo' it is unlikely to hurt eventual dvd sales, there'll probably be 2-3 special feature dvd's over the life of the product anyway. The show has enough hooks that it could very well give a big boost to the ratings.
Ah, but ohhh that evil red dress robot!
Come up with a bittorrent-based streaming client, and just put them ALL up, with commercials. It's probably the only way you'll get people to actually watch the commercials anyway, in this PVR-laden age. Especially sci-fi fans.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Perhaps I'm confused, but it's my understanding that it's NOT specifically illegal to record, and trade, television shows, provided that no money changes hands. There is a difference between selling TV shows (which would clearly be illegal) and sharing recordings (which is akin to recording a show on your VCR and letting a friend borrow/copy the tape).
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 people are telling you right: it IS a great series. Best thing to come along since Firefly, IMHO. Better in many respects, even, though it pains me to say it (being the Whedon fan that I am).
No gods, no demons, and no masters. Secular Humanism!
Do they officially offer the miniseries for download anywhere?
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.
Ahh the standard response on slashdot 'its not EXACTLY how I want it, therefor I shall continue infringing copyright, infact I think I shall use this as an excuse for my actions'.
Understand that somepeople actually have to get on with their lives - not everyone subscribes to the 'anything but REALLY FREE isnt good enough' dellusion.
BTW Real Player isn't so bad if you use the Helix version (I'm on linux so thankfully I don't have to use the bloated one for windows).
Oh wait, what's this? I need a codec: application/x-pn-imagemap
WTF?
I'm watching the streaming video, and for a Season 1, Episode 1 show, it's lost me. Was there a Season 0 or something?
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.
Low quality, streamable only real media? This isn't 1997 you know...
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.
Well, provided that you are correct, then I'm going to have to say that I don't give a rat's ass.
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.
No gods, no demons, and no masters. Secular Humanism!
Sorry, you lost any credibility right there. How can you possibly compare the two things? You can't, unless you're the MPAA, which only seems to understand fear-mongering. Wouldn't it be nice if logic were actually used instead of fear (and mesunderstanding, I might add)?
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.
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)