Welcome to the Computer Chronicles Downloader Repo!

Table of contents:

1. About Computer Chronicles Downloader
2. Getting Started
3. Things To Note

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About Computer Chronicles Downloader

Computer Chronicles Downloader (CCDownloader) is a lightweight python utility used to bulk download episodes of The Computer Chronicles or any other files conforming to the the files.xml download format.

As configured out of the box CCDownloader will download 448 unique episodes of The Computer Chronicles from Seasons 1 - 19. CCDownloader can also optionally output linux ln commands to additionally hark link 151 re-aired episodes from Seasons 1-20 to their original episode files.

Getting Started

To use CCDownloader first clone the repo and install the required python packages:

git clone https://github.com/samrg123/Computer-Chronicles-Downloader.git
cd ./Computer-Chronicles-Downloader
pip install -r ./requirements.txt

Then execute the program according to your needs:

py ./CCDownloader.py --help
usage: CCDownloader.py [-h] [--dir str] [--file str] [--listAll] [--listDir] [--listDownload] [--listFile] [--listLinks] [--listRepeat] [--threads int] [--verbose int]

A lightweight python utility for downloading recorded computer chronicle episodes

options:
  -h, --help      show this help message and exit
  --dir str       Specifies the directory to download to. Default [str] = './Computer Chronicles'
  --file str      Specifies the download xml file to parse. Default [str] = './files.xml'
  --listAll       Lists all information and exits. Default = 'False'
  --listDir       Lists the files in `--dir` and exits. Default = 'False'
  --listDownload  Lists the non existing `--file` files in `--dir` that will be downloaded and exits. Default = 'False'
  --listFile      Lists the files in `--file` and exits. Default = 'False'
  --listLinks     Lists the 'REPEAT' files in `--file` as linux `ln` commands to original files and exits. Default = 'False'
  --listRepeat    Lists the 'REPEAT' files in `--file` that will be ignored and exits. Default = 'False'
  --threads int   Specifies the number of threads to use while downloading. Default [int] = '32'
  --verbose int   Specifies the verbose log level. Larger values enable more verbose output. Log Levels: {'Error': 0, 'Default': 1, 'Verbose': 2} Default [int] = '1'

Things to Note

• By default CCDownloader is configured to download all the files in files.xml who's names don't match ' REPEAT [.*].EXT' and don't already existing in --dir.
• REPEAT files represent reruns of previously aired episodes and can be hard linked to their original aired episodes by executing the commands output from py CCDownloader.py --listLinks

  Note: Season 20 only consists of reruns and doesn't contain any unique files. As a result the 'Season 20' folder isn't created by default and should be manually created in the --dir folder before running the link commands.

• There are currently 100 mssing (33 unique) episodes that can be found in missing.xml. Feel free to reach out to me with a download link to any of the missing episodes and so I can add them to files.xml
• Currently all of the episodes in files.xml are in english* and cherry picked between versions for best quality. A list of episodes with mulitple versions can be found in multiversion.txt.

  *Season 12 Episode 20 is in English, but has hardcoded arabic subtitles. A strictly english version is also tracked in missing.xml.
  *Season 15 Episode 02 has partial missing audio. A better copy of the episode is also tracked in missing.xml.
  *Season 19 Episode 20 has English audio on a second track and the video is partially corrupt. A better copy of the episode is also tracked in missing.xml.
  *I admittedly haven't watched all 400+ episodes, so if you stumble across an episode that isn't in english or of 'good' quality let me know and I'll update missing.xml to include it.

• All download links are sourced from various Internet Archive uploads. If you enjoy using CCDownloader consider making a donation to them here