Countdown Episodes * 70s & 80s Australian Music Programs * Music Video * Molly Trading * Collecting * Archival Information * Record/CD releases and more .........
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COUNTDOWN IS BACK THIS JANUARY, 2019 ... ON rage !!!!! Stay tuned below with regular Countdown full archival information for each Countdown episode rage shall be airing every Saturday throughout January ...
Mmmmmmm Retro Month is approaching and the usual suspects are coming out of hibernation. Time to get this thread at the top of the list where it belongs.......
I have the following 1979 episodes available for download:
1979-06-17 - Eric Oldfield (incomplete 38:31)
1979-07-08 - Glenn Shorrock
1979-07-22 - Shirley Strachan
1979-07-29 - Roger Voudouris
1979-08-19 - Shirley Strachan
1979-10-07 - Steve Gilpin (incomplete 49:23)
1979-10-28 - Russell Hitchcock
1979-11-04 - Molly
1979-11-25 - Marc Hunter
1979-12-02 - Elton John
1979-12-16 - End Of The Decade Special
Also looking for Tuesdays February 1982 Countdown if anyone managed to capture that one!! I would be appreciative of a copy.
Cheers
Regards
Brett
I was slow to upload this week ... reduced enthusiasm due to there being only one Countdown :(
At least it was a good one. It's now in my 1982-1984 link above.
This has been brilliant! So many generous people to thank: Andrew, Luuuc, Chad, and Criscles I’ll be in touch with you too! 1979 was a fab year.
Seriously this has been so awesome. About 4 years ago I had a bad hard drive crash. Lost years worth. I was so devastated I didn’t bother to reconstruct my collection - until now.
Incidentally I think I have Some episodes in MP4 format (ie: consistent with the uploads) which I’m happy to share. I’ll have to do a reconciliation and let you know what they are.
Mega is a nightmare of slow speeds and missing encryption keys. In a nutshell, you get what you pay for. Microsoft's Onedrive and Google Drive offer fast reliable download, but they are not free.
Reggie would be better off paying for a monthly subscription to one of the above, and those that want episodes can chip in some money for Reggie to pay for it.
Example : A Google account comes with 15 gb of storage by default. Not big enough. 2 TB (more than enough) is $12.49 AUD a month. Cancel at anytime.
I am sure that between us all we could come up with $12.95 couldnt we ? Or Onedrive at $10 a month for 1 TB ? All the links I am posting are from Countdown episodes from my Onedrive account.Upload the file (at my connections full speed), click on file, click on Share and create a share link. Post link here, people download, pretty much at full speed.
Speaking of , here is another for those that missed/had tech issues, etc etc :
COUNTDOWN December 19, 1982 (358: Mental As Anything)
Download link : https://1drv.ms/v/s!Ajbk82UjdTNihsp-3oJ2QX3e_RgDkw?e=QdyxQJ
Luuuc, any chance you could create a dummy/throwaway Google account ? They give you 15 gb storage by default, so that .ts (transport stream) would be no problem.
Hey guys, first time poster.
Andrew, I'm uploading three files here to my OneDrive:
Countdown - S1982E346 Countdown 1982-09-19 edited.mkv
Original file as recorded from ABC HD. No re-encoding.:slightly_smiling_face:
Countdown - S1982E346 Countdown 1982-09-19.x264.720p.50fps.mkv
Video de-interlaced with Yadif/Bob, cropped to 960x720, re-encoded with x264 using Handbrake @ 50fps. Audio untouched.
Countdown - S1982E346 Countdown 1982-09-19.x265.720p.50fps.mkv
As above with x265/HEVC video encoding. Produces a file about 2/3 the size of the original.
Thanks Grant!
I tried uploading my .TS file to Google Drive and it was quick to begin with, but then slowed to an absolute crawl. Deleted and tried again ... same thing. No idea what the issue is.
Andrew,
you record to a USB stick, right? Could your 4GB issue be due to the formatting? If it's FAT32 then it is forced to a max file size of 4GB. Reformatting a stick to NTFS might solve that issue.
Thanks Grant!
I tried uploading my .TS file to Google Drive and it was quick to begin with, but then slowed to an absolute crawl. Deleted and tried again ... same thing. No idea what the issue is.
All 5 eps from Jan 4, 2020, edited but not re-encoded, should be up on my OneDrive in the next few minutes...
Thanks for the links. I downloaded the one I am missing, 19 September 1982. Well 2 actually, the first and second out of interest. I skipped the third given file size doesnt worry me given how cheap hard drives are now and I try not to compress anything if I can help it as it has usually already been compressed somewhere along the line. The ****ty bitrate they are putting out on the HD channel isnt impressing me either thats for sure.
I am not a great Matroska fan, as mp4 is generally easier, more accepted and less issues. You can also get a thumbnail, and even a preview at times when downloading where as mkv basically appears as a file rather than video. I noticed yours have a slightly lower bitrate than what the transport stream put out.
The second file at 50fps I think is perhaps overkill for not much result. Given the transport stream is @25 fps, I am not sure if deinterlacing actually works unless you are working from the source file or master tape ? 24 fps is the standard for Tv and Movies, most feature film and tv is produced and displayed at 24 fps. Analog TV, which was what was used when Countdown was recorded was of course different, but the ABC are transmitting it out to us on a stream at 25fps which is basically industry standard. Happy to be be corrected if it can be deinterlaced back to its original source, but I cant see how given the frame rate is changed upon sending the transport stream.
30 fps is also widely used but more for higher motions, such as sport. 50fps is getting up near 60 which is used for video game and other high motion recording. 25fps is used more for cinematic effect and I think Countdown realistically fits that bill rather than fast motion.Though some of that hand clapping gets wild :)
Just out of interest I encoded what I had (34 minutes) of that episode before it froze - at mp4 1920 x 1080 @30fps (up from the 25 on the stream) data rate 3995, 4249 total bitrate...basically making sure its more than the .ts bit rate. I took a screenshot of each, (your 2 and my 1) and they all pretty much looked the same. Having said that, its a terrible episode (quality wise) to start with. After looking at some other scenes (particularly local in studio) I found the 50fps looked a little bit unnatural compared to mine and your first one.
Don't take that as a criticism, just my opinion and I enjoyed looking at the differences and seeing whether I think there are improvements. Having said all the above, I am also not viewing it on a television, just a PC so they may look different again on a TV :) I didnt get that far.
So thanks for episode 1 :) I am converting it to .mp4 at the moment.
I have an .mkv that I am converting to mp4 overnight. Its a monster at just under 30gb and goes out of audio sync on my android Mi_Box 3 but not on my PC so I am going to see if re-encoding it to mp4 fixes the sync problem. Its the new remastered Pink Floyd Delicate Sound of Thunder Bluray, 1920 x 1080, Total Bitrate 36399, Frame Rate 23.98. Hoping my PC doesnt melt :D
Luuuc, any chance you could create a dummy/throwaway Google account ? They give you 15 gb storage by default, so that .ts (transport stream) would be no problem.
Hey guys, first time poster.
Andrew, I'm uploading three files here to my OneDrive:
Countdown - S1982E346 Countdown 1982-09-19 edited.mkv
Original file as recorded from ABC HD. No re-encoding.:slightly_smiling_face:
Countdown - S1982E346 Countdown 1982-09-19.x264.720p.50fps.mkv
Video de-interlaced with Yadif/Bob, cropped to 960x720, re-encoded with x264 using Handbrake @ 50fps. Audio untouched.
Countdown - S1982E346 Countdown 1982-09-19.x265.720p.50fps.mkv
As above with x265/HEVC video encoding. Produces a file about 2/3 the size of the original.
Thanks Grant!
I tried uploading my .TS file to Google Drive and it was quick to begin with, but then slowed to an absolute crawl. Deleted and tried again ... same thing. No idea what the issue is.
Andrew,
you record to a USB stick, right? Could your 4GB issue be due to the formatting? If it's FAT32 then it is forced to a max file size of 4GB. Reformatting a stick to NTFS might solve that issue.
Not needed now Luuuc, as I re-encoded Grants copy to suit my collection. Thanks anyway mate, appreciate the effort.
Definately on NTFS on the USB stick (just bought a new 128 gb last week and formatted it on PC before use), I know FAT32 has that 4 gb limit but I also get it on NTFS.
I take it yours doesnt do this ? Maybe its something the box does, its only a cheapy I bought a few years ago. I was going to upgrade but it hasnt missed a beat....until now.
We really should try and compile a list to see what episodes people actually have at some stage. Half mine are good and half are average to very average and I am sure many are in the same boat and want to improve some of their crappy episodes.
Also, a question, I just noticed that 11 April 1982 just screened I already have.......and its a completely different episode. Yet both have 11 April 1982 on the screen after the Rage logo ! Grrr.
The episode I already have has Duran Duran on it. Does anyone know which one is which ?
Thanks for your reply. Not taking it as a criticism at all!
Regarding de-interlacing, my reasoning for doing this is that digital television here in Australia is still broadcast in interlaced format. ABC HD is 1080i. When re-encoding, most software (I use Handbrake) will convert interlaced (1080i) to progressive (1080p), but the default setting for the frame rate is "same as source", which for us is 25fps. When you encode at 25fps you remove half of the frames and lose the smooth motion that the interlacing gives the original video. Setting it to 50fps preserves the smooth motion of the 50i source.
For the music videos originally shot on film, you won't notice, but for the live in-studio stuff shot on video tape, at 25fps the motion becomes jittery.
A good example I can give for 25fps vs 50fps is the tennis currently being shown on 9GEM HD. Watch it on your HDTV (1080i50) and take notice of the ball flight. Nice and smooth. Now load up their streaming service 9Now. 9Now streams at 25fps. Sport looks jittery in 25fps, that's why Kayo Sports and the BBC stream in 1080p50. MLB and ESPN stream in 720p60 and it looks amazing, even at the slightly lower resolution.
An even better and more relevant example - next Saturday night watch Countdown on Rage live on your TV and at the same time watch it on iView. Watch the SD version on your TV so you're watching standard definition on both. Wait until an in-studio performance comes on and pay attention to the motion. You'll find the broadcast version on the tv is much smoother, the iView version will be more film-like. iView, like all of our FTA streaming services, still streams in 25fps.
Sorry for the long-winded technical reply - just wanted to explain there's a method behind my madness! I've added a new folder to my OneDrive called "50fps vs 25fps example" that hopefully illustrates this :)
(BTW good luck re-encoding DSOT! I've seen the Blu-Ray and Rachel Fury has never looked better ;)
Also, a question, I just noticed that 11 April 1982 just screened I already have.......and its a completely different episode. Yet both have 11 April 1982 on the screen after the Rage logo ! Grrr.
The episode I already have has Duran Duran on it. Does anyone know which one is which ?
You could have the 17 April 1982 Saturday night episode. The next night was the Countdown awards. According to the descriptions at this site, the 11 April 1982 episode shown last night is the right date and the 17 April 1982 episode has lots of Duran Duran...
The miscaptioned Duran Duran episode is from the week after (17/4/82): See:
http://pub24.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=2015862427&frmid=135&msgid=960895&cmd=show
Thanks for your reply. Not taking it as a criticism at all!
Regarding de-interlacing, my reasoning for doing this is that digital television here in Australia is still broadcast in interlaced format. ABC HD is 1080i. When re-encoding, most software (I use Handbrake) will convert interlaced (1080i) to progressive (1080p), but the default setting for the frame rate is "same as source", which for us is 25fps. When you encode at 25fps you remove half of the frames and lose the smooth motion that the interlacing gives the original video. Setting it to 50fps preserves the smooth motion of the 50i source.
For the music videos originally shot on film, you won't notice, but for the live in-studio stuff shot on video tape, at 25fps the motion becomes jittery.
A good example I can give for 25fps vs 50fps is the tennis currently being shown on 9GEM HD. Watch it on your HDTV (1080i50) and take notice of the ball flight. Nice and smooth. Now load up their streaming service 9Now. 9Now streams at 25fps. Sport looks jittery in 25fps, that's why Kayo Sports and the BBC stream in 1080p50. MLB and ESPN stream in 720p60 and it looks amazing, even at the slightly lower resolution.
An even better and more relevant example - next Saturday night watch Countdown on Rage live on your TV and at the same time watch it on iView. Watch the SD version on your TV so you're watching standard definition on both. Wait until an in-studio performance comes on and pay attention to the motion. You'll find the broadcast version on the tv is much smoother, the iView version will be more film-like. iView, like all of our FTA streaming services, still streams in 25fps.
Sorry for the long-winded technical reply - just wanted to explain there's a method behind my madness! I've added a new folder to my OneDrive called "50fps vs 25fps example" that hopefully illustrates this :)
(BTW good luck re-encoding DSOT! I've seen the Blu-Ray and Rachel Fury has never looked better ;)
Hi Grant, your explanation regards the frame rates etc is spot on. No disrespect to those who want to re encode to a reduced quality for their own purposes. On todays hd tvs quality is everything. Many thanks for making available the untouched sources, I have downloaded a couple of them already and they look great. Your deinterlaced 50fps files are very good. Looking forward to any others that you can share, given that you no longer have the original files.
Not needed now Luuuc, as I re-encoded Grants copy to suit my collection. Thanks anyway mate, appreciate the effort.
Definately on NTFS on the USB stick (just bought a new 128 gb last week and formatted it on PC before use), I know FAT32 has that 4 gb limit but I also get it on NTFS.
I take it yours doesnt do this ? Maybe its something the box does, its only a cheapy I bought a few years ago. I was going to upgrade but it hasnt missed a beat....until now.
I use a Beyonwiz DVR, which records onto its internal HDD rather than onto USB so there's no file splitting.
Regarding video formats, the original material would presumably be 50i, and that's what the ABC broadcast is, so to me it is logical to encode as 25p. Encoding as 50p could also work though and I guess could result in a smoother picture. I would do that if it was sport but I don't bother for Countdown. It doesn't make sense to me go do anything other than a multiple of 25Hz though or else the codec is going to have to create its own extra frames using some kind of interpolation.
I know others have shared already, but since I did it in previous years I'll be sharing my copies of Countdown episodes again this year for anyone who is interested. As with previous ones they are MP4 files in H.264 format, full HD, and with file sizes kept to just under 1GB per episode.
I know these aren't on your list, kiersey. But I thought I'd ask if anyone has these 1980 Countdown episodes which have been on Rage. Please, if anyone has them, it would be most appreciated if a link could be shared. Worth a try ...
01/06/80 - Village People
15/06/80 - Skyhooks
24/08/80 - Xanadu Dance
21/09/80 - James Freud
26/10/80 - The Romantics
30/11/80 - Bette Midler
Hi countdownforever,
From your list I have the following in my collection:
21/09/80 - James Freud
30/11/80 - Bette Midler
Both were recorded using a Topfield PVR from ABC Digital in SD and re-encoded in XviD video and mp3 audio inside an .avi container. That was the popular format back in 2009/2011 when they were recorded.
These are now available from my requests folder at
Hi All, I am new to the forum. I have attached a link for my Countdown Episode list. If anyone needs any episode then please let me know. Thanks to everyone who has posted links to episodes. I have increased my collection as a result. Cheers, kiersey.
Hi All, I am new to the forum. I have attached a link for my Countdown Episode list. If anyone needs any episode then please let me know. Thanks to everyone who has posted links to episodes. I have increased my collection as a result. Cheers, kiersey.
"That 14/09/1980 KISS episode is on my list. You should be able to D/L it.
cheers
kiersey"
Thanks!
Sorry mate the link I had posted was only my list, not a d/l link. The d/l link for all my Countdown shows is below. The KISS episode will be in there.
:notes: "...of the best things in liiiiife" :notes:
Hi Luuuc,
Yes that period of 1980's music was good. Could I trouble you please to share some of your Countdown episodes you have previously shared. Those file factory links you had are long expired. The episodes I am looking 4 are as follows.
Countdown 80-02-09
Countdown 82-04-25
Countdown 83-07-24
Countdown 84-04-22
Countdown 84-05-06
Countdown 84-06-26 Boy George Special
Countdown 84-08-05
Countdown 84-12-16
Countdown 86-06-08
Countdown 86-11-30
Countdown 87-04-26
Countdown 87-05-10
My list and d/l link to all my shows is contained in this thread.
\"That 14/09/1980 KISS episode is on my list. You should be able to D/L it.
cheers
kiersey\"
Thanks!
Sorry mate the link I had posted was only my list, not a d/l link. The d/l link for all my Countdown shows is below. The KISS episode will be in there.
"Sorry mate the link I had posted was only my list, not a d/l link. The d/l link for all my Countdown shows is below. The KISS episode will be in there.
Untouched rips of the 4 Countdown episodes that aired last night are uploading now to my OneDrive. Scroll up to my previous post for the link. They'll be in the following folder:
HDTVRips - Untouched / Week 2
I'll also put the cropped / de-interlaced versions in this folder:
Thanks yet again Grant, I didnt get around to buying a new box so have my "pause in one episode" problem again so happy to have a place to grab that episode. I am sure I speak for everyone when I say we appreciate you uploading them.
Following is a list of episodes I'm missing any help would be much appreciated :upside_down_face: Happy to upload any episodes required by others when I have some free time. I basically have every episode except those in the below list
27.12.81 clips of 81
17.04.82 Duran Duran
04.07.82 Bucks Fizz
14.11.82 Hall Oates
08.04.84 Marilyn
10.06.84 Duran Duran
24.06.84 Molly IV Rod Stewart
08.07.84 Culture Club
29.07.84 Beat Street final
25.11.84 Fashion special
19.05.84 Awards
18.08.85 Style Council