A Guide To Creating An Audio Torrent On Mind-Warp PaVilion
For PC Users
This guide appeared in its original form on Savage
Jaw and has been modified for use by members of Mind-Warp PaVilion
Thanks go to all at Savage Jaw for allowing its use
For this guide we will be using the 'David Bowie - A Night In Loreley' 2xCD Silver.
Liberated Bootleg: This means a direct rip from a Silver bootleg, which has been profited from by its manufacture and sale without the artist's consent or control, is being released free of charge via BitTorrent or trade. By this means the content of the original Silver bootleg becomes widely available and the profit-making abilities of the Silver bootleggers becomes reduced.
The software used is:
Windows XP Professional
Exact
Audio Copy
FLAC
Frontend
Proprietary Scanning Software
µTorrent
1600
Exact Audio Copy, FLAC
Frontend and µTorrent are all
freeware. If you use EAC and/or
FLAC Frontend please ensure
you use the current versions. Details can be found here.
Please Note:
Since this Guide was written an updated version of µTorrent
(v1.6.1 build 490) has been released. While this updated version
does not affect any of the steps described in this Guide we recommend that
the updated version of µTorrent be used.
See here
for details and links.
Step 1 - Create a folder structure for the complete Torrent contents which will include Disc1, Disc2, the artwork and the info text file. It is advisable that you give the root folder a unique name so that you can easily find it again.
Step 2 - Open EAC, insert Disc 1 into your drive and select all tracks.
Step 3 - Save the .wav files in the Disc1 folder you created earlier.
EAC will now extract the files from the CD into the folder as .wav files
Step 4 - When
complete, check for ripping errors and close EAC.
If EAC indicates that ripping
errors have occurred delete the .wav files and rip the CD again.
Because in this example we are using a 2xCD set repeat
Steps 2, 3 and 4 for the second disc but remember to save the second
disc .wav files in the Disc2 folder you created.
Step 5 - Open FLAC Frontend
- Set encoding to Level 8
- Check the 'Delete Input Files' box to delete .wav files after encoding - this is optional but if there are any problems during the FLAC encoding process we recommend ripping the CD again with EAC.
- Browse the 'Output Directory' to the folder your .wav files are in. The Disc1 FLAC files should be saved in the Disc1 folder. If this box says anything else then browse to the Disc1 folder.
- Browse using the 'Add Files' button to find your .wav
files and then press the 'Encode' button.
Step 6 - Once Encoding is complete, press any key and then close Flac Frontend.
A note about the FLAC engine
version shown in the above screencap:
You will notice that when this guide was written we were
using v1.1.0 of the FLAC engine.
This software has since been updated and we recommend
that you use the new version.
See here
for details.
Step 7 - Your Disc1 folder should now look like the one below. We have finished with this folder.
Because in this example we are using a 2xCD set repeat
Steps 5, 6 and 7 for the second disc, but remember to save the second
disc .flac files in the Disc2 folder you created.
Step 8 - Open
your Image Scanning software and scan and
save the images into the root folder.
In this case it is F:\DavidBowie_ANightInLoreley.
Some notes about your scanned images:
- If the artwork has a booklet, as in this case, please
scan all the artwork.
- Please give the scans intuitive names so that downloaders
know which image belongs where.
- Please ensure that the scans are straight.
- Please scan the artwork at a decent resolution. We
recommend no less than 400dpi.
Step 9 - Your artwork now sits in the root folder and should look like this:
Step 10 - Open Notepad and create a file called (in this case) DavidBowie_ANightInLoreley.txt and insert details. Here you can copy and paste the MWP Audio Torrent Upload Template into Notepad and fill in the blanks.
Please Note: It is very important that your info text file contains all the relevant information about your upload.
You will notice that once you've created the info text
file you can use it in your Torrent Announce. You've already filled in
all the fields so now you just have to copy and paste it into the Announce.
If your Torrent originated on another tracker, like DimeADozen for example,
please include that
info text file in your Torrent if you still have it,
and include the information in your own info text file.
Please Note: It is very important when creating your info text file, and later when you create your Torrent Announce, that you state in both the FLAC Frontend Level at which you encoded your .wav files to FLAC. This information enables other users to determine whether their audio source is the same as yours by use of Fingerprints (ffp) which in turn allows them to determine whether or not your source might be an upgrade to theirs and/or whether or not they can join your Torrent as a seeder.
A rule of thumb for descriptions of previous uploads
to other sites is;
Initial upload (to, for example, DimeADozen) is called
"Originally Seeded To.." or "Uploaded To.."
Subsequent uploads to other sites (MWP for example) are
called "Seeded To..".
Subsequent uploads to the same site at a later
date (MWP for example) are called "Reseeded To..".
We're now ready to create the Torrent.
A Note About µTorrent:
Since this Guide was written there has been a µTorrent
update - the current version is 1.6.1 build 490.
See here
for details. This update does not affect the steps in this Guide.
Step 11 - Open µTorrent, click 'File' -> 'Create New Torrent...'
Click on 'Add directory' and browse to the root folder you created which contains the folders Disc1 and Disc2 and also the artwork and the info text file.
Ensure that you add the correct Trackers info - for Mind-Warp
Pavilion it is found
under 'Torrents' -> 'Upload' on the MWP Tracker page;
This is it - http://www.mindwarppavilion.org/ezt/announce.php
Copy and paste the Announce URL into the field in
µTorrent.
Leave the rest of the fields in the µTorrent
dialogue box in their default state:
- 'Skip Files' should be empty.
- 'Piece Size' should be Auto-Detect.
- 'Other' -> 'Start Seeding' and' Private Torrent' should
be unchecked.
When you're ready click 'Create and save as...'
When the Torrent has been created you will get a dialogue box asking where you want to save the .torrent file to. We recommended that you save it to a location on your HD where it can be easily found again.
A Note About .torrent Naming Conventions: When µTorrent creates and saves a .torrent file it will, by default, give the .torrent file the same name as the root directory that was specified - in this case 'DavidBowie_ANightInLoreley.torrent'. However, Mind-Warp PaVilion would be grateful if you would include Artist, Title, Torrent Type and MWP's URL in the .torrent file name. To do this simply modify the .torrent file name during this 'save as' phase. In this example, as we save the .torrent file, we are renaming the .torrent file as;
DavidBowie_ANightInLoreley_2CD_Silver_Audio[www.mindwarppavilion.org].torrent
It is also acceptable to include spaces in the .torrent file name, so it could look like this;
David Bowie - A Night In Loreley 2CD Silver Audio [www.mindwarppavilion.org].torrent
The reasons for asking that MWP's URL be included are simple; it helps everybody remember where the Torrent came from (and this includes you when you're browsing through your harddrives looking for a particular Torrent) and it is also beneficial to MWP and its members to have the .torrent file name point back to MWP should the Torrent appear on an anonymous tracker.
When you have saved the .torrent file, click 'close' in the µTorrent dialogue box and exit µTorrent.
CAUTION: Once you have created your .torrent file you MUST NOT alter any of the files contained within your Torrent. This includes, but is not limited to, editing your info text file. Any alteration to ANY file within your Torrent after your .torrent file has been created will result in you not being able to seed your Torrent.
Now you're ready to upload your Torrent to the Mind-Warp
Pavilion Tracker.
Step 12 - Go
to MWP's Tracker page - http://www.mindwarppavilion.org/ezt/
and click
on 'Torrents' -> 'Upload'.
This will take you to the page where you enter the details
of your Torrent:
Note that we're only looking at the top of the page at the moment. When the fields are filled in, for this example, it will look like this:
Note that we have done a copy and paste of the already created info text file into the Description dialogue box. If your info text file is as complete as it should be there won't be a need for any additions to the description. However, the Description box allows you to format your text, such as giving the Artist and Title a larger font, different colour, underlining etc.
Here is an example of a completed Audio Torrent Announce as it should appear on the MWP Tracker.
To complete the bottom of the Upload page fill in the fields as required.
Choose a 'Category' and 'Type' that seem appropriate for
your Torrent.
Ensure that you check the boxes relating to MWP's policies
regarding;
Torrents
Allowed,
General
Guidelines and
Prohibited
Artists/Bands.
We recommend that you familiarise yourself with these
policies and check them often as they are subject to change without
notice.
PLEASE NOTE: Do not include a scan of any artwork in your Announce as there is no telling if this image will be available in the future if and when your Torrent is seeded to another tracker or reseeded to MWP . Rather, you should either include the artwork in your Torrent or upload it to the Gallery and provide applicable links.
Click on the 'Upload Torrent' button ONLY ONCE. There may be a delay between your clicking the button and getting the 'Torrent successfully uploaded!' screen. This is normal.
After you see the above screen the Tracker should immediately send the .torrent file back to your computer and you should get a dialogue box asking you where you want to save the .torrent file to. Please note that in order for you to seed the Torrent you have just uploaded you have to download and save the now personalised .torrent file from the Tracker.
Important! Do not save the .torrent file to your root folder. You will get an error if you do. We recommend that you have a folder called, for example, BitTorrent where you can save all your .torrent files in one place whether they are downloads from another seeder, or a Torrent that you are uploading and seeding yourself.
Note: When you see the dialogue box below, or something similar if you use a different web browser, you can choose one of the options available. If your BT Client is set up to automatically handle .torrent files you can choose to have your BT Client open the .torrent file you are downloading, in which case the .torrent file will be saved to your BT Client's folder or to wherever you have specified. If you want to save the .torrent file to another location choose 'Save it to disk' and then select a location.
In this case we have saved the .torrent file to a folder called F:\BitTorrent1.
NOTE: Your Torrent will not be visible until you start seeding it yourself. To do this open µTorrent and click on 'File' -> 'Add Torrent':
Browse to the folder that contains your .torrent file, highlight it and click 'open'
You will get the following Dialogue Box. In the 'Save As' box at the top browse to the root folder where all your Torrent files are located - in this example F:\DavidBowie_ANightInLoreley
When you have selected the correct folder, µTorrent will perform a check of the files and compare them to the details held in the .torrent file you created.
When µTorrent has finished checking and has found the files to be exactly what the newly downloaded, personalised .torrent file information contains, µTorrent will start seeding.
Finished! MWP will send an email to members telling them that your new Torrent exists and your Torrent will become visible on the Tracker.
