<?=$SITENAME?> :: Interview Preparation

\ No newline at end of file diff --git a/spectral-analysis.php b/spectral-analysis.php new file mode 100644 index 0000000..21b7f58 --- /dev/null +++ b/spectral-analysis.php @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +Spectral analysis is a visual way to display the data in a music file. Every music note has a specific frequency: lower notes have lower frequencies and higher notes have higher frequencies. All of the frequencies are displayed on a spectral diagram (“spectral” for short), which is a graph of all the frequencies vs. time in a music file. Frequencies are measured in hertz (Hz) and kilohertz (1,000 Hz). Humans have a hearing range from about 20 Hz — 20kHz (20,000 Hz). +

+Since spectrals show all the data in a file, they are helpful tools to use when you’re trying to decide whether or not a song has been transcoded. Every file has a relatively standard frequency cut-off. +

+Click on any of the spectrals below to view it in a higher resolution. + +

CD / Lossless

+Songs on a retail CD and lossless songs have frequencies that extend all the way to 22 kHz. Since lossless to lossless transcoding preserves all of the data in a music file, the spectral of a lossless song will look the same in FLAC, WAV (PCM), ALAC, etc. + +

+ +However, different genres have different-looking spectrals. The example above was a pop song, so most of the frequencies were represented. But look at this classical piano song. + +

+ +It looks much different, right? But it’s still a lossless spectral! Notice how “white noise” (the light purple) still extends to 22 kHz, even though those frequencies aren’t used. +

MP3

+Different types of MP3s have different frequency cut-offs. MP3s also tend to have a “shelf” at 16 kHz (you’ll see it in the spectrals). +

MP3 320kbps (CBR) has a frequency cut-off at 20.5 kHz.

MP3 256kbps (CBR) has a frequency cut-off at 20 kHz.

MP3 V0 has a frequency cut-off at 19.5 kHz.

MP3 192kbps (CBR) has a frequency cut-off at 19 kHz.

MP3 V2 has a frequency cut-off at 18.5 kHz.

MP3 128kbps (CBR) has a frequency cut-off at 16 kHz.

Transcodes

+How are spectrals helpful when trying to detect transcodes? Say you download a song in FLAC from a blog. The only way to verify that this song is truly a lossless file and not a transcoded file is by looking at its spectral. (Programs like AudioIdentifier are not reliable at detecting transcodes.) +

+For example, the spectral below is of a FLAC file: the file extension is .flac, it is 21.8 MB, and it sounds okay. +

+But whoa, does that look anything like what a regular FLAC spectral should look like? No! This file was transcoded from MP3 192kbps (CBR) to FLAC. It’s a lossy to lossless transcode, which is bad. +

Programs

+For spectral analysis, we recommend using either Adobe Audition (Windows or Mac OS), Audacity (Windows, Mac OS, Linux), and SoX (Windows, Mac OS, Linux — command line only). All of the spectrals that appear in this guide were viewed in Adobe Audition CS 6. +Although you should use spectral analysis to determine whether a file is a transcode or not, you will need to use another program to first determine what bitrate or encoding preset the file claims to be. For this purpose, we recommend using Audio Identifier or dbPowerAmp on Windows and dnuos or MediaInfo on Mac OS.'); + +newsbot(); + + include('publicfooter.php'); +?> \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/starting-the-interview.php b/starting-the-interview.php new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7c4c331 --- /dev/null +++ b/starting-the-interview.php @@ -0,0 +1,62 @@ +Getting an IRC Client +Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a beefier version of chat clients you may be used to, like AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) or Yahoo! Messenger. +

Suggested Clients

mIRC (Windows)
Hexchat (Windows, Linux)
Colloquy (Mac OS)

+Note: Web-based IRC clients, such as Mibbit, are very unstable, and therefor not recommended to use.

+Once you have downloaded, installed, and set up your IRC client, read on! + +

Connecting to ' . $SITENAME . '’s IRC

+YOU MAY ONLY INTERVIEW ON YOUR HOME CONNECTION. Proxies, bouncers, shells, office lines, and other non-home connections (including using your friend’s home connection) are not allowed. You may connect from your university dormitory.
+

+IRC Server: irc.orpheus.network
+Port: 6667 (+7000 for SSL)

+ +After you have connected to ' . $SITENAME . '’s IRC network, type: “/join ' . $interviewchan . '” (without the quotation marks) and follow the directions in the topic. + +

Speedtest

+ +In order to join the queue, you will have to take a speedtest on your home connection (remember, you may ONLY interview on your home connection!).
+If you live at college, please explain this to your interviewer.
+

Go to http://www.speedtest.net.
Click on “BEGIN TEST” (blue button).
Wait for your test to finish.
Click on “SHARE THIS RESULT” (green button).
Click on the “IMAGE” tab
Click “COPY” (blue button).

+ +

Queuing

+Back in ' . $interviewchan . ', simply wait for an available interviewer.
+ +

How to use the bot

+To enter the queue, enter the following command in your IRC client: “/msg Hermes !queue speedtestlink” (without the quotations, replacing “speedtestlink” with your correct speedtest link.)
+Example: “/msg Hermes !queue http://www.speedtest.net/result/1234566.png”
+After queueing correctly, you will get a small notice from the Hermes bot.
+How to exit the queue: To exit the queue, simply type the following command in your IRC client:
+“/msg Hermes !cancel”
+How to view information about the queue: To view information about your current position in the queue, and how long you have waited, simply type the following command in your IRC client: “/msg Hermes !info”

+Important:
+Make sure you are queueing with the correct link and not the “Web” link.
+Correct: http://www.speedtest.net/result/1234566.png
+Wrong: http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/1234566

+Then wait for an interviewer to interview you.
+

But I’ve waited forever!

+All of our interviewers are ' . $SITENAME . ' users who who voluntarily interview, so you may have to wait a while before you are interviewed. Although it seems like a lot of interviewers are in the channel, many of them may be “idling” (they are in the channel but are unable to interview).

+

Clients

+A BitTorrent client is a program that allows you to connect to the BitTorrent system. Think of BitTorrent like the internet and BitTorrent clients as internet browsers. There are multiple different internet browsers with different features, but they connect to the same internet. Click here for the BitTorrent clients that are on the whitelist, or allowed on ' . $SITENAME . '. You will not be able to connect to peers from ' . $SITENAME . ' (and thus download data) if your BitTorrent client is not on the whitelist. If there is an “x” behind a decimal, that means that any number can be substituted for the x. For example: uTorrent 2.0.x means that uTorrent 2.0.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.2, 2.0.3, 2.0.4, etc. are all on the whitelist. +

Ratio

+A ratio is a comparison between your downloaded and uploaded data (this is also known as a fraction). Dividing the amount of data you have uploaded by the amount of data you have downloaded gives you your ratio. A ratio of 1.0 is healthy because it means you have downloaded as much data as you have uploaded. Ratios significantly under 1.0 are unhealthy because it means that you are not contributing as much to the community as you are taking from it. Ratios significantly above 1.0 are also unhealthy because it means that you are “hoarding” upload instead of giving back to the community by downloading more. We realize that it may be difficult to maintain a ratio on ' . $SITENAME . ', so we have a ratio system to help out our users. Your required ratio is the ratio you must maintain in order to be able to keep downloading torrents. The required ratio is calculated based on how many torrents you are seeding and how much data you have downloaded. +

+Notice that your required ratio is much lower if you seed 100% of the torrents you download for at least 72 hours each week. In fact, you would have a required ratio of 0 until you download more than 20 GB if you seed all of your torrents! NOTE: This does not mean you should only seed for 72 hours. It is in your interest, particularly as a new user, to seed for as long as possible. This will help maintain your ratio and help keep content available for everyone. +If you fall below your required ratio, you will be put in ratio watch for two weeks. If you are unable to improve your ratio in this time period, your leeching privileges (ability to download) will be disabled. In order to get your leeching privileges re-enabled, you can fill requests or upload new torrents, as well as continue to seed the torrents you have already downloaded. DO NOT upload torrents that are against the rules, like transcodes, mutt rips, or duplicates. Failing to follow the upload rules, especially when you are in ratio watch, will result in a warning. If you download more than 10 GB while on ratio watch, your leeching privileges will be immediately disabled. +

Freeleech and Neutral Leech

+Generally the exact amount of data you upload and download is recorded in your ratio. However, this is not so with torrents that are marked freeleech or neutral leech. When a torrent is marked freeleech, it means that the amount of data you download from this torrent will not be recorded in your ratio, but the amount of data you upload from this torrent will be recorded in your ratio. On special occasions there may be Staff Picks (albums that staff members recommend), which are usually freeleech. Freeleech torrents are a good way to build up your ratio. When a torrent is marked neutral leech, it means that neither the amount of data you download nor the amount of data you upload from this torrent will be recorded in your ratio. +

Port Forwarding

+Port forwarding allows computers on the public internet to connect directly to your computer. Most home internet providers use Network Address Translation(NAT) to allow home users to connect as many devices to their router (also known as a modem or wireless unit) as they desire. NAT can also prevent direct connections from the public internet to your computer. Port forwarding tells your router or modem to ensure all requests made on a specific port reach a specific computer inside the NAT. Your BitTorrent client runs on a certain port on your computer (you can assign the port), and by forwarding this port, you make yourself more connectable to other computers. Using port forwarding for connectability increases the chances that your client will upload data to a peer who is leeching. +

+ +You can learn more about port forwarding as well as get specific directions on how to set up a port forward on your home router or modem at Port Forward. You can test your port forward by using Can You See Me and putting in your forwarded port number to be tested. You can find which port your BitTorrent client uses under your client’s preferences (for uTorrent: Options > Setup Guide ; for Transmission: Preferences > Network). + +

DHT

+A Distributed Hash Table (DHT) is used by BitTorrent clients to obtain lists of peers without a centralized tracker (' . $SITENAME . ' has its own private tracker, as do other private tracker sites). Though DHT can make it quicker for you to leech data on public trackers, DHT is bad for private trackers because it allows peers who are not members of the private tracker to access the torrents on the tracker. DHT should be turned off in your torrent client. +

Partial Seeders

+A partial seeder is a peer who has downloaded and is seeding part of a torrent. The peer looks like a leecher; however, he has no intention of downloading the rest of the torrent. Huge torrents like Rosetta Stone Multi-Language MegaPack (38 GB) and a 30 CD Mozart Box Set (50 GB) often have a large number of partial seeders. These torrents should never be downloaded in an attempt to increase ratio. +

Marking Torrents As Private

+When creating torrents to upload to a private tracker, there is a box to “mark torrent as private”. You should always check this box, as it keeps peers who are not members of ' . $SITENAME . ' out of the peer list. This is for your security and that of all the site members.'); + +newsbot(); + + include('publicfooter.php'); +?> \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/transcodes.php b/transcodes.php new file mode 100644 index 0000000..04a9aae --- /dev/null +++ b/transcodes.php @@ -0,0 +1,32 @@ +Transcoding (verb) a file means converting from one format to another. A transcode (noun) can mean any converted file, but is usually used in a negative context (as in a bad transcode). +

Good Transcodes

+A good transcode means that during the transcode process, the file has either never been converted to lossy, or the file has only been converted to lossy once during the last step. +
+

Examples of good transcodes:

uncompressed lossless > compressed lossless
compressed lossless > uncompressed lossless
compressed lossless > compressed lossless
uncompressed lossless > lossy
compressed lossless > lossy

Bad Transcodes

+A bad transcode means that during the transcode process, the file has either been converted to a lossy format more than once, or the file has been converted from lossy to lossless. Bad transcodes are prohibited on ' . $SITENAME . '. +

Examples of bad transcodes:

higher lossy bitrate > lower lossy bitrate
same bitrate lossy > same bitrate lossy
lossy > lossless

'); + +newsbot(); + + include('publicfooter.php'); +?> \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/trumpchart.png b/trumpchart.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..103ad42 Binary files /dev/null and b/trumpchart.png differ

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Analog Music Sources

Examples

Digital Music Sources

Examples

Analog Music Sources vs. Digital Music Sources

Bitrates

Uncompressed Lossless

Examples

Compressed Lossless

Examples

Lossy

Examples

File Size

Transparency

Allowed Formats

Allowed Lossless Formats

Allowed Lossy Formats

Log Files

Cue Files

Suggested CD Ripping Programs

Constant Bitrate (CBR)

Variable Bitrate (VBR)

Average Bitrate (ABR)

Dupes

Trumps

Format Trumps

Tag Trumps

Folder Trumps

CD / Lossless

MP3

Transcodes

Programs

Suggested Clients

Connecting to ' . $SITENAME . '’s IRC

Speedtest

Queuing

How to use the bot

But I’ve waited forever!

More Questions?

Clients

Ratio

Freeleech and Neutral Leech

Port Forwarding

DHT

Partial Seeders

Marking Torrents As Private

Good Transcodes

Bad Transcodes