Prior to moving to Czechland I had never heard of a torrent. However, I've never met an expat anywhere, not only in Czechland, that hasn't benefited from torrents.
I am unable to watch American TV shows here. Sure, some are shown on Czech or Austrian TV. Sometimes the programs are dubbed in to the local language and sometimes they are in the original English with subtitles. Quite often though, the shows are one to three seasons behind the USA. And not every American show is broadcast here. And it's not just me. I have mates that miss out on UK shows, French shows, Italian shows, Brazilian shows, etc. So what's a torrent? Here's a simple video I found out on YouTube that explains how torrents work.
A torrent is a very fast way to share files (TV shows, movies, ebooks, software, whatever). Torrenting itself is not illegal. Where people get in to trouble is downloading copyrighted or illegally copied material. I heard that one of the big torrent sites, Isohunt, was permanently shut down last year for violating copyright law.
Update: On December 9, 2014, police in Sweden raided and closed The Pirate Bay, another popular torrent site. The police seized computers, servers and other equipment.
I am unable to watch American TV shows here. Sure, some are shown on Czech or Austrian TV. Sometimes the programs are dubbed in to the local language and sometimes they are in the original English with subtitles. Quite often though, the shows are one to three seasons behind the USA. And not every American show is broadcast here. And it's not just me. I have mates that miss out on UK shows, French shows, Italian shows, Brazilian shows, etc. So what's a torrent? Here's a simple video I found out on YouTube that explains how torrents work.
© Cornel
A torrent is a very fast way to share files (TV shows, movies, ebooks, software, whatever). Torrenting itself is not illegal. Where people get in to trouble is downloading copyrighted or illegally copied material. I heard that one of the big torrent sites, Isohunt, was permanently shut down last year for violating copyright law.Update: On December 9, 2014, police in Sweden raided and closed The Pirate Bay, another popular torrent site. The police seized computers, servers and other equipment.