If so, you're a bad person and should be ashamed of yourself. That show is freaking great ... Discovery Channel on Sundays. Don't know what time because TiVo saves me from caring. Which reminds me, if you don't have a TiVo you're also a bad person for that too

ms

>if you don't have a TiVo you're also a bad person for that too

Or not a USA-ian or Britt..

Cheers

im not watching it. never even heard of it. nor do i have a tivo. it would go unused. i dont watch tv.

Oh man are you missing out ... 99% of channels justify your choice, but Discovery Channel/Learning Channel/etc are great. Not to mention HBO series are all great .. But then, that's not TV, that's HBO

OK, I grant this allowance ... If you aren't able to use TiVo, then you are not a bad person for not having it

I agree that Mythbusters is an excellent show. I have a season pass for it.

Thanks for reminding me.

*opens DVArchive and downloads the show from the ReplayTV to watch tomorrow at work*

Ok I'm recording it tonight. Tivo says it's the Alcatraz Escape episode.

*opens DVArchive and downloads the show...*

Ditto. And um... what's a TiVo?

Agreed. Fantastic show. I can't count how many people I know still think that cell phones cause gas station fires. Even when I tell them about the Mythbusters episode, they still don't believe me. "But it was in that email from so and so!" They even showed the fire department videos proving that static electricity was the cause. Yet I still see warnings about cell phone usage at gas stations.

So it's kind of like Snopes, then? I thought there was going to be a specific Snopes TV show at one point. Or is it more like Penn and Teller's Bullshit?

/me makes note to set up a season pass...

Or not a USA-ian or Britt..

That's "Brit" or "Briton". Unless you mean the actress?

And TiVo don't sell to the UK any more. We've now got Sky+, though, which looks pretty cool.

Sky+ is cool, I've had a box for a couple of years nearly now. It got even cooler when they added the ability to record two channels while you are watching a another recording last month.

However, it is not like TiVo really. It has pretty much zero intelligence. It is a bit more like a very clever VCR that can record two things at once while it is playing back a third.

You choose something from a channel to record, Sky+ records it. You select a recording and add a series link, as long as the broadcaster tells the box what the next programme in the series its AND it is within 14 days then it will record it.

That is the limit of it's TiVo-ness. It doesn't have all the nice "record everthing with X" in and "record any instance of Buffy that I haven't got forever". Series links only match a single channel. If there is a clash it won't keep searching for a repeat of the show. There is little hope that we will ever be able to get the unencrypted MPEG streams off of the box.

So if you get one you will love it, but probably not so much if you have actually lived with TiVo. Thankfully I have never lived with TiVo, so I can pretend to myself that all the TiVo features I would love don't exist

The basic premise is sort of like a snopes TV show, except that the two guys that try to setup the scenarios are both veteren special effects guys. So the more interesting part of the show, to me, is seeing these guys come up with really clever ways to rig up the scenarios. And there are always two parts -- first is to see if it's true, and if it's not, the second part is to see what would have to be done to MAKE it true.

For instance, last night they were trying to prove or disprove that a puncture hole in an airplane would cause "explosive decompression", so they went out to the Mojave (sp?) Desert where there is apparently an airplane graveyard, rig up a remote firing handgun using the part from a drink machine that pushes the drink out, put highspeed cameras in the plane, and put their crash test dummy that they use in tons of their "experiements" in a seat. They had earlier calculated the PSI difference when the plane is in the air and they bring in this massive pump to pressurize the entire plane to 8 PSI (they had to seal everything in the plane also). So they then proceed to see what happens when the fire a gun through the side of the plane, then a window, then they bring in a pyro expert to see what it would take to cause the scenario to /really/ happen. The guys are hilarious too -- they blow stuff up, set stuff on fire, break stuff, all in the name of science.

Great show

ms

There is little hope that we will ever be able to get the unencrypted MPEG streams off of the box.

Andy you well know that I'm about as low tech. as it comes on this BBS, but if they've told me that they're scheduling a network connection, won't it do that?

I agree. Any show that has the ultimate goal of making crap explode is cool in my book. Most TV sucks, but TLC, the National Geographic Channel, The History Channel and TLC are the only redeeming channels out there right now.

Except for one show on Spike. Most Extreme Elimination Challenge is farking hilarious. Basically they've taken an old Japanese game show and dubbed American voices over the announcers and contestants. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. The stunts on the game show are only half of the hilarity, the other half is the made up dialog that is dubbed in.

The show is great, but no TiVo here. One of these days I'll talk the wife into it.

Andy you well know that I'm about as low tech. as it comes on this BBS, but if they've told me that they're scheduling a network connection, won't it do that?

Ignoring the practical side of things for a moment. It seems very unlikely that given the functionality of the boxes is tightly controlled by Sky (the broadcaster of much of the material) that we will ever be allowed to archive off digital, unencrypted, copies of the programmes we have recorded. They would get them in so much trouble with the rights owners.

If we ignore the commerical channels, even the BBC would have major problems with people doing that.

With Sky+ you can't even view a recorded programme if there is no satellite signal. It is the raw encrypted MPEG stream that is saved to the disk and your viewing card and a satellite signal both have to be present to watch non free-to-air material.

I guess it all depends on what the network functionality would do. If it just allowed you to swap recordings between different Sky+ boxes, but you still needed a card and signal to view them then they would be in the clear. I really can see you being able to do what you can do with TiVo or ReplayTV boxes (i.e. record a show and send it to someone who hasn't paid to be able to view that show).

I'm not sure it is practical with the current hardware to provide this functionality. There is some sort of PCMCIA card slot on the box, so I perhaps they could plug something in there.

Who is the "they" that you talk about ? Is it operators in the Sky+ call centre ? If so they are woefully inaccurate in the info that they give out.

I tell you what, Kirsten (my wife) didn't "get it" originally (I didn't either really), but she commented yesterday that she couldn't imagine not having it now ...

If so they are woefully inaccurate in the info that they give out.

Tell me about it, my box is down 'till wednesday when the engineer is coming, but they couldn't find details of my subscription and warranty in a half hour phone call last night.
I think I may have a copy of the e-mail at home, but I e-mailed them saying that I'd heard that an update to record two programmes was coming and when could I expect it, and tagged on the piece about network connection, to which the answer was keep an eye for developments in the magazine, I'll see if I've got a job title.
However, your point on copyright is a good one, well made.

OK -- You got me, I meant "PVR" really, not specifically TiVo. I actually don't know enough about ReplayTV to like it or dislike it.

I agree. Any show that has the ultimate goal of making crap explode is cool in my book.

Agreed. That show will get a high spot in my Season Pass Manager.

Don't forget about Monster Garage and American Chopper. Very cool stuff. I think they should do a "Monster PC" show where they do PC and Game console mods. Sorta like New Yankee Workshop for geeks.

I can see it now:
"You want to make sure your beveled joint on your Xbox case is flush before adding the extra hard drive"

Most TV sucks, but TLC, the National Geographic Channel, The History Channel and TLC are the only redeeming channels out there right now.

Except for one show on Spike

Sweet Jesus, did anyone see the "Video Game Awards"?? Holy crap what a terrible event that was. Hell, I play video games and watch TV waaay too much, and that show assaulted my senses.

And don't forget the most important safety rule -- to wear these: safety pocket protectors.

This was great. At work today I was talking about how tonight on Monster Garage they are making a jet car, and my boss goes off on "some guy stealing an engine from a F-16, strapping it to his car..." You know the one. I just thought about MythBusters, and had to chuckle to myself as how everyone at the table believed the myth (which I did too until I saw that MythBusters episode, I mean it got a Darwin Award..) And although I mentioned the episode and how the myth was busted, they went on how this guy blah blah blah....

Mythbusters is sheer genius.
Love it.

Its replaced the hole in my heart where junkyard wars used to live.

Sky+ is cool, I've had a box for a couple of years nearly now.

I would get Sky+ but you need a subscription, and being tight we have one downstairs (the Family Pack) and two boxes on FTV only. I believe you need a Premium channel to get Sky+ (or pay £10/month, which you would have ot be mad to do) which is a but expensive.

The other option is the Pace Twin, but our digital terrestrial reception is a little dodgy here:

http://www.pacefreetoview.co.uk/02twin.asp

Gareth

To get Sky+ "free" you actually need two premium channels (and Film4 doesn't count as a premium channel). I am one of the "mad" people paying a tenner a month for access to Sky+.

I can't imagine going back to a non-Sky+ box now, almost everything I watch is recorded. I rarely watch live TV anymore, can't remember the last time I watched an advert

The other option is the Pace Twin

Apparently, you can get digital terrestrial "tuner" cards for the PC, in which case I'm going to look at building a MythTV box later in the year.

I did read in a magazine about "network connections" - I think it was a recent T3 comparing various recorders. But they mentioned the "network access" was to allow remote programming, and they also mentioned programming from a mobile phone - presumably using the phone connection, or even the satellite link (unlikely?). Didn't mention any other remote capabilities, or even what type of connector, or whether it is for new models only etc.

They did mention an upcoming 250Gb/four tuner model, but could all be conjecture.

Wouldn't be without it though now! Just may have to splash out on a bigger hard disk sometime - it just isn't enough now it is so easy to set up stuff!

Nick

But they mentioned the "network access" was to allow remote programming, and they also mentioned programming from a mobile phone - presumably using the phone connection, or even the satellite link (unlikely?).

It would probably be a combination of the two:

- a signal sent via the satellite to tell your box (or a range of boxes) to dialup to collect a remote programming request
- the box would then dialup to get the details

Maybe...

It is unlikely to be done with just the phone connection, as it can only make outgoing calls, so it would have to make calls regularly throughout the day looking for recording requests.

They might be able to do it all via the satellite feed, the unique ID for each viewing card isn't that big and if I remember correctly the unique ID for each programme is only a 16bit number at the moment (which I think is what stops them from going beyond a 7 day EPG currently). They could have space on a transponder dedicated to sending out the requests and just have the boxes tune to the transponder whenever they weren't using the second tuner for anything else.

If the data was small enough they could piggy back it on the "now and next" data that every transponder has to transmit, but I suspect there isn't enough space there.

I think we will see remote recording long before we see a network connection. I really hope they offer something along the lines of DigiGuide on a website that we can then use for choosing programming. Knowing Sky the website will be completely dumbed down and a pain in the arse to use

I would imagine the "network connection" works somewhat similarly to the way the Tivo one does. You have to have your Tivo wired to your broadband connection. It would be a simple thing then for your tivo to query in every 60 seconds or so.

In the UK - Brainiac! Quite low brow really, but bringing hi tech to the hoi polloi. They manage to blow something up every episode - usually a caravan plus other stuff, but they come up with amusing experiments like:

How many CO2 fire extinguishers would it take to make a man hover? (didn't really work, but they propelled a guy in a wheelchair pretty fast)
If you jump off the ground every time an electric fence is charged, do you get a shock (obviously the answer is no...if you time it right)

and many more

the hoi polloi

You cannot say "the Hoi Polloi" as "Hoi" is the Greek for "the", therefore you would be saying: "The The Polloy".
Don't think I'm getting at you, it's just one of those useless pieces of information that I've had pigeon-holed away, all these years!

Hmm, not completely mythical - see this page

Pretty cool!

Okay, saw my first episode last night. High larious. Thanks for the tip.

Have to remember that one. I love the bits of info gleaned from this BBS

I think my favorite things they do are the experiments that involve ballistics gell. It was so cool to see them encase a human skull inside this gell to test the penny from a building myth

I hope this show makes it to the UK, it sounds great. Perhaps I should go and look for some torrents...

Let me know if you find them. I'd be interested in having them and I've seen them all

I couldn't find them, I've emailed Discovery Europe to see if they intend to show it here. I'll be amazed if I get a reply though, they have never replied to me before.

It really is quite good. I saw the re-creation of the escape from Alcatraz episode a few nights back. It was really impressive.

-Zeke

Yeah these are great ... I particularly enjoy the crash test dummy also. As a regular watcher, it's hilarious to see them drag this poor guy out every time and every episode he's a little more fscked up.

The penny one was great too when that penny gun went off and broke the light in the workshop

I just watched the crash test dummy being repeatedly dropped into water from 150ish feet up.
The fact that not even the dummy could stay in one piece was rather sobering.

Yeah, I'm not sure how much longer they'll be able to use that dummy. Hell, they shot it 200 ft. out of a sewer pipe with something like 10lbs of black powder That thing is nearly decimated

And you watchers will understand when I say: "oh that poor, poor Corvette"

Amazingly I actually got a reply from Discovery Europe:

Dear Andy,

Thank you for contacting Discovery.

We have made some investigations and 'Mythbusters' would not appear to be featuring in our schedules in the immediate future. We regret any disappointment this may cause but feel free to contact us at a future date and we will investigate your enquiry again.

We hope that you will continue to enjoy watching our channel.

Kind Regards,

Discovery Networks Europe Viewer Relations Team

Yes, I am a bad person and I don't like Mythbusters. The concept is great but those two guys get on my nerves. Especially the guy without the funny hat. He is way too high on the goof factor for me.

I am truly sorry for that poor corvette, but the expression on the face of the seller, after they told him what was to become of his toy was priceless!!!

I'm with ya on this one Redrum... those guys just get on my nerves. The show seems too much monster garage and not enough Mr. Wizard.... i just want it to be more... i dunno... scientific? I've watched about 5 episodes and none of them really held my attention the entire time.

This seriously endangers my thesis of Mythbusters Dislike implies Bad Personness

I think the show is about as scientific as it can be, given how vague the average myth is. They often explain their calculations well, exhibit good thought processes, and are very creative with their tests, especially for things that would be impossible to test exactly like the myth tells it (sure, they could slam themselves against office windows or drop pennies on their heads from 70 stories).

Maybe i just haven't seen good episodes. I saw the drop the dummy into the water one, which was interesting in theory, but was just boring as hell. Seeing the dummy come apart was pretty disturbing though. I saw the one about running in the rain... another boring one. I can't even recall the others. I think it's just too slow paced or something. I'll still watch it if it's Tivo'd and i can fast forward, as some of the things they test are definitely interesting. The guys just irk me. Whatareyagonnado? =]

I can understand. Sometimes Jaime (sp?) gets on my nerves, but Adam is pretty entertaining.