1. What is alt.binaries.tv.farscape?
2. What is a binary file?
3. What is an .xxx file & how do I use it?
3.1 DivX files. I tried
to play this .avi file & I got audio but no video, what am I doing
wrong?
4. What do I do with these messages? All I see is
a bunch of text that makes no sense.
5. Ok I need to combine & decode these multi part
files how do I do that?
5.1 If your using Outlook
Express:
5.2 If your using Free Agent/Agent:
6. Why am I missing parts of the files?
7. How do I make repost (fill) requests?
8. How can I posts?
9. How do I fill repost requests?
10. What is #farscape-central?
11. What is ABMnet?
1. What is alt.binaries.tv.farscape?
It's a binaries news group in which we the fans of the TV show Farscape, can share binaries files of things related to the show. Text discussion of the show is not encouraged here & should be taken to a more appropriate forum such as alt.tv.farscape or uk.media.tv.sf.farscape Note discussion of episode posting is not welcome there but is allowed here.
For our purposes it's any type of image, audio, or video files. Weather they be your own pictures. Screen caps (captures). Sound tracts or bites. Video clips or files of interviews, promotional trailers, or an encoding of a whole episode of the show.
3. What is an .xxx file & how do I use it?
.MPG, .ASF, .AVI, .MOV, .RM = Video files
.WAV, .MP3/.MP2, .RM/.RA = Audio files:
You can use Windows Media Player for most of files. A tip here with Windows Media Player after you hit play if you hold down the ALT key & hit Enter at the same time you can toggle to & from full screen mode. Or you can use your preferred player. But you will need Real Player http://www.real.com/ for .RM/.RA files
Many of the .AVI files use the DivX codec (this will usually be mentioned either in the cover post or .nfo) & you will need to have it installed to play these files regardless of what player you use. You can get the DivX codec here: http://divx.ctw.cc/index_main.html If you try to play an .avi file that was done with the DivX codec you will get sound but no picture.
.NFO= Information file
This file will have information about the file(s) being posted. It can be opened & read with a basic text program like Note pad or Word pad.
.SFV= File verification file
If a .SVF file is included with other files being posted simply save it to the same folder you saved the rar files it is for & double left click to open it (assuming have the QuickSFV program installed). It will check the files & tell you if any are missing & if any of them are corrupted it will tell you which ones. You can get the QuickSFV program here: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Mouse/4668/index.html
.r00,r01,.r03 ..ect..rar = WinRAR archive files “rar’s’
Many large files like the DivX .avi's are too big to post as one file & are broken up with the WinRAR program for posting . You will need most likely need WinRAR to extract the file from the rar's (some other decompression programs will do it but I'm not sure which ones). You can get WinRAR here: http://www.rarsoft.com/ When you have the files combined & decoded save them to a folder once you have all the rar files saved to that folder assuming you have WinRAR installed open the file that ends in .rar & click the Extract button if you want the file in that folder. If you want the file exacted to a different place click the Extract To button & tell it where to put the file.
.ZIP= Compressed file(s)
These can be opened with most any unzip program such a WinRAR or WinZip http://www.winzip.com/
4. What do I do with these messages? All I see is a bunch of text that makes no sense.
Many binaries files are too big to be posted as a one part post, so we set our posting software/news readers to break up files larger than a certain size into multi part posts. All the parts will have the same headers & same file name with a part number at the end. Something like this: Description File 1 of 35 my_video_clip.r00(1/45) In this example this is file 1 of 35 files in this group of files. And it is part 1 of 45 parts of file .r00. With any file that is posted in multiple parts you will need to have all the parts of that file & you will need to combine & decode them with your news reader to get the file.
5. Ok I need to combine & decode these multi part files how do I do that?
It depends on the news reader your using. You can use a news reader like Outlook Express (OE), but I recommend one like Free Agent which you can get here: http://www.forteinc.com/ it's less cumber some & more automatic than OE. There are some others as well. I would not use Netscape for multi part binaries is as there's no way to combine & decode with it, at least not one I would want to try.
Here's how to do it with a couple of the more common news readers; Outlook Express & Free Agent/Agent. With both I would suggest you download the message bodies first with either news reader (note this isn't absolutely necessary). And, even if not all the parts of a file you want are there it is still a good idea to get the ones that are there now & save them (make sure you have the news reader set to save messages when you close it & not to delete them for binaries groups anyway) This way when the missing parts show up all you need to do is get them. If they don't show up you can ask for just those parts that your missing to be reposted.
5.1 If your using Outlook Express:
First, click the subject bar. This should arrange the headers together
& make it easier to do the next
step. You now need to highlight all the headers for the message parts.
For example:
Farscape video File 1 of 1 farscape.avi (00/45) <- Text description,
not part of file
Farscape video File 1 of 1 farscape.avi (01/45) <- First header
Farscape video File 1 of 1 farscape.avi (02/45)
...
...
Farscape video File 1 of 1 farscape.avi (45/45)<- Last header
Left click on the first header [Farscape video File 1 of 1 farscape.avi (01/45)] then scroll down to the last part [Farscape video File 1 of 1 farscape.avi (45/45)] press and hold the shift key and left click on the last header to highlight all the parts.
Select MESSAGES (TOOLS before version 5), or right click on one of the
now highlighted
messages and then left click on COMBINE AND DECODE.
You will now get a dialog box where you check that the parts are all there & in the correct order. If they are click Ok. If not put them in order first. OE will now combine & decode the file(s) & a new window will pop up with a small icon(s). Double click on the icon that appears in this new window and the file will be opened/launched. Right click on the icon and you will be given a menu to save the file. Note you can combine & decode several multi part files at one time but it may take some time to do.
5.2 If your using Free Agent/Agent:
There are a couple of methods/steps you can use. A tip here: set it up so that for binaries groups it only gets the headers. This way you can pick the messages you want to download.
Step 1 (& my preference):
Go through the headers & select/highlight the ones you want to download. Then mark them for later retrieval by pushing the M key or the “Mark for retrieval” button (looks like a down ward arrow) Once you have all the parts you want marked click the “Get marked messages” button (looks like a downward arrow with a lighting bolt). It will then get the message bodies.
Step 2:
Left click any of the message headers and then click the launch button (looks like a camera). If you have the message bodies downloaded it will combine & decode the file. And, then launch or open the file with what ever program you have your computer set to use for that file type. It also saves the file in a folder on you hard drive (I suggest you make a folder for this group & tell it to save the file to that folder).
If you haven't downloaded the message bodies it will download them first & then combine & decode/lunch the file. Note if it loses the connection to the news server before it's done you will have to start over again.
When getting a WinRARed file like an episode if you have all the other rar files complete, combined & decoded then when you launch the rar file for that episode just click the Extract To button & tell it where to put the extracted video file. No need to go to the folder the files are saved in for this. You will need to go to the folder Free Agent saves the binary files in, to delete them when you no longer want them.
6. Why am I missing parts of the files?
There could be a couple of reasons. The person posting it could have had trouble posting it. Or maybe your news server isn't getting the parts well or is dropping them. In the first case there is nothing you can really do about it. In the second you can try complaining to your ISP about their news server missing post, but this may not do much good.
If you're an @home user you can try other @home news servers. Go to http://members.nbci.com/athomesecrets/ and click on the "news server list" link.
You can use a search engine & look for free news servers (note most free severs will not allow posting).
Or you can try a pay news server like one of these:
http://www.easynews.com/
http://www.supernews.com/
http://www.airnews.net/
http://www.giganews.com/
http://www.newscene.com/
7. How do I make repost (fill) requests?
First, you should take note of the posters policy about this (if they have one) & follow it if you expect them to honor your request. You can usually find such info in the cover post [part (0/xx)].
But in general use this format “ATTN: (posters name): Please repost (exact file name).r00 parts x,y,z” . If there is too much to put in the header include the full information on what you need in the message body. I would also suggest that if you need several parts of several files a of post such as a full episode post. Make all request for missing parts in one post not several post. Note it is also good idea to get the parts that are on your server now & only ask for the parts that are missing Especially if your only missing a few parts. As the posting software many of us use is capable of posting just certain parts of a multi part file. Reposting just parts as opposed to the whole files saves on bandwidth & space on the news servers. So things won't get bumped off the news servers as quickly.
If your posting large files like full episodes First, you will need to break it up in to smaller sized files. If you don't already have them you should get WinRAR http://www.rarsoft.com/ & QuickSFV http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Mouse/4668/index.html Then put the file like a DivX .avi in a folder by it's self & with WinRAR installed right click on the file & then click “Add to archive...” A dialog box will pop up if you wish to change the name of the rar files to be different than the video file do so in the line under “Archive” Put check marks next to “Create solid archive” & “Put recovery record”. Under compression method select “Best” And under “Volume size bytes” select 10,000,000. You could go to 15,000,000. But, I like 10,000,000 and wouldn't recommend anything over 15,000,000 to use for posting anyway. Then click OK & it does the rest. Once it's done I would suggest checking them by extracting the file & make sure it works.
Next, once you have the rar’s & you know they work. Select/highlight ALL the rar files right click on one them & select “Create .SFV file” & click OK. It will then create a .sfv file you can post with the rar's (assuming you have QuickSFV installed).
You may want to make a .nfo file or read me .txt file to post as well. Put any info about what it is such as file name, episode/clip info, & your repost policy. Some or all of this you may want include in the cover post part (0/xx).
Now for the actual posting You can use many news readers to post. But, I would recommend Power Post 2000 http://net-toys.8k.com/ it's a very nice “free” program for posting large groups of files like whole episodes. You need to keep the message part size at 7500 lines/500 kb or less for the best propagation of you post to all servers. Personally I use 5000 lines/308 kb as I understand some servers won't pass along anything larger than that.
One note here about Power Post 2000. With version 1.3 (build 25) DON'T use the default “Subject header template” ! Replace this: (??] [$1/$2] - $F with this: (Description) File $1 of $2 - $F The important part is [$1/$2] needs to be replaced with File $1 of $2 The reason is the [$1/$2] produces a header that looks like this:
Farscape video [1/xx] farscape video.avi(1/45)
This type of header with either ( ) or [ ] with numbers in them (or even near them) confuses some news readers like Free Agent & people using them will have a hard time combining & decoding your post if it has this any where in the header but the normal part count at the end.
Once you think you have everything set up right, PLEASE do a “test post” of a file in alt.binaries.test BEFORE you post in here! You don't need to post a whole episode there just post say one rar file & check that it post ok & that you can download & combine & decode it ok. This way you don't waste bandwidth in the group with failed posting attempts. And everyone will be happier.
A note for @home users there are caps on how much you can post to a server in a certain period of time. You can get around this by switching to a different @ home news server. Go to http://members.nbci.com/athomesecrets/ and click on the "news server list" link for a listing of @home servers.
9. How do I fill repost requests?
Anyone can fill repost requests here. But, try to keep down the amount of reposts so we aren't bumping things off the news servers to quickly. You shouldn't be doing repost any sooner that 12 hours after the original post & really should wait 24 hours. It is best to repost parts of files when possible. And don't repost the same files 3 or more times for one person who is using a crapy server. It might also be a good idea to post a reply saying that you are going to fill the request so we don't get multiple people reposting the same thing.
10. What is #farscape-central?
It's a IRC (Internet Relay Chat) room found on the DALnet IRC network. You will need a chat client like mIRC which you can get at http://www.mirc.com . Once you have it installed connect to any DALnet server. You will need to select a nick(name) to use in IRC After your connected to a DALnet server join the #farscape-central room. There you will find people that have DCC file serves (for doing file transfers in the IRC chat room) you can get a listing of these by typing !list There is also a listing of ftp servers available there by typing !ftp If you'd like to learn more about how to use it go to the IRC Newbie help section of the #farscape-central web page http://user.tninet.se/~zoz480o/farscape/irchelp.html
It's a peer to peer file sharing network like Gnutella. But, it's primarily for sharing of video files. You can use the ABMnet http://sharehouse.nbci.com/dnload.php3?FILE_ID=686721 software which is very similar to Gnutella. You will need to be a member of/or register with NBCi to access it but it's free. Or, with some modifications you can use the Gnotella software. The one cardinal rule of ABMnet is ONE FILE AT A TIME PLEASE! One draw back to the ABMnet software is you can't set a limit on file upload so you can quickly see your out going connection become over loaded when your sharing files you have. This is where Gnotella has an advantage you can set a limit on uploads with it.
Ok I'd like to use Gnotella for this how do I do that?
Download it here: http://gnotella.nerdherd.net/ However, you will only find the newest release there Version 0.9.3 . I've tried this version & can't really recommend it at this time. It locks up if you have “a lot” of files to share. Gnotella version 0.7.3 works better & you can get a copy of here http://sharehouse.nbci.com/dnload.php3?FILE_ID=686730 You will need to be a member of/or register with NBCi to access it but it's free.
Once you have Gnotella installed open it & click the "Config." button, then the "Private Network" tab & enter ABMNET CONNECT/0.5 in the "Connect String" box & click ok. Also, go to the "Shared Files" tab tell it what folder(s) or directories you want to share. These folder(s) will be where you put your Farscape video files or rar files that you want to share with others. Because of the nature of ABMnet I would suggest sharing rar files there rather than the video files them selves. Put a check mark next to “Share all files in specified directories". WARNING ONLY PUT FILES THAT YOU WANT TO SHARE IN THESE SHARED DIRECTORIES!
Next, as I don't know another way to get ABMnet IP's you will need to have the ABMnet software installed. With a active internet connection open the ABMnet software & let it connect to several other clients Write down several of these active IP's.
Now that you have the IP's go back to Gnotella & to the "Connections"
button. Clear any & all IP's from the host catcher & remove any
IP's in the Connections area as well. Then enter one of the ABMnet IP's
you wrote down in the box next to the add button & click add. You may
have to try several till you get one to connect. Once you get a connection
it should get more IP's on it's own, but if it doesn't click the "Get more
button". I would suggest setting it to 2 or 3 outgoing connections and
about 6 incoming. But, feel free to adjust these, however you should
have more incoming than out going connections to help keep the network
going. In the upload section set how many uploads (how many out going file
uploads) you want to allow at one time.