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Video BitTorrent Seeding Guide

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. Make sure your seed complies with the seeding policy.
First and foremost, your seed must comply with the seeding policy here at The Traders' Den. The most updated version of this document can always be found here.

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.

Show / Hide How to make md5 checksums

5. Create an EXTRAS_TS folder in the parent folder.
Put the checksums file you created above and any other miscellaneous files you got from the DVD into this folder (like artwork, the text file, photos from the concert, etc.).

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.

Show / Hide More advanced fingerprint information for the perfectionist

6. 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.

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.

Show / Hide How to get Video Stats for your DVD

Once you've got a properly written text file written, place it inside the EXTRAS_TS folder for your DVD seed.

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.


Video Seeding and Trading
OK, so you not only want the audio experience, but a visual one as well? Video trading can be complicated to the beginning, but reading through this expanding list of FAQs, software links, and tutorials, you should be able to find what you need to get started or clear up a few things that maybe you never fully understood before.

Video Technical FAQs


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