Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

South Park To Be Available Online Free and Legal

Posted by Zonk on from the i-like-the-crazy-future dept.

garnetlion writes "South Park is coming online, free and legal. My brief research has not indicated if it will use DRM, require some silly Windows-only software or be otherwise substandard. According to a Wired blog article, 'Parker and Stone said they were inspired to start the site when they got 'really sick of having to download our own show illegally all the time. So we gave ourselves a legal alternative.'" In this regard South Park joins fellow Comedy Central notable The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, whose archive was made freely available online late last year.

229 of 277 comments (clear)

  1. Illegally? by Brian+Gordon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    But they literally have the right to copy their own show (that's the meaning of copyright) so how is it illegal for them? And how is DRM free?

    1. Re:Illegally? by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 5, Informative

      Not sure how their particular deal works, but I think if Comedy Central actually owns the show they make, then they could have actually been criminally breaking the copyright of their own employers and in theory could be sued for it. IANAL, etc.

      --
      Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
    2. Re:Illegally? by boguslinks · · Score: 5, Informative

      Dont' assume they have the copyright to the show just because they're the creative guys behind it. When Arthur C. Clarke reprinted a chapter from 2001: A Space Odyssey in the sequel novel, he had to get permission from the publisher of 2001.

    3. Re:Illegally? by snowraver1 · · Score: 5, Informative

      They don't own it, Viacom owns it.

      --
      Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. This comment may not be copied in any way including, but not limited to caching.
    4. Re:Illegally? by zappepcs · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The point is that they and everyone else has no 'legal' way to download it and watch. They are siding with john q. here. If there is no legal way, then everything else must be illegal.

      It's not like South Park and The Daily Show are shows that no one has ever heard of before, so it's good to see that mainstream content producers are in agreement with pretty much all the consumers of that content. I hope that it catches on, and with widespread attention in the MSM. There is nothing like some very popular people telling the world that *Hey, this should not be illegal!* to get the ball rolling.

      I'm sure there will be more support for such activity when the RIAA finally admits they wasted all the money from the Napster case suing grannies and basically ruining all the good will that the recording industry ever had. Not many artists will continue to support that kind of stupidity when it gets rubbed in their face harshly like that.

      woot! I'd like to see an entire network follow suit... say SciFi or Commedy Central or you pick... but one whole network that just says fuck it, lets let them download the stuff...

      --
      Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
    5. Re:Illegally? by eln · · Score: 5, Funny

      He's not just sure, He's HIV positive.

    6. Re:Illegally? by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 2, Funny

      Whether it's tacit or explicit approval, everybody wins. Hell, even Microsoft is "cool" sometimes, right?

    7. Re:Illegally? by MightyMartian · · Score: 2, Informative

      I'm sure there will be more support for such activity when the RIAA finally admits they wasted all the money from the Napster case suing grannies and basically ruining all the good will that the recording industry ever had. Not many artists will continue to support that kind of stupidity when it gets rubbed in their face harshly like that.


      What good will has the recording industry ever had? Between the manipulation and outright theft from artists to the foisting of crap pseudo-artists to maintain product flow through to the ripping off of the consumer, the record industry has been notorious for decades. This latest "fuck you" to the consumer is perfectly in line with an industry that has long held everybody save the shareholder in absolute contempt.
      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    8. Re:Illegally? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      He's not just sure, He's HIV positive.

      Flamebait? Somebody didn't see the recent South Park episode, did they?

    9. Re:Illegally? by Freeside1 · · Score: 2, Funny

      He's no longer Flamebait, but a Troll.
      That makes me a saaad panda.

    10. Re:Illegally? by luder · · Score: 1

      Hell, even Microsoft is "cool" sometimes, right?


      True, in the last conference they gave me a few sheets of paper and a pen!
    11. Re:Illegally? by trolltalk.com · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yeah, but making it legal to download will take all the fun out of it ...

      --
      Kevin Smith on Prince
    12. Re:Illegally? by dow · · Score: 1

      I thought the BBC were toying with that idea? Well, free to download by us Brits anyway...

    13. Re:Illegally? by Artuir · · Score: 4, Informative

      I hate to burst your bubble but south park's creators have had this stuff up on their site for weeks. The summary makes it seem like it will happen soon but in reality all of the episodes have been viewable before now.

    14. Re:Illegally? by HolyCrapSCOsux · · Score: 5, Funny

      If it's the same orange pen I got, it summed up vista and office 2k7 nicely:
      it looked like a fairly standard retractable ballpoint. It had features that were pretty but pointless (led lights) that were activated using the interface (clicker at the end) that is normally reserved for the pen tip Hide/Unhide function. To Unhide the pen tooltip, you had to turn the barrel (requiring both hands). Making it twice as difficult to use as opposed to it's implied functionality.

      Furthermore, it crapped out on me halfway through the keynote.

      --
      0xB315AA8D852DCD3F3DCA578FD2E0BF88
    15. Re:Illegally? by WNight · · Score: 2, Interesting

      And before that (and still ongoing) is paying off stations to play the music the studios want, not whatever the station wanted.

      Controlling retail channels was the scummiest. I don't care if you sell anything, but don't specifically handicap my ability to sell a competing product. There's competition and there's abuse of monopoly.

    16. Re:Illegally? by deanlandolt · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Not sure how their particular deal works, but I think if Comedy Central actually owns the show they make, then they could have actually been criminally breaking the copyright of their own employers and in theory could be sued for it. IANAL, etc. Wow -- it's all almost as illogical as academia, where professors have to beg permission from publishers to distribute their own works to students. Almost.
    17. Re:Illegally? by Gewalt · · Score: 2, Funny

      I had the same situation last time I went to a M$ event. Mine was silver, with loads of blue LEDs in the clear barrel. Clicking the clicker on the back would change the pattern of the lights blinking. You had to click about 20 to turn the damn thing off. Also, the pen died before the conference was even over. (I only took about a page of notes..) But I never did realize the parallels between that pen and microsofts products... thanks for that.

      --
      Modding Trolls +1 inciteful since 1999
    18. Re:Illegally? by edwdig · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Wow -- it's all almost as illogical as academia, where professors have to beg permission from publishers to distribute their own works to students. Almost.

      It's the same exact thing. The author gives the publisher some or all rights to their work in exchange for money and/or royalties. If they have a problem with it, they should have negotiated for more rights.

    19. Re:Illegally? by Kalriath · · Score: 1

      Wow. Our local division must be real cheap. For us, they just print "Microsoft" on a normal pen and hand them out.

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
    20. Re:Illegally? by poopdeville · · Score: 1

      Wow -- it's all almost as illogical as academia, where professors have to beg permission from publishers to distribute their own works to students. Almost.

      Depends on the publishing house. It's the 00's. Everything is negotiable.

      --
      After all, I am strangely colored.
    21. Re:Illegally? by ArcherB · · Score: 1

      He's not just sure, He's HIV positive. Not Sure was the main character of a Mike Judge creation. This is a Parker/Stone discussion.
      --
      There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
    22. Re:Illegally? by poopdeville · · Score: 1

      It's the same exact thing. The author gives the publisher some or all rights to their work in exchange for money and/or royalties. If they have a problem with it, they should have negotiated for more rights.

      Uh no. It's not the same thing at all. The author of an academic paper does not get paid for publishing, and often has to pay for the service. (Though usually the university the author works with pays this on his behalf)

      Everything is negotiable, but journals like "Nature" and "Science" have very strong bargaining positions since everybody wants to publish there (as they are the most prestigious in the hard sciences).

      --
      After all, I am strangely colored.
    23. Re:Illegally? by Fozzyuw · · Score: 1

      The author of an academic paper does not get paid for publishing,

      Interesting, I read the GP in the context of talking about text books the Prof. has written, which I've seen happen, as oppose to academic papers.

      --
      "The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth." ~1984 George Orwell
    24. Re:Illegally? by Darfeld · · Score: 1

      And that's why copyright is wrong. If anything, copyright should belongs to authors.

      Remind me to laugh loudly the next time a publisher say "think of the author".

      --
      (\__/) This is Lapinator
      (='.'=) copy it in your sig
      (")_(") so it can take over the world
    25. Re:Illegally? by jtev · · Score: 3, Funny

      You're getting the Data Center pens. Not as pretty as the ones for the unwashed masses, but at least they work, most of the time.

      --
      That which is done from love exists beyond good and evil
    26. Re:Illegally? by rhyder128k · · Score: 1

      So, who's on first base?

      --
      Michael Reed, freelance tech writer.
    27. Re:Illegally? by edwdig · · Score: 1

      Uh no. It's not the same thing at all. The author of an academic paper does not get paid for publishing, and often has to pay for the service. (Though usually the university the author works with pays this on his behalf)

      I was referring to books, where I've seen distribution issues come up. I never saw any issues with papers while I was in college.

      If what you say is true, then yeah, that is really messed up.

    28. Re:Illegally? by kestasjk · · Score: 1

      I wonder why http://cartman-2000.net/ recently went down due to a DMCA notice, if South Park is now going to be going online legally? It has been up for a long time, and it seems like only now with season 12 coming out is it going off. Why would they be doing that now, when they're moving to open it up?

      I guess there'll be ads in the legal versions, so Trey&Parker might not want to uninstall uTorrent just yet.

      --
      // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
    29. Re:Illegally? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Alternatively, it may have been what humans call "a joke".

    30. Re:Illegally? by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yeah, but making it legal to download will take all the fun out of it ...
      And what will happen to Mr Twig dot net? He's been my go-to site for South Park for a long time and I'm not going to abandon him just because Comedy Central or Viacom or Haliburton says I can "get it from them" now.

      Have to be careful here. Just because Comedy Central does something that's in their own best interest does not suddenly make them "cool". They are still "the man" and I'm still planning to stick it to them, dude.
      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    31. Re:Illegally? by thePowerOfGrayskull · · Score: 1

      It does. And the author chooses to sell it, often in exchange for a lump sum payment and continuing royalties.

    32. Re:Illegally? by gravis777 · · Score: 1

      woot! I'd like to see an entire network follow suit... say SciFi or Commedy Central or you pick... but one whole network that just says fuck it, lets let them download the stuff... You mean like the BBC, ABC, and Fox, just to name a few, are already doing? Granted, the American ones are not "downloading" as you can only stream it online, but its a step in the right direction.
    33. Re:Illegally? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      That's why I am holding out for an open-source, standards-compliant pen. When the ink runs out I know I'll be able to get a refill, and when the battery dies - hey wait a minute! One purpose, one tool. I'll stick with pens which are just pens, thank you! ;)

    34. Re:Illegally? by fugue · · Score: 1

      But they still manage to sell that crap they call music. Seems all the contempt they have for their clients is well-founded. It's not like real music is more expensive...

      --
      "The biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place."
    35. Re:Illegally? by Raenex · · Score: 1

      It's the 00's. Funny. I always here about the 90s or the 80s, or whatever, but never the 00s. It's just awkward. I dug up an article on the coming problem from "way back" (man I feel old) in 1992.

      Maybe "the new millennium" is more common.
    36. Re:Illegally? by ardin,mcallister · · Score: 1

      The ads were about 5 seconds long.

      I've watched it online, and I've gotta say, good job on their part. They learned that if you make the ads so short, you can put ads in without pissing people off. It uses flash, but its way better quality than Youtube, thank god.

      Note: What the summary forgot to mention is that from what I hear from the other article I read about this, the old archive of episodes is going to be up too eventually.

      --
      "Some men just want to watch the world burn..."
    37. Re:Illegally? by Dan541 · · Score: 1

      I know how they feel.

      I get really sick of having to download illegally too.

      --
      An SQL query goes to a bar, walks up to a table and asks, "Mind if I join you?"
    38. Re:Illegally? by ajcham · · Score: 2, Interesting

      00s seems fine - but only when written.

      Personally I'd rather waste my breath on a phrase like 'the first decade of the twenty-first century' than use a god-awful term like 'the noughties' [shudder].

    39. Re:Illegally? by Raenex · · Score: 1

      00s seems fine - but only when written. I and a lot of other people hear a voice in their head when reading. If you can't pronounce it in conversation then it isn't good to write. How would you pronounce 00s if you were reading it aloud? Zeros? Ohs? Naughts?
    40. Re:Illegally? by Darfeld · · Score: 1

      The problem is that it is the standard contract. So if you want to do money with it, you have to sell the rights.

      I'd rather see contract with an exclusivity, witch doesn't take the copyrights away from the author.

      --
      (\__/) This is Lapinator
      (='.'=) copy it in your sig
      (")_(") so it can take over the world
    41. Re:Illegally? by thePowerOfGrayskull · · Score: 1

      I think it largely depends on the negotiating abilities of the author (or agent); and the quality of the work. Much like any negotiation, if the writer is willing to walk away, he can often get better terms. I realize that this isn't always the case - new writers have a harder time with it unless they are producing work of superb potential; but I suspect that to be the exception rather than the rule.

  2. More free, legal TV online by DogDude · · Score: 5, Informative

    Just discovered last week... NBC has the entire season 4 of The Office online, watchable in full screen, with traditional TV-like ads interrupting the shows. Of course, nobody likes ads, but it's worth it to me, at least, and I'm glad to see some of the old-school media companies like NBC FINALLY starting to "get it".

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
    1. Re:More free, legal TV online by garett_spencley · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Just discovered last week... NBC has the entire season 4 of The Office online"

      OMG ... that's almost as good as if Paramount were to offer Star Trek V for free download.

      *crosses fingers*

    2. Re:More free, legal TV online by Dionysus · · Score: 1

      Only if you are in the US. If not, you won't be able to. Something like the Daily Show can be watched from wherever.

      --
      Je ne parle pas francais.
    3. Re:More free, legal TV online by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      I'd rather pay $2 on iTunes, get to keep it and have no commercials..

    4. Re:More free, legal TV online by an.echte.trilingue · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Yeah, but having seen Comedy Central's other offerings (Colbert Report and the Daily Show), I am skeptical. Take two sites:
      • The Official Colbert Report site is slow, experiences frequent outages, has mediocre quality video, crashes several major browsers after 10-20 minutes of viewing, and shows you the same add every two and a half minutes. On the plus side, it looks pretty.
      • The pirate south park site is slow, experiences frequent outages and has mediocre quality video. However, the shows are easy to browse and the adds are limited to things outside of the viewer window (and are blockable).
      From my perspective, the choice is clear here. I am sure that Comedy Central will do a worse job than the pirates did. It will be just like when they got Colbert off of YouTube and replaced it with something worse.

      The media companies are really slow to learn: the Internet gives them a potential gold mine, they just have to come up with a way to deliver their wares that sucks less than what Joe up the street can do. So far, they fail, Comedy Central and Viacom included.
      --
      weirdest thing I ever saw: scientology advertising on slashdot.
    5. Re:More free, legal TV online by elrous0 · · Score: 2, Funny

      And miss out on the William Shatner commentary track that's on the DVD? No way, dude!

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    6. Re:More free, legal TV online by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Star Trek V? Didn't the numbering go 1, 2, 3, 4, 6? You must be joking about this "5" thing.

    7. Re:More free, legal TV online by wattrlz · · Score: 1

      I'd rather pay $2 on iTunes, get to keep it and have no commercials.. That's the price of the American conscience, right there. Two dollars less than the value of an episode of, "The Office"'s fourth season.
    8. Re:More free, legal TV online by LunaticTippy · · Score: 1

      NBC has many of their shows online. There are problems, though.

      Their player is buggy, especially if you watch in fullscreen mode. Sometimes the show logo grows bigger after every ad, sometimes it reverts to small screen after every ad. Annoying, and no option to download the show and watch it in a non-buggy viewer.
      They don't always have a whole season. They'll often have a handful of shows, not in order, and the selection changes unpredictably.

      I like the idea of supporting shows I like with ad money, but they need to try harder to make it less annoying than piracy.

      --
      Man, you really need that seminar!
    9. Re:More free, legal TV online by elrous0 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Reminds me of when Fox started cracking down on YouTube and claiming that Hulu would make up for it. There was a time when you could find virtually every episode and skit from Family Guy on YouTube. Now Fox's great legal alternative, that was supposed to be everything YouTube wasn't, offers a grand total 3 lousy episodes. Whoopty fucking do.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    10. Re:More free, legal TV online by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 1

      Star Trek V? Didn't the numbering go 1, 2, 3, 4, 6? You must be joking about this "5" thing. No. Do you really believe that, or is that just wishful thinking? ;)
      --
      My blog
    11. Re:More free, legal TV online by businessnerd · · Score: 1

      Compared to the other broadcast networks, I think NBC has gotten it the best. While it's still not perfect, they are the only network that supports ALL platforms. I can watch their shows online for free (with some ads) with Linux. Other networks like ABC and CW actually go out of their way to block Linux users from viewing their shows online. If you watch it on a windows machine, there is no extra plugins to download (it's pretty much YouTube style flash), so Linux should work, but no, they block you. Haven't tried changing the user agent though, so who knows if it really would work or not. Regardless, NBC supports all, while the others don't. I don't care if ABC has more shows to offer via the web than NBC if I can't view any of them in the first place.

      --
      "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how drunk you get." -- H. J. Simpson
    12. Re:More free, legal TV online by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      They havent "got it" as it's not available in divx,xvid, or even another OPEN and unencumbered format. I want to grab it ant watch it on my archos player.

      They havent a clue until they stop with the damned DRM bullshit. 99.997% of the people out there want to watch it on their own terms not NBC's terms. Yes there is 0.003% that want it on NBC's terms, but they like leather with studs and whips with plastic spikes at the end.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    13. Re:More free, legal TV online by garcia · · Score: 1

      Hulu owns too. Fucking Airwolf? I spent most of my Saturday afternoon (recovering from Friday's half-bottle of scotch induced hangover) watching season 1. Hooked the wife's laptop to the stereo and TV and played it through. It was decent quality, flash player, required a quick sign-up with fake information, and sounded fine. The commercials were less annoying than TV commercials (and much shorter) and I was fine with it.

    14. Re:More free, legal TV online by Sancho · · Score: 2, Informative

      You forgot to put the word keep in quotation marks.

      If it's DRMed, you don't get to keep it. You get to watch it until the content provider decrees that you can't anymore.

    15. Re:More free, legal TV online by Mex · · Score: 4, Informative

      " I am sure that Comedy Central will do a worse job than the pirates did. It will be just like when they got Colbert off of YouTube and replaced it with something worse."

      Did you even bother to check the South Park site? It's really good, actually.

      Full episodes, 3 segments per episode and usually one ad per segment. You can fast forward or back if you want and you don't get another advert.

      All seasons from the beginning at pretty good quality (not DVD but very good for online), except for the most recent season which apparently needs 1 month to be shown.

    16. Re:More free, legal TV online by MojoStan · · Score: 1

      NBC has the entire season 4 of The Office online, watchable in full screen, with traditional TV-like ads interrupting the shows. Of course, nobody likes ads, but it's worth it to me I'd rather pay $2 on iTunes, get to keep it and have no commercials.. Last I heard, iTunes doesn't offer season 4 of The Office. Did Apple and NBC recently come to an agreement?

      Anyhoo, I think Window/TiVo/PlaysForSure users can still pay $2 on Amazon Unbox, get to keep it and have no commercials.

      (OTOH: Who the frick wants to keep episodes of The Office?)

      --
      TO START
      PRESS ANY KEY

      Where's the 'ANY' key? I see Esk, Kitarl, and Pig-Up...

    17. Re:More free, legal TV online by Hatta · · Score: 1

      Can I have my RSS reader (or wget, or whatever) automatically download them to a shared drive so I can watch them on my Xbox?

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    18. Re:More free, legal TV online by PMuse · · Score: 1

      Star Trek V? Didn't the numbering go 1, 2, 3, 4, 6? You must be joking about this "5" thing. Seems to me that it went: TTTWWWOOOOOOOOO!
      --
      "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." --The American President (20.1.2009)
    19. Re:More free, legal TV online by AnomaliesAndrew · · Score: 1

      I catch up on episodes of the current (final?) season of Lost, in full HD, on NBC.com using their exclusive plugin, which requires that about every 10 minutes of showtime you be subjected to a 30 second commercial. I think it's the same breakup as on the TV broadcast.

      Sometimes these commercials are loud and usually of no interest to me, but sometimes they will pique my interest. Usually, I just mute my laptop and stretch my legs while I change over laundry or load some dishes in the dishwasher... but one time I saw a preview for The Jimmy Kimmel show, featuring the "Unnecessary Censorship" bit, and it initiated a youtube searching quest.

      The commercials really are not that painful. In fact they have a far richer presentation than television can offer (including hyperlinks, rewind/replay, and better style integration.) With better demographics information, they could become more useful. It's basically like regular TV, on demand. I can always do something else during a commercial... even minimizing the window and playing some ogame works nicely.

      As much as I hate buying into a proprietary plugin for just one otherwise irrelevant TV station, it would be nice to just lose the commercials altogether, though, it's tough to beat free (as in beer). The "free" factor and the ease of access rule basically out any consideration of my other options of "acquiring" the show.

      --
      Move all sig!
    20. Re:More free, legal TV online by Altima(BoB) · · Score: 3, Funny

      ...But what does God need with a download service?

      --
      Yup...
    21. Re:More free, legal TV online by fugue · · Score: 1

      I think you have it backwards. I don't have actual numbers, but my hunch is that >98% of the people out there want to click something in their browser and have something start working magically. They don't want to mess with alternative players. Remember, for most of the world (or at least the USA where we don't really have public education yet) the Internet = the Web = the Web Browser = Microsoft IE = the Computer.

      --
      "The biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place."
    22. Re:More free, legal TV online by PRC+Banker · · Score: 1

      It was better than most offerings, which just don't work for me, but not as good as regular shared video sites. On Firefox/Xandros it was slow, jerky, didn't fast forward or rewind (doing any of those things made it go back to the beginning) and provided popups (if I wanted it in a seperate window I would have opened it in a seperate window).

      Yet at the same time there are many high resolution flash based players that work beautifully. I appreciate the effort, but it's not all the way there yet.

      --
      Oh.
    23. Re:More free, legal TV online by Mex · · Score: 1

      That is interesting - I tried it on Ubuntu and XP with Firefox on both, and it was very smooth, no quirks at all.

      I would be first to complain if it was half assed, but I honestly think they did a good job.

      Obviously they are not downloadable, jeez, give something for free and people complain.

    24. Re:More free, legal TV online by Catchwa · · Score: 1

      I don't have any problems with the spike/ifilm versions.

      Colbert
      The Daily Show

  3. Well, link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.southparkstudios.com/

    Works fine with Mozilla, etc. I believe it's flash.

    1. Re:Well, link by TooMuchToDo · · Score: 1

      Although, it isn't as smooth as Netflix's Watch It Now (which relies on Windows Media Player instead of Flash). Once navigation and usability is worked out, and the buffering/streaming is tuned, it'll be a fantastic site (I just finished watching all of Season 11 through the site).

    2. Re:Well, link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Chokes with Linux / Firefox. It works fine on Ubuntu Gutsy. I've watched several episodes there over the last week.

      I hate flash video on Linux, though. When the hell is Adobe finally get Flash using accelerated video? It's ridiculous when my processor usage jumps to 99% whenever I try to watch a tiny flash video, where VLC doesn't even hit 10% doing h.264 720p fullscreen using XVideo out.
    3. Re:Well, link by Zarhan · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately not in the UK yet :(

      Watched the entire season 11 during last week, and I'm from Finland. Worked just fine.

    4. Re:Well, link by tb3 · · Score: 1

      Great. All I get is "Sorry Canada" and Terrance and Philip farting at me. Must be some kind of "Blame Canada" joke.

      --

      www.lucernesys.comHorizon: Calendar-based personal finance

    5. Re:Well, link by Schnapple · · Score: 3, Funny

      Blocked By Websense

      Reason: The Web category "Tasteless" is filtered.

      Wow, I wonder how something gets listed as tasteless?

      --

      Schnapple

    6. Re:Well, link by Kalriath · · Score: 2, Funny

      The answer is here.

      --
      For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
    7. Re:Well, link by Aladrin · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I was wondering what TFS was smoking. It's -been- up, and there's been none of the DRM or Windows-only shit they predicted.

      --
      "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
    8. Re:Well, link by Dan541 · · Score: 1

      Doesn't work from Australia looks like Bit torrent is still the way to go.

      ~Dan

      --
      An SQL query goes to a bar, walks up to a table and asks, "Mind if I join you?"
    9. Re:Well, link by m50d · · Score: 1
      I hate flash video on Linux, though. When the hell is Adobe finally get Flash using accelerated video?

      On Linux? About the third of never.

      --
      I am trolling
  4. Obligatory by OverlordQ · · Score: 5, Funny

    First (Cat) Piss.

    Now we'll see which mods have seen s12e03 yet.

    --
    Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
    1. Re:Obligatory by Hatta · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I haven't seen it, but I heard about it. That's just too much. Cat Piss (CP) has been a running joke on drug sites for years. There even used to be an Erowid spoof, the Vaults of Meowid, complete with information about a supposed tryptophan derivitive 5-MeO-W. I've got to wonder, have Trey and Matt been visiting the Shroomery much?

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    2. Re:Obligatory by Shakrai · · Score: 1

      've got to wonder, have Trey and Matt been visiting the Shroomery much?

      Naw, I can't think of anything that would suggest that Trey and Matt indulge in any semi-legal substances ;)

      --
      I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
      We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
    3. Re:Obligatory by spun · · Score: 4, Informative

      I worked with Matt & Trey's web production team on an online video game store back in 2000. I met them and hung out a few times. They were dosed to the gills that year at the Oscars.

      --
      - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
    4. Re:Obligatory by CaptainPatent · · Score: 1

      First (Cat) Piss. Quit cheesing around!
      --
      Well, back to rejecting software patent applications.
    5. Re:Obligatory by megaditto · · Score: 1

      Are you talking about the web production team or about Matt and Trey?

      --
      Obama likes poor people so much, he wants to make more of them.
    6. Re:Obligatory by Hatta · · Score: 1

      I found that Erowid spoof I mentioned earlier.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    7. Re:Obligatory by elrous0 · · Score: 1

      Trey Parker claims that he has never smoked weed in his life. But if you listen to the "drunken cannibals" commentary track on "Cannibal the Musical" he does drink like a fish and talk about dropping acid in college. Of course, he also ends up drunkenly bitching about all his ex-girlfriends, but that's just icing on the cake.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    8. Re:Obligatory by spun · · Score: 1

      I met Matt and Trey a few times. Partied with them at their 'Lapdance 2000' party at Sundance, for instance.

      --
      - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
    9. Re:Obligatory by b1ffster · · Score: 1

      Just watched it in the UK. Funny thing is most people in the UK wouldn't get this episode until a satellite/cable channel airs it. Which is why we download things instead of watching them and complain about having to pay a TV license. The world has changed, the rules stay the same. Wake up UK! Nobody buys a 42" LCD for TV in the UK, it's either a big monitor, a babe magnet, or you're football crazy and need a lobotomy!

  5. You bastards! by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 4, Funny

    really sick of having to download our own show illegally all the time. They just admitted to piracy! Don't these two guys know that such a thoughtless criminal act takes the very food out of the mouths of.. um.. these two guys?
    --
    Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
    1. Re:You bastards! by Colonel+Korn · · Score: 1

      Their own piracy cost them over $205 billion last year. It's not so funny now, is it?

      --
      "I zero-index my hamsters" - Willtor (147206)
    2. Re:You bastards! by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 4, Funny

      If they have any respect for America at all, they'll do the right thing and take themselves to court.

      --
      Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
    3. Re:You bastards! by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 3, Funny

      Well, Napster took food from Dr. Dre's children.

    4. Re:You bastards! by geekoid · · Score: 1

      No they didn't. Distribution is illegal, not downloading. People can't seem to understand that.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    5. Re:You bastards! by poopdeville · · Score: 1

      No they didn't. Distribution is illegal, not downloading. People can't seem to understand that.

      Because it's wrong, in the US.

      --
      After all, I am strangely colored.
  6. Is this really new? by Drakin020 · · Score: 1

    I thought that's what www.southparkzone.com was for?

    Or was that not legal?

    --
    The greatest revenge in life is massive success.
    1. Re:Is this really new? by BlackCreek · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I thought that's what www.southparkzone.com was for?

      My thoughts exactly. I have been (legally) downloading South Park from the web for some months now.

      I've seen slashdot publishing old news many times, but this is the first time (I can recall) that I see it posting old news that I had read about in a "normal" newspaper.

    2. Re:Is this really new? by Zibri · · Score: 1

      Oh, I always thought The Pirate Bay was the official source.

    3. Re:Is this really new? by hendridm · · Score: 1

      I don't believe those are legal (at least I doubt they've gotten permission from CC). When you view the eps, there's a little "Add Link" option:

      Help us to keep the episodes online by adding a link!
      If you found this South Park episode somewhere on the internet (for example: megavideo.com, myspacetv.com etc.) you can submit the link/url of that video to us. The submitted links/url will be checked by us before adding them to the database.

      Seems to me they are just aggregating links from around the net, just like many other non-sanctioned TV show site (like familyguyx.net, as an example).

      The South Park STUDIO vids are often higher quality, as far as I've seen. The drawback over South Park ZONE is that you have to view 3 (short) advertisements, and I couldn't get mine to go completely full screen (which I like).

  7. "Oh my God... by LM741N · · Score: 5, Funny

    they killed DRM! You bastards!"

  8. Wrong tense. by The-Bus · · Score: 4, Informative

    The episodes are already online. Not "coming soon", not "to be"... you can see them right now.

    --

    Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

    1. Re:Wrong tense. by Ruke · · Score: 2, Informative

      Parent beat me to it. I know that my roommate's been watching South Park online for at least a week now...

    2. Re:Wrong tense. by Chris+Burke · · Score: 5, Funny

      The episodes are already online. Not "coming soon", not "to be"... you can see them right now.

      Not "to be", eh? Well I guess that finally answer that question.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    3. Re:Wrong tense. by Creepy+Crawler · · Score: 4, Informative

      Whether or not you should commit suicide.

      That's the soliloquy of "kill myself or not".

      --
    4. Re:Wrong tense. by Azarael · · Score: 4, Informative

      They aren't available in Canada (and elsewhere?) yet.

    5. Re:Wrong tense. by Pazy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Even worse when I tried to watch it said 'sorry england' now im pissed cause im Scottish and in Scotland :( lol

    6. Re:Wrong tense. by Suddenly_Dead · · Score: 4, Informative

      Alas, non-Americans get this screen, or a variation thereof.

    7. Re:Wrong tense. by jameson · · Score: 1

      Perhaps not in Canada, but I have been watching them here in Germany for over a week now. Well, not all the time, but still.

    8. Re:Wrong tense. by maxume · · Score: 1

      That's the plan.

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    9. Re:Wrong tense. by elrous0 · · Score: 1

      That's payback for bombing our Baldwins, you bastards!

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    10. Re:Wrong tense. by Daas · · Score: 2, Informative

      Even better, you can get free online episodes of South Park, the Daily Show and the Colbert Report legally on

      www.thecomedynetwork.ca

    11. Re:Wrong tense. by NeutronCowboy · · Score: 1

      Thank god. I knew of a few sites that showed the episodes, but most had absolutely atrocious compression. Bad to the point it was difficult to tell what was going on. Now I can get my SP fix anytime without having to buy overpriced episodes.

      Hooray for Matt and Trey! Let's hope this convinces a lot of other shows to put their stuff online. Yeah, it'll be the end of TV as we know it. Good riddance, I say.

      --
      Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
    12. Re:Wrong tense. by eeek77 · · Score: 1

      That's ok, it's too cold for any humans to live in Canada, anyways.

    13. Re:Wrong tense. by RealGrouchy · · Score: 1

      Actually, they are available in Canada, on thecomedynetwork.ca

      - RG>

      --
      Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
    14. Re:Wrong tense. by tero · · Score: 1

      They seem to be working just fine from Sweden

    15. Re:Wrong tense. by mkro · · Score: 1

      Works fine for me here in Norway. (*.online.no)

      --
      I shall go and tell the indestructible man that someone plans to murder him.
    16. Re:Wrong tense. by Darby · · Score: 1

      Even worse when I tried to watch it said 'sorry england' now im pissed cause im Scottish and in Scotland :( lol

      Whatever, Frenchie.

    17. Re:Wrong tense. by prelelat · · Score: 1

      I check out southparkstudios all the time I'm a huge fan. The site change a little while ago and I think the US was able to start watching the video soon after. But I live in Canada and all I have been getting is a terrance and phillip image saying sorry canada full episodes coming soon. So I think by beta they mean it will be rolling out completly soon(I hope) and that they may take down some episodes and such while they are working on it.

      Either that or they have adapted googles beta testing technique.

    18. Re:Wrong tense. by dingen · · Score: 1

      Well it's working perfectly here in the Netherlands.

      --
      Pretty good is actually pretty bad.
    19. Re:Wrong tense. by Lobster+Quadrille · · Score: 1

      (2 * B) || !(2 * B)

      Seems like that should always return true.

      no question.

      --
      "The cup is in turn designed for holding hot or cold liquids, and has an open rim and closed base." --US Patent #5425497
    20. Re:Wrong tense. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Do you mean "pissed" in the American-English sense or in the British-English sense? Because both seem entirely plausible for a Scot.

    21. Re:Wrong tense. by baresi · · Score: 1

      How about this?

      http://www.thecomedynetwork.ca/shows/showdetails.aspx?sid=3284

      --
      RGdot.com
    22. Re:Wrong tense. by Skyshadow · · Score: 1

      Well, there goes any hope of productivity for the rest of the work week.

      --
      Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
    23. Re:Wrong tense. by Snowmit · · Score: 1

      If you are willing to figh your way through the fucking awful user interface, Canadians can watch all these shows here: http://www.thecomedynetwork.ca/

      --
      I have a lot of opinions about Cyborgs and Architects
    24. Re:Wrong tense. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Isn't that part of England?

    25. Re:Wrong tense. by kju · · Score: 1

      I'm in germany and it just works.

    26. Re:Wrong tense. by kutuz_off · · Score: 1

      Alas, some (working) Americans may get this:

      Your request was denied because of its content categorization.

      URL: http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/notavailable/index.php?country_code=CA
      Category: Tasteless

      Goddamnit :(

    27. Re:Wrong tense. by Greg2k · · Score: 1

      Works perfectly in Spain...don't ask me why.

    28. Re:Wrong tense. by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 1

      Well, I can't. Cartman says "Get flash, you stupid hippie!"

      --
      Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
    29. Re:Wrong tense. by octal666 · · Score: 1

      I have just seen an episode, and I'm in Spain.

      --
      DON'T PANIC
    30. Re:Wrong tense. by Joe+U · · Score: 2, Funny

      If the average Slashdot user doesn't know how to bypass a country restriction anymore then we have a very serious problem here.

    31. Re:Wrong tense. by Joe+Snipe · · Score: 1

      Not "to be", eh? Well I guess that finally answer that question.

      Now we just have to figure out if that means 'not "to be"' or not 'not "to be"'

      --
      Sometimes, life itself is sarcasm...
    32. Re:Wrong tense. by Kjella · · Score: 1

      Looks from the replies and my own test (I'm in Norway) that it only applies to English-speaking countries (CA, GB and AU) and that the rest of Europe (and probably everyone else) can access it just fine.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    33. Re:Wrong tense. by VVrath · · Score: 1

      For some reason the South Park website reckons I can't watch it because I'm in England.

      Which I'm not. I live in Wales (Cymru Am Byth!)

      When will the Merkins learn that United Kingdom != England? As geographical mistakes go it's on a par with calling the entire Netherlands "Holland", or the USA "New England".

    34. Re:Wrong tense. by mobby_6kl · · Score: 1

      Works fine (well, not exactly) in the Czech Republic.

      I had the episode download automatically with RSS/bittorrent, but I checked the site anyway and was pleasantly surprised. There wasn't any Buffering... going on, and the video quality was actually better than the 0TV rip which looks rather shitty on my 22" monitor. Strangely though, I can't hear any sound, which is kind of a deal breaker :). Also, fullscreen doesn't maximize the video on the whole screen as does youtube, but only within the browser window.

      If that's fixed, I'll give it a try with the next episode and probably keep using it if the ads aren't too annoying.

    35. Re:Wrong tense. by Pazy · · Score: 1

      Pissed as in really annoyed, the alternative being pissed as in 'in an inebriated state'. So im rather annoyed right now (though I plan to also be pissed at the weekend :P)

    36. Re:Wrong tense. by You+ain't+seen+me! · · Score: 1

      I'm able to view it in England. Perhaps it depends on your ISP (IP block) - I'm on Cable.

    37. Re:Wrong tense. by joost · · Score: 1

      Guess we Netherlanders are special then ... eps play fine here (ads and all).

    38. Re:Wrong tense. by One-Man-Bucket · · Score: 1

      Actually, it works fine from Sweden. I've heard that germans can watch it too.

    39. Re:Wrong tense. by aug24 · · Score: 1
      im pissed cause im Scottish and in Scotland :( lol

      Just to clarify, are you using the Yank sense of 'angry' or the Brit sense of 'drunk' there? Could be either, or both, as you're Scots! ;-)

      Justin.

      --
      You're only jealous cos the little penguins are talking to me.
    40. Re:Wrong tense. by o'reor · · Score: 1
      Weel, cam' ye o'er frae France !

      No, seriously. On this side of the Channel, we seem to be able to download them perfectly.

      (But I guesse zats becoz we're not suppoz to understend inglish at oll ?)

      --
      In Soviet Russia, our new overlords are belong to all your base.
  9. To quote Cartman by LeonardsLiver · · Score: 1

    this is totally tits..

  10. laxity by esocid · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I don't think Viacom was really strict about SP being online to begin with. I remember countless websites offering SP episodes for free, many of which were crappy websites, but were around for quite some time. I haven't frequented them in some time but I don't ever recall hearing any outburst from Viacom about SP being made freely available. It is commendable for Matt and Trey to come out and get Viacom to actually put it in writing that it is free online (via their website) but I still don't see any other sites getting hammered b/c of what they do. Another win for freely available content. Now if only they would host Cannibal! The Musical.

    --
    Absolute power corrupts absolutely. indymedia
    1. Re:laxity by elrous0 · · Score: 1

      Now if only they would host Cannibal! The Musical.

      That's all we're asking for!

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    2. Re:laxity by prelelat · · Score: 1

      Cannibal! The Musical is one of my favorite movies, if you haven't done so get the DVD with the comentaries it's the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. They get so drunk by the end it starts to not make much sense but it's classic.

  11. Censored Mohammad episode by crow · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Remember after the Mohammad cartoon panic, the episode where they were making a big deal that they were going to show Mohammad? The end where they were going to show him was apparently censored by Comedy Central. Is it cut in the online version?

    1. Re:Censored Mohammad episode by Shados · · Score: 2, Interesting

      hmm? I always thought that the censoring by the network was PART of the joke...

    2. Re:Censored Mohammad episode by wattrlz · · Score: 1

      Trey n' Matt don't strike me as the suicidal type. There are far too many people in the world who will dedicate their lives to ending yours unpleasantly if you do something like that, and more of them than you might think own computers.

    3. Re:Censored Mohammad episode by bogjobber · · Score: 2, Informative

      They have showed images of Mohammad uncensored before in the Super Best Friends episode. It was before the Danish cartoon controversy while the Cartoon Wars episode was after, so I'm not sure if Comedy Central actually censored the cartoon or it was a political statement or joke.

    4. Re:Censored Mohammad episode by mecenday · · Score: 2, Interesting

      No. They gave an interview on the Penn Jillette radio show where they were basically daring Comedy Central to allow them to run it with uncensored images of Mohamed. The execs said, "no way, no how, and if you present us with an uncensored copy, we will butcher it ourselves." The guys decided to cut it in a way that would actually be funny.

      So, though the version that was run was a Trey and Matt creation, it was under threat of censorship.

      --
      Tautologies, they are what they are.
    5. Re:Censored Mohammad episode by Schnapple · · Score: 2, Informative

      hmm? I always thought that the censoring by the network was PART of the joke...
      Sort of. Basically, the SP guys wanted to make an episode about the Muhammad illustration controversy and when Comedy Central caught wind of it, they said they wouldn't allow the image Muhammad to be displayed in the show. So, Matt & Trey expanded the notion to basically be a story-within-a-story where in the show the characters were blasting the Fox network for refusing to show the image in an episode of Family Guy whereas in reality, Comedy Central was refusing to show the image in an episode of South Park. The producers hoped that the weeklong stint between the episodes would coerce Comedy Central into changing its mind, and they fought with the network right up until the night the second part was aired, but ultimately Comedy Central chose note to display the image.

      The whole incident is similar to how the outcry over the content of the 1999 South Park movie paralleled the outcry over the contents of the Terrence and Phillip movie within the South Park movie.
      --

      Schnapple

    6. Re:Censored Mohammad episode by keytoe · · Score: 1

      Trey n' Matt don't strike me as the suicidal type. There are far too many people in the world who will dedicate their lives to ending yours unpleasantly if you do something like that, and more of them than you might think own computers.
      I have arranged a dump truck full of sand to be sent around to your place. Hopefully it gets there in time.
      --

      Culture is more than commerce

    7. Re:Censored Mohammad episode by Shados · · Score: 1

      I see :) Those guys are really comedy geniuses then, cuz it completly got me :) I'd never have guessed.

    8. Re:Censored Mohammad episode by jdykshorn · · Score: 1

      It's identical to what was aired on comedy central.

    9. Re:Censored Mohammad episode by mlloyd67 · · Score: 1

      Season 10, "Cartoon Wars Part II"
      It still goes to black and says Comedy Central refuses to show the image. But I didn't think that was an edit - it was intended, no?

    10. Re:Censored Mohammad episode by rnelsonee · · Score: 1

      I never knew if Comedy Central censoring it was part of the joke or not, but either way, it's not on the online version (it's at the end of the episode 'Cartoon Wars Part II' easily found via the search button on the site.

  12. Should be free on Xbox Live & Playstation Netw by GabriellaKat · · Score: 1

    Now if they would only make it FREE on Xbox Live, Playstation Network and Joost ......I loved when I was able to download the free HD episode last year. I wouldnt even mind if they put adds in to support the cost of bandwidth. ~Gabbi

    --
    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your politician, and hitting them?"
  13. no drm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    it's a flash based web player. there's no drm. same deal with all the new video from mtv networks. flash players, no windows stuff, etc.

    * i work for mtv networks doing video syndication, so i'm posting anonymously.

    1. Re:no drm by Mavakoy · · Score: 2, Informative

      It also doesn't work in England, with a "Sorry England. Full episodes coming soon" screen...

      And from the URL, it'll probably not work in other countries either.

    2. Re:no drm by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 2, Interesting

      it's a flash based web player. there's no drm. same deal with all the new video from mtv networks. flash players, no windows stuff, etc. So, if there is no DRM, does that mean the various video downloaders can save a copy in the clear to the user's hard disk?
      --
      When information is power, privacy is freedom.
    3. Re:no drm by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

      So, if there is no DRM, does that mean the various video downloaders can save a copy in the clear to the user's hard disk?

      If you know how to find your Flash cache folder...

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  14. Re:not available in X by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 1


    We apologize...

    Sorry England, Full episodes coming soon"

    grrrr

    --
    liqbase :: faster than paper
  15. Unless you are in Canada by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    ^
    http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/notavailable/sorry_CA01.jpg

    -Jin

    1. Re:Unless you are in Canada by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 3, Funny

      I knew they'd blame this on Canada!

      --
      No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  16. Canadian Viewers by Rossman · · Score: 1

    Can watch all eleven seasons of south park at the comedy network's web site: http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/south-park/

  17. Re:Daily Show "Archive" by Assembler · · Score: 1

    Add all the clips up

  18. Re:Daily Show "Archive" by irishdaze · · Score: 3, Informative

    Go here: http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml. Slide the slider to a date to get the Episode Number that aired on that date. Type that Episode Number in the Search box. The episode will be there in clips. For example, I went there: http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml, slid the slider to March 20, 2008. The first clip in the results showed it was Episode 13039. I then typed "13039" (no quotes) in the Search box. Voila! 5 clips were displayed. I added up all of the running times, and it was 18 minutes, 59 seconds, which seems to me to be about right for a 30-minute show (shy of commercials and non-informational transitions).

    It's not the 1/2-hour unbroken stream you want, but it's there.

    --
    -- Dedicated Cthulhu cultist since 1982 A.C.E.
  19. Don't need no steekin flash.... by BiloxiGeek · · Score: 1

    1. Record on TiVo
    2. Transfer to WinXP
    3. Edit out commercials with VideoReDo
    4. Copy to pyTivo server
    5. Profit!!!^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H Enjoy any episode of South Park anytime I please

    --
    Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, For you are crunchy and go well with ketchup.
  20. NOPE! CANADA HAD IT FREE BEFORE US by linumax · · Score: 1

    If you are in Canada go to comedycentral.com and it will redirect you to thecomedynetwork.ca, there you can watch ALL Comedy Central shows + archive (including all seasons of Southpark) for free.

    On Leopard it uses Silverlight, I've been using it for a while for Daily Show/Colbert Report and South Park and have not encountered any ads yet, but each episode is divided into couple of clips which is not a big deal.

    1. Re:NOPE! CANADA HAD IT FREE BEFORE US by Jabrwock · · Score: 1

      On Leopard it uses Silverlight, I've been using it for a while for Daily Show/Colbert Report and South Park and have not encountered any ads yet, but each episode is divided into couple of clips which is not a big deal.

      The annoying thing is it shuts off your full screen viewing between clips. But I more blame Silverlight for that instead.

      And Silverlight is pretty new. Before that, CTV groups' media serving software was a nightmare to run under Leopard or Tiger. Pissed me off to no end.

      --
      Magic doesn't work in my presence. My power of disbelief is too strong.
    2. Re:NOPE! CANADA HAD IT FREE BEFORE US by pounk · · Score: 1

      and It also work on linux, for the eleven season they use flash and for the olds seasons, you can click on watch without using silverlight and they use a wmv streaming that work by example on mozilla-totem plugin.

  21. Microsoft Points by Bryansix · · Score: 1

    So will Microsoft still charge to download episodes on the XBox 360 now? Will they refund everybody who got caught playing red rocket by buying episodes when they can now get them for free?

    1. Re:Microsoft Points by EvilIdler · · Score: 1

      Aren't the marketplace episodes 720p? I don't think the free episodes are all that high resolution.

    2. Re:Microsoft Points by hachete · · Score: 2, Funny

      If you're paying for high res South Park, I have a nice, shiny bridge to sell you

      --
      Patriotism is a virtue of the vicious
    3. Re:Microsoft Points by Oktober+Sunset · · Score: 1

      Will they reduce the cost of the DVD's to cost of production? will they let TV channels play the episode with no royalties? will they give back all the money they ever made from the show? Don't be a fucking dumbass, yea, stopping paid for DL's maybe, but refund people who bought it? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

      --
      What if Tetris was invented by Nazis?
    4. Re:Microsoft Points by Bryansix · · Score: 1

      Microsoft should refund it's users but Microsoft should pay royalties to be able to keep the episodes and then offer them free to the paying gold subscribers. I mean I pay $50 a year so I should get something out of that from Microsoft.

    5. Re:Microsoft Points by Bryansix · · Score: 1

      Most of it is solid colors filling in curvy lines. It's not like the resolution matters. You get the basic picture but it's the audio track that makes the show funny.

    6. Re:Microsoft Points by geekoid · · Score: 1

      You paid for the service, not the episode. bah bah baaaahhhh.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    7. Re:Microsoft Points by Oktober+Sunset · · Score: 1

      and should I get a refund for my Southpark DVDs?

      --
      What if Tetris was invented by Nazis?
    8. Re:Microsoft Points by Bryansix · · Score: 1

      No, because packaging and the DVD itself and shelfspace all have hard costs. Downloads of episodes do not have hard costs. In fact Microsoft profits by offering more downloads even when the content is free because it encourages more usage of XBL accounts especially paid XBL accounts.

  22. Informative? Huh? by NotQuiteReal · · Score: 4, Informative
    I know many of you don't rtfa, but sheesh, you had to have at least seen the summary, you know, the first story thingy at the top of this page...

    The very first thing after "garnetlion writes" is that very same "informative" link.

    --
    This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
  23. Note to Cartoon Network: by banda · · Score: 1

    Please do this for Frisky Dingo!

    1. Re:Note to Cartoon Network: by kalirion · · Score: 1

      Hey, it's a good show with an actual plot. Much funnier than ATHF, but then again that's not saying much.

  24. I downloaded it 20 minutes after it was broadcast. by Joce640k · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...at about 600kb a second.

    That's the kind of service the studios should be aiming for if they want people to subscribe to something. It shouls also cost about $0.10 - that's what it would cost me on cable and I don't see why Internet is really much different, BitTorrent means I'm paying the bandwidth fees myself.

    When that's set up they might have a chance of getting me to "do the decent thing". Anything else is a ripoff.

    --
    No sig today...
  25. Re:Sorry England by dyefade · · Score: 1

    Well it's not that surprising seeing as this whole thing was a copyright issue.

    I like the fact that they made a special graphic for England though (featuring the Queen... yes America, that's all we're about really ;) ) are there other graphics for other countries?

  26. Yep, it's there, it's free, it's flash video. by Joce640k · · Score: 1

    Don't even have to register or anything!

    --
    No sig today...
  27. They don't mind by Apoorv+Khatreja · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have been watching South Park since the first season aired on Comedy Central. But then I got bored of waiting for a new episode every week, so I waited for a lot of episodes to pile up and then downloaded them off BitTorrent. Next, I found a site called southparkx.net, which offered news on South Park and offered episode downloads.

    Their FAQs said that "Matt and Trey do not mind when fans download their episodes off the Internet; they feel that its good when people watch the show no matter how they do it." I felt good when I heard this, not because they legalised what I was doing, but because they made a truly great show and didn't believe in all the evil copyright laws.

    Now, when they have offered a service to watch full episodes online, and to make small clips from episodes embeddable, I am a bigger South Park fan than ever.

    --
    RutSum.com
  28. Re:Should be free on Xbox Live & Playstation N by Pazy · · Score: 1

    UK Gamers cant even download them on Xbl and Psn yet. On XBL theres ~25 movies but thats it.

  29. Oblig.. by zmollusc · · Score: 1

    My God!

    --
    They whose government reduces their essential liberties for temporary security, receive neither liberty nor security.
  30. unviewable by darjen · · Score: 1

    Why is it that so many video sites other than youtube don't bother to buffer their video? I'm too cheap for anything faster than 768...

  31. Heavy Metal by hack++slash · · Score: 1

    Give it a chance, only 3 episodes have so far been aired, the first two I admit weren't up to their usual par but the third was great, although I expect my friends and most people's reaction to be a resounding "huh?" because they haven't seen Heavy Metal.

    --
    To do something right, you often have to roll up your sleeves and get busy.
  32. Finally some .mobi content by barwasp · · Score: 1

    Watching movies on cellular phone is pretty stupid. Watching South Park is pretty idiotic too.
    Watching Idiot episodes of South Park on a cellular phone's stupid tiny screen, a perfect match.

  33. Not the newest episodes. by antdude · · Score: 1

    If you try to watch the newest ones like last night's, then you have to wait a bit due to contracts. So, newest episodes get shown on TV first. Too bad it is not right away.

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  34. Microsoft is What? by flahwho · · Score: 1

    That was not cool.

  35. Re:USA only... by Tranzistors · · Score: 2, Informative

    Strange, it works ok in Latvia. Maybe they hate British in life as much as in series?

  36. You have only yourselves to blame. by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 1

    I mean we know how it goes with those Canadians

    --
    ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
  37. Re:USA only... by j_sp_r · · Score: 1

    In the Netherlands I can view them. Maybe because it's aired by Comedy Channel and not bought by another network

  38. that takes me back by jollyreaper · · Score: 1

    I remember watching the original xmas episode when it first came out, had to download that sucker on 56k dial-up. Christ, I feel like my parents talking about 45's. I feel old and it wasn't even that long ago!

    --
    Kwisatz Haderach
    Sell the spice to CHOAM
    This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
  39. Hah! by EddyPearson · · Score: 1

    I always suspected that Matt and Trey were MrTwig.net users, I guess this confirms it.

    --
    You feel sleepy. Close your eyes. The opinions stated above are yours. You cannot imagine why you ever felt otherwise.
  40. Re:Sorry England by Kredal · · Score: 1

    There are pictures for CA (Canada), and AU (Australia)... Those are the only ones I was able to find, there may be more! I tried all the countries I could think of that have a halfway decent english speaking population. (and a few that don't, that South Park likes mocking... France and Mexico come to mind)

    --
    Whoever stated that signature sizes should be limited to one hundred and twenty characters can just go ahead and kiss my
  41. south park Loves the penguin by EdelFactor19 · · Score: 1

    as of today this works on linux I just tried it out on a RHEL5 Machine during my lunch break (only to check functionality not dumb enough to watch it here...) so score more points for comedy central and south park.

    to be fair it would be very stupid for them not to because I find a very large number of so called "linux geeks" to be the most consistent consumers of ComCentral stuff among the people that I know. but I'm still happy pleased and impressed.

    --
    "Jazz isn't dead, it just smells funny" ~Frank Zappa
    EdelFactor
  42. How is this different? by AdamWho · · Score: 1

    Hasn't South Park been available online for YEARS. http://www.southparkzone.com/

    1. Re:How is this different? by edwdig · · Score: 2, Informative

      This is legal, South Park Zone isn't.

    2. Re:How is this different? by PopeRatzo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This is legal, South Park Zone isn't.
      Funny, South Park zone doesn't look illegal.

      And that's a problem with the entire intellectual property battle. Batting an old woman over the head and taking her purse is clearly, to anyone with a conscience, illegal and wrong. Clicking a link on South Park Zone doesn't look or feel or act any different than clicking a link on Comedy Central Zone, so how is the average person supposed to come to the decision that it's "wrong"?

      It's like the old question about how someone is supposed to instinctively know copying a Music CD is illegal when the same company that makes the Music CD also makes and sells blank CDs for copying?
      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    3. Re:How is this different? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Because ignorance is not an affirmative defense?

    4. Re:How is this different? by edwdig · · Score: 1

      And that's a problem with the entire intellectual property battle. Batting an old woman over the head and taking her purse is clearly, to anyone with a conscience, illegal and wrong. Clicking a link on South Park Zone doesn't look or feel or act any different than clicking a link on Comedy Central Zone, so how is the average person supposed to come to the decision that it's "wrong"?

      If you look at their terms & disclaimers pages, it's rather sketchy. Not how they make a big point out of how they don't actually host video and only link to other sites.

      Comedy Central could probably go after them for using the South Park trademarks & copyrighted images at the very least if they chose to.

      It's like the old question about how someone is supposed to instinctively know copying a Music CD is illegal when the same company that makes the Music CD also makes and sells blank CDs for copying?

      Every major label CD you buy in a store has warnings on it about it being illegal to copy it. Some CDs have it on the back, others have it on the liner notes. Of course, the warnings go too far and claim things to be illegal that aren't, but that's a different issue.

    5. Re:How is this different? by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      Every major label CD you buy in a store has warnings on it about it being illegal to copy it.

      I don't have a CD with me, but I don't think I've ever seen "it is illegal to copy this CD." But instead, they have reminders that illegal coppies are illegal, or illegal copies may be prosecuted, or such. The stickers warn you to not do anything illegal, but do not define illegal. They say "don't do illegal things" but I'd be surprised if you could find a CD that said "it is illegal to copy this CD for any possible use." For one reason, copying it for not-for-profit educational use may, in fact, be legal. So, to keep away from wrong legal advice (something that is illegal itself) they stay away from defining anything or stating what is or is not legal.

      Yes, that's a minor distinction, but it is a very important one. Just like no one in the US has ever been prosecuted or even sued for downloading music. Yet the RIAA/MPAA talk about downloaders as if it's illegal. It's a scare tactic because they don't ever want to test whether downloading can be successfully prosecuted, so they'll never let a case get to court. Downloading is most probably unprosecutable (not the same as legal, but like insider trading, something that is technically illegal but almost never prosecuted). Copying a CD is often legal. They will say things in a way that will make you think the opposite because that's what they want you to think. And that you think the labels say "it's illegal to copy this CD" means it's working. They don't say that (because it could likely get them in serious legal trouble) so they say something that has no meaning designed to give you the impression they did say that. Please feel free to go get some CDs and read the labels. Tell me what they say.

      --
      Learn to love Alaska
  43. Blame Canada. by Belial6 · · Score: 1

    Blame Canada.

  44. Figures! by Junior+J.+Junior+III · · Score: 1

    My .torrent of S01-S11 is at 92%. Screw you guys, I'm going home!

    --
    You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
  45. so what by the+brown+guy · · Score: 1

    the quality wont be as good as the 170mb-ish .avi files on TPB. Plus I can't access the site seeing as how I am in Canada. Weak.

    --
    Orbis terrarum est non altus satis
  46. Re:Sorry England by fremean · · Score: 1

    Yeh it's true - Sorry Australia - comming soon.

    However - pop the url into just about any proxy - and problem is solved :)

  47. Not available in Canada... by khton · · Score: 1

    I think I'm going to bomb the Arquettes to retaliate.

  48. Thanks for the answer by crow · · Score: 1

    Thanks for the answer. As you can see from the other discussions, it would appear that they did actually make two versions, and they tried to get Comedy Central to air the uncensored version, but it's not completely certain that the alternate version really exists.

  49. Re:USA only... by radio4fan · · Score: 1

    Works here in France, so I guess the not-working-in-England thing is some contractual agreement with Channel 4.

  50. Re:Daily Show "Archive" by More_Cowbell · · Score: 1
    *Mostly* there, and *usually* working/updated.

    I love this show and have no other way to view it. The inability of their (admittedly beta) website to actually work causes reactions ranging from: "That was annoying, but at least I got to see it" to: "Holy crap, I've seen that damn deodorant commercial 12 times now and still the correct clip won't play! arrg!"

    --
    Experience teaches only the teachable. -AH
  51. It's pretty cool by ngdbsdmn · · Score: 1
    They provide all the shows in the South Park archive (11 years of it) and they all work by streaming to desktop through a Flash Based player. The whole website is mostly Flash based and despite that it works pretty well, being fun, snappy and clean. Everything works the same in both Windows (tried it on XP) and Linux (tried it on Fedora 8).

    The video quality is decent, certainly viewable on a 24" LCD in full screen from about 1m away. It's about the same quality you get from an STV/XVID/180Mb/22min release so that kind of distribution is, for now, obsoleted. HD quality is nowhere to be seen so that remains a big missing feature.

    The commercial breaks are about 4, spread throughout the broadcast and they only contain one, fairly short, ad spot per break. It seems fair enough to me, with the only downside being that if you scroll forward past a point where an ad should be, you first get the ad and then you get to that point in the show. This makes scrolling very annoying. Another problem is the way the ads break in. It seems very very raw with no transition or anything. Strangely, today I got no ads whatsoever. It is to be expected that the ad system will change continuously until it gets unbearably annoying and we'll have to forget the site but for now it's ok.

    The real problems are if you are in one of those 3rd world countries (Canada, UK, Australia, etc.) that are banned by the site because of copyright laws and/or other existing contracts. Also, there is a problem with the way the shows become available online. They come online for 7 days from first air date and then they disappear for 21 days and then they get available again, for good. The reason for this strange publishing policy is also rooted in some existing contractual obligations.

    I think the way South Park became available online is a significant step towards legal Internet availability of copyright infected content and - for now - it provides a way for any self-respecting fan to honor the show by watching it through the website. At least once :). The releases can still come back in a flash if the ad system becomes "better" or if the website doesn't go HD soon but for now "come on down to southparkstudios.com and see the show online".

  52. If my Memory Serves by ajdowntown · · Score: 1

    Didn't South Park get its start from the leaked Christmas show that they made for some Hollywood folks? It was the leaked video on the internet that MADE this show in the first place. Perhaps Viacom/Parker & Stone realized this, hence the reason why not much has been done to stop online distribution of the videos?

  53. US only.. by zefrer · · Score: 1

    Don't know if anyone has mentioned this but the full episodes are US only. Not that you can't get around that but still...

    1. Re:US only.. by skerit · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Right, instead of really saying "it's free - here it is!" they still have to impose some stupid rules. Stop creating virtual boundaries!! To me it goes against everything the internet stands for (*drama*)

    2. Re:US only.. by irc.goatse.cx+troll · · Score: 1

      Do you have any idea WHY they do it? Do you really think its some spite for your country or something?

      Some broadcast company in your country bought the exclusive rights to rebroadcast Southpark in your country. Comedy Central has the exclusive rights in America. The Comedy Channel has the exclusive rights in Canada.

      Comedy Channel has been streaming southpark for Canadians online for a long time now.

      Comedy Central is now doing the same for America.

      Bitch to whoever owns the rights in your country, not to Comedy Central or South Park Studios.

      --
      Pain lasts, kid. Its how you know you're alive. Sometimes I think this growing up thing is just pain management-TheMaxx
  54. When I heard this.. by Skippyboy · · Score: 1

    I got so excited that I wanted to --PISS OUT MY ASS-- jump for joy!

    --
    My Slashdot Journal! YAY!
  55. Good for them, good for you. by TheVelvetFlamebait · · Score: 1

    Now, the teeny-tiny problem here is that South Park is not technically "their" show in a legal sense. The copyright will be owned by comedy central. They can't legalise any behaviour, they can only apply to their bosses to do it for them (which obviously they did, rather successfully). Still, the real copyright owners are the ones who have to green-light all those activities involving South Park currently and formerly known as piracy for them to become legal.

    They are, of course, not going to do that. They want to maintain control over the whole enterprise and reserve the right to pull down the site should TV viewership/DVD sales spike downwards significantly.

    --
    You know, there is a difference between trolling and pointing out the flaws in your reasoning. Just saying.
  56. Fine in VIsta, Tears in Fedora 8 by fyrie · · Score: 1

    I tested both FF on Fedora 8 and Vista. It runs perfectly in Vista, but there is some non vsynced looking tearing in Linux. Hopefully they'll get that sorted out.

  57. There is one DRM by aepervius · · Score: 1

    Region coding :). You can only watch legally from the US. The rest of the world has still to contend to illegal emthod (look at my SP torrent season 1-11, 25% only....Drat....).

    --
    C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
    visit randi.org
  58. Don't believe the propaganda... by grimJester · · Score: 1

    Artists generally don't own the copyright of their works if it's being commercially distributed. RIAA/MPAA propaganda tries to paint the artist as the victim of any copyright infringement, which is not the case. The artist does not have the right to distribute his work. The artist can not give others the right to distribute his work. The artist has no right to watch/listen to his work.

    If Parker and Stone download a South Park episode from someone who does not have the right to distribute it, they are as guilty of copyright infringement as anyone else.

    If you download a South Park episode from someone without the right to distribute it and you would otherwise have paid for it in some way, the "victim" of your action is the company owning the copyright, not Parker and Stone.

  59. so? by beefubermensch · · Score: 1

    ...with inline commercials... like dozens of other shows from major networks. Why is this newsworthy? -C.

  60. Lawyers by mulhall · · Score: 1

    Like we didn't hate them enough already, they came up with "intellectual property". Can't we just set fire to them all?

    1. Re:Lawyers by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Man, don't hate lawyers. They don't make the laws until they are transformed into politicians or judges.

      Lawyers do more to protect our freedoms than our military does.

      The dude in Shakespeare who said "First, kill all the lawyers" was explaining what you have to do if you want to become a tyrant.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    2. Re:Lawyers by cerberusss · · Score: 1

      +1 insightful, once again

      --
      8 of 13 people found this answer helpful. Did you?
  61. Back to the 1970's again by hansoloaf · · Score: 1

    with the proliferation of online videos which are great - however it feels like I'm back in the 1970's with the lack of closed captions.
    Many deaf and hoh feel this way and luckily we are working to deal with this problem.
    Would be nice if South Park pioneered the captioning of videos though like Spelling did with his shows in the 80's.
    The benefits are enormous and there's no downside.

  62. Aughts by thegnu · · Score: 1

    People refer to them as the aughts, which is pretty accurate and also doesn't sound completely stupid. The problem, however, is that you have to explain yourself to everybody you use the term to. But let's start figuring out the 10's NOW so we aren't still trying to figure it out in 2018.

    Tens? Teens? Ones?

    --
    Please stop stalking me, bro.