Ok this is a work in progress... However this may be the end of the progress unless someone else wants to run with it...
I am just getting tired explaining the same stuff over and over. So I wrote it all up. I'm sure this could be improved 100%... but I think it's agood start.
The goal was to write a guide than any beginner/intermediate computer user could follow. Hopefully this could get someone downloading music very qucikly. I tried to stick to the important stuff. But I do tend to ramble.
Feedback would rock. Someone taking this and editing it (cut down the ramblings, add links, info) would also rock.
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GENERAL INFO
This is a simple set of instruction to get people up to speed on downloading and burning LEGAL high quality live music.
Why is this legal?
Many bands/artists allow fans to record and distribute their shows from the audience in order to spread interest in the band/artist.
How does it all work?
The taper transfers the show from his recording device to a computer. Then the files are compressed and offered for download over the internet.
The files are compressed using a lossless codec which preserves 100% of the original quality. This is unlike compression codecs like mp3 or aac which are considered lossy as part of the information is lost when compressing thus causing a loss in sound quality.
One drawback to lossless files is the size. One hour of music compressed in a lossless codec will be about 400MB. One hour of mp3’s is usually around 60MB.
Partly because of their large size shows are frequently distributed using a peer-to-peer method called bit torrent. A peer-to-peer (or p2p) application is one where instead of everyone downloading from a central location you download from other individual people. Bit torrent takes this concept even further by allow you to connect to multiple people who have the show. It also automatically forces you to upload chunks of the show to other users while you are still downloading. This results is very fast downloads when there is a high demand for the show.
How bit torrent works:
The original seeder (people who have 100% of the show are called seeds. People who have less than 100% are called leeches) creates a .torrent file and uploads it to a “tracker.” A tracker is a website which keeps track of all the people who have the files and who need the files. It doesn’t actually host any of the files… it just tells your bit torrent (bt) client who does have them. In addition to the tracker there will be a website hosting the links to the .torrent files (which are very small) which allow you to download a show.
APPLICATIONS
Here is a list of the applications you will need to get started.
[Bit torrent client]
There are many bit torrent clients out there. But I think Azueus is one of the best and comes in both PC and MAC flavors.
http://azureus.sourceforge.net/http://azureus.sourceforge.net/download.phpTo download select the “windows” icon under “Latest Azureus Release.”
Unless of course you are on a mac. Then all is lost. Just kidding… Actually there is an OS X build of Azureus on down the page under the linux versions.
This will allows you to download anything distributed via bit torrent.
[FLAC/SHN conversion tools]
Ok, now that you have downloaded some music you probably want to listen to it. To do that you either need a music player which will play SHN/FLAC files or you will have to convert them to another format. On a PC there are plug-ins for winamp which work great with SHN or FLAC.
SHN (to convert shn’s to wav on a pc)
http://www.etree.org/mkw.htmlSHN (plug in for winamp)
http://www.etree.org/shnamp.htmlFLAC
http://mikewren.com/flac/The flac software includes winamp plugins and a nero plug in which allows you to burn audio cd’s directly from FLAC files. (Normally you have to convert to WAV first)
On the mac side of things there is a miracle app called xACT.
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/21952&mode=feedback&vid=182978xAct should do it all, including converting SHN/FLAC files to mac friendly AAC files. Now if only iTunes would add SHN/FLAC support…
Here are some other various mac os audio tools.
http://www.etree.org/macos.htmlOK WHERE IS THE MUSIC!!!
http://www.easytree.org/http://www.dimeadozen.org/This is the biggest site right now.
However you will need to sign up for an account (same deal with most torrent sites)… normally signing up is painless and not a problem. However
easytree dime has put a cap of 100,000 members on the site to keep it running nice and fast. So you might have to try a few times over a few days to get a spot. But accounts expire all the time so it shouldn’t be too difficult. I think you can browse the site w/o an account. Easytree has a WIDE range of music from wilco to iron maiden.
http://bt.etree.org/Ahhh… etree. The wise old master. This was one of the first legal torrent sites. No account required to download. Not quite as many shows as easytree and not quite as diverse, but always high quality stuff. Mostly Jam band oriented stuff.
Those are the big ones. But there are starting to be lots of little specialty trackers.
http://www.cotapers.org/This has been around forever… Just Colorado shows… Mostly Jam Band stuff.
http://www.purelivegigs.com/A newer site. More alternative stuff. The new Beck secret shows have been posted here. They also seem to have a lot of Radiohead right now.
http://www.thetradersden.org/http://bt.viachicago.org/Another new one… Wilco related torrents.
http://www.browntracker.net/Ween torrents!
http://digitalpanic.org/Widespead Panic torrents
Or just do a search for “live music torrents” new trackers pop up all the time. And other ones die off.
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Topic: Newbie Guide To Downloading Live Music (BT, SHN, FLAC, etc) (Read 2204 times)