knight rider online

Back in October, Apple released a version of iTunes that allowed you to download TV shows for 1.99. At the time it was limited to just Desperate Housewives, Lost and a show they just canceled. However that has all just changed.

They just added a whole lot of content and one of the new provider is NBC. SO! Now available on iTunes for $1.99 per episode is Knight Rider Season 1!
I'm downloading an episode now to check out quality.

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZSt ... 7&s=143441

I believe this is also US iTunes only.



I just downloaded Trust Doesn't Rust, and here is some quick observations. Image size is on par with other iTunes releases 320x240 resolution. (that's half broadcast). File size for the 48 minute episode is 223.6MB, so a bit of a haul for those with dialup. It also includes the teaser preview before each episode.

sounds cool

I'm not sure about this at all; I'd rather, for the time being, see that on DVD....
Yeah, it's pretty cool nonetheless.

I woke up this morning at 7:00, checked my usual round of websites and saw on one of them (macrumors.com) the news about the new iTunes content on the video store and I literally screamed in joy when I saw that "Knight Rider" was available for download!

My only complaint thus far is that in the decription of the show on the iTunes Music Store, it says: "The car is called the Knight-2000 and its speaking computer, K.I.T.T., is in tune with a sensor that has been implanted into Michael Knight's brain." This is totally wrong information and I have no idea where Apple got that from but I hope they fix it!

And yes, while it is cheaper to buy Season 1 on DVD (and you get better quality at higher resolutions), the point of buying individual episodes on iTunes is so that, first and foremost, you don't have to go through the hassle of converting your entire set of DVDs to MP4 or H.264 format just so that you can load it onto your video iPod. The other bonus to the way the iTMS works is that if you didn't like all of Season 1, you can download just your favorite episdoes. Yes, people will grumble about it only being at 320x240 resolution but like I said, you're not just buying the episodes, you're paying for the convenience of not having to rip the episodes yourself so that you can watch them on your video iPod.

I don't have a video iPod at the moment so I doubt I'll download any episodes right away but who knows, I might just for the hell of it. And again, this reinforces my theory that there is a connection between Knight Rider fans and Apple.

Knight Rider and Apple Computer... two of my greatest passions brought together! Throw in a Mountain Dew promotion and the trifecta will be complete.

I think this is huge news for both Apple and NBC. And when you think about the huge library of shows NBC-Universal has at their disposal, the fact that Knight Rider was one of the shows they launched with is a nice show of support.

Sensor implanted in his brain...that was at least one fan fiction I read a few years back.

wow!

krfan1

krfan1 wrote:Sensor implanted in his brain...that was at least one fan fiction I read a few years back.

wow!

krfan1

Yeah, I think I read that in a comic strip

In the Top TV Shows downloads the first half of the Pilot is 45, the second half is 98. No other KR episode is on the Top 100. Still neat!

Slashdot agrees!

http://apple.slashdot.org/apple/05/12/0 ... =176&tid=3

This is the comic strip that said Michael had a sensor implanted in his brain.Wonder if thats where they got the ide for Sean's implant from knight rider 2000 and if there was any intention of using it differently if the series turned into a movie.

I don't want to risk this getting too off-topic but I just realized that if this was a plot point that the writers/producers never incorporated formally into the TV series, but yet was supposed to hold true, it would explain why Michael was able to "sense" KITT's presence in "Soul Survivor."

It'd be funny if Apple actually got that right, in a way, wouldn't it?

Additional comment... Just saw a commerical on NBC after Fear Factor for this new service. Think this is the first time my mom's tv has ever had the opening scene of Kitt grace it's screen.

In soul survivor i felt it was redeiculous to have Michael SENSE his presence.I mean was he going to be on Dion Warwicks circle of phsycics, with a overpoofed hat,a string of pearls,and some weird robe with a magic ball?

I would say he felt him because of his connection to his pal over time.

I gotta agree. That was always one part of Soul Survivor that I thought was pretty stupid. WHy didn't they just search the garage and find it. Rather than Micahel "sensing" him. Heartwarming, but rediculous.

Knight Racer wrote:I would say he felt him because of his connection to his pal over time.

Playing devil's advocate, how is that any different from having a psychic connection?

The only way I can try to make rational sense of it - and this is a huge leap - is that KITT's circuitry or whatever generated a specific type of magnetic/electrical field that Michael responded to on a subconcious level. Or, some people can hear the sound of TV monitors when they don' have a signal going to them, and some people react to them without even realizing they are hearing them. Maybe KITT's CPU was emitting some kind of high-frequency signal. Maybe it was even KITT's way of calling out to Michael.

I don't have a great answer... it was a little too mystical for my tastes as well.

Thanks for the Fear Factor info Kitzira... I was able to catch the commercial:

http://www.knightridermovie.com/mpegs/nbc-itunes.mov

No prob. Figured you being in Californina would be able to capture it 2 hours later when it played there. ^^

Try turning up your sound when that portion of the episode is playing. The CPU box that is K.I.T.T. is making all kinds of weird sound and is glowing from lights, to boot. Michael (and, perhaps Bonnie) would probably be the only two people around who would have a chance of hearing and recognizing such a sound. Let's take into account that the garage door was open and that the environment was silent. Also, take into account that Michael had been driving KITT for so long at that point that he would have been sub-consciously very aware of all the odd sounds present aboard the Knight 2000.

In essence, he used the term 'sense', because he didn't quite realize that the brain box was putting out it's unique sounds and that he was identifying with that sound as KITT.

Though, I quite agree with cloudkitt. The place was picked clean...EXCEPT for the garage WITH an open door, obviously showing that stuff was inside. Michael and Devon, aiming for ANY clues, should have investigated this obvious source of potential and stumbled across the CPU over the very poorly explained bond of sense and sound.

I, too, saw the quick mention of KR episodes for the IPod. So, I checked out the Apple site. Seems that they don't have a system set up to find what can be downloaded. (That I could find.)

But, (as usual) the search box was far more helpful and uncovered this news page...

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/dec/06nbc.html

...which revealed this list.

NBC Universal programming now available...from the 1950s to the present... NBC’s...
- “Law & Order,”
- “The Office,”
- “Surface,”
- “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,”
- “Late Night with Conan O'Brien,”

USA Network’s
- “Monk”

Sci-Fi Channel’s
- “Battlestar Galactica”

classic TV shows including
- “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,”
- “Dragnet,”
- “Adam-12”
- “Knight Rider,”

Considering that they are only hosting 16 shows at this time, I am very curious about how Knight Rider, and even a couple other titles, made the list. Very happy about KR winning such an honor, too.

As for the chip in the brain...I knew there was something about that. Thanks for the refresher on the comic. As, you have to realize that the show, itself, was a product of editing and alteration. Personally, I tend to see the several paperbacks as more original versions of the vision then the shows display.

On the original UK VHS cover for the Pilot episode, it also mentioned the implanted chip in Michael's brain.

Being that I was young at the time and that it was false information, it totally confused me.

Knight of the Phoenix Pt 1 is today at number 20 of Top TV Shows. PT 2 is at 43. Trust Doesn't Rust at 70.

For all videos, Knight Rider breaks into the Top 100 at 27, with Knight of the Phonex Pt 1. Pt 2 at 70.

Thats pretty great considering they are up against music videos of all types, and first run TV shows like Lost and The Office.

On the topic of Michael "sensing" KITT:

I read portions of the book on the pilot and at the end it does kinda vaguely insinuate some type of connection between Michael and KITT like maybe some kind of implant. Clues that KITT would respond and is specific ONLY to Michael is another clue.

In the story, since KITT is so technologically advanced, it's not far out that they would have implanted Michael with such a device. But then he still needs a wristwatch and stuff? And what about not being able to 'detect' him in Killer KITT?

It's some indescrepencies which crop up in any story. Even writing fanfic I often end up with some indescrepencies in my story. Easy to do.

I do like the idea of an implant, and would entertain the idea that Michael, in his haste to go after Tonya, and obviously not familiarized with KITT properly was never told because it was hard enough for him to even accept KITT as a talking robot car in the first place. So maybe Devon thought Michael should learn that on his own, and maybe KITT was instructed never to tell him, that the information should come from Devon instead. Or something like that...

I guess we can only speculate. But it's a pretty cool idea.

Also, when one is with their car a lot, it's not odd to kind of form a bond with the machine in some form - not like humans form with other humans, but you can just tell. Like if the engine isn't running right you can sense it and make adjustments in your driving technique almost subconsciously, where if your friend tried to drive the car under the same conditions the car would stall out. This of course doesn't explain how Michael can 'sense' KITT in a garage though.

neps wrote:Knight of the Phoenix Pt 1 is today at number 20 of Top TV Shows. PT 2 is at 43. Trust Doesn't Rust at 70.

For all videos, Knight Rider breaks into the Top 100 at 27, with Knight of the Phonex Pt 1. Pt 2 at 70.

Thats pretty great considering they are up against music videos of all types, and first run TV shows like Lost and The Office.

That is really excellent. Especially for a 20 year old TV show. *grins* Yay Knight Rider!

I would love to see where KITT vs. KARR and Killer KITT would rank if they were released as well. I always thought KITT vs. KARR was one of the best episodes.

At 2 bucks USD an episode, you're better off to just buy the box set and convert the videos yourself. That's just my opinion.

To be perfectly honest with you, the new video ipod was a huge disappointment for me. I was all excited about them and was ready to purchase one, until I saw the true limitations of the product and it fell short of my expectations on so many levels, I really don't have the time to go into it now.

I'm awaiting to see what types of Media Center systems come out in the next year. They sound to be more promising with capabilities than the ipod from what I've read and heard. We shall soon see......
The ipod in my HO lacks a LOT and has way too many limitations of use.

Nilton

See that's the thing though... it's really not supposed to be a "video ipod". It is an ipod that supports video. It's the same basic form-factor, for the same price, as the last generation of ipods that everyone still goes crazy for. The new ones just happen to support video as well. It's a free feature added to an already fantastic product.

And many people are fans of the show but for whatever reason don't want to spend $25 or more for a box set. But now they can buy just a few episodes. And it's great for people who used to be fans and just want a small taste of it again.

Knight Rider on iTunes isn't meant to replace the DVD boxset; it's simply another option for a different consumer.