Please note that if you choose to burn this music to an audio CD that you should always keep backups of the ORIGINAL lossless files, exactly as you recieved them. There are errors that can occur during CD burning and ripping which alter the audio. To keep the music as pure as possible always keep a data CD, data DVD, or backup hard drive with the original files and md5/ffp checksums for trading. Burn to audio CD, compress to lossy formats, etc only for personal use. Never trade or give to someone else CDs burned from lossless files or files compressed to lossy formats as it pollutes the trading pool.

Here's a lost of some of the more popular ways that traders play back their lossless audio files.

What is a vine?

The Seeder:

Seeding a Vine:

The Process:

Vine Rules:

Breaking Vines / Vine Killers:

• You should wait until the torrent has pretty much dwindled away on the other site. 10 seeders on one site is better than 2 on several other sites. Except if....
• Some seeders just don't have enough bandwidth to share the show on several sites at once, but they really want it shared. Sometimes they say this in their text file, sometimes a quick PM to them asking for permission to share it immediately on another site will get you permission or get you a polite reply to wait a week or so.
• You should try to give credit to the original uploader and site, if you know them. Sometimes, when you download from another site, it is a show that has already made it's rounds and you don't really know who the originator is, but sometimes the person is the taper or original converter and they state it and so you should try to give credit to them.
• The site rules here still apply to anything that is uploaded. So, it may be a great show, but if it doesn't meet the policy here, then it should not be uploaded here.
• Shntool md5s may need to be made and added to the show, but keep the original standard md5s in the torrent also.
• The show must be shared in it's original form with the original checksums/fingerprints! So, a lineage of flac (from other site) > CD > EAC > wav > flac is NOT allowed! UNLESS....
  • You are now converting the show to a better lossless codec. In that case, you should include the shntool md5s of the original files (not standard wholefile md5s) and you include the shntool md5s or fingerprints of the converted file (so we can see they are the same as before)
  • The show had SBEs and you are correcting them. Lineage should indicate this
  • The show is being remastered. Some remastering notes should be included and the lineage should indicate the remastering (it's also polite to ask the taper, if known, if he minds his show being remastered).

Here are some of the file types you will find on this site and some information about each.

• Free Lossless Audio Codec (.flac)
  The Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC for short) is currently the preferred format for trading lossless audio shows amongst many members of the community. It has many superior features including good compression ratio, native support for Vorbis tagging, a fingerprinting feature which causes files to be unusable if they become corrupted, increasing support amongst standalone media players, and is supported by a dedicated group of open source developers.

  A feature that sets FLAC apart from all other major lossless formats is it's ability to self-test itself. Basically, any FLAC file stores an md5 checksum of the audio content contained within the file (also called the FLAC Fingerprint) within the header of the file itself. By using FLAC's "test" function, you are able to run the check on the audio, compare it to the fingerprint stored when the file was encoded, and confirm that they are the same. This is extremely useful when trading files through BitTorrent as it will confirm that the files you were downloaded completely and without being corrupted. You should run a "test" on every batch of files after every time they are transferred, especially over BitTorrent.

• Monkey's Audio Lossless (.ape)
  Monkey's Audio (which uses the .ape extension) is a file format that has recently rivaled FLAC for the top seat in the lossless file format arena. It provides superior file compression (on the highest setting it can compres files 10% smaller even than FLAC), has support for a robust system of file tagging, and is distributed through a very straight-forward and simple software frontend. For straight file archiving, the ape is king, allowing the best bang for your media storage buck.

  Ape's main disadvantage to FLAC is it's lack of an inherent fingerprinting check. Also, this format is much more processor intensive than it's main competitor, and playing back or decompressing the files may drag some middle-range computers to a halt. While it's the least used of the three lossless formats used at this site, it has a well-deserved following of devotees and is becoming more popular every month.

• Shorten (.shn)
  The older and most well established of the three formats used at this site is called Shorten (.shn). Originally named for it's revolutionary concept of "shortening" the length of PCM wav data, this format is very well supported and widely used. The praise of the Shorten codec, however, is no longer lavished by many of today's technically adept lossless traders. Newer and more robust formats such as FLAC and APE have surpassed SHN in every possible category.

  This disadvantages to these newer formats that Shorten is faced with runs the gamut from larger filesize, to lack of native seekability in media players, to no file tagging support, to an overly restrictive licensing agreement. The SHN format has embedded itself well within the archives of many longtime traders, but is doomed to slowly but surely start fading out. Very few people remain who use this for new seeds, and an increasing number of older seeds are being converted over.

If you have a question as to why a certain rule exists or are unsure if your seed complies, please feel free to post in Technobabble. If you have questions regarding this FAQ and wish to discuss them in a language other than english, please post in our multilingual forum, Babylon.

2. Create a "parent" folder for your DVD seed.
Put enough information in the folder title so that someone can easily tell what is in there. Something like 'band YYYY-MM-DD source'. You want people to easily be able to find a show they are looking for on their hard drive. Simply putting the band name for the folder title doesn't tell them much about the contents of the folder. Good examples: "JJohnson2003-07-11DVD" or "pinkfloyd2006-03-10DVDNTSC". Bad Examples: "Live Floyd" or "U2 Los Angeles".

Do NOT use any of the following characters in your folder name or filenames: ? [ ] / \ = + < > : ; " ,

3. Insert your DVD into your drive and copy it onto your hard drive.
Copy the VIDEO_TS folder (and any other contents such as the AUDIO_TS folder, if present) into the parent folder you just created. Just drag and drop these folders - do NOT use an application such as DVD Decryptor to copy the contents. The only DVD format that will be accepted is a properly laid out VIDEO_TS folder which you should put into the parent folder. DVD Image files (.iso, .bin, etc.) are NOT accepted.

4. Create a wholefile md5 checksum for the VIDEO_TS folder.
To help track different versions and ensure that future traders can verify they have error-free versions of DVDs seeded here, we are requiring wholefile md5 checksums of just the contents of the VIDEO_TS folder.

How to make md5 checksums

If you choose the "create data dvd" option of your burning software and add the AUDIO_TS, VIDEO_TS, & EXTRAS_TS folders individually (folder names should be in ALL CAPS), you will create a watchable data disc (plays on most DVD players). Anytime you copy the disc in the future, the text, md5, etc will go forward on the disc.

More advanced fingerprint information for the perfectionist

In addition to the set information, you will need to gather the following statistics about your DVD seed: Audio Bitrate, Audio Codec, Video Bitrate, Video System. Many programs will give you this information, but here's a few links to help out.

You may use this sample text file as a template.

How to get Video Stats for your DVD

7. Include any artwork scans, pdf files, ticket stub images, other extras.
This is not required, but any additional goodies that can be included are nice. Any extra files should be placed inside the EXTRAS_TS folder for your DVD.

Please view the screen capture below for a proper folder layout.

8. Double check that everything is done correctly and that all text files have been saved and closed before proceeding.
Before you create your .torrent file, you must make sure that everything has been done correctly including a VIDEO_TS folder, and md5 checksum of the VIDEO_TS folder, a complete text info file, and any additional artwork scans or goodies you want to include. If you change anything after this step, it will cause the .torrent file to be inaccurate and peers will be unable to complete the download. The most common error is altering the text file after the creation of the .torrent file, which will cause all peers to hang at 99.9% complete. Once you've double checked everything, be sure to save and close all the files associated with your seed and move on to the next step.

9. Create a .torrent file.
The announce URL for your .torrent will be:
http://www.thetradersden.org/forums/tracker/announce.php

Please make sure to insert this URL exactly as it appears above. A mistake that seems to be a common one is accidentally including a space at the end from copying and pasting it from other places. Please make sure that you include only this 56-digit URL.

There are several programs that will do this, and all of them will work well. Please note that some users have noted problems uploading torrents to this site when using TorrentSpy to create the torrent file.

10. Create a new announce thread and upload the torrent.
To simplify this step, we have created a specialized upload page that will both put your .torrent file on the tracker and create a properly formatted announce thread. To access the upload page, simply browse to the Video BitTorrent Forum and press the "Upload Show" button in the top left corner. Or, you can get to this page from the navbar - Torrents > Upload DVD Video Show. This will direct you to the upload page. Simply fill out the appropriate fields. Be sure to include the md5 checksum of the VIDEO_TS folder in the requested box. When the information has been filled in, scroll to the bottom of the page and press the "Manage Attachments" button. This will open a window where you can browse to the .torrent file you wish to upload. Press "Upload" when done, close the attachment window, and press "Submit New Thread". Your .torrent file is now active on the tracker and your announce thread created. Your thread should look something like this (click to enlarge).

11. Begin seeding.
VERY IMPORTANT: download the torrent file from the thread! It gets personalized upon download. Your original torrent file will give you tracker errors. Now open the .torrent file with your BitTorrent client of choice. After it checks the files, your client will register itself as a seed with the tracker. If your client supports "super-seed" mode, you will want to enable that. Though it's not required, this mode will help you distribute the torrent faster by lowering the amount of redundant uploads. If you don't use it, plan on the upload taking about 25% longer.

12. Check that The Traders' Den registers you as a seeder.
Once the torrent is showing one seed, you know everything is well. Sit back and watch the peers drop by. Remember to support your seed at least until there are a handful of other seeds active.

Thank you for seeding and supporting The Traders' Den community.

If you have a question as to why a certain rule exists or are unsure if your seed complies, please feel free to post in Technobabble. If you have questions regarding this FAQ and wish to discuss them in a language other than english, please post in our multilingual forum, Babylon.

2. Create a folder to contain all your files.
Put enought information in the folder title so that someone can easily tell what is in there. Something like 'band YYYY-MM-DD source'. You want people to easily be able to find a show they are looking for on their hard drive. Simply putting the band name for the folder title doesn't tell them much about the contents of the folder. Good examples: "Jpinkfloyd2006-03-10flac" or "pinkfloyd2006-03-10flac16" - the "16" meaning it was recorded in 16bit. Bad Examples: "Live Floyd" or "U2 Los Angeles".

Do NOT use any of the following characters in your folder name or filenames: ? [ ] / \ = + < > : ; " ,

3. If the music is from audio CD, rip it and compress to a lossless audio format.
If you are ripping audio from a lossless-sourced and digitally clean CDR or, preferrably, from an original silver CD, you must properly extract the audio data using an error-correcting CD ripper.

How do I extract audio data from an audio CD

Once you have accurately extraced the audio data from your CD, compress to FLAC or APE format (SHN is not recommended for new seeds) and move on to step 3.

4. Create a text file.
This text file must include all of the required information for your seed as specified in the seeding policy. This includes band name, venue/city, bootleg title, appropriate dates, lineage, and a complete numbered track list at a minimum. Band members, reviews, or additional notes are a nice touch, so if you have that information, please include it. Note that it is not necessary to include any ffp or md5 checksums in the text file as you will create that in step 4 and past it into a special window when creating your new thread.

5. Create an appropriate checksum.
For FLAC seeds, a FLAC fingerprint at mimimum is required. For SHN and APE seeds, an st5 checksum (also called shntool md5) is required. If your seed includes a traditional wholefile md5 file, it's OK to include it, but you'll need to also post st5 checksums or FLAC Fingerprints in the checksum box when you create your seed. See the Checksum Types FAQ for an explanation of the different checksum types.

6. Include any artwork scans, pdf files, ticket stub images, other extras.
This is not required, but is always a nice touch for your seeds to include any extra goodies that would be appropriate with your seed.

7. Double check that everything is done correctly and that all text files have been saved and closed before proceeding.
Before you create your .torrent file, you must make sure that everything has been done correctly including checksum files, images, file names, and a correct text file. If you change anything after this step, it will cause the .torrent file to be inaccurate and peers will be unable to complete the download. The most common error is altering the text file after the creation of the .torrent file, which will cause all peers to hang at 99.9% complete. Once you've double checked everything, be sure to save and close all the files associated with your seed and move to step 7.

8. Create a .torrent file.
The announce URL for your .torrent will be:
http://www.thetradersden.org/forums/tracker/announce.php

Please make sure to insert this URL exactly as it appears above. A mistake that seems to be a common one is accidentally including a space at the end from copying and pasting it from other places. Please make sure that you include only this 56-digit URL.

There are several programs that will do this, and all of them will work well. Use what you're comfortable with, but if you're new at this, here's a guide in our FAQ:

How do I create a torrent? (using Azureus which works on PC, Mac, and Linux).

Please note that some users have noted problems uploading torrents to this site when using TorrentSpy to create the torrent file.

9. Create a new announce thread and upload the torrent.
To simplify this step, we have created a specialized upload page that will both put your .torrent file on the tracker and create a properly formatted announce thread. To access the upload page, simply browse to the Audio BitTorrent Forum and press the "Upload Show" button in the top left corner. Or, you can get to this page from the navbar - Torrents > Upload DVD Video Show.This will direct you to the upload page. Simply fill out the appropriate fields. Be sure to include the checksum results in the appropriate box, preferrably the shntool md5 or FLAC fingerprint. When the information has been filled in, scroll to the bottom of the page and press the "Manage Attachments" button. This will open a window where you can browse to the .torrent file you wish to upload. Press "Upload" when done, close the attachment window, and press "Submit New Thread". Your .torrent file is now active on the tracker and your announce thread created.

10. Begin seeding.
Download the .torrent file from the thread - it gets personalized upon download. Then open the .torrent file with your BitTorrent client of choice. After it checks the files, your client will register itself as a seed with the tracker. If you client supports "super-seed" mode, you may want to enable that. Though it's not required, this mode will help you distribute the torrent faster by lowering the amount of redundant uploads. If you don't use it, plan on the upload taking about 25% longer.

11. Check that The Traders' Den registers you as a seeder.
Once the torrent is showing one seed, you know everything is well. Sit back and watch the peers drop by. Remember to support your seed at least until there are a handful of other seeds active.

Thank you for seeding and supporting The Traders' Den community.

Each of these three terms represent different employments of the md5 checksum algorithm. It has the ability to reduce any file to a single 128-bit number which is unique to that file. Most audio and video trading websites require the generation of checksums for any files as it has the ability to compare two files and determine if they are identical. If your file matches the checksum of the original file, you can confirm that it has not been altered in any way (intentionally or unintentionally) or corrupted during download. Verifying checksums every time a file is transferred is an essential step in the trading of lossless music.

For the more mathematically adept users, here's an actual description of RFC 1321 - The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm.

If you were brave enough to muddle through the second link posted above, you will have discovered that the output from running an md5 check is a single 128-bit number. To make it easier to read, many programs that run the md5 algorithm will actually output an equivalent 32-digit hexadecimal number which has the same binary result as the original 128-bit would have. This makes reading it simpler using only 16 alpha-numeric characters (0-9, a-f). The result will look something like this (this is an shntool md5, .st5, which is what is desired at TTD):

cb8a42007fe797435826a76cb527be01 [shntool] sample2007-04-15t01.flac
25eb2520a33ed2b88edf41f5d6f09505 [shntool] sample2007-04-15t02.flac
fbfced772c4d478f57072ffe9aeb2a69 [shntool] sample2007-04-15t03.flac

Each line contains the 32-digit hex-coded checksum, followed by the filename of the file it was run on. This 32-digit checksum is what most computer users are likely to see as the end result of a checksum calculation.

A great guide about the various types of checksums and how to use them and make them may be found here: Checksums Demystified.

• Shntool md5 Checksums (.st5) - WE WANT THESE!

  Shntool, a command line utility, is probably the most functional yet mysteriously underused lossless trading tool. Perhaps intimidated by the lack of frontend support, many people are reluctant to devote the time required to learn to use this fantastic tool. It has numerious features, including the ability to generate what's known as an shntool md5.

  The shntool md5 performs the same function as the FLAC fingerprint discussed in the previous comment, but has the ability to perform it on any lossless file format. Since it only takes an md5 of the audio data contained within the file, shntool md5s are useful for validating recordings that may have been retagged, recompressed, or even converted between different lossless formats. As long as the audio data is identical, the shntool md5 will verify; this is truly the ideal method of audio file verification.

  Inclusion of the shntool md5 into notes for original seeds is highly recommended, as it will help users confirm that they have clean filesets across many platforms and filetypes.
  

  cb8a42007fe797435826a76cb527be01 [shntool] sample2007-04-15t01.flac
25eb2520a33ed2b88edf41f5d6f09505 [shntool] sample2007-04-15t02.flac
fbfced772c4d478f57072ffe9aeb2a69 [shntool] sample2007-04-15t03.flac

  
  Notice the 32-digit number is the same as the fingerprint 32-digit number in the flac fingerprints above.

• FLAC Fingerprints (.ffp)

  As an alternative to the wholefile md5 scheme required for .shn files, a newer format called the Free Lossless Audio Codec addressed this issue by making an md5 check of just the audio data contained within the file an inherent part of the file's structure. This elegant concept adds a short segment to the header of the FLAC file itself which contains an md5 of the original uncompressed PCM .wav data. This value is called the "fingerprint", a fitting title as it only validates the audio, not the extra data appended to the file. Using the FLAC fingerprint method, users could add or remove tags or change the compression setting and not change the actual audio contained within. Since the fingerprint only checks audio data, traders could change these values at will and they will still verify as identical to the original.

  .flac gained rapid support of lossless traders over .shn for several other reasons. First, the filetype is both seekable and seamless, meaning no seek table data had to be appended to the file to use it in your favorite media player. It also contains a check during decoding that actually performs a check of the stored fingerprint value to what's actually inside the file, and if they don't match, the file will not decode. This double-checking ensures that files corrupted during transfer are unusable and therefore the error will not be passed on.

  FLAC's use of the fingerprint allows users much more versatility while still maintaining the same core functionality : verifiying that the audio in your files has not altered since it was seeded. Of course, a user may still use wholefile md5 checks on .flac files if they see fit, but this is a practice performed out of ignorance rather than functionality. Using FLAC's fingerprinting is much more useful than wholefile md5 checking, and should be used 100% of the time.
  

  sample2007-04-15t01.flac:cb8a42007fe797435826a76cb527be01
sample2007-04-15t02.flac:25eb2520a33ed2b88edf41f5d6f09505
sample2007-04-15t03.flac:fbfced772c4d478f57072ffe9aeb2a69

  
  Notice the file name is at the front of each line.

• Wholefile md5 Checksums (.md5) - not desired!

  Note: Wholefile md5 checksums are the type generated by programs such as mdsum, mkwact, and others. Please read on to understand why these are forbidden as the primary form of file verificaton at The Traders' Den.

  The most rudimentary form of md5 fingerprinting is to run the algorithm on an entire file. By comparing two md5 checksum values, one will be able to confirm that the files that generated the values are the same. In the early days of lossless file trading on the internet, this was used to track recordings encoded to the Shorten (.shn) file format. This very effective method of ensuring that all files remain identical from user to user is still popular today. However, there are some fundamental weaknesses to this method, many that have arisen with the advent of .flac and .ape lossless audio formats as the preferred trading format of many users. Both of these newer formats permit the use of file tags so that a user can add artist, date, venue, source, or any other information they want to the file's header for display in their preferred media player. While adding or removing these tags doesn't change the audio at all, it does alter the file to include the additional header data, and therefore changes the file's checksum. Two files would thus appear different in a checksum comparison while being acoustically identical.

  Furthermore, there is certain additional data that can be stored in .wav files that .shn and .ape allow to remain during compression, but which .flac sees as unecessary and potentially harmful to your system and thus removes it. Again, it would be possible to convert from .shn to .flac and back and have two acoustically identical files result in different wholefile md5 checksum values.

  Yet another weakness to relying on wholefile md5 checksums is the need to use seek tables in .shn files. The earliest version of Shorten's codec did not allow for the files to be seekable during playback. As a "band-aid" for this oversight, they allowed for the addition of a seek table that would be appended to the file to provide the necessary information to make the file seekable. The problem, again, is that by adding this information a user changed the file but not the audio. This problem has been further compounded by the recent addition of alternate versions of seek tables, so that even files with seek tables can contain one of a few versions and thus have differing md5 checksum results while being musically identical.

  Wholefile md5 is an effective method of comparing files, but has been made somewhat obsolete by the more versatile methods of audio file verification listed below.
  

  9c3bdb0b13e9822ff65599d6b331f775 *sample2007-04-15t01.flac
10fdca5fd9ddf55a1d21dc70d658d89c *sample2007-04-15t02.flac
544c32693e4766f08f82a3781b96da20 *sample2007-04-15t03.flac

  
  Notice the asterisk, *, in each line and how the 32-digit number is not the same as the fingerprint or shntool md5 above.

To maintain the highest quality and purity for the trading pool, we have compiled a list of rules for making good seeds. Please read this list carefully before seeding here as our rules are likely the most stringent you'll find on any music sharing tracker. Each of these regulations are absolutely mandatory, and seeds that do not comply will be deleted from the tracker. Some rules will seem overbearing to some users, but these regulations are in place to ensure that we only spread recordings in "as good as it gets" quality so that all traders have equal opportunity to obtain the same music. If you have a question as to why a certain rule exists or are unsure if your seed complies, please feel free to contact The Video Mods or post in Technobabble. If you have questions regarding this FAQ and wish to discuss them in a language other than english, please post in our multilingual forum, Babylon.

1. All seeds must be authored DVD-Video file structures.
In keeping with our dedication to helping keep seeds in the highest possible quality given current technology, we have decided to limit all video seeds to DVD-Video only. To make the files easily burnable on all systems, your seed must not employ DVD-Image files such as .iso, bin/cue, etc. Also, do not compress the authored video files to .zip, .rar, or other similar archive formats as it will not make the filesize any smaller but will cause unnecessary confusion.

2. No official or out-of-print material is permitted.
To keep our site legal, we do not permit any official or out-of-print material to be seeded here. If your seed contains a television broadcast, check with the TV station's website to make sure that the item is not available for direct sale before seeding. Oftentimes there is a message at the conclusion of a broadcast stating that you may buy a copy of the program you just watched. If this is the case, the material is not allowed for seeding at The Traders' Den. Also note that unofficial video that has been overdubbed with official audio releases is not permitted. Though they were never sold, promos containing official audio are not allowed here.

3. All seeds must have a properly named DVD file structure, including an appropriately named main folder and a VIDEO_TS subfolder.
The correct file structure for a DVD seed is to have a main "parent" folder which will be named appropriately to indicate the respective seed. Inside this parent folder will be the VIDEO_TS folder (must be in ALL CAPS), authored so that it can be directly burned to a DVD-Video disc with any DVD burning suite. Also within this 'parent' folder, you must include the md5 and text file. You can also include artwork or any other files you wish to distribute with the seed. These additional files MUST NOT be placed inside the VIDEO_TS folder. Please see the screen capture below for a properly layed out DVD seed file structure.

4. All seeds must contain a correct md5 checksum of the contents of the VIDEO_TS folder.
We are making an effort to not only increase the overall quality of the trade pool, but also to help create a system by which sources can be tracked and certain versions verified. For this reason, we will archive the .md5 checksum results of just the VIDEO_TS folder so that a future trader can confirm they have the exact version, with errors, that was originally seeded. This is not for verifying a complete download as BitTorrent will inherently perform md5 checking before reporting 100% completion (though it can be used as a double-check) but rather to provide verification options to future traders of material torrented here.

Until we get something written in this FAQ, here is a short method written by feralicious:

Good applications to use to create checksums include Trader's Little Helper (PC), www.md5summer.org (PC), and xACT (Mac). Please do NOT use Easy MD5 Creator as it creates non-standard md5 checksums. Other applications you may use are listed in the Freeware Software Links. Look Inside If You're Stuck! FAQ.

5. All torrents must consist of a complete set, no partials will be permitted.
To eliminate confusion, all torrents uploaded must be as a complete set. This includes multi-DVD sets. This is to avoid confusion and to help people not have to check back repeatedly to find the rest of a DVD set. If you are issuing a reauthor or a DVD with new menus added, you must seed the complete set so that anyone can hop on and download it without having to search through back (possibly inactive) torrents to find the remainder of the material. If your post is not a complete seed, it will be removed and you will be asked to seed a complete set.

If you are concerned that your torrent is large and will take a long time to be shared amongst the community, consider this option. Make a few copies of your show you would like to seed, mail them to several other people (approximately $1-2 per copy), and have them help co-seed the show with you. This not only allows you to get your show out to others more quickly, but it also saves bandwidth, especially if your ISP tightly regulates how much upload you are allowed per month.

6. All seeds must contain a complete and accurate lineage.
This is extremely important. Any seed without complete lineage included will be deleted from our tracker. Any seed with inaccurate lineage will be deleted from our tracker. If you are ripping video from a VHS tape please ensure that it is a low analog generation source and include all information as to how the video was transferred including your hardware and software configuration. We prefer to have fully authored DVDs with logical chapter breaks when appropriate.

Also, ANY TV Broadcast or AUD recorded video from 2005 on MUST have COMPLETE & ACCURATE lineage!! There is NO EXCUSE for a show recorded in the last couple years to NOT have this.

We would honestly not like any shows on here that do not have complete & accurate lineage, however we understand its not likely to track down the taper/transfer/author for a show from 10-20 yrs ago (this is why there are examples of lineage listed above).

If you got a show from this point on in a trade, please do some research on it to get all the information available on it before seeding.

You either know the information or you don't (ie, you did the transfer/authoring work from the VHS or you didnt). If you don't know the information because you received a dvd via trade or downloaded it from another site where the capture/transfer info was not provided, then the lineage would read something like one of these:

- For a SA (StandAlone) DVD (does not have correct chapter marks, usually 5 min chapters):
• Video: Tv > (Master, 1st Gen, Low, Med, High Gen)* VHS > SA > DVD
• Video: AUD (Tripod or Hand Held)* > (Master, 1st Gen, Low, Med, or High Gen)* VHS > SA > DVD

- An authored DVD (At least has correct chapter points, but may have menu's):
• Video: Tv > (Master, 1st Gen, Low, Med, High Gen)* VHS > ? Transfer > ? Author > DVD
• Video: AUD (Tripod or Hand Held)* > (Master, 1st Gen, Low, Med, or High Gen)* VHS > ? Transfer > ? Author > DVD

*Pick one

Look at what you have. Picture quality wise, what does it look like (master, 1-2 Gen, High Gen VHS)? Is it authored or a SA (Standalone)? If you can't tell the difference in quality from a Master & other Gens of tapes, I'm truly sorry. Generation's of the copies of the actual dvd are misleading BS, period.

Some examples of correct lineage:

Example 1:

Example 2:

Example 3:

Example of Incorrect Lineage:

Lineage for Silver DVDs:

Silver DVDs are allowed if they meet the following considerations. If a known lineage source already exists on the tracker, Silver DVDs may NOT be seeded. Remasters of Silver DVDs must include source information for adjustments and be an improvement from ac3 to LPCM. Improvements within audio codec will NOT be allowed without previous approval based on undeniable proof.

Proper lineage would look something like:

or the following Silver DVD with remastering.

7. All seeds must include the video system (NTSC or PAL), audio codec and bitrate information in the info file.
NTSC and PAL designation is important, and must be included. Additionally, we require the audio and video codec information. Audio is usually .ac3 (Dolby Digital) mp1, mp2, mp3, or PCM. Ideally, 1hr 5 min worth of footage on a single layer to have room for LPCM audio. Maximum StandAlone transfer would be 2 hours on a single layer. We request that, along with designating the video system, you include the following statistics:

• Video bitrate
• Audio codec
• Audio bitrate
• Frame rate
• Disc Time in 00:00:00 [(hrs, min, sec) Individual times must be included for compilations]

See our FAQ, How to get Video Stats for your DVD for help in obtaining this information.

To see what this information tells us, please read "How can I use the Lineage provided with DVDs to my advantage?"

8. Digital cable and satellite broadcast rips are permitted so long as a complete listing of the software and hardware used to make the rip is listed. No video webcasts are allowed.
Webcast videos captured to DVDs are not permitted at this site as the video quality of webcasts is currently not up to a reasonable standard. Digital TV broadcast captures are permitted, as long as the lineage is provided. The optimal way to capture is through a DVB Card in your computer with no standalone in the lineage, however, we will allow standalone DVD recordings because the use of DVB cards (and similar) isn't yet widespread enough amongst video tapers.

9. Only DVDs produced from MPEG-2 may be seeded here.
No DVDs will be allowed to be seeded here which were sourced from lesser quality video (ie. VCD/CVD/SVCD/DivX/xvid/ASF/wmv//mp4/etc converted to DVD). Converting a lesser quality video to DVD does not make the quality of the video any better, and is therefore pointless. It is equivilent to creating a flac fileset from mp3s simply because the flac format came around and is better than all others. We also do not allow video's shot with digital camera's, cell phone's, or any other device that is not made or meant for recording video. None of the above mentioned video codecs are up to par with The Trader's Den Video BT Seeding Guidelines, and therefore, will not be allowed on the tracker.

10. No Transcoded or Re-Encoded DVDs are allowed.
We do not allow any DVDs to be seeded that have been recompressed in any way. This includes any DVD9>DVD5 or PAL>NTSC or NTSC>PAL, MPEG-2 > remaster > MPEG-2. Please seed the DVDs in the original released form. The only exception here is if you received a DVD with no menus or chapters, then feel free to add a menu and chapter points (this MUST be done without RE-encoding the video), but please give credit to the original author, if known. Once you download the show, you may do what you want to it, but please only share the DVDs in their original released form.

We normally do NOT allow any sort of re-encoded video, however it has come to our attention that there are a very few number of shows that originated in PAL being rebroadcast in NTSC. We have decided to allow these ONLY if the following information is provided when the torrent is uploaded and plainly clear in the first post of the torrent thread (this is in addition to all other required information): rebroadcast date, rebroadcast country, rebroadcast channel. If this additional information is not clearly stated in the thread, the show will be pulled. NOTE: Due to a poor quality encode on the fly done by ConcertTV, we will not allow NTSC Rockpalast or any other broadcasts originating in PAL countries on this channel to be seeded.

modified 2008-05-15, modified rule 10 to say broadcasts captured from ConcertTV that originated in PAL countries are allowed. modified 2008-03-28, modified rule 6 to note about complete lineage being required for shows dated 2005 forward.
modified 2008-03-01, modified rule 9 to add bit about not allowing video from digital cameras, cell phones, etc.
modified 2008-02-16, modified rule 2 to explain our stand on promos and rule 10 to add in rule regarding rebroadcast PAL shows.

(For the DVD Video BitTorrent Seeding Policy please check here.)

This is in the works at the moment. If you have comments, post them in this thread - What about High Definition streams?

To maintain the highest quality and purity for the trading pool, we have compiled a list of rules for making good seeds. Please read this list carefully before seeding here as our rules are likely the most stringent you'll find on any music sharing tracker. Each of these regulations are absolutely mandatory, and seeds that do not comply will be deleted from the tracker. Some rules will seem overbearing to some users, but these regulations are in place to ensure that we only spread recordings in "as good as it gets" quality so that all traders have equal opportunity to obtain the same music. If you have a question as to why a certain rule exists or are unsure if your seed complies, please feel free to contact a Video Mod or post in the Technobabble Forum and ask.

1. No official or out-of-print material is permitted.
To keep our site legal, we do not permit any official or out-of-print material to be seeded here. If your seed contains a television broadcast, check with the TV station's website to make sure that the item is not available for direct sale before seeding. Often times there is a message at the conclusion of a broadcast stating that you may buy a copy of the program you just watched. If this is the case, the material is not allowed for seeding at The Traders' Den. Also note that unofficial video that has been overdubbed with official audio releases is not permitted. Though they were never sold, promos containing official audio are not allowed here.

2. Permitted file formats.

• High Definition Transport Stream (.ts) and Matroska container (.mkv) is preferred format for straight digital captures of HD TV broadcasts.
  • The file needs to be checked before uploading against discontinuity errors. If possible, please attach a log file from your capturing program or dedicated software. If possible, please attach a log file from your capturing program or dedicated software.
  • Unnecessary data, like doubled the same audio stream should be stripped to keep the file as small as possible. Commercials, and non music related contents must be cut out.
  • Please note that the Transport Stream format is not permitted for standard definition video (DVD), and high definition audience video.
  • The seeding policy concerning High Definition Transport Stream is subject to change when a quality consumer software for Blu-ray format authoring is available.
• Blu-ray (BR) must be fully authored with menu(s) and chapter marks, and ready to burn Blu-ray video.
  • It must have a properly named Blu-ray files and folders structure – see: http://www.videohelp.com/hd
  • Not permitted is rough not authored .m2ts file due it larger size than the transport stream (.ts) format.
  • Please check if your authoring software does not re-encode the stream, which is currently a case for Nero Vision, Ulead MovieFactory [perhaps others too, need to be checked]
• High definition audience video has to be in form of authored and ready to burn Blu-ray (BR) video only.

3. Not permitted file formats.

• Containers like HD DivX, .EVO, MP4, .TP, and Toshiba HD structured videos are not permitted on this site.
• Image files (.iso, .bin, etc.), and compressed files (.rar, .zip, etc.) are not accepted.

4. No Transcoded or Re-Encoded high definition videos are allowed.
We do not allow any high definition video to be seeded that have been recompressed in any way. This includes any:

• Blu-ray / (high or standard definition) .ts > Blu-ray / high definition .ts with lower bitrate and/or video frame size
• DVD, and standard definition AVI, DivX, MPEG1, MPEG2, .ts > Blu-ray / high definition .ts
• Blu-ray / high definition .ts > DVD

5. All seeds must contain a correct md5 checksum of the contents of the video folder.
We are making an effort to not only increase the overall quality of the trade pool, but also to help create a system by which sources can be tracked and certain versions verified. For this reason, we will archive the .md5 checksum results of just the video folder so that a future trader can confirm they have the exact version, with errors, that was originally seeded. This is not for verifying a complete download as BitTorrent will inherently perform md5 checking before reporting 100% completion (though it can be used as a double-check) but rather to provide verification options to future traders of material torrented here.

Until we get something written in this FAQ, here is a short method written by feralicious:

• Grab md5summer from www.md5summer.org
  
• Just open it up, navigate to the folder of your DVD and click on "create sums"
  
• Choose "select all" and then "add" and then "ok"
  
• Wait a while for it to do its thing
  
• When it's finished it will open up the "save" window, just make sure you save it with the .md5 extension and your good to go!

6. All torrents must consist of a complete set, no partials will be permitted.
To eliminate confusion, all torrents uploaded must be as a complete set. This includes multi-Blu-ray sets. This is to avoid confusion and to help people not have to check back repeatedly to find the rest of a Blu-ray set. If you are issuing a reauthor or a Blu-ray with new menus added, you must seed the complete set so that anyone can hop on and download it without having to search through back (possibly inactive) torrents to find the remainder of the material. If your post is not a complete seed, it will be removed and you will be asked to seed a complete set.

7. All seeds must contain a complete and accurate lineage, audio codec and bitrate information in the info file.
This is extremely important. Any seed without complete lineage included will be deleted from our tracker. Any seed with inaccurate lineage will be deleted from our tracker. Please ensure that all information is provided as to how the video was transferred including your hardware and software configuration. We prefer to have fully authored Blu-ray discs with logical chapter breaks.

ANY TV Broadcast or AUD recorded video from 2005 on MUST have COMPLETE & ACCURATE lineage!! There is NO EXCUSE for a show recorded in the last couple years to NOT have this.

• Video codec (MPEG2 HD, H.264 or VC-1)
• Video bitrate
• Audio codec (LPCM, AC3)
• Audio bitrate
• Frame rate
• Disc Time in 00:00:00 [(hrs, min, sec) Individual times must be included for compilations]

• Transport Stream:
  
  • Lineage: Astra HD+ > TT S2-3200 > DVB Viewer > H264TS_Cutter > .ts
    Video: h.264, 1920x1080p, 16:9, 12 Mbps average
    Audio: AC3 2.0 448 kbps
    
  • Scientific Atlanta HD cable box > Firewire Cable > Mac > VirtualDVHS [OS X] > .ts
    Video: MPEG2, 1920x1080p, 16:9, 11.5 Mbps average
    Audio AC3 5.1 384 kbps
    
• Blu-ray:
  
  • Lineage: Einsfestival HD > TT S2-3200 > DVB Viewer > H264TS_Cutter > eac3to (demux) > ArcSoft TotalMedia Extreme (authoring) > Blu-ray disc
    Video: h.264, 1280x720i, 16:9, 8.0 Mbps average
    Audio: AC3 2.0 256 kbps
    

To maintain the highest quality and purity for the trading pool, we have compiled a list of rules for making good seeds. Please read this list carefully before seeding here as our rules are likely the most stringent you'll find on any music sharing tracker. Each of these regulations are absolutely mandatory, and seeds that do not comply will be deleted from the tracker. Some rules will seem overbearing to some users, but these regulations are in place to ensure that we only spread recordings in "as good as it gets" quality so that all traders have equal opportunity to obtain the same music. If you have a question as to why a certain rule exists or are unsure if your seed complies, please feel free to post in Technobabble. If you have questions regarding this FAQ and wish to discuss them in a language other than english, please post in our multilingual forum, Babylon.

1. All seeds must be CD quality, lossless audio in FLAC, APE, or SHN format.
No seed that has been compressed to a lossy format at some point in the past will be accepted here. This includes mp3, ogg, aac, or any other lossy format. Also note that lossless filetypes other than FLAC, APE, and SHN are not permitted; this includes WAV, AIFF, ALC, MKW, Windows Lossless, Real Lossless, and any other lossless format.

2. All seeds must be digitally pure (no diginoise) gapless audio files.
Digital skipping or clicking noises are the result of incorrectly ripped or burned CDs, and are explicitly prohibited at this site. Please listen closely to your files before seeding to ensure they are digitally clean. Also, your files must play back gaplessly without any skips or hiccups between tracks. For live shows this is important and clips in the audience noise or song transitions are extremely irritating. 2-second gaps are often the result of incorrectly burned audio CDRs (using track-at-once mode), and are not allowed for seeding here. Also, shows that are not aligned properly to sector boundaries may have short (~1/75 of a second) clips of silence that interrupt the flow between tracks. Ensure that your files are perfectly seamless before seeding.

3. No official or out-of-print material is allowed.
To keep our site legal, we will strictly enforce this ban on officially released songs being included on any seed. This includes any out-of-print or deleted albums, alternate mixes of official music (ala Dr. Ebbett's) or compilations with officially released songs. It also includes audio ripped from an official DVD-Video regardless of whether that audio has ever been released on CD. The only exception to this rule is FM broadcasts where a portion of a song has been released as part of a release promo or studio interview. Note that FM broadcasts where a complete officially released song is played are not allowed on our tracker. Please remove any complete songs if you would still like to seed, and be sure to note in your info file what was removed so that traders can fill in the blank with the complete song from the official CD.

4. All torrents must contain a complete seed. Spanning a single set over multiple seeds is not permitted.
To eliminate confusion, all torrents uploaded must be as a complete set. This means that two disc sets must be seeded together. Reseeds must contain the complete material, not split across multiple seeds. If a certain "fixed" track is posted, the seed must contain the entire "fixed" set with the changed material included. If peers have already completed much of the set, then they can connect to the complete torrent and it will check the files that are already complete and only re-download the changed tracks. To keep the tracker clean and so that people don't have to continually check back for fixes or the completion of set, everything must be seeded as a complete torrent the first time. If you attempt to post single "fixed" tracks or multi-disc sets in parts, your thread will be removed and you will be asked to make a complete seed.

5. CDR rips of material available on Silver CD and rips of CDRs burned from previously downloaded lossless files are not permitted.
We at The Traders' Den are trying to promote purity in the trading pool. When dealing with a set that has been released on silver pressed CD, we require that the lossless files have been cleanly ripped from an original silver CD. To help ensure that everyone has equal access to pure versions, Silver CD > CDR > Lossless is not a legal lineage. On the same token, once a show has been ripped to lossless media format, burning to a CD and then re-extracting is an extraneous step that often-times results in errors. FLAC, APE, or SHN sets that circulate may not be burned to audio CD and then re-traded or re-seeded. In otherwords, nothing like flac > CDR > (extraction method > wav >) flac. Please archive and trade only the original lossless files or acoustically identical alternate formats (verify this with st5s - see the Checksum Types FAQ). CDR generations are bad for the trading pool, and unless all versions of the bootleg circulate only on CDR, it will not be permitted here.

6. If you rip an audio CD to lossless files, you must use an error correcting ripper.
Right now, the only programs permitted for ripping are Exact Audio Copy (EAC), dbpoweramp in Secure Mode, xACT, cdparanoia and PlexTools DAE. This is to ensure that the audio content of the lossless files perfectly matches that of your audio CD, and is not negotiable. Use one of these verifiable ripping programs or your seed will not be permitted.

We understand that some people may have older rips where the result logs may not have been included. In this case, please give your files a close listen to ensure that they are error-free before seeding. All new rips should contain result logs.

7. Audio ripped from an MPEG video or DVD is not permitted.
All digital video codecs use lossy audio compression schemes, and therefore audio extracted from an MPEG video or DVD is not permitted for seeding here. The exception to this rule is that DVDs which have been authored with uncompressed LPCM audio are allowed to have the audio stream extracted, compressed to a lossless format, and seeded. This rule does not apply to audio taken from VHS sources, which is permitted with the caveat that no cleaner or higher fidelity version circulates. Audio from VCD and SVCD sources is explicitly prohibited as it uses MPEG layer 2 compression, a less complex form of the shunned mp3 codec. Note that ac3 Dolby Digital audio is also lossy in comparison to the original uncompressed version, and is likewise prohibited for audio-only seeding at The Traders Den.

8. All seeds must include a complete and accurate lineage, indicating what formats and media the audio has previously used.
This is extremely important. Any seed without complete lineage included will be deleted from our tracker. Any seed with inaccurate lineage will be deleted from our tracker. We prefer to have seeds that are only from Silver-pressed bootleg CDs or from original master recordings over ones that have been through multiple CDR generations. There are some items where this stipulation is impossible, and special exceptions can be made for CDR sourced material provided that it verifies as lossless, gapless, and digitally clean. You must include every bit of information you know in the lineage or your seed will be deleted. If your show is from a CDR, you MUST include the number of generations or write CDRx if unknown.

Starting June 1, 2009, if a show is dated after January 1, 2005, it MUST have complete and accurate lineage. There is really no reason for a show taped in the last couple of years to not have this info. In other words, unknown gen CDR > EAC > wav > flac type of lineage will no longer be allowed for shows taped after that date. (If you have questions about a particular show, please PM a Moderator.)

Here are some examples of legal lineages:

• AUD > ? > Silver bootleg CD > EAC > WAV > Flac Frontend > FLAC (lvl 7, SBE aligned)
• SBD > Sony DAT > PC Digital Coax Input > WAV > CDWav > APE
• FM > ? > CDRx (verified digitally clean) > iTunes (with error correction) > AIFF > xACT > FLAC

• Audience (this is a completely useless, infoless lineage)
• AUD > Silver CD > CDR > EAC > WAV > FLAC (no Silver CD > CDR transitions allowed!)
• SBD > Sony DAT > PC Digital Coax Input > WAV > CDWav > APE > WAV > CDR(1) > EAC > WAV > FLAC (no lossless file > CDR > lossless file)
• SBD > ? > CDR > EAC > WAV > FLAC (please include the CDR gen!)
• Silver CD > WAV > FLAC (extraction software MUST be specified)
• AUD > DAT > MD > Digital Optical Soundcard Input > WAV > FLAC (no DAT > MD, see rule 11)
• AUD > MD(M) > MD(1) > WAV > FLAC (only MD sources/masters are allowed; again, see rule 11)

9. All seeds must include a text file with complete recording information, including bands, dates, venues, lineages, and setlists.
Please include as much information as you know. Any additional notes, reviews, band members, etc are desirable but at a bare minimum you must have a band title, venue/date, lineage and an accurate setlist included as part of your text file and the information should also be included in the thread. Any items missing this information may be deleted from our tracker.

10. All seeds must include either st5 checksums or FLAC ffp fingerprints.
The Traders' Den is dedicated to making sure that audio files can be traded and verified as acoustically identical to the original seed. For this reason, all FLAC seeds must include a FLAC ffp fingerprint and all SHN/APE seeds must include st5 checksums (also called shntool md5s). Please note that the traditional "wholefile" md5 checksums generated by mdsummer, mkwact, etc are not sufficient. TLH and xACT will create all these types of checksums, but you must pick the appropriate type in the dropdown/selection area.

We understand that this is a radical departure from what many users are used to at other trading sites, but we are looking towards the future. Though it's not ready to be presented to the public, we will be making an archive of every seed made here, including the checksums. With traditional md5 checksums that look at the entire file, users cannot convert, tag, or re-compress their files, and thus are pigeonholed into the originally seeded format in order to have the checksum verify. St5 checksums and FLAC fingerprints only consider the audio data in a file, NOT any additional header information. Therefore, users are free to manipulate the files any way they choose and, so long as they do not alter the audio, the checksum will remain identical.

Checksum naming for Audio (posts on or after November 6, 2023): Checksum file extensions (no quotes) are ".ffp" or ".st5" per the Windows OS (we know on MacOS and Linux it doesn't matter, but Windows is still the majority desktop OS). The filename part before the extension is up to you. Suggested filenames:

Posts before November 6, 2023: The checksum naming before this date was undefined and thus older posts have been grandfathered in. Moderators, please do not delete an audio torrent for an incorrect checksum extension if it was posted before November 6, 2023. Fingerprints.ffp.txt is fine if it was posted before November 6, 2023. If you reseed a torrent originally posted before this date, rename/create the checksum file as per the now defined naming.

Please read this guide Checksums Demystified for more information, or post in the Technobabble forum for more clarification on this issue.

11. Mini-disc is accepted ONLY if it's from the original source master.
Quite simply, mini-disc uses a compression format which decreases the quality of a recording slightly from true CD quality. Since there are many excellent sounding MD sources in circulation, these are accepted provided that the original recording was made with an MD. Converting from other formats into MD and then to lossless audio is prohibited. Also, shows that have been through multiple MD generations are prohibited. Please seed your MD masters directly to lossless files, but keep the quality as good as possible by not seeding multiple gen MD stuff.

12. Audio only Webcast Rips and Digital Broadcasts are not permitted on The Traders' Den.
At the current time, webcasts and digital radio broadcasts are not held to any reasonable quality standards. We are aware that there are some nice sounding webcasts and digital satellite radio broadcasts available in some locations, but at this point it would be a slippery slope to try to regulate what separates quality from not quality in these areas.

13. Remasters are NOT allowed as of June 1, 2011.
While we understand that remastering a recording may improve the listening experience for the user, we also understand that every user has a different set of ears and a different set up for listening to their shows and thus there is no one-size-fits-all remastering that can be done to a recording to improve it for everyone. This rule is not set up to bar a taper from the little tweeks they apply prior to releasing their show, it is set up to bar Joe Blow from coming along and taking a master recording (or even a who-knows-where-it's-from recording) and applying who-knows-what to it because it then sounds better on *their* system to *their* ears and they want to share it. (There may be a couple of exceptions to this rule, but that will be on a case-by-case basis with prior approval from one of our ABT moderators.)

NOTE: You may post torrents here from other sites provided that they meet the TTD Policy standards. Sometimes other sites are a bit more lax on allowing commercially released material on their tracker. We are not a completely private tracker and therefore we cannot allow this. So, please, if you are reposting something from another site, you need to do a little bit of homework and make sure you are not uploading something that is commercially released. Sometimes this is just a couple of tracks. Just omit them from the torrent and then it is fine to upload it here. (You should make note in the thread that you removed the tracks.)

modified 2012-02-01, added dbpoweramp as an approved ripper in rule 6.