Alright...theres a few programs (quite slow) for free to download tvshows like imesh. My question is more: Is anyone familiar with downloading shows, what programs, costs, or is the net just not up for it yet....keeping cable in business?

I've never come across the Imesh service before Looks worthy of further investigation
www.imesh.com
When you said the downloads are slow the first thing I thought of is your connection speed
Broadband is essential for moving this amount of data. And I'd invest in a Download Manager Program such as Leechget (www.leechget.net) to help transfer and compile the data before viewing
if you are rich you can purchase a DVR recorder link it to your computer (not my speciality) and view the programmes off the dedicated Hard drive
Other reasons for slowness are Lack of memory (consider adding another stick of RAM)? The computer is overdue a Defrag.TIP Download and run CCleaner from www.ccleaner.com and it will make some space by deleting useless files and Registry Items check the tick list before you start (untick the Cookies and History file boxes) This is a very powerful cleaner (Defrags are a lot quicker after running this.Also your computer gets a substantial performance boost afterwards
And Of course.. Have you got your spyware and antivirus programs up to date? Just one Item on your computer can cause grief if you have not run a scan lately or you are under protected!
Here are several good names to check out (all free downloads)
Antispyware:
Microsoft Antispyware Program (runs on XP only)
AdAware SE
Spywareblaster(www.javacoolsoftware.com)
Spybot (Search and Destroy)

Anti Virus:
Avast!
AVG (www.grisoft.com) Pick 2 from the top list and 1 from the bottom list and you should be OK?

Check your Firewall level is only allowing "what you want"? Easy to allow everything then things will slow down sharply (and are difficult to remove)
Another area to check is the Security controls tab in Internet Explorer (ActiveX program settings) This is critical if you are downloading because spyware uses these as an entry point So any unsigned Items must be set to deny or Prompt to prevent ingress via this route
Ps Welcome to Answerpool ( And thanks for the Imesh site I'll pass that on)
And sorry about the delay in answering
PPS Did find a forum on that site which may have something on your issues? www.imesh.com/forums/

Thanks, bedstor.

I am confident in my firewall and security software and connection speeds. I will look at the imesh forum to see what tips i find from there.

Hi kmm0sriv,

I think nowadays most people use the BitTorrent technology for downloading TV shows. Just last week I got two seasons of "The PJ's"!

Anyway, this page has pretty much all you need to know to get started:

http://www.filesharingwatch.com/how-to-download-tv-shows-with-bittorrent.php

"Broadband is essential for moving this amount of data. And I'd invest in a Download Manager Program such as Leechget (http://www.leechget.net) to help transfer and compile the data before viewing." bedstor

Mike, why would a person using broadband need a download manager program? I wonder if there is something about download manager programs that I'm missing...I've never used one. I guess that I should go on to say that in general I don't like adding complexity to the Operating System. Unless I feel that an add-on application is really necessary, I generally don't install or use optional utility programs.

Dwight

Dwight
I agree that Broadband is Ok for downloading fast ( I get 110 KPS on my 1024 MB link) The Leechget program does get bursts of 120 KPS depending on which site its downloading off Often looks at several (mirror)sites as well to keep the ball rolling should the Main site drop connections and/or speed. But importantly It collects the complete file as direct.Streaming Loads tend to lose information especially at low connection speeds (sub 512 MB links) ofen viewin a blank screen with sound or distorted picture/sound)
Video Files can be anything from 10 Mb (for a 5? minutes clip) to 500MB plus On this computer
with 1 GB ram ,1MB BB link and sufficient Hard drive space a 1 hour program will be downloaded in about 2 hours?(with leechget)
Other Download managers I have used are Slower and leave spyware ...and you cannot use the computer while they are running and you have to exit many programs (as in doing a Defrag) Otherwise the process will take seemingly all day to complete (on a big file)
and Dwight?
Direct downloading is not protected against loss if your computer is offline with Download managers The File is (cached)saved as Insurance against disconnection and can be continued from where it left off (so you get 100% of the data)
There are some files which do not have a "resume" tag with these you have to run the computer continiously until its gather the data (Long day ) Therefore all screen savers have to be switched off (they sometimes stop the program(losing all the work) Back to square 1
FYI Leechget Is simple to use. Unlike Gozilla (spyware/spam king!) DAP 7 good but attracted Spam via registration details Freshget (difficult to work) Spammy .Fresh Download ,slow!
The BitTorrentManager FTP program is similar in design, but you do take a risk in that it also attracts Hits Galore on your Firewall while running. So give it a swerve if your firewall is non existent or the spyware/Firewall protection level is low (Check rectify before installing /running
BitTorrent Manager ) Here is the download Link

Thanks Mike.
Dwight

"BitTorrent Manager" is not a download manager. Despite the name it is just a BitTorrent client. There are much better clients available one of the best and most popular is BitTornado.

http://www.bittornado.com/