MNET way behind...

[Highflyer_GP]

So not many wait for the episodes? Well I rather watch it on the pc. Then no one can spoil it for me.

You don't have to watch it on your PC, you could use your PC as a media centre. Just connect the video out on your gfx card to the video in on the TV, and the line out on the sound card to the line in on the amp.

 

[bwana]

and there are HDTV rips out there, 700mb per episode..
can't find a copy now but the resolution is around 736 X 400

There are also 1080i freely available for those challenged by bandwidth constraints. A BSG episode is about 3.7gb.

 

[supersunbird]

I just had a excelent week watching new brison breaks and losts and now watching how i met your mother (show on E at 7:30 sunday nights). Its great entertainment, loving and im not even halfway!

 

[Daniedj]

I'm happy with the quality of the 350Mb Rips. At least I can see the show. But 3.7 Gig for BSG is a tad too much.

 

[dghough91]

It's not just South Africa, it's pretty much everywhere apart from the U.S.

I'll just keep downloading, I hate waiting, and even if the TV networks bring it to us faster, I'll still keep downloading because I like having a copy archived.

 

[feo]

bwana do you watch your rips at fullscreen? Also what res is your monitor at? Because AFAI understand it the higher the res the more it has to upscale..more detail is lost and so it looks crappier. Also what codec/codec pack are you using?

 

[bwana]

bwana do you watch your rips at fullscreen? Also what res is your monitor at? Because AFAI understand it the higher the res the more it has to upscale..more detail is lost and so it looks crappier. Also what codec/codec pack are you using?

Yes - full screen @ 1280x720. Obviously with the rips being 624x352 there is going to be upscaling but it still looks good - as good if not better (thanks to the correct aspect ratio) than mnet. If thought it looked crap I'd download the higher res format.

I use the Perian codec pack in frontrow (a la quicktime)

 

[feo]

Well I've got a 720p ep of Heroes and it looks great upscaled in fullscreen but the normal 350MB rips look OK, you gotta sit further back to not notice the loss in quality. I'm using KLite and it seems that its doing a good job. I dunno if using a different codec will actually improve pic quality, maybe wrong there.

 

[ldmelsa]

so you get 720x288 at best possible quality, best case scenario, when watching live tv on mnet.

Dude. That's wrong. 720x288? - I know what you're trying to say: 576 / 2 = 288. But its not that simple. You have to take the spatial as well as temporal resolution into account.

720 x 288 x 50 = 10368000
720 x 576 x 25 = 10368000

You can't really work it out. You have see it with your own eyes.

 

[ldmelsa]

There is another option.

I don't have Mnet/DSTV. When a series comes out that we want to watch we buy the series DVD. Then we can watch a series, at our own pace and convenience. Sure, we have to wait, even 'til after Mnet shows it but we're not racing anybody to watch it, and are not OCD so that doesn't matter to us.

I'm haven't done the sums, but I'd be surprised if downloading a series wasn't more expensive than buying the boxed set, and I get the set with all the extra's etc. I pay for what I watch, and not for all the other crap on Mnet that I'm not interested in.

<adopts flame-proof stance>
You can justify downloading however you want. As someone who has worked in the creative industries, I feel uncomfortable taking something without paying (for the product).

Good point, chiskop.