How to download films & UK TV

[Big Boy]

I'm now fully moved into my new house, and also fully connected to the Internet (albeit the cheapie 3BB package, which seems better than I had in the UK ...... at the moment).

I would like to start downloading movies and some UK TV programmes, but it's something that I've never done. I've tried looking through old threads, and have picked up bits and pieces, but am too scared to press the button to actually download something for fear of importing a virus.

I'd be grateful if somebody could please give me an idiot's guide to downloading, with some reliable links to whatever software is required. I am prepared to pay a little if necessary to get something reliable.

Thanks in anticipation.

[buksida]

Everyone has their own preferences, personally I'm still ok with torrents, you do need to read the comments though and check on the quality ratings for movies - its probably best to stick to the DVD releases and avoid the cams (filmed in the cinema) as they're usually crap quality.

Before you begin you'll need two pieces of software, one to manage the downloads and the other to watch them on, and a source site:

Download manager:
1) http://www.bittorrent.com/ - I've tried several and found this one to be the best manager, others may recommend Vuze or uTorrent etc.

Media player:
2) http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_L ... c_Pack.htm - Again personal preference, it plays absolutely everything, some prefer VLC though.

Source website:
3) http://kat.ph/ - I've used this one for a few years and it has served me well, others will make more recommendations.

Torrent tips:
1) Read the comments, they'll tell you what is fake and what isnt.
2) Read the a/v ratings, most videos have a rating from 1 to 10 interms of audio and video quality, dont bother with anything less than 8/8.
3) Download over night, the internet is painfully slow here during the day so stuff will come in quicker over night.
4) Go for high seeders, this means more people sharing the file and it will download quicker.
5) Try a few sites, if what you seek doesn't appear try Googling it or use an alternative site.
6) Stick to AVI (DIVX) format which is the standard and avoid MP4, MKV and other formats that often dont play nicely.

Other options:
http://veehd.com/ - a great site for dropping recently released series and episodes (their search function sucks though and you need to register).
Direct streaming - I've never had any success with this due to slow connections, I hate the buffering - others may have had better experience with it though. My 8Mb TOT line struggles with Youtube at certain times of the day.

This thread may help also: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=18149
I'm sure there will be plenty more to follow, SM67 is the resident guru on these things.

[Big Boy]

Thank you very much buksi - very comprehensive, and a great starting point.

[dtaai-maai]

Since I started with this lark a year ago, I've reaped the benefit of a number of different sites.

I'd endorse everything Buksida has said. If you're starting completely from scratch, VeeHD is a good place to begin, particularly as it has direct downloads, so doesn't need a client. The registering is dead simple and not intrusive.

Torrentz.eu is another site I use regularly.

TheBox is excellent for UK tv programmes, once you have mastered the art of balancing what you download with what you upload.

[pharvey]

Would have to go along with buksida has said with regards to downloading - my preference for a download manager is Vuze, which I've used for a few years now. I paid the annual fee to get "Vuze +" which provides a few extras such as media player, anti-virus software (checks files prior to and during download), DVD burner etc. - I find it value for money for the amount I use it.

Something else I have done, is to have a dedicated UK VPN - there are free VPN's around, but not general UK (providing you with a UK IP address). This enables me to watch or download programs from BBC iPlayer (plus ITV, C4 etc.). The one I use is https://my-private-network.co.uk/ and costs around 5 GBP per month (customer reviews http://myvpnreviews.com/my-private-netw ... nt-page-1/). There are some reviews of some others here http://myvpnreviews.com/

[moja]

If you want British tv then try uknova.com

[Big Boy]

OK guys, I thought I would start by downloading a couple of movies. The first one, Woman In Black seemed to go fine until yesterday's thunderstorm, which struck with about 10 minutes to download. however, the computer said everything was fine. I watched it through to 1 hour and 28 minutes, at which point it ended, leaving me in the air.

Since the above, I've tried downloading about a dozen different movies. None of them go through to the end. The playback quality of everything I've part downloaded has been excellent.

After reading the comments, I looked at the various sites, and VeeHD seemed the easiest to use, and is what I've been trying.

Is this a common problem, or is it me? If it's me, do you have any ideas what I'm doing wrong please?

Download speeds are constantly changing with anything from 10kbs to 200kbs not uncommon.

[richard]

I use Isohunt or pirate bay and Vuse

Some take a while but generally good quality once fully downloaded. I wait until a download is complete. Shut down Vuse and transfer the file to my movie storage. If I don't shut down Vuse sometimes the movie is incomplete

Sandman is the Guru on this stuff BB

[Pagey]

BB : Can't help you with films not fully loading but I copied what Sandman posted a while ago and have sent it to various people who have all used it with success. I have downloaded many movies in Saudi Arabia and here using his guidelines although only used Veehd and Stagevu as his fave, oneclickmoviez was blocked in Saudi and never tried it here. I use VLC movie player mentioned above by Buksi as it seems to play all formats.

This is from SM buried somewhere in the movie thread so I don't have a link :

OK..... first up oneclickmoviez.com

Under each of the film box cover you see a list of red download hosts like Megaupload, Gigasize, etc.

You click on one of those, that should open a black screen with a few adverts and a countdown clock at the top left....when the red DOWNLOAD word appears click on that and it takes you to the relevant page of the host you have selected.

Then that page will contain a countdown clock and again eventually a DOWNLOAD button or hyperlink will appear. Right click on that and save.

I recc you use MEGAUPLOAD or 2Shared.... they seem to provide the fastest downloads, especially during low use times based on western time (so early morning here). It all depends on where you are, what time it is in the west (where the hosters are) and what sort of connection you have. Its worth trying a few different hosts to see what the speeds are like.

some file hosts like Megaupload wont let free users - thats me and you - download files over 1gigabyte...so that almost all BluRay DVDRIPs .... 2shared, Gigasize and others do so shop around the potential links and you will find a hoster that does.

next

http://www.veehd.com

The search function is getting clogged up because of idiots posting the wrong stuff in tag categories...so some idiot will post WWE wrestling episodes into the FILM tag.

Links for PRIEST
http://veehd.com/video/4622116_PRIEST-2011-R5-avi
http://veehd.com/video/4622801_Priest-2011-R5-avi
http://veehd.com/video/4622083_Priest-2011-dvdrip
but I used
http://veehd.com/video/4622350_Priest-2 ... iTy-ns-avi

with veehd.com you have to register first. Its free, easy and spam free. Then you log in, find the film page, and select the DOWNLOAD tab. A download link will appear, which you right click and either save or better still use a manager like FLASHGET to do the download. I get speeds between 200kbs during busy times (based on GMT) or 600kbs + during the western night time when there are less users on the system.

A way of thinning out music vids and stuff is there is a tag swarm box on teh right hand side of the search screen about half way down just under your log in details and friends list. Click on the relevant tag (like FILM or TV) and it gets rid of the irrelevant crap - or at least most of it.

http://www.stagevu.com is also worth searching on, although they are having serious hosting issues with idiots posting short trailers clogging up their system. With stageVu you need to look at the TIME/LENGTH note under each listing - the film links will be clear to then separate from the spammy 2mins long crap. Also check the language listing as they do have a lot of stuff in non english soundtracks. With stageVu once you find the relevant copy of the film you go to the page, and on the film thumbnail there is a big black box with download on it. Right click and save that link - you will need to rename the file as StageVu stores files with numerical references rather than the file name like http://www.veehd.com do now. You dont need to register with stageVu to get the download link.

A quick copy quality guide

CAM - filmed by some clown in a cinema so will be crappy quality. Dont bother
TS - a bit better as its filmed from the projection box or with a feed to the audio. Usually these get further processed to try to make the video better. Still crap
SCREENER - someone gets a pre release DVD and then sets up a camera in front of their TV. Usually iffy but on rare occasions worth it. Sound is usually the issue. Also they clip the screen to take off watermarks.
DVDRIP - what it says....copied direct from a DVD. Excellent quality
PPVRIP - copied from a subscription digital TV source....mixed quality but usually very good.
R5 - ripped from a Russian region DVD (region 5 hence R5). Usually excellent.
BLURIP/BRDRIP/BR - ripped from a BluRay DVD so highest quality but big big files - usually well over 1.4gig at least. Usually at least 720p and most often 1280p copies so wont run well on older video cards (like mine). Occasionally a clever ripper will scale down the file to a lower resolution - look for the files that are around 700mb. These run on any system.

Copies are most often AVI files. You can stick those on an CD or DVD and pay them on your DVD player (usually).

That said you also get increasingly files called MKV files...Merkova compression files. These are much smaller (usually half the size) but the quality is just as good. You will need GOM or VLC player to play these, but they wont play on your home DVD player. MPEG and WMV files are still about....I avoid em like a dose of clap.

NB: Torrents are particularly prone to copies being labelled as better quality than they are. Its because torrent seeders are usually spotty faced warez gits who just want to get their name elevated. Stick to sites like oneclickmoviez.com, stagevu, veehd, oneddl, etc....they check the file quality before listing it and delete crap stuff.

[Big Boy]

Thanks Pagey (and sandman) - I will keep trying

[Terry]

BB

You are now in Thailand - not famed for its secure power supplies.

If you have not yet done it, get a surge arrestor between your power source and your pc and anything else for that matter - especially electronics.

The storms - particularly at this time of year - can certainly ruin equipment

You can get them in any good electrical store.

Happy downloading

[Big Boy]

Thanks for that advice Terry. Any particular store? Do I just ask for a 'surge arrestor'?

[Terry]

The best one that I have found is branded 'Octopus' and can be found in Panthip Plaza in Bangkok. Never seen one in HH although I am not saying that they don't exist there.

Has 4 - 6 outlets depending on model. Have used one at the Lodge for 6 years which protects my prized hi-fi and we've had some serious storms during this time as we are quite exposed.

There are others available though in the computer stores in HH

[Nereus]

Without getting into deep theory about surge protectors please read what Wiki has to say about them.
Also, the first thing that you need is a properly grounded (earthed) power outlet, which you may or may not have. Also be aware that the type that employs an MOV can and do deteriorate without any indication, and can be made completely useless with one good flash of lighting, while you believe they are still doing their job.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surge_protector

[Terry]

I ensured that we have a good separate earth protection at the Lodge.

However - If you are moving into a property that you did not build yourself then you cannot trust the earthing already provided

Anyway