Post by sunky on May 27, 2007 12:20:16 GMT 7
Since all of the shows being released for the Smashing Pumpkins tour are coming out in FLAC format and via torrents, I thought it would be good to set up a quick guide for people new to using torrents.
If I miss anything that you would see as important to mention, please post it and I will amend the post.
Quick Overview:
BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer system for distributing files. It uses the upstream bandwidth of every peer to increase the strength of the distribution. So basically the quicker you upload, the quicker you download.
Terms:
Torrent - this is the small file you download that sets up the connection with your peers.
Seeders - These are the people that have the complete file that you are downloading from.
Peers - These are the people you are either downloading or uploading to.
Ratio - Some sites show your share ratio, basically how much you upload and download. Its good practice to keep these levels virtually the same, so basically as much as you download you should try and upload the same amount or even more if you can.
Torrents:
First thing you'll need is a torrent client, this will allow you to download from other people. I've always used Azureus since its for both PC and MAC. Im still using version 2.5, haven't looked at the new release, seems to have a lot of extra features (don't know if they are pointless or not).
Here is a full list of some clients, I haven't used them all but they are the most popular.
Azureus - azureus.sourceforge.net/
Utorrent - www.utorrent.com/
ABC - pingpong-abc.sourceforge.net/
If anybody else recomendations for a client, please let me know.
Torrent sites:
There are a number of torrent of sites out there, you'll notice though some sites will be more focused on bootleg trading and these will be most likely the sites where Smashing Pumpkins shows turn up on. So try and get an account on one of these:
Dimeadozen - www.dimeadozen.org/
The Traders Den (TTD) - www.thetradersden.org/
ZOMB Torrents - zombtracker.the-zomb.com/
Demonoid - www.demonoid.com/
Some of these places require you to keep a healthy share ratio, your account will become disabled if you don't. You may need to de-activate your firewall connecting to some also, do this at your own risk. But most of the time you won't have to change anything.
Some torrent sites require you to be invited to their site, if you need an invitation code just post in this thread and somebody may be able to help you out. Please PM a code to somebody, just incase somebody else grabs it before they see it in this thread.
Audio Formats:
Since this is just about the Smashing Pumpkins shows, you'll see shows coming in the format of FLAC (or maybe SHN - do people still use this?). Anyway FLAC is basically a high quality audio format, most people have heard of .WAV files, pretty much the same. They are larger in file size and higher in audio quality.
More information can be found here:
flac.sourceforge.net/
So once you have the FLAC files you will want to listen to them, burn them to CD or convert them for your MP3 player. Now the most important thing is never to trade MP3's with people, since they are a lesser quality and compressed audio.
To burn these to CD or to convert them to MP3 (for personal use) here is a list of some popular programs: flac.sourceforge.net/download.html
I use Switch, which is a MAC file converter which is really simple to use. If anybody could recommend a good one for PC users that would be great. Save people new to this trying a bad one first.
Also you might see a .MD5 file in some torrents, this is not an audio file. MD5 data is most commonly distributed as separate .md5 files alongside the main file download files and can be used to check whether the download was complete and whether the data remained uncorrupted during the download process. You won't need to convert this.
So now you've got everything you need how does the process work?
1. Download the torrent file you want.
2. Open your torrent client and find the torrent file.
3. It will then prompt you where you would like to download the torrent files to on your hardrive. (Basically the actual audio files).
4. Then just sit and wait while to downloads. The speed depends on the people you are downloading from and also your internet speed. It could take 2-3 hours or sometimes a few days, it really depends.
5. Once you have the files and your download is completed, make sure you keep sharing till your share ratio is the same as the amount you downloaded (you'll see a column for this in your client).
6. Once you are finished sharing you can delete the torrent file.
Any questions about this or any trouble you might have post them in this thread. Somebody here will be able to help out.
If you've made it this far and ff this seems like alot of work, we have some great members offering B & P's of the recordings, check out those threads and it explains the process.
Something else that might be helpful is if some traders want to post the process, programs etc they use to download and burn to CD.
If I miss anything that you would see as important to mention, please post it and I will amend the post.
Quick Overview:
BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer system for distributing files. It uses the upstream bandwidth of every peer to increase the strength of the distribution. So basically the quicker you upload, the quicker you download.
Terms:
Torrent - this is the small file you download that sets up the connection with your peers.
Seeders - These are the people that have the complete file that you are downloading from.
Peers - These are the people you are either downloading or uploading to.
Ratio - Some sites show your share ratio, basically how much you upload and download. Its good practice to keep these levels virtually the same, so basically as much as you download you should try and upload the same amount or even more if you can.
Torrents:
First thing you'll need is a torrent client, this will allow you to download from other people. I've always used Azureus since its for both PC and MAC. Im still using version 2.5, haven't looked at the new release, seems to have a lot of extra features (don't know if they are pointless or not).
Here is a full list of some clients, I haven't used them all but they are the most popular.
Azureus - azureus.sourceforge.net/
Utorrent - www.utorrent.com/
ABC - pingpong-abc.sourceforge.net/
If anybody else recomendations for a client, please let me know.
Torrent sites:
There are a number of torrent of sites out there, you'll notice though some sites will be more focused on bootleg trading and these will be most likely the sites where Smashing Pumpkins shows turn up on. So try and get an account on one of these:
Dimeadozen - www.dimeadozen.org/
The Traders Den (TTD) - www.thetradersden.org/
ZOMB Torrents - zombtracker.the-zomb.com/
Demonoid - www.demonoid.com/
Some of these places require you to keep a healthy share ratio, your account will become disabled if you don't. You may need to de-activate your firewall connecting to some also, do this at your own risk. But most of the time you won't have to change anything.
Some torrent sites require you to be invited to their site, if you need an invitation code just post in this thread and somebody may be able to help you out. Please PM a code to somebody, just incase somebody else grabs it before they see it in this thread.
Audio Formats:
Since this is just about the Smashing Pumpkins shows, you'll see shows coming in the format of FLAC (or maybe SHN - do people still use this?). Anyway FLAC is basically a high quality audio format, most people have heard of .WAV files, pretty much the same. They are larger in file size and higher in audio quality.
More information can be found here:
flac.sourceforge.net/
So once you have the FLAC files you will want to listen to them, burn them to CD or convert them for your MP3 player. Now the most important thing is never to trade MP3's with people, since they are a lesser quality and compressed audio.
To burn these to CD or to convert them to MP3 (for personal use) here is a list of some popular programs: flac.sourceforge.net/download.html
I use Switch, which is a MAC file converter which is really simple to use. If anybody could recommend a good one for PC users that would be great. Save people new to this trying a bad one first.
Also you might see a .MD5 file in some torrents, this is not an audio file. MD5 data is most commonly distributed as separate .md5 files alongside the main file download files and can be used to check whether the download was complete and whether the data remained uncorrupted during the download process. You won't need to convert this.
So now you've got everything you need how does the process work?
1. Download the torrent file you want.
2. Open your torrent client and find the torrent file.
3. It will then prompt you where you would like to download the torrent files to on your hardrive. (Basically the actual audio files).
4. Then just sit and wait while to downloads. The speed depends on the people you are downloading from and also your internet speed. It could take 2-3 hours or sometimes a few days, it really depends.
5. Once you have the files and your download is completed, make sure you keep sharing till your share ratio is the same as the amount you downloaded (you'll see a column for this in your client).
6. Once you are finished sharing you can delete the torrent file.
Any questions about this or any trouble you might have post them in this thread. Somebody here will be able to help out.
If you've made it this far and ff this seems like alot of work, we have some great members offering B & P's of the recordings, check out those threads and it explains the process.
Something else that might be helpful is if some traders want to post the process, programs etc they use to download and burn to CD.