Converge
How to install and use BitTorrent
by Mick Fuzz
Aim: To install and use Azureus BitTorrent client in order to download content.
Task: Download a video file using the BitTorrent system
Tools: Azureus for Mac OSX and Windows
Overview
"2005 is the year that internet downloads became a viable distribution mechanism, mainly through BitTorrent, a cunning peer-to-peer mechanism for making large films available without incurring large bandwith costs. People have already started downloading movies in earnest and the phenomenon is growing so rapidly that BitTorrent now accounts for one third of all traffic on the internet. Bigger hard drives and faster net connections are driving this trend."
The BitTorrent world contains both licenced and pirated content. Azureus, which can be used for downloading all sorts of content, is one of the most popular BitTorrent clients, supported by an Open Source community that has contributed to plenty of add-ons. BitTorrent has also become a commercial distribution system for pay-per-view content. We can see this as an advange for smaller video producers in that even if you are distributing your video content for free you can charge for a film.
"The easiest way to do so is to ask for an online payment on your website before directing users to where they can download the BitTorrent file" (Simon Tzu in DIY distribution, "Get your Documentary funded" from http://www.shootingpeople.org).
Installing Azureus
Windows: Get it from http://azureus.sourceforge.net/
Double-click on the installer: azureus_*.exe
Click Next when the welcome screen shows. Click I Accept the agreement when you are happy with the Licence agreement presented to you, then click Next. As for choosing your installation location, use the one suggested to you unless you have a strong preference. Click Next. As for choosing your Start Menu folder location, also use the one suggested unless you have a strong preference. Click Next. In the Select File associations window, make sure the Azureus download box is ticked. Click Next. Click Finish.
Mac: Download the latest OSX package. Follow the instructions when opening the .dmg file.
Linux: Follow instructions here http://azureus.sourceforge.net/howto_linux.php
Using Azureus for publishing video
When you are looking for torrents you may use a site like [http://www.thepiratebay.org/ The Pirate Bay] which publishes .torrent files uploaded by its users. These small torrent files contain information about the content in circulation. It does not contain the video file itself. Therefore, the torrent files are very quick to download. Azureus uses this information to connect to other users who have the actual content on their computers, and starts to download it from them. You may be downloading it from a lot of users at the same time, while any fragments of the file that you have downloaded are automatically made available to other users as well. In this way the more people who are simultaneously sharing a file, the quicker it will download to your computer.
There is a traditional way of creating a torrent file and seeding your content so that others can download it. (Seeding the file basically means allowing other users to download it from you using BitTorrent.) It is relatively complicated to do this but it is documented here.
The system can be said to work against new users since these might not know anyone else out there who could sustain the availablity of your content: users must remain online to help making available the content they've downloaded so that this content is kept in permanent circulation and others can easily download it. As you need to do this for at least a while until enough people have got hold of your content, make sure to be persistent when you are starting to seed the file, and preferably use an Internet connection with as much bandwidth as possible.
Using the Azureus Vuze network to publish video
To avoid these problems use the Azureus Vuze network. They have a system that allows you to upload a file and they will also create the torrent file and 'seed' your video file so that others can start downloading it.
The disadvantage to this system is that these other people also need to be using the same Azureus Vuze system and your video won't be available to be included in podcasts. It can therefore be said to seem a bit like the MacDonalds of the torrent world. However, it's really easy to do.
Make sure you have the latest Vuze / Azureus version. At the start-up screen, click "Publish".
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/vuze1.jpg
Sign up for an account using the form shown below. Fill out the forms and click "Register".
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/vuze2.jpg
Then click on "Sign In" when you have registered.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/vuze3.jpg
When you have signed in click on "Publish New Content" (at the top left of the page).
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/vuze4.jpg
We are going to upload just a single file. From the drop down box next to "Media type" select "Video".
Click on the "Browse" button next to "Upload a Single File".
Look on the system for the file you want to upload. Then fill out the form with as much information as you can.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/vuze5.jpg
Add an image to represent the video. You should take a screenshot or find a related image on the Internet. Often doing a [http://images.google.com/ Google Image] search for related terms can help as shown below.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/vuze6.jpg
Try to choose one that is about the right size for screen shot (TV size). If this isn't the right shape or is much too big you may have to resize it in another program. When you have browsed for and selected your image file there is a tool that lets you choose part of the image by moving and zooming the picture.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/vuze7.jpg
Click OK when you are happy with it.
Then, when the form is complete, click the box saying you agree to the terms when you are happy with them and finally click the "Publish" button.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/vuze8.jpg
You should then recieve a confirmation page. Keep Azureus open until there is confirmation that the file has been uploaded.
You should follow any advice given.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/vuze9.jpg
Click on "Published Content" above that message and you will see this screen.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/vuze10.jpg
Click on the icon http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/vuze11.jpg
next to the file you are uploading, and the message at the bottom of the screen above will be displayed. If you click on he name of the video it will take you to a page where people can download and preview your video.
On that page it also suggests ways of networking your video so many people might download it.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/vuze12.jpg
The most important piece of information is the link so that you can email it to your friends and get them passing on the message and downloading the content.
Using a Public Tracker to publish video with a BitTorrent file
In Azureus, choose File > New Torrent.
Choose a public tracker like [http://www.thepiratebay.org The Pirate Bay]. Currently the server is tpb.piratebay.org.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/azurtrack1.jpg
Then click "Next".
Drag and drop the file onto the next window and the location of the file should appear in the "File:" box there.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/azurtrack2.jpg
Click "Next".
You then get to choose where to save the torrent file. The default would be in a path similar to this: C:\Documents and Settings\Mick Fuzz\Application Data\Azureus\torrents
****** settings
Click the boxes for "Open the torrent for seeding" and "Allow decentralized tracking when tracking is unavailable".
Click "Finish".
You should see your file in the lower window with the status "seeding". If so, you are ready to upload your torrent to the Internet.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/azurtrack5.jpg
Seeding a file you made earlier
Maybe you didn't click the "Open the torrent for seeding" box, or something went wrong or you want to seed it at a later date.
How do you come back to a torrent you've already made and start to seed it?
Make sure you are in the 'Advanced' window. Select File > Open Torrent.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/azurtrack4.jpg
When you see the above window, click on "Add file" and choose the torrent file you want to add. This is the .torrent file which has a small file size, not the actual content (the big data / video file that the .torrent refers to).
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/azurtrack6.jpg
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/azurtrack7.jpg
You should make a backup of the original data file - in the example above, the "transmission2.mpg" file - and then browse for the folder that contains the original file in the box "Location to save data".
Right-click (on Mac, Ctrl-click) on the file entry in the top window and select "Add Mode: Seeding".
If this works correctly you should the following window should appear.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/azurtrack8.jpg
The reason we created a backup was in case anything goes wrong with this process. Click OK.
The torrent should now be seeding the file and it should appear in the lower seeding window.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/azurtrack5.jpg
Uploading the torrent file to the Internet
Example given: [http://www.thepiratebay.org The Pirate Bay]
There are many different public trackers you can use to distribute your BitTorrent file. We are going to use one of the most famous ones for this example; [http://www.thepiratebay.org The Pirate Bay]. It is worth watching the video "Steal this Film" about how the Pirate Bay and other BitTorrent tracker sites work. See the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steal_This_Film Wikipedia entry], the [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4116387786400792905 Google Video film], or use this link to the actual torrent of "Steal This Film" [http://thepiratebay.org/blog/38 hosted on The Pirate Bay].
Here we'll focus on how to distribute your file using The Pirate Bay's tracker and website.
First create an account at The Pirate Bay.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/pb1.jpg
From the [http://www.thepiratebay.org/ front page] of The Pirate Bay, click "Register" which would appear as the second link at the bottom of the page.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/pb2.jpg
Make sure you input your correct email address as you will be sent a confirmation email .
From: no-reply@ thepiratebay.org Subject: The Pirate Bay - Please confirm your registration
In the email there will be a message confirming your username and password. There will also be a weblink that you need to click on to visit, in order to confirm your registration.
When you click on that link you will be able to log in to The Pirate Bay. In fact you will probably already be logged in.
When you have logged in you should see different options for your personal setup at the bottom of the page.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/pb3.jpg
What we need is to click on "Upload Torrent". When you do, the following screen will appear.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/pb4.jpg
You can see here the URL of the tracker that is going to be used by your torrent. It needs to be the same as the one that we used when creating the torrent. If you don't understand this don't worry, all you need to know is that if for some reason the 'Announce URL' shown at this stage is different from the one you used when you created the torrent, then it won't work, and you need to re-create the torrent using the correct 'Announce URL'.
Browse for the torrent you created in the steps above. It should end .torrent - the default location will be something like C:\Documents and Settings\your name\Application Data\Azureus\torrents.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/pb5.jpg
It's worth noting that the more information you can put in your file name for the torrent the better, as it will be easier to find and will improve the information about what the video is about to the casual file-sharers of the BitTorrent world.
If your file name doesn't describe what the video is about you have the chance to enter a different name in the next box.
You should also choose a category, add information about the languages of the original soundtrack and subtitle files as appropriate, and put in a catchy description.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/pb6.jpg
In the example (a Matroska file with embedded subtitles) we have added more than one language in the "Texted languages" box. If you have external subtitles to your video file you will probably want to compress these into one file (using zip or rar) for BitTorrent download. For more information on this see the Subtitles section of these guides.
Enter the security code. Click "Upload".
Your BitTorrent file should now be available for download through The Pirate Bay. You can check this by clicking "Recent Torrents" at the top of the page.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/pb7.jpg
If you see the name of your file and click on it you should recieve the individual page of your torrent. It will look something like this:
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/pb8.jpg
This contains the information you uploaded, together with some information about "Seeders" and "Leechers". This is important (although not always totally accurate). It is useful for keeping your torrent alive - you want to have as many of these as possible, especially seeders!
Keeping your torrent alive - making sure the torrent is sucessful
Just because you have uploaded your torrent file to a torrent site doesn't mean that everyone will be able to download it. There needs to be at least one computer connected to the Internet seeding it at any one time in order for the content to be publicly available. If you have followed the above steps for seeding your file, and you keep your computer on and connected to the Internet this process should be under way. Ideally you want a few people to download the file from you and to keep it open for seeding as well. In this way you can stop seeding the file personally and it will still be held in circulation by the other seeders.
To do this you may want to have a couple of people you know do this for you. Ideally people who have broadband connections and are online all of the time. You can email them your torrent file and ask them to keep seeding it when they have downloaded it.
This is why the "Seeders" information displayed is useful. You can tell how many people have a copy of the file open for seeding. Some of the very popular Hollywood films for example have many (and we mean many) seeders. If your file gets to the point where it hasn't any seeders at all, then people won't be able to download it. Maybe you have to do the hard work of seeding th file manually again, just to keep the file available.
Specialist Trackers
If your film is of a 'specialist' nature then you should try to get your torrent listed on a few other torrent sites that specialise in your genre. There is no need to remake your torrent - just try to get it listed!
Indytorrents
For videos relating to social justice and freedom of speech it's a good idea to use [http://indytorrents.org indytorrents].
To register you need to get in contact with the people who run it, which you can do by contacting them on this email list (not used too much!): https://lists.riseup.net/www/info/indytorrents. You can send an email to indytorrents@lists.riseup.net explaining what kind of content you want to distribute. This is a tip from someone involved in deciding what content is allowed:
We allow people to join and be uploaders as long as they want to upload activist film and it is under some kind of shareable license (or, not licensed, or whatever). Traditional copyright material is most definitely discouraged (I would say not allowed, but I don't know if anyone actually polices that - I'm certain it would get taken down immediately if requested by the copyright owner or other interested parties).
After you have contacted the indytorrents people and recieved your username and password, to add your torrent first login by clicking "Log in".
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/indytorrents1.jpg
Then click "Upload a new torrent".
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/indytorrents2.jpg
Then fill out the form presented to you. Browse for the torrent file you created earlier in this tutorial and fill in the other details. See below for an example.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/indytorrents3.jpg
You should then get a screen saying you have been successful and give concise instructions on seeding the torrent. For more detailed ones see above in the tutorial.
http://www.converge.org.uk/img/BittorrentDistribution/indytorrents4.jpg
Now click on "Return to Tracker". You should see your file there!