Your take on movie samples?

[NisHunter]

For me,sample is a great add-on.
I download it first,watch it and then download the movie.
Also,screenshots are important too.

[dueda]

For me,sample is a great add-on.
I download it first,watch it and then download the movie.
Also,screenshots are important too.

Thanks for your answer. Samples and pictures are intended to help.

I would say, IMO, since sequential downloading and preview modes became available, samples are in technical obsolescence;
screenshots I deem still usefull, as they're faster than skimming thru a video torrent or zipped picture collection, for example.

[Kandaje]

Greetings...

Speaking as just a guy who "consumes", Samples, NFO's, addon's and other "stuff" like screen shots usually just get deleted when I add them to my movie
library. I'll seed if there are any peers in my swarm up to a limit.

I've noticed that if I have more than about 20 or so - it really bogs down my laptop. Even if they are just stopped!

If I knew how to post torrents, I'd probably post things like entire seasons of a series, or the collection of movies that have sequels.
Basically just a recreation of my library.

I'll typically read the NFO's and other release notes to keep myself current as to WHO the various release groups are.
I kind of miss the old ASCI art that some release groups used to put a lot of effort into. Lots of that was in my mind "collectable".

But really, I typically just go for a 1080p whenever possible, and check out the quality when/if it's completed.
if a torrent gets stuck on incomplete for more than a few days, I'll just toss it or go look for another one.

[AncientRome]

I usually delete the samples if I intend to keep the video, but I do use the samples to test how well the full video will run on my phone.

[dueda]

I'll typically read the NFO's and other release notes to keep myself current as to WHO the various release groups are.
I kind of miss the old ASCI art that some release groups used to put a lot of effort into.

> I kinda miss good NFOs... at least the screen format, frame and bit rates, source, and some useful description; episode list too.

I usually delete the samples if I intend to keep the video, but I do use the samples to test how well the full video will run on my phone.

> That's new!  I don't watch video on my phone, never tought samples could be usef for that. Thanks for sharing!

[RobertX]

Coming from someone who downloads from cyberlockers, sample movies aren't really what I need.

Before I did that, I too torrent movies; they weren't useful there either.

Just my two Canadian dollars.

EDIT: In retrospect, I will admit that samples are necessary. Before downloading the whole thing, by downloading a sample of the torrent, you can get a taste of what you are getting before downloading the whole torrent.

I've been spoiled enough to even have the patience to do that though.

[dueda]

... you can get a taste of what you are getting before downloading the whole torrent.

That's my point, I've seen many samples in much higher quality than the movie they should represent, like a trend.
What good is a sample that does not tell what your experience will be? But then, if one makes use of them, they're good for something.
Just my two cucarachos sub-cents.

[RobertX]

There's also this: they serve you well if you want to test your favourite player's performance on your computer and see how the player does, like benchmarking.

This has nothing to do with the movie, but it does make a good side effect.

[SpunkyMcMunkey]

I usually queue videos to download overnight, so samples are pointless. By the time I see the sample, the whole video is there too.

Even on the rare occasions that I want to watch a movie straight away, I go by the screenshots or a guess based on the torrent's details and description. The only time I'd use a sample now would be for a movie I want to watch the same day, where the download is slow, or it's hard to find.