There are two official HandBrake PPAs, ppa:stebbins/handbrake-releases and ppa:stebbins/handbrake-git-snapshots.
The former contains stable releases, which are updated about once a year. These releases tend to be rather out-dated when their end-of-life is approaching. The current stable version (0.9.8) was released on 2012-07-18.
The latter contains nightly builds, which are updated daily (or nightly, as it were). These are of course less stable, and undocumented to boot, but they are good software nonetheless. Additionally, as the stable release ages, the developers tend to start recommending users to try the nightly builds instead.
To add one of these to your sources, simply run:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stebbins/handbrake-releases
or
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:stebbins/handbrake-git-snapshots
depending on which you want. To install HandBrake with the GUI, run:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install handbrake
Alternatively, if you would prefer the CLI (command-line interface) over the GUI, replace the last line with:
sudo apt-get install handbrake-cli
sometimes some isp's will throttle your bittorrent traffic. some isps can be tricked by forcing your bittorrent traffic to another port and encrypting it.
what i do is force encryption and use the openvpn port tcp/1194 for my communications. this seems to work for some places.
Best Answer
Canonical provides detailed instructions on how to use BitTorrent as well as how to obtain their official torrents for their ISO images here. Below is a brief summary on how to obtain a copy of those torrents to download.
Where should I go to download an Ubuntu torrent?
The torrent files needed for downloading an Ubuntu ISO are made available by Canonical as an alternative to downloading the entire ISO directly.
Next, scroll down to the bottom of the page and select the link:
Take a look at a full list of our previous versions and alternative downloads
If you would prefer, you can select a local mirror that is geographically closer to your region to obtain the torrent.
Direct links to all ISO torrents:
These will open directly in your torrent client (uTorrent, Vuze, etc.)
Ubuntu 12.04.2 Precise Pangolin
Desktop
Alternate (text-based installer)
Server
Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal
Desktop
Server
Ubuntu 13.04 Raring Ringtail
Desktop
Server
Source: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/alternative-downloads
See also: Previous AU Q&A
What programs should I use to download torrent files on Windows?
What is the bare minimum I need to know about BitTorrent for this use-case?
After installing your preferred BitTorrent client, all one needs to do is download the torrent file from the one of the direct links mentioned above. Your browser should ask you what you want to do with the file. Instead of saving it, have your browser open the file with your newly installed torrent client.
See also: A Beginner's Guide to BitTorrent