Hi All,

First of all, Jason, if this contravenes any rules please edit / delete to your discretion.

Just wanted to open this up to discussion. I've been a long time fan of Countdown (Now in my late forties) and watched it live with great relish during my early years and into my teens when it sadly ended. I've been taping Retro Month on and off since 1993 so I have a fairly large collection of Countdown Eps( transferred to DVD from VHS, straight to DVD from digital ) but have also missed quite a few. I've also gone to some lengths to author my DVD's on Dual Layer dics ( 4 eps ) and chapter all the performances, humdrums, top tens, printed covers etc.

I'm in the same position as others where I have missed episodes and several posters on this forum have come to my rescue but am still missing episodes. In most cases someone kindly says "PM me and I can burn you a copy" etc

Has anyone here considered sharing their Eps digitally? P2P / Fileshare ( dropbox / google / mega ). Is the lack of digital sharing with the community because of technical constraints ( slow down / up speeds) Is it digital snobbery? (i.e I want only episodes in HD using H.264 codec ?) or is it just a general feeling that this is far too complicated ?

I'm very amenable to this as long as it fosters some sharing rather than snatching. It would be a far quicker way to circulate Eps and allow you to do what you want with the file - burn it, keep it digitally, author it and so on. Is this a thing here or is the general practice DVD's by PM request then post ?

Just wanted to gauge the feeling out there. Thanks for reading !

criscles

Unfortunately, I don't currently have the internet speeds that allow uploading/downloading of entire episodes, though it's usually OK for isolated videos/performances.

I think it's a good idea, though.

I have a few i encoded about a year back but there in SD .mp4,but with these ones what i've done is remove any background noise and raised the volume level,Anybody interested i can send links.
joesoda@gmail.com

I don't think it's snobbery I think it's practicality. It would take a lot of data storage to hold a library of digital Countdown and Rock Arena copies, which tends to bring it into the "not free" realm of data storage, so who would volunteeer to pay for it. And as ohnoitsnathan notes, it would also require good internet speeds to make it feasible to upload such a massive archive.

But the biggest problem I see is that a central archive would likely attract the attention of the authorities, as it clearly violates copyright, and hence risks all the potential unpleasantness that would follow. It becomes just a bit too organized and explicit to dismiss it as a harmless hobby from a bunch of fans.

This forum does facilitate a degree of person-to-person sharing, which by its nature is "under the radar", limited in scope and scale, and unlikely to attract any enforcement action.

I too am very interested in sharing. DVDs are fast going the way of the Dodo thanks to cheaper storage, fast internet speeds, and the fact that DVD video quality is anchored many years in the past while newer codecs offer superior quality per megabyte, so file sharing makes more sense than ever. I'm certainly happy to share my collection with anyone who is interested, and would love to start back-filling the enormous number of episodes I don't have.
I recently ripped the Classic Countdown series to .MP4 and that alone takes up my entire Google Drive, so sharing something with as many episodes as Countdown becomes a bit tricky unfortunately. But if anyone comes up with a plan then I'm keen to contribute.

Don't know if this is common knowledge here already, but The Empire bittorrent tracker has most of the Countdown episodes that have been aired on Rage Goes Retro over the last few years.

Unfortunately this years haven't been uploaded so if someone wants to do us a favour!

Yeah I put the 2017 countdowns on there, but then their site got hacked or something and now none of my files seed correctly anymore. It put me off doing it again there.

i recently downloaded 1080p rips of "Classic Countdown" from Luuuc,i recommend if you enjoy the show,these files are the ones to keep,as for file hosting i recommend "Filefactory".

Hi Luuuc - they had a problem with one of the admins which led to the site moving from the .bz domain to .click. You'd have to re-download the .torrent files to seed your old Countdowns again....

But if you don't want to use that site again then I'm sure one of us could create the torrent if you uploaded them elsewhere....

rob

These aren't mine, but someone has posted some (full-length) older 1978/79 Countdowns on DailyMotion.

Hi i cant find the countdown episodes you mention.could you please post all the links here for them please ?

Just click on "All Videos" and scroll through until you find them.

just checked out the video's,sound is crap,the person doing it has no idea on how to encode or fix sound,give me the .VOB's and i'll do them justice.

here is the 1975 Sherbet Special x264.AAC.mp4 it's 573mb in size,Video: sides have been trimmed,sound: hiss removal/volume raised from original. enjoy. highlight the link,right click,go to:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/70xrdb8ndt43/19751231.Countdown.Sherbet.Special.TVRip.x264.2CH.AAC.%5BTRZ%5D.mp4

I intend to put all mine on to Google Drive in the near future. Torrents are a waste of time and a pain in the backside that I wouldn't waste my time with.

I will be happy to trade episodes for episodes I dont have, I also have all the Countdown DVD's , ie the wonder years etc etc.

I have to re-encode a number of episodes before I do it though which is a bit of a pain, but I will do it.

Trading will be as simple as me giving you a Google Drive direct download link for a file/episode or if you have a Google Drive account it will appear in your account as a shared link (from memory.....I havent shared files with anyone for a while)

I own a large Australian technology forum and can set up a private trade room if Jason has objections to it being done here, as it likely contravenes Bravenet's terms and conditions and could mean Jason has his forum shut down which no one wants to see. I own my own forum software and hosting and am not held to any similar rules.

As well as Countdown episodes, I am up for trading any music from single clips to concerts.
I am glad you bought it up Criscles as I have thought about it but didn't want to mention it as I am relatively new here. I have NBN 100/40.

It annoys me to no end that I can download Top Of The Pops episodes by the bucket load from BBC IView, but the ABC is that scummy they wont put them on IView. The ABC is supposed to be owned by the people (like the BBC in England) however its like they decide to do us a small favor once a year and tease us with a few tid bits from the archives.

Dont get me started on the crap thats served up on Rage these days grrr....... :)

Thanks for the head up on the Dailymotion episodes Retrotragic, downloading them now

Andrew said:
> Dont get me started on the crap thats served up on Rage these days grrr.......

How funny that crap doesn't get censored here, but d@amn does.

Yes, rage can be shocking when it's bad... like this weekend, followed by another disappointing Monday night vault (1999).

Hello all,
The channel is no longer available anymore. I'd be interested in seeing the shows. Also, hopefully last months Retro rage Countdown episodes can be shared, as I missed out via the Empire site too in viewing them.

Thanks!

Yeah, this dailymotion channel has been shut down now.

Hello again,

Still looking for uploads of last month's Countdown rebroadcasts (and perhaps the Dailymotion shows). Any ideas on where to find them? The Empire site still doesn't have the programs.

Thanks,
Marshall

Countdown episodes that were broadcast this year can be found here:
http://www.filefactory.com/folder/65d70e37e0104967

(Note - files at that site expire after 30 days, so get to it)

(Extra note - I believe you get slightly better download speed/quota if you sign up for an account there)

Thanks again so much Luuc! I appreciate it.

Marshall

Bravo Luuc!

This guy has a few full-length episodes of Countdown on his Youtube channel.

Thanks RetroTragic. In the remote chance anyone can share a few of the Dailymotion Countdown shows from 1978-1979 that would be greatly appreciated, too. I only was able to see a little of one program, a good one from 1979 with John Cougar Mellencamp, ELO, and Squeeze, before the channel was taken down.

Found this one - first episode for 1979 - 18th February.

Found this one ... Sherbet Special 1975

Found another one ... this one only recently added to Youtube ... 300th Show ... 6th September 1981 ... host Mental As Anything

Thanks for sharing these Luuuc.

Any plans on uploading earlier Retro Month years?

I'll be doing all the ones I have - but unfortunately I only have 4 Retro Months worth of episodes (2015-2018)

Luuuc ... I just wanted to say that, although I already have all the Countdowns Rage has shown over the last several years, I really appreciate you posting these for those who wish to see them. What you've done takes time, and helps people out.

What would be fantastic is if the ABC uploaded them onto iview like they did with the Classic Countdowns. Better still, ABC could devote a whole digital channel to music, covering all styles and all eras. Showing reruns of Countdown, Flashez, Beatbox, GTK, Rock Arena, etc., would be fantastic, and cost them nothing (unless there are royalties involved).

Hi Luuc

A huge thankyou from me for your time and patience in uploading countdowns. I have got them all and they are terrific. I wish I could say that my older ones are as good as yours, but I can't as my equipment is nowhere as good as yours. So thankyou very much.

Shared folder of Countdown episodes that aired in 2016's Retro Month, which contains:

Countdown 80-09-28
Countdown 81-02-22
Countdown 81-06-07
Countdown 81-06-14
Countdown 82-04-04
Countdown 83-03-06
Countdown 83-07-24
Countdown 83-09-04
Countdown 84-05-06
Countdown 84-06-26 Boy George Special
Countdown 85-06-16
Countdown 85-08-25
Countdown 86-11-30
Countdown 86-12-14
Countdown 87-05-10
Countdown 87-07-05

Download Link: http://www.filefactory.com/folder/bb1935647d0c1713

Countdown episodes from 2015 Rage Retro Month, which contains:

Countdown 80-10-12
Countdown 81-04-26
Countdown 81-09-13
Countdown 82-03-14
Countdown 82-04-25
Countdown 82-11-21
Countdown 83-04-03
Countdown 84-11-11
Countdown 85-04-07
Countdown 85-04-21
Countdown 85-07-28
Countdown 85-11-10
Countdown 86-06-08
Countdown 87-04-26
Countdown 87-06-14

Download Link: http://filefactory.com/folder/a75a1f582fd354ee

Countdown episodes from 2014 Rage Retro Month. This is the last batch I have to share:

Countdown 77-12-24
Countdown 80-04-20
Countdown 80-08-10
Countdown 81-03-15
Countdown 82-03-21
Countdown 83-07-03
Countdown 84-04-22
Countdown 84-08-05
Countdown 85-07-14 - Missed the last 30 minutes :(
Countdown 84-12-16
Countdown 85-07-14 - Missed the first 20 minutes :(
Countdown 87-05-31

Download Link: http://www.filefactory.com/folder/1b5bb3e76b253fc5

Thanx heaps for the eps. Anyone got 2013 and earlier? Found this if anyone wants it ...

I think l am one of the only ones who appreciates actual burnt to DVD copies of Countdown etc and then putting onto WD box or whatever so one doesn’t have to use the discs but still archive them on discs. The whole downloading is just so not the way l like to do things when it comes to Countdown and music videos.

Luuuc massive thanks for uploading those episodes. Is there any chance you could please reupload some, specifically the 24.07.83 episode. I'd waited ages for that one only for the recorder to pack it in.

Nathan, l know you appreciate the USB thing but l will continue to do discs. Physical discs are more my thing, l think hardrives etc are great to put discs onto or use usbs once you have transferred a disc on there but not as the main archive method. I use my WD box to watch my Countdown episodes so l don’t have to get out each disc and it is convenient but l have someone who transfers them for me and they only can do this for me sometimes so whatever is not on my WD box I need to watch via disc but most of my Countdowns are on my WD hardrive. For actually storing my Countdowns and Music Videos l am more precious about them and l prefer them on a disc than USB.

I still purchase cds and vinyl as well, downloading is just not my method unless l really have to if something is so rare that l can’t find it. I guess no one will be sharing anything l may need anymore in case of pixelation or stretching via disc ☹️ So l have to make sure l am always able to record and now keep copies in 4.3 and 16.9 and keep them as is as l am not technical with programs like you and some other younger folks

^ I think I'm only 3 or 4 years younger than you, Jason :laughing:

I still use (re-writable) discs to transfer recordings to my external hard drives; I just don't keep the disc anymore once they're transferred, partly because I've literally got hundreds of discs lying around that I never view, and it becomes clutter.

Also, it's worth having at least 2 back-up methods, as discs can potentially fail at some point. I back-up my hard drives to a second drive once they're full, and have even stored these off-site - so if my house burns down, I'm covered :laughing:

I'm a fan of physical media too. I've got a huge collection of CDs that I rarely even touch anymore ever since I ripped them all to MP3, but I can't bring myself to get rid of them. So I get it.
I've got large wallets full of DVDs too, most of them the ink jet printable type that I made labels for.
But as of a few years ago everything new I get stays only on hard drives. I just find it easier, less space-consuming, and easier to share this way.

Mike, after this retro month I will see what I can do about re-uploading my collection in some way that is less temporary. I would really like to add to my collection as well considering I've only got a small fraction of all the Countdowns that have been re-aired.

Thanks very much Chad!!

Again ... people can collect as they wish but l like to collect DVD recordings and a back up on my WD box which is a hardrive box and l have two hardrives with the exact same content but l only get that backed up now and again as a friend does them for me, nearly most of my Countdown collection is on there. Once my hardrive deleted everything and since both have been backed up, lucky l had all my dvd’s just in case as a back up.

I guess l put up with the room that dvds take but l have great tubs they go into. I like backing up on hardrive as well so l have a few forms of media l can have my collections in, especially Countdown episodes.

I would hope if l needed something this January that someone would do a disc for me and post me it if any technical issues come along, l always offer money for people’s services.

Btw Nathan, sometimes a few years older does mean younger people have much more skill with technical things, you are very clever when it comes to recording in 16.9 and putting the ratio back into 4.3 mode with rage clips as you told me, so you are very computer savvy.
I
I am 44 soon, anyhow.... if my house burnt down l would grab my WD box harddrives and all my dvds and vinyl and cds and l would most likely die in the fire, haha.

If anyone here needs any Countdown episodes etc l am always willing to send you a DVD disc and then you can transfer to hardrive, USB or whatever you wish 🙂

As an interim measure I will use FileFactory again to share what I have, using these links:
• 1977-1981 Episodes
• 1982-1984 Episodes
• 1985-1987 Episodes

At the moment only the first folder is populated. The second one has only the episode that Mike asked for. After next weekend I will have more time and will start adding more.

Awesome. Thank you. I have also been putting in files into the folder I shared before so you are welcome to any of those files also.

I’m also old school in that I have copied my shows onto disc and before that video tape of course. I am however open to the idea of digital file sharing though I’m just not that familiar with the entire concept. I suspect you probably need to either join or sign up for the benefits though.