Another example of a meme I’ve touched on several times (how RSS and torrents have the potential to replace traditional tv distribution) – btseasonpass.com, a web service that lets you define rules for the torrents you’d like to download, enabling you to grab episodes of tv programs sort of like you would using, say, your tivo. Sign up, develop your viewing rules, and wait for the shows to come in. Registration is free.

If you’re skeptical about the whole notion, I’ll observe: despite having one of the best PVR applications available (beyondtv), I still use mechanisms like this to retrieve video materials because they’re simply more convenient than bothering to configure the PVR, and the shows I get generally come with the added benefit of the advertising already having been stripped out. I watched the last season of Battlestar Galactica and The Shield this way, and I’ll be doing the same for the upcoming season of The Shield as well.

(and a side note to the broadcasters who freak when they hear about the ads being ripped out – what, you were under the impression I was watching your ads? At any point in the last 10 years or more? You lost your audience with the advent of cable and the remote control. Don’t fall into the trap the RIAA is in – find your new business model instead of clinging desperately to your old one).