Old newbie

[Cat Daddy]

Not sure if I want to venture into another realm or not! Here goes. Will my pretty much basic home pc download video and audio (dvd's) or do I need an Alienware computer. I have never downloaded music/video from any source so I'm totally lost here as far as what I need to do this.
I would like to be able to download and burn dvd's but I don't know what I need as far as equipment/software are concerned.

[daddyray]

CD you should be able to download utorrent or something like that and be ready to roll....then you can enjoy the early confuseMENT of trying to translate the files you download into workable stuff. Check the FAQ which is pretty good (although I think it is a bit for those in the know)......If I can manage it it cannot be hard to do.

[U2Lynne]

The DVDs you get from here should all be ready to be burned. You will need a burner than can burn DVDs and you will need a program to burn them with (you don't just drag/drop the files and burn). Most of this is covered in the FAQ. You can also just play the files on your PC using a DVD Player application or get VLC from videolan.org.

[Cat Daddy]

I'll give it a shot. Never even tried it before, just trying to pick up some basic info before I blow the old Dell up. Glad you showed up. We are all in this together somehow. IOU2

[Cat Daddy]

Thank you U2 and daddyrayoll,

Most helpful, I'll study up. More worried about the hardware than the mentalware & software. daddyrayoll keep diggin' man'.

[peaktime]

imgburn is great for burning and free

what are the specs of your pc? go to control panel, then system, then general

[daddyray]

daddies are always digging, you dig? :)

[dcbullet]

Not sure if I want to venture into another realm or not! Here goes. Will my pretty much basic home pc download video and audio (dvd's) or do I need an Alienware computer. I have never downloaded music/video from any source so I'm totally lost here as far as what I need to do this.
I would like to be able to download and burn dvd's but I don't know what I need as far as equipment/software are concerned.

So you came here for the political forum but you're staying for the music? :lol4:

Right on! :thumbsup

[Cat Daddy]

Actually I came for the music first. To trade/B&P because I never ventured into downloading. The political forum and all other forums are icing on the cake.

[Cat Daddy]

Specs for my aging Dell.

1 Gig ram
40 Gig harddrive
P4
Win XP Home Ed. (2002 ver) w/ Ser Pak 3
DVD drive/player (Power DVD for playback)
CD-r-rw drive
Pain in the A-- I still have dial up, Yes dial up!
Fast enough if you're looking up recipes.
From the research that I've already done I'm screwed I think.

[daddyray]

you need a new used computer...go to the lounge (and yes I am sorry to suggest it).


ditch the dial up...move if you have to but ditch that crap.

[U2Lynne]

I don't think your computer will burn DVDs. But, some people like to just download them and watch them for a bit and then not archive them. If you download one you really really like and want to keep around, you can always post in the thread and ask if someone is willing to B&P it for you.

However, the dial-up is gonna be the real problem. I can't imagine downloading a 4GB DVD on dial-up. That sounds really, really painful.

[Cat Daddy]

I knew that the dial up would be a major problem. I'm have been looking into high speed offers lately and I can actually get high speed for not much more per month than the dial up. I just haven't pursued it.
Maybe check into a new computer as well, this old one has been a loyal and trouble free pc for 6-7 years. New toys for christmas maybe. Maybe the fat man will drop some down the chimney.

Thanx all.

[dcbullet]

Yeah, you need high speed to do torrenting.

[paddington]

Your computer is fine for everything we do here.. downloading, uploading, ripping, etc.. EXCEPT you'd need a DVD burner if you want to burn movies. They are $30 at Newegg.com.

The only real weak point of your computer is the 40GB hardrive. If you run it fairly lean and clean, that's plenty to download a few shows to burn, but you'll run out of space very quickly. A new 1TB hard drive is about $100. You could simply add it on as storgae and keep your OS and programs on the 40GB drive you have.

If you do not have Serial ATA drive controllers on your motherboard (SATA), you'll need to get an IDE drive (Parallell ATA or PATA) instead... yo ucan get a 500GB drive for $70 or so..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010150014%201035907789&name=IDE%20Ultra%20ATA100



alternately, you could grab just about any USB External drive and put stuff on that instead. Here is a 1TB external that doesn't require a separate power cord and is pretty small, too:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148505


of course, you still won't be able to run torrents in less than a week's time if you don't get DSL or Cable broadband access...

so..
1) get broadband.
2) clean off your 40GB drive to free space
3) get an additional hard drive for storage
4) grab a DVD burner if you want to burn movies.

[Cat Daddy]

All that you mention here are good viable options. I'll consider everything before I decide. The high speed will be first of course.

Thanks jameskg, most informative.

[stoner]

All true, I would only try music torrents on your current PC. You'll get frustrated quickly doing anything with video. You've got some work to do if you want video. If you do ask Santa for a new machine, a laptop may survive the chimney fall better than a desktop.

[paddington]

All that you mention here are good viable options. I'll consider everything before I decide. The high speed will be first of course.

Thanks jameskg, most informative.


no sweat, man.. good luck

[drkhollow]

jameskg and his assessment are correct; I too am a fossil reliving the past thru all these fine lossless sites and use a old dell of the kids and have amassed quite a nice/sweet collection--upgrade cat daddy!

[Cat Daddy]

Slowly but surely I'll get my ducks in a row. Everyone has been most helpful and the knowledge of what I need is what I needed the most.
I'll probably have high speed in a few weeks then I'll pounce on the hardware end.


Thanks to all.

[peaktime]

All true, I would only try music torrents on your current PC. You'll get frustrated quickly doing anything with video. You've got some work to do if you want video. If you do ask Santa for a new machine, a laptop may survive the chimney fall better than a desktop.

I disagree, his current PC is powerful enough to watch and burn standard definition dvds. Of course he'll need a dvd burner to burn dvds, broadband to dl them, and more hard drive space is recommended, but a Pentium 4 and 1.0 GB of RAM is fine for SD video. If he ever wants to watch high definition video (720, 1080) on his PC, then he'll probably need a new machine, or at least a better video card. Good luck Cat Daddy. :wave:

[Cat Daddy]

Progress report.
I took the plunge!
Step # 1 should be completed on Monday. I'm having high speed installed. A dedicated wall outlet installed and all that. So simple even a caveman could do it. Making a wish list of tech toys for the fat man. I will need to leave him extra milk & cookies for sure.
Still perusing the faqs and gathering info. TTD has the best faqs & info anywhere. A treasure trove. Kudos to the Administrators/Moderators/members.

Special thanks to the epitome of cool "daddyrayoll", you know what I'm talking about.

[daddyray]

if you only knew if you only knew :disbelief