In general, what is the typical delay between a new Top Gear episode airing on BBC and that same episode airing on BBC America?
In general, what is the typical delay between a new Top Gear episode airing on BBC and that same episode airing on BBC America?
About a year. Seriously.
If you want to watch new episodes (Sunday's EXCELLENT new one was Season 12, Episode 6) and all of the other ones, head here:
http://hessmo.com/Hessmo/Top_Gear.html
You're welcome GRM. 
Also there's www.finalgear.com
Hessmo you just click and watch, simple as pie. Final Gear involves downloading questionable torrents for days on end and is technically illegal. Make your choice...
actualy they're both technically illegal
Yeah, I know about all of those. I just prefer to watch it on a TV. But it gets really aggrevating hearing about new episodes and then waiting forever to see them. Why can't they air them sooner?
Watching content is not illegal, downloading it to your PC is. If some idiot it posts it on YouTube and you watch it, he goes to jail, you don't. I'd rather not have several hundred torrents as evidence on my computers.
Unfortunately the BBC has it's head too far up it's own butt to realize they are missing a HUGE market for UK Top Gear.
bravenrace wrote: Yeah, I know about all of those. I just prefer to watch it on a TV. But it gets really aggrevating hearing about new episodes and then waiting forever to see them. Why can't they air them sooner?
The ones the air on BBC America are cut down versions of the ones they air in the UK. They have to cut 15-20 minutes out of the show to make it ready for ads. They are thus fail. Watch them online.
Torrents are not necessarily illegal, nor is downloading content. Does the BBC - a public broadcaster - care? Since they post the videos to YouTube on their own channel and make them freely available through other venues, I would venture to say no.
I make my Targa Newfoundland videos downloadable either through my website or Google Video. That's not illegal. They're my content.
I was bouncing up and down on my couch watching the Caterham R500 run around the track. Screw your Veryrons and Zondas, that is a performance car. And I was watching it on my TV after downloading a torrent...
The BBC knows about Finalgear and other torrent sites. The producer has mentioned FG directly a couple of times in his blog. They do not care so stop looking over your shoulder.
jpod999 wrote:bravenrace wrote: Yeah, I know about all of those. I just prefer to watch it on a TV. But it gets really aggrevating hearing about new episodes and then waiting forever to see them. Why can't they air them sooner?The ones the air on BBC America are cut down versions of the ones they air in the UK. They have to cut 15-20 minutes out of the show to make it ready for ads. They are thus fail. Watch them online.
Good point. I didn't know that. Thing is, Top Gear is not just the only car show my wife will watch, but watching it is the only interest she takes in cars at all. So I kind of like watching it with her, which is difficult (in our case) when watching it on a computer.
jpod999 wrote: The BBC knows about Finalgear and other torrent sites. The producer has mentioned FG directly a couple of times in his blog. They do not care so stop looking over your shoulder.
I've read that in more than a few places. Basically, I think the way they've taken to look at it is a testament to their success that there are so many people in places that don't get the show regularly are downloading it so much on the web.
Keith wrote: I was bouncing up and down on my couch watching the Caterham R500 run around the track. Screw your Veryrons and Zondas, that is a performance car. And I was watching it on my TV after downloading a torrent...
Same here... that thing was just sex. And it sounded SO GOOD!
The piece about the 'proper road test' of the Fiesta was also ridiculous. My only thought was "how in the hell do they get permission to do this stuff" LOL
P71 wrote: Hessmo you just click and watch, simple as pie. Final Gear involves downloading questionable torrents for days on end and is technically illegal. Make your choice...
I've never had Final Gear link me to a "questionable" torrent. They're also among the fastest torrents I've ever downloaded. Generally much higher quality than streamed, as well. Portable too.
As already pointed out, your ignorance of digital information rights is staggering.
P71 wrote: Hessmo you just click and watch, simple as pie. Final Gear involves downloading questionable torrents for days on end and is technically illegal. Make your choice...
Days on end? With a reasonable internet connection and your router properly configured for torrents (port forwards and whatnot) it shouldn't take more than an hour. Final Gear torrents tend to have lots of seeders.
bravenrace wrote: Yeah, I know about all of those. I just prefer to watch it on a TV. But it gets really aggrevating hearing about new episodes and then waiting forever to see them. Why can't they air them sooner?
Connect your PC/Laptop to your TV, many video cards have basic video out (either S-video or Component) capabilities and you don't need special software to make it play videos externally on a TV display. Many newer laptops have video out for connecting to projectors, etc to do presentations. Just get the appropriate video cable for your system and an audio cable adapter to convert the 1/4" audio out from your video card to Right/Left in on your TV/Stereo, etc. No more difficult than connecting a video game console or video camera.
Or download and burn the files to a CD as a DVD or a Video CD, many DVD players will play burned CD's and DVD's now.
So i just watched the "new season" of top gear last night on bbca and at the beggining they showed previews of upcoming shows that, as clarkson mentioned, was filmed during the summer of '08. so i'm guessing these are actually new shows not last year's??
Yes, the BBCA is a year behind. You've got some good stuff coming up, don't worry :)
Keith wrote: Yes, the BBCA is a year behind. You've got some good stuff coming up, don't worry :)
Well, that's not quite accurate. BBC shows don't have annual "seasons" like ours do. They have a series of maybe 6-10 episodes, go away for a little while, then come back sometime later. So the stuff on BBCA right now is Series 11, which was 6 episodes that aired in June and July. So they are around 6 months behind. Series 12 has been airing since early November in the UK.
Josh wrote: Series 12 has been airing since early November in the UK...
and on my computer 
Good point, Josh. I just know that uTorrent announces that it's started downloading a new Top Gear, and it hasn't been that long since the last series ended when I think about it.
Will BBCA air series 12 a year after series 11, or will they air it 6 months from now? Not that it matters to me, I usually watch the new episode on Sunday night, a few hours after it's been shown in the UK :)
If you look on Final Gear for the dates that the series have run, most of the years that 'new' top gear's been around have had 2 series per year. 6 months would make the most sense, but who really knows? lol
To Osterkraut: You've never seen Feds bust into your college campus and arrest somebody for piracy, I have. Excuse me for playing it safe when every single basic copyright law textbook calls it illegal.
To skruffy: Days on end when they first come out. It takes a day or two for the episode to build enough seeds. And questionable in content quality, some of the episodes are really poor. Also, Final Gear (last I checked about 6 months ago) does not even have all of the episodes, Hessmo does.
Look, do it however you want, I really don't care. But for those out there like me who would rather not deal with torrents for whatever reason (time, computer space, legality, quality) and would rather just click-and-watch YouTube style, then Hessmo is your answer.
Oh and a PS about TG on YouTube, BBC is shutting down and prosecuting people who continually post BBC programs on there. That's why there's a significant decrease in non-BBC posted BBC content, as well as people resorting to acronyms and throw-away user accounts.
P71 wrote: About a year. Seriously.
Sometimes it seems more than that. I watched the 2 episodes last night on BBC America and they appeared to almost be compilation shows. May's haircut went from long to short and back again within the span of one episode! 
The Top Gear torrents are posted on Final Gear almost immediately after they're aired. I usually have them downloaded in time to watch after dinner that night. I would not characterize that as "days". More like "two hours". And the quality is equal to that of what I get on my dish.
Have you seen the Feds bust into a college campus, or have you seen one of RIAA's shotgun lawsuits based on questionable evidence and legality get served? Because if you're going to fearmonger, you might as well do it accurately.
I don't know if it's my connection or what, but the hessmo videos are maddeningly unusable for me. I get 5 seconds of video followed by 5 seconds of spooling over and over again forever. According to online speed tests, my connection is plenty fast (Time Warner Roadrunner). Does anyone else have problems with this site?
You'll need to log in to post.
