The problem with torrents is first finding the show you want, and then download the torrent file. From there you need to use a bittorrent program to download the actual video file. Depending on the about of “seeds” which are computers on the internet with the file you want available and the speed of your connection, the time it takes to download can at times be days.  These files can take up a large portion of your hard drive.

Many of the U.S. TV networks have their shows available to watch over the internet on your computer, but they are only available if you are in the U.S. This is because TV networks make their income from the paid advertisers and most advertisers are U.S. based.

Besides going to the networks sites, there are sites like Hulu.com who provide an extensive list of shows and links to the streaming site. Hulu and the others have Sniffer programs to see where the viewer is located and if not in the U.S., they will block you from watching with a nice message that the shows can only be viewed in the U.S.

The other day my brother in the States sent me a link for a new site, TVGorge.com. This site has an extensive list of TV shows with all the past episodes. When you find the show you want, just click on it and it will open a video window where you can just sit and enjoy. If your speed is a little slow, what I do is pause the playing until the download bar increases so you will not have to wait for the download to continue.

I know, some of you will say, downloading torrents lets you watch even with no internet access and if you have the download, with some software you can burn it to a disc and watch it on your TV. This is true. For me, since I do not have a HiDef TV, my computer monitor has a higher resolution than my TV sets.

Another option to hide from the Sniffers that you are in the Philippines is using a Proxy Server. That is a site where you connect to there site and from there to the internet. This server will hide your IP address so the sniffers do not know where your located. Unfortunately this is slow unless you have a paid proxy server and not a free one. If it is free, you will have ads on the screen to help pay for their free service.

I am not comparing, just giving options.  Now I am hoping I can see the Olympics either online or on TV.

You will also see the same programs playing on different channels.  With all the shows available, it does get frustrating when you see the same show over and over.

To combat this problem and to see shows I miss from the US, I would download torrent files of the shows I like. Torrent files, also known as bit torrent, are a way for many internet users to download or upload files to be shared. This is what known as P2P or Peer to Peer sharing.

To upload or download available files you need two things. First is a Torrent Client program. I use Vuze but there are many others available. Some of these include Bittorent, Bitcomet, microtorrent and others. The second thing you need is to download a torrent file. This is a file that tells the program what file you want to download. Once you add that torrent file into the program, the program will look for available computers over the net that has that file to share. A computer sharing the file is called a “seed” and the computers getting the file are called a “leach”.

This does take a lot of time to download depending on how many are seeding the file you want to download. However, the program runs in the background and I usually download over night when I do not need to use the internet because the downloading takes up much of the internet resources.

There is music, movies, TV shows and EBooks available on the net to download. Now here is the problem. TV stations make their income from the commercials targeted for their local audience, music produces and book publishers make theirs from sales.  Many of these torrent files are breaking the copy write laws.

The website I used to get my Torrent files and downloads was Mininova.com. This was a site with thousands or maybe millions of files to download. The company is located in the Netherlands and recently was sued for hosting all this content.  Because of this, I have to look for other places to find the downloads I want.

Another thing I have tried, but was not successful was to be able to watch some TV shows from the TV networks that have the shows available on their website. Unfortunately, because of the need to make money by advertising, these network sites are blocked to users outside of their areas of broadcast.  I have tired finding a proxy server to be able to watch these shows but have not been able to find one and get the streaming video.

If you do not know what I mean by a proxy server, let me explain. First, let me explain how they know where you are located.   Some websites have what is called a “sniffer” program checking the location of the computer accessing their website. These sniffer programs look at your IP address to see your location. All computers accessing the internet have an IP (Internet Protocol) this number is your unique address on the internet. Each IP address is coded with information that shows where the user is located and who their provider is.

A proxy server are sites you connect to and from there go to a site that is blocked by your IP address. There are free proxy servers and others you can pay to use.  Because I am cheap and not sure, it will work after paying, I have been trying the free ones. I am able to connect to the TV network site, but have not been able to get the streaming video.

If anyone has a solution to the proxy situation, the readers and I would like to know.

Williamsport is a nice and quiet town in the north eastern part of the state. It was originally a boom town for the logging industry. In the late 1800’s it was known as the “Lumber Capital of the World.” Now Williamsport is world famous as the location for the yearly Little League World Series. This year Vice President Biden was honored since he grew up in Pennsylvania and was a member of the Little League.

One memory of Williamsport and the Little League World Series was the scandal in 1992 when the Philippine team, after winning the series, was caught using players that did not meet the requirements of the Little League rules. Eventually the honor was removed and given to the team from Long Beach, California who originally held second place.

Another but better memory for me about Williamsport was, in 1989 I moved back to New York from California for a few months. My brother at that time was living in Reading, PA but previously lived in Williamsport. Since Williamsport is a very beautiful and friendly city and since my brother still had many friends there, we would meet at times for a weekend of bonding, drinking and fun. I would take a Friday off from work and leave early in the day to drive there. It was a beautiful drive through the Pocono Mountains with all the green vegetation. Once there I would head to Franco’s Italian Restaurant. This little restaurant and bar was a favorite hangout of my brother. After my first visit, each return trip as I entered Franco’s, I would hear a friendly “Bruce welcome back” from one of Franco’s sons working behind the bar. We would spend many hours there drinking and joking with all my brothers’ old friends.

One of these trips I received a special treat, Harry Anderson, the street magician and actor of the old TV comedy “Night Court” was to do a magic show at a local college auditorium. The show was entertaining and with his natural humor was a real treat. If you were a “Night Court” fan, you might remember, the character would always play Mel Torme recordings. One of my brothers friends photo copied Mel Torme’s face from an old album cover and cut out masks for us all to hold up over our face. When Harry entered the stage, all of us, about 20, were sitting there with the Mel Torme masks. Harry saw this and bent over laughing. Later I met Harry Anderson at one of the local bars. He was genuinely friendly and nice to chat with.

It is nice when something triggers a fond memory of the past.

There is also, so I have not found yet a TV guide online or in print as in the United States. There is one site Click the City that has many of the cable companies daily listing, but for me, unfortunately, the Sky Cable franchise in Davao is not in their system.
I did mention there are many American TV shows available here, but most are reruns. Some are one year old and many are many years old. One channel has “NYPD Blue” on every night. Now this show had finished its 12 year run in 2005 and since they show it every weekday, after a few months you will see all the shows before they start from the beginning again.
Other old series showing here is “Early Edition”, “King of Queens”, “The Nanny” and some real old shows as “Combat”, Star Trek” and “Mission Impossible.”
For late night US watchers they do show “The Late Show with David Letterman”, “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “The Colbert Show”.
There are also sports shows here thanks to ESPN and Balls. And for News there is CNN and BBC. Here in Davao you cannot receive on Sky Cable Fox News.
As in America, cable companies have different listings available in different locations so it all depends where in the Philippines you reside and what the local cable franchise offers.
I do not have the patience or the energy to list every show running here but just to mention if you’re a TV addict as I was, and you move here to the Philippines, it might take a few years for you to start seeing shows you have never seen before.

Broadcast TV is you speak Tagalog. Then there is a SkyCable franchise Davao Cableworld and satellite TV provided by Dream Satellite TV.

Depending where in the Philippines you live, the Sky Cable franchise will have more or less channels available. Also like in the USA a cable company will at times add or drop a channel.

Dream Satellite has more channels but it costs more and you need a decoder box for each TV in your home.

We have subscribed to Sky Cable since I have lived here. There are all of the broadcast channels and most of the cable channels. As an American, I go to the English language channels.

Some of the known channels are CNN, BBC, ESPN, Hallmark, Discovery, National Geographic, Cartoon Network, Disney, FoxCrime. Then there are channels that purchase syndicated shows and show here. Unfortunately sometimes they are running shows that are a few years in reruns then originally broadcast in the States.

For news there is BBC and CNN which are live. In the mornings and some other times of the day I watch CNN. One thing to realize here is you do not get the full CNN package shown in America, part of the day you get CNN Asia.

At 9am we get “Good Morning America” on Velvet Channel but you need to realize when it is morning here, it is the evening before in America so the show is the day before.
For providers of syndicated shows here, there is Velvet which is like Lifetime, and LifeStyle which has a lot of FoodTV and Lifetime shows. For premium Cable there is HBO, StarMovies and Cinamax.

Some of the networks that carry a lot, if not all American shows are AXN, AXN Beyond, Maxxx, FoxCrime, RPN/CS9 and StarWorld. Hallmark also carries American Syndicated shows not usually found on the USA version of Hallmark channel.

For nostalgic TV viewers, Maxxx has original Mission Impossible, Combat, Star Trek showing now.

For Sports there is ESPN, Balls, StarSports and RPN/CS9.

Another thing here in the Philippines that is not allowed in the States is more than one broadcast company can have the same shows. For instance you can find some of the CSI series on more than one channel.

Last year I was surprised to see they broadcasted Survivor the day after it was shown in the USA. Then next season they did not.

That brings up another subject about TV here.  There are sites online that have Torrent files of TV shows, movies, music, software and E-books. Technically it is illegal since the people and/or companies that make money by supplying these items to the public are not getting paid through the licensing, they are available to be downloaded. You use one site that offers the Torrents and then a torrent downloading program to download the file.

There is a site online to see a TV guide type of listing to see what is being shown on the different Cable or Satellite system. Unfortunately the Sky Cable franchise in Davao is not listed to see their exact lineup.

Another thing to realize if your moving here, DVD’s sold in America and in different areas of the world are regional. Once here you might want to invest in a Multi-Region DVD player.