Filed under: Freeware, Internet Tools
ted: episode downloader for bittorrent
In the past we've covered the Mac application TV Shows, which automates starting bittorrents for tv show episodes. Sadly, it hasn't been updated in a while (though the main page still promises an update soon). However, I recently ran across another application that works in a similar way called ted.With ted you can select various shows, even see summaries of episodes, then send the torrents off your your favorite bittorrent client (e.g. Transmission). Unfortunately, ted is a cross-platform java application, but it should run fine on any modern Mac.
ted is a free download from sourceforge.
[via Gizmodo]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Gary said 8:06PM on 7-07-2008
Other then not downloading the new episodes of Doctor Who TV shows has been working great. I don't know how I lived without it.
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scott said 8:06PM on 7-07-2008
ted download link dosnt work. anyone got a mirror?
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scott said 8:09PM on 7-07-2008
nevermind, san jose mirror dosnt have the file, new york does
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mark said 8:11PM on 7-07-2008
Maybe United can sue, and actually make some money from their Ted spin off.
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entica said 8:14PM on 7-07-2008
meh. While this works *sometimes* for *some* shows, it generally fails. At times it will pull the French or Spanish version of the show as well. Granted, it works better than TV Shows but it's still nowhere near close to "reliable". There really is no good automated TV solution yet for the Mac. Here's hoping for what the next version of TV Shows does.
E.
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Bender Bending Rodriguez said 8:24PM on 7-07-2008
I have had no issues with shows properly labeled from VTV feeds with TVShows.app
aaronparker said 10:29PM on 7-07-2008
Wow, that has been exactly opposite my experience. TVShows.app has been working great for me (about 25 shows) for almost a year now. This coming September will be a year since I've canceled my satellite/cable subscription.
TVShows.app + Transmission + DVD player w/USB port FTW!!
Bender Bending Rodriguez said 8:22PM on 7-07-2008
The fact that Java is such a resource hog and that even when idle Ted is taking up considerably more resources than an RSS reader with a parser should is reason enough not to use it.
TVShows.app does a top notch job of working great but not using any noticeable system resources. It doesn't have some of the flashy features of Ted, but with this kind of app having a show synopsis and a little image rally isnt needed as most people are going to auto-download the shows they already like, not the ones they are unaware of.
The use of the term System Tray in Ted to mean Menu Bar gets me. Could they not have changed at least that aspect.
PS: Sourceforge has plenty of mirrors if you bother reading their DL page.
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scott said 8:23PM on 7-07-2008
TV shows seems better, it keeps track of new episodes and downloads them automatically, wheras ted you have to manually check for the next episode as far as i can tell.
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Greg said 11:43PM on 7-07-2008
"Unfortunately, ted is a cross-platform java application"
By what warped standard do you consider being cross-platform a disadvantage? I am guessing it is because you are a simple-minded mac user who thinks your platform is the only one that matters. I am also assuming you prefer a native app with the slight advantage of consistent ui behavior over an app like ted that is open source software. Perhaps since the code is available you could take on the task of porting java code to Objective C to improve the ui. Again, these are just assumptions ... I would like clarification on why cross-platform is unfortunate.
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jollyllama said 3:29AM on 7-08-2008
Um, okay, I'm going to assume that you're kidding.
Or, if not, I'll give you a hint at why people are less than thrilled about a cross-platform java application: it begins with a "j" and ends with a "resource hog."
rethciR said 11:52PM on 7-07-2008
FYI - I got sent a DMCA letter from Comcast before Christmas 07 because I was downloading an episode of The Office through bittorrent. Be aware that you might get a warning email fired off into your inbox. They didn't get me for the downloading, it was the uploading and "distribution of copyrighted material" that got me in trouble. I blogged about it - complete with pdf of the email. See the link below...
http://tinyurl.com/6d4vue
Happy downloading!
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Jason said 2:42AM on 7-08-2008
I've seriously curtailed my already minimal TV show downloading after receiving one of those automated letters from Comcast. I've since set up Peer Guardian 2, which is supposed to help. Anyone know how much it actually helps?
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Dianna said 4:08PM on 7-08-2008
I have Comcast, use TV Shows (another vote over TED), and Transmission. I haven't gotten a notice or anything from Comcast, I'm curious about it though. What are y'all using that did get one?
Ed said 3:19AM on 7-08-2008
Another vote for TVShows here. ted hogs resource and doesn't always work for me. TVShows has never had a problem, and I don't even notice it. Great app, looking forward to the update.
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James said 5:46AM on 7-08-2008
Java?
PFFFT NO WAY
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Lipflip said 9:01AM on 7-08-2008
TED is great, but still a Java App which slows down your system.
I recently wrote an article about how to use some OS X command line tools to fetch television shows without a fancy, but slow GUI.
http://lipflip.org/blog/lipflip/2008/04/subscribe-to-tv-shows
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THJ said 7:16PM on 7-08-2008
After trying Ted, and thinking WOW! I tried TVshow.app. TVshow.app >>>>>>> Ted. Both are amazing though. (just for reference, on a late 2007 imac, Ted took 15% of my processors, and tvshow took 1%)
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Arru said 7:33PM on 7-18-2008
The totally neat-o solution however, is Miro. You would first go to tvrss.net (where tvshows gets its torrent adresses) and get an RSS feed for the show in question. Miro can then subscribe to the show (it supports video podcasts in nearly any format, including transmission through torrents) and presto...a one-stop solution right down to the player. Check it out!
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