A new release is now available (released March 2006)
You are invited to download the following file -
Psychedelic_Visionary_Plants_Sacred_Weeds_Salvia_200603.torrent (see also http://sallyscot01.dyndns.org:49162)
-
and open it with a BitTorrent client (such as
Azureus).
It's intended that the new release be more compatible with different
types BitTorrent software (e.g. other than Azureus) - tracker problems
meant problems with the first release for some.
Note that the content of folder 'Disk01' of the new torrent will be almost
the same as the complete content of the original torrent
Psychedelic_Visionary_Plants_Sacred_Weeds_Salvia_20051114.torrent.
If you've already downloaded the content via Psychedelic_Visionary_Plants_Sacred_Weeds_Salvia_20051114.torrent
then you can save yourself the time and effort of downloading 'Disk01' all over again
by simply stopping the new torrent after its initial opening creates
the new folder structure and its 'empty' files.
Replace (mostly) the 'empty' files with the content you already have from previous download,
start the new download again, and, after checking the file contents,
your BitTorrent application should continue to work and should show
the new download now approaching about halfway through (~45% perhaps).
As I suggest, 'Disk01' will be ALMOST the same as the content of previous
download. Please make allowance for the following exceptions...
Taboo-MindAlteringDrugs-NationalGeographicDocumentary.avi is a higher resolution
version which I've obtained, replacing the original NationalGeographic_Taboo.avi
And there are new versions of the following...
DoubleHelix-theDNAYears_Pt1(+2)
TerenceMckenna-thePurposeOfPsychedelics.avi
In other words, exclude from your copy into ‘Disk01’ folder any previous
download you have of…
DoubleHelix-theDNAYears_Pt1(+2)
NationalGeographic_Taboo.avi
TerenceMckenna-thePurposeOfPsychedelics.avi
Possible FAQs
What are the Download Contents?
Note the following 'Disk01' snapshot
The total duration of the videos on 'Disk01' alone is circa 24 hours.
Pop Up View of Full Content (Disk01 and Disk02)^
Some more information about selected content at the bottom of the page back from here.
What is BitTorrent?
There are many guides out there which explain this peer-to-peer technology.
I’d recommend starting with Wikipedia’s entry…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent
What are the system requirements?
My recommended client is
Azureus. You will need Java on your machine, but the
Azureus installation procedure will take you through that. It’s all freeware.
Further ref:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azureus
And, for the full download, you’ll need to have a high-speed
‘always on’ internet connection of course (i.e. broadband), preferably with
unlimited download capacity, or at least with a reasonable usage allowance, not
some miserly limitation such as 2GB / month (the download total file size is ~
8.7GB ).
How do I configure for Azureus (etc.)?
It can look fiddly and initially intimidating, but you can just leave most of
the settings well alone.
You might want to take the option to configure connection to the Incoming TCP
listen port - some prefer to change the default port number to something in
range 49152 - 65535. See -
http://azureus.aelitis.com/wiki/index.php/PortIsBlacklisted
Generally you should ensure that your firewall is not blocking traffic on your ‘listening’
port -
http://azureus.aelitis.com/wiki/index.php/Firewalling
e.g. for Windows XP's built in firewall see -
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308127
- plus, check
this older example -
http://gruven42.webhop.org/xpfwbt/xp_firewall_bt.htm (nice
screen prints though not quite up-to-date for SP2).
for Router Firewalls see
http://www.portforward.com/english/applications/port_forwarding/Azur/Azurindex.htm
How long will the films take to download?
It’ll depend on the number of other people downloading at the time.
If you know about BitTorrent you’ll appreciate that it’s a case of the more the
merrier. Strictly speaking, it’ll depend on the number of other people
uploading, which they might be doing simply as a consequence of downloading
(sharing what they’ve downloaded so far), or they might be ‘seeding’ (continuing
to share after their download is complete).
Bear in mind that there’s enough material
to fill a 2 x DVD-R disks (over 8.7GB), so be thinking in terms of several days rather than
a couple of hours.
Bear in mind also that Azureus (and other BitTorrent clients) ‘time to complete’ estimates will always
fluctuate. They can do so particularly wildly at the start. Initial indications
suggesting many weeks or months to complete should be taken with a large pinch
of salt. Remember also the ‘traffic light’ status can take a while to settle
down too. Give the download half an hour or so, and even then don’t take any
single reading as gospel. If there are others downloading then it will
pick up speed as time goes on and as your 'peers' get more of the files to share.
How long will the files be available for?
I understand concerns about starting to download something that may take several days to complete only for me to pull the plug at my end, before you’ve had a
chance to finish. There may be a temptation for me to tinker with the content,
for example, if I come across new material and want to include it. But if this
is the case then I’ll try to do updates in a controlled manner. I’ll post update
advice giving reasonable advance notice on these pages, and I’ll endeavour to keep any
prior but still in progress downloads live for as long as possible.
What if I don’t want all the films?
I appreciate that you may have some of the material already, you may have got it
from other sources, or you may simply not be that interested in all of it, say,
if you only want the Sacred Weeds Salvia divinorum episode.
If you’re wondering why I’ve put all the material into a single torrent rather
than individually, the principal reason for this,
apart from my thinking that it’s all worth having, is the way that BitTorrent
works.
Basically, the more people downloading, the more the load is being
shared. I figure that most people will be interested in most of the material, so
rather than have separate downloads, all going quite slowly, I think it’s better
to try for one big (2 x DVD-R sized) download which has a greater chance of being
shared.
You should know that BitTorrent file pieces download in a random order by
default. If you
stop having downloaded 50% of the data then this doesn’t in any sensible way
mean that you can watch half of the films.
That said, some BitTorrent clients do allow you to exclude selected files. From my point of view I would encourage you to download (and hence share) all of them, but if you really only want specific files (e.g. only the Sacred Weeds Salvia divinorum episodes) then with some software it is possible to change the individual priority.
For example, one way of doing this with Azureus is to simply right-click on the downloading torrent and
select 'Show details' to get the Details tab, from there select the 'Files'
tab, select and right-click files you don't want and 'Set priority' to 'Do not
download'. Azureus also lets you select files before starting the download
- which may be handy if your HD space is limited.
I don't seem to be able to get connected?
There were some issues with the availability of the public trackers that I used
for the first release but the new release should fix these. If you're
having connection problems generally (and not just with my download) try
taking a look at
http://azureus.aelitis.com/wiki/index.php/NAT_problem
And Other Issues:
http://azureus.aelitis.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Troubleshooting
How do I play the videos?
On your computer with your preferred media player. The video format is mostly MPEG-4 .avi files encoded mostly using the XviD codec (though there are also a handful in Windows specific or Real Player specific formats).
You may need
to install the XviD
codec to enable (all) your computer's media
players^. A working* version for Windows
is included in the download ('XviD-1.0.3-20122004.exe' under 'CodecsAndTools/XviD
Stuff' folders under 'Disk01'). The installer should enable most media players.
In other words, after running it then your 'Windows Media Player', 'RealPlayer', or
(my favourite), 'Media Player Classic', should all be able to play the .avi files
(* for the latest XviD version download the latest stable binary from the
following link -
Koepi’s
XviD link).
I'm informed that Mac users might want to search for and install a media player called ‘VLC’. This should do the trick as far as playing XviD is concerned, so maybe start with a Google search for’ VLC Mac Media Player XviD’.
The VideoHelp website is generally a good one. You can search generally for tools like Media (/Video) Players and even more specifically e.g. MacOS video tools
XviD films will also play on standalone (i.e. TV connected) MPEG-4 players.
How can I help?
It will be appreciated if you can continue to
share the files for as long as possible after your download is complete. Such
‘seeding’ will help ensure overall availability. It will spread the load, and
help others to download faster.
