Download A Movie Or Tv Show From The Internet

[torrenova]

Now I suppose I could download a XYZ GB HD movie from the net and copy it to a DVD and play it in the DVD player but how about cutting some of that out ?

What about downloading and playing it back from the PC to the TV ?

To get decent quality, especially on widescreen TVs, what should I be looking for in the file I download ?

What does the PC need to send it to the TV ?

What is TV out ? is that it ?

Basically, what is the easiest and best way to do this these days ?

[Digitalbanana]

Basically, what is the easiest and best way to do this these days ?

Buy a media player like WD-TV.

[MKAsok]

To get decent quality, especially on widescreen TVs, what should I be looking for in the file I download ?

Try and get x264 rather than XviD.

[JetsetBkk]

Now I suppose I could download a XYZ GB HD movie from the net and copy it to a DVD ...

What do you mean by "copy it to a DVD"? Do you mean burn a DVD, i.e. convert the downloaded file to .vob files? I did that once or twice but it took too long, used up too much computer time and too many DVDs.

I then bought a DVD player that had a USB port and could play .avi files. So now I download to PC, copy to USB RAM stick, plug stick into DVD player and watch on the telly.

[GungaDin]

Now I suppose I could download a XYZ GB HD movie from the net and copy it to a DVD ...

What do you mean by "copy it to a DVD"? Do you mean burn a DVD, i.e. convert the downloaded file to .vob files? I did that once or twice but it took too long, used up too much computer time and too many DVDs.

I then bought a DVD player that had a USB port and could play .avi files. So now I download to PC, copy to USB RAM stick, plug stick into DVD player and watch on the telly.

Brand and model?

Sounds like the answer!

cheers

gd

[adammike]

Well I download movies from the net on to an external HD with a PC running ubuntu.

I then plug the HD via usb onto a laptop that connects to my sony hd tv via hdmi,

sounds convulted but it works fine.the laptop runs vista

If you get them from torrents best just read the comments to see if the movie is ok,

Windows media player is a problem so I use VLC works for me.

[namoo]

Apple TV is the best, easiest and most user friendly way of doing it. Who needs UBC when u have a appletv and cheap itune cards - I dont know why more here in Thailand dont do it.

[sniffdog]

First discussing illegal downloading is forbidden on Thai Visa.

So, now we have gotten over that:

1) It really doesn't make sense to copy a higher definition movie (resulting in more GBs) to a DVD. First, it takes a lot of time (if you don't have a fast (quatro) core processor. Secondly, by converting you downsample the higher quality material to standard DVD resolution.

2) Most DVD players (most of them are cheap Chinese made ones) with USB ports are rubbish. Most USB ports can't handle the speed and stutter will occur in most of the movies. Especially in XVID movies.

3) If your HDTV has a HDMI port, see if you can connect the video out on your video card to your HDMI TV port (you'll need a converter cable). An alternative is to buy a new videocard with HDMI output. A couple of the cheaper ones support HDMI nowadays.

4) Make sure that your computer has a processor that can handle the output (most mini HD rips require a reasonable powerful processor).

5) Then use 'Zoom Player' to stream the download to your TV. Don't use VLC, simply because it's crap and can't handle .mkv files properly.

My setup:

1) Video Out -> HDMI (through converter)

2) Samsung Full HDTV with HDMI port

3) Zoom Player

Streaming to your TV is the best solution if you want to keep the high quality. Plus no need to convert (download->unrar->play).

[nikster]

Get a WD TV device. This plays x.264 which is the high quality video. The files are pretty large though.

Other than that, iTunes store is a pretty good alternative, with appleTV. AppleTVs only problem is that - to my knowledge - it needs to be hacked before it will play stuff not purchased at the iTunes store, unless you use a program like Handbrake to convert AVI files. And it comes at a pretty steep price outside the USA for some reason. In the US, it's $200, outside double that.

I have a DVD player with USB as well, and as has been said above, it's a crap solution. I mostly play videos on my laptop rather than bother with the DVD player because the usability is simply awful. And it stutters.

I find PCs unsuitable as living room appliance. Can a PC / DVD player with USB stick play videos on your TV? Yes. Can it do that in a manner that you'd actually want to use on a daily basis? No. Therefore, WD TV is a pretty good option.

Edited April 8, 2009 by nikster

[ernest1966]

i have a LG tv (XD USB/pearl black) , with USB, plays xvid avis no problem, no stutter. mediagate can stream of the net, play xvid/hidef/vob etc etc, its a brill media player, plus there are loads of similar devices, just dont expect to find them in thailand, last time i looked in bkk/pantip the tech was pretty low and the tv media plays could only handle 750gb drives... lol

got a lg dvd player DV340, nice player, handles cheap disks and xvid/divx no probs

Ernest

[torrenova]

Thanks so far.

So what about file type ? Loads of names but what do they mean ? I download some things which have various extensions but my PC seems able to handle it all. I cannot currently playback to a TV.

For the KISS brigade, which includes me, what would I need to play back on a 32"+ TV ? Now I know some 700mb .avi file is not going to be good enough for the TV but are we looking at the circa 4gb files ? Then is there a standard format?

I don't want a DVD player, just a PC and a TV.

[basjke]

Thanks so far.

So what about file type ? Loads of names but what do they mean ? I download some things which have various extensions but my PC seems able to handle it all. I cannot currently playback to a TV.

For the KISS brigade, which includes me, what would I need to play back on a 32"+ TV ? Now I know some 700mb .avi file is not going to be good enough for the TV but are we looking at the circa 4gb files ? Then is there a standard format?

I don't want a DVD player, just a PC and a TV.

I play those so called 700Mb avi files on a 68 inch projector screen and consider the quality very watchable so on a screen half that size the quality will be even better.

Ok I know blueray or x264 are better in quality but are also much larger in size.

You can go so far in this that the end isn't visible anymore.For example I everybody will say that a full hd (1080i) lcd tv is much better picture quality then a regular 720p lcd which is true,but if you don't seethem playing next to each other nobody will notice the difference.

[sniffdog]

Most 700-800 MB divx/xvid are very good on my 40 inch Full HDTV. I guess the m-HD rips (around 1.5 Gb-2Gb) are better (especially of course the 6 channel sound) but standard movies are satisfactory.

[adammike]

Like I said ,I put them on a external HD, plug it into a sony vgn-aw11 that plugs into my sony bravia 46X4500 hd tv and use VLC as it works BETTER than windows media.its that simple

They are there on the HD so you can lend it out or use it anywhere.also they are backed up.

Of course you must always remember what ever hardware you have [mine is good] crap in crap out so a bad down load will be no good.likewise a bad stream.

VLC has so far handled whatever I have thrown at it on linux or windows.

[JetsetBkk]

Brand and model?

Sounds like the answer!

cheers

gd

Hi GD! More info below...

...

1) It really doesn't make sense to copy a higher definition movie (resulting in more GBs) to a DVD. First, it takes a lot of time (if you don't have a fast (quatro) core processor. Secondly, by converting you downsample the higher quality material to standard DVD resolution....

Agreed - my poor old lap top (1.8 GHz) took hours, ran at 100% CPU and got very hot, just to produce those massive .VOB files which then had to be burnt to a DVD - just a waste of time and resources, and might wear out the PC!

...

2) Most DVD players (most of them are cheap Chinese made ones) with USB ports are rubbish. Most USB ports can't handle the speed and stutter will occur in most of the movies. Especially in XVID movies...

Yes - my ones are the very cheap Chinese ones, about 8 or 900 baht from Makro. One has the name "Konik" and one "XTreme". They have exactly the same s/w inside (startup screen and other screens are identical) and the remotes work the same (which is "crap"). The remotes need two presses of the buttons to send a signal, and the selection of .avi files on the RAM stick is pathetic! The file names are displayed as DOS 8.3 format , so I rename them as 01.avi, 02.avi, 03... for the episodes of whatever I'm watching, to avoid them being displayed truncated and losing the episode number at the end.

But the DVDs work! Yes - they stutter on HD files, so I make sure I get "normal" files, eg. TV programmes of 45 minutes in 350 MB.

However, even these files can stutter if there's too much happening with the video and/or sound. For instance, the beginning of Dr Who - the fast spinning vortex + music - stutters on nearly all the episodes but, after that bit, it's OK.

Also, these 2 DVD players can't handle "DivX 5". Most of the stuff I get is XviD, which works OK. I did convert one episode from DivX to Xvid (because I couldn't find an XviD version) using "Super", and it worked fine.

...

My setup:

1) Video Out -> HDMI (through converter)

2) Samsung Full HDTV with HDMI port

3) Zoom Player

Streaming to your TV is the best solution if you want to keep the high quality. Plus no need to convert (download->unrar->play).

Unfortunately, I need a "portable" solution - i.e. carrying a RAM stick to the bedroom is fine. My "computer room" and bedroom have very expensive fitted wooden cabinets, cupboards and dressing tables so I can't drill holes to hide cables and don't wont to run them along the floor. Roof space access is also difficult.

So the RAM stick and USB DVD player setup is good for me. I may invest in more expensive DVD players, now that I'm happy they do what they say they can do. Next time, I'll take a RAM stick to the shop with all different types of files and encodings, to see exactly what they can play.

[adammike]

just to show you why there is no easy answer scroll down and try to make sense of this lot

VLC works on all systems,zoom is only for windows thats why its my choice

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

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

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

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

[Digitalbanana]

First discussing illegal downloading is forbidden on Thai Visa.

So, now we have gotten over that:

1) It really doesn't make sense to copy a higher definition movie (resulting in more GBs) to a DVD. First, it takes a lot of time (if you don't have a fast (quatro) core processor. Secondly, by converting you downsample the higher quality material to standard DVD resolution.

2) Most DVD players (most of them are cheap Chinese made ones) with USB ports are rubbish. Most USB ports can't handle the speed and stutter will occur in most of the movies. Especially in XVID movies.

3) If your HDTV has a HDMI port, see if you can connect the video out on your video card to your HDMI TV port (you'll need a converter cable). An alternative is to buy a new videocard with HDMI output. A couple of the cheaper ones support HDMI nowadays.

4) Make sure that your computer has a processor that can handle the output (most mini HD rips require a reasonable powerful processor).

5) Then use 'Zoom Player' to stream the download to your TV. Don't use VLC, simply because it's crap and can't handle .mkv files properly.

My setup:

1) Video Out -> HDMI (through converter)

2) Samsung Full HDTV with HDMI port

3) Zoom Player

Streaming to your TV is the best solution if you want to keep the high quality. Plus no need to convert (download->unrar->play).

Firstly, you were the first and only to mention on this thread about illegal downloads so why bring it up at all? We know already as it has been preached many times and comes over as rather condescending IMHO!

That said, you have some valid points which are much appreciated but seem to focus on your solutions only without all the other products available like stand alone media players or wireless home PC entertainment systems to name a few. As for me I too thought the DVD USB solutions sold in Tescos and the like looked rubbish so when with a small portable WD-TV player that doesn't tie up my PC when I want to watch the big screen TV.

[hughden]

I use an Xbox. Stream the video from the computer wirelessly and play from the Xbox into the TV. Plays more formats than Apple TV, and of course you can play games when not watching videos. For watching straight from the computer, VLC.

[namoo]

I use an Xbox. Stream the video from the computer wirelessly and play from the Xbox into the TV. Plays more formats than Apple TV, and of course you can play games when not watching videos. For watching straight from the computer, VLC.

Actually AppleTV can play all formats using a quick update from usb thumb drive.

[hughden]

I stand corrected.

But it can't play Grand Theft Auto!

[namoo]

I stand corrected.

But it can't play Grand Theft Auto!

Agreed but thats what the PS3 that sits next to the apple tv is for.....oh and for blu-ray movies of course

[sniffdog]

VLC Player - I can't share the sentiments about this player. I've played numerous m-HD rips on VLC. Not one worked without stutter or screen errors (the green patches).

My computer setup can't be blamed for that - A Q6600 Quad processor running at 3Ghz and a XFX Geforce 8800 GTS.

Zoom Player (I use the free version) has never let me down.

DB, I was only joking. Indeed, it has been many times said that discussing illegal downloads is against the rules,but still time after time people discuss it and the moderator doesn't seem to mind. It's like the moderators of the News Clips close every single thread about pedophiles, but still people posts these stories frequently.

Of course, as a contributor I only focused on my solution. As there are several contributors, different solution will be given. I personally have no experience with the WD TV, but it seems there is another

step involved in getting the movie on it. The solution I use is fast (no investment too, apart form a vdeo out->hdmi cable of 299 baht).

Then again, my solution is not portable (can't remember if the OP asked for one). I am lucky that my computer is 20-30 centimeters from my HDTV. If you need a potable solution, probably WD TV or Popcorn are the ones to go for.

Edited April 9, 2009 by sniffdog

[Digitalbanana]

Appreciated, I must have read it the wrong way. Anyway good to see there are many posts here suggesting different ways to get video to TV. I want to try wireless next, but still using cables and / or USB devices. DVD is passé for me.

[zippydedodah]

and just another dimension to the whole conversation.... aside from the possible illegal dl of movies... there at LOTs of sites (abc.com) that offer shows/series available for viewing (as a streaming video) on the day after the show airs on primetime TV in USA.

there are sites such as Hulu and Boxee that allow you to centralize your viewing preferences and just grab and keep shows for your viewing pleasure at will.

It may or may not be true that this is restricted to ONLY USA isp addresses... but that may or may not be an insurmountable issue. This is not a matter (IMHO) in illegal downloads as such, but a matter such a buying a region from dvd player.... or the electronic equivalent of said device....give it a try... log into abc, cbs, showtime, etc.. and see if shows are available as streaming videos....

then... there is always the Youtube community. THere are LOTS of YT forums that stream live events (thinking of MMA/UFC) in real time....

check it out

zippy

[Jockstar]

When i was in my apartment in Sydney. My Pc was set up just around the corner from my TV. So running of cables around the wall was easy. Less than 5 metres. However. I have now moved into a 3 bedroom house and my Pc is further from the TV. I could run cables but then they would have to run across the carpet. So not an ideal solution. So i am also looking for some way to wirelessly send to the Tv. I also have an Xbox which i will have set up soon for wifi connection to the net. How can i set it up so that i can get the movies through that to Tv?

[zippydedodah]

When i was in my apartment in Sydney. My Pc was set up just around the corner from my TV. So running of cables around the wall was easy. Less than 5 metres. However. I have now moved into a 3 bedroom house and my Pc is further from the TV. I could run cables but then they would have to run across the carpet. So not an ideal solution. So i am also looking for some way to wirelessly send to the Tv. I also have an Xbox which i will have set up soon for wifi connection to the net. How can i set it up so that i can get the movies through that to Tv?

That is my current situation here in SFO.... cables. However, i have several friends who stream stuff wirelessly to their TVs from the PC... via their home network wireless router... you just have to hook up a receiver box next to your TV (even have ones that will take HDMI) and plug and play. There are also wireless solutions here in USA where you plug a receiver into your electrical outlet and it turns the adapter unit into a network connection.

google wireless media centers and such .... should get several hits... also check reviews at cnet.com or their cnet asia counterpart.

zippy

[Big Guy]

I have set up a desktop system using my tv, a 42inch plasma as the monitor, this is also plugged into my cable and satellite system. I download heaps of tv and movies thru torrents, the computer is plugged into the router, and play them over this system. Also run this thru my surround sound system and it is great. It is simple and foolproof and really cheap to set up.

[pop3]

Are any of you downloading movies and tv programs without any problems living in the Pattaya area and using TOT ?

[basjke]

Are any of you downloading movies and tv programs without any problems living in the Pattaya area and using TOT ?

Shouldn't you post your question in the jokes forum?

[pop3]

Are any of you downloading movies and tv programs without any problems living in the Pattaya area and using TOT ?

Shouldn't you post your question in the jokes forum?

.................................

Shall I take that as... No chance mate TOT in Pattaya is overloaded and far too slow.

Or... We're all downloading everything we want TOT is the answer to our dreams.