The VH Trade Site Forums Archives

[the_atomicpunk]

Hi there!!!
I´m new here!

I'am a 24 years old VH fan from BRAZIIIIIIIL!!!!
I love Van Halen sice i was 12, and i didn't knew of the existence of this forum 0_0 !!!!!

Well, i hope to make some good friends here and talk about VH, hear and see some live bootloegs from this tour!!!

Hey, i have too, they won't play here :-(

See ya!!

[Dirq Van]

Welcome to vhtrading :thumb:

[Mink]

Welcome aboard, glad to have you hear :)

[liquid_steel_az]

Welcome to the site!! :thumb:

[theshooter666]

Welcome to the Loudest Site On The Planet! :D :thumb:

[oryo]

Maybe you've known about bootleg recordings for a while, but just didn't know exactly who to ask or how to acquire them. Perhaps you're a longtime Van Halen fan (but brand new to the internet) and didn't even know such recordings existed. Either way, there are a few basic steps to take to educate you on how to jump into the wonderful world of CD and DVD trading:

Read this site's Frequently Asked Questions page. You'll find that it answers a majority of the questions you might have. The page itself may be long; but if you invest a small part of your time by studying it, you'll save yourself -- and your fellow traders -- any aggravation or confusion.
Seek out potential trade partners wisely. On this site's message boards, the VH Trade Forums, you can peruse through various forums that list VH traders. One of these is a recommended traders forum; these people have proven themselves to be great traders by faithfully coming through every time on deals with other collectors (whom they are recommended by). Remember to investigate whether or not certain traders will deal with newbies (some don't -- so please show understanding). Also give some leniency towards more experienced traders; I know you're eager to get your hands on some great music, but some people lead extremely busy lives (with work, family, school, or various other activities) and may not be able to help you out in speedy fashion. So give 'em a break.
Visit one of the other trade-oriented websites, such as the ones listed on Question #11 on the Frequently Asked Questions page. This is especially good if you're interested in other artists besides Van Halen.
Go through one of the trade-oriented newsgroups like [url=news:alt.music.bootlegs]alt.music.bootlegs[/url] or [url=news:alt.music.tape-culture]alt.music.tape-culture[/url], among others (there are newer, CD-R and DVD-oriented ones available nowadays). Before you send a deluge of trade requests to either one of these newsgroups:

read the associated FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions) they provide, and
wait at least 3-4 weeks before you post to get a "feel" for the newsgroups and how they function.

Join a mailing list geared towards bootleg trading. There are literally hundreds of these on the internet, and are not too hard to find if you search in the right places. Yahoogroups and Topica have dozens of good mailing lists dedicated to bootleg collecting. Again, just like the aforementioned newsgroups, read any rules or FAQ's they may have and wait before posting.
Visit one of the Van Halen message boards. In addition to our own VH Trade Forums, the following boards have forums geared toward bootleg/memorabilia collecting: VH Forums.
Add your posting on the VH Trade Forums. Either by posting a profile or a classified ad, let people know that you'd like to start trading and what tell them what you're looking for.

Once you've started trading:

Thoroughly read the Quality Assurance Trading Standards. These were created so that only the best-sounding bootlegs stay in circulation.
Always follow through on your trades. It's common sense. If for any reason a problem arises that may delay your end of the trade, be courteous enough to immediately contact that party you're trading with and let him/her know what the problem is, so that an agreeable and fair solution can be worked out.
It is not advisable to mislead or rip off a fellow trader in a transaction. Many Van Halen traders have a very high profile on the internet and will identify you as a bad trader if you are seen posting in another forum.
Be patient. Amassing a sizable collection of recordings takes time.

Here are some internet spots to avoid, either with trading or Van Halen news in general:

Auction sites like eBay. Don't get the wrong idea; eBay and their kind are often a great source of rare collectibles that would be nearly impossible to find anywhere else. But when it comes to bootlegs, don't depend on eBay to expand your collection for two reasons: The sale of bootlegs is illegal (refer to the FAQ page's entry for more details), and you'll frequently pay exorbitant amounts for recordings that you get obtain for a fraction of the cost if you would make an exchange with a trader. Why be a fool? Tape/CD trading is cheaper, easier, and most of all, legal.
Any person's "trade site" with prices listed for selling. Stay any from them no matter how tempting their offers may look. Although you'll hear these sellers often use something like the following in their defense -- "we're just providing a service for those who are unable to trade, and we don't make any profits" -- keep in mind there are numerous traders who would be willing to deal with a complete newbie for nothing.
Any of the "Van Halen" newsgroups, such as alt.music.vanhalen or alt.music.van-halen (just to name two). These places are nothing but a cesspool populated by morons who divulge in false rumors, bullshit, and Van Halen trashing. They're a complete waste of time to even visit.

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This is a list of "essential" bootleg trading web sites that started several years ago. I'm sure some of the links don't even work anymore or are outdated (tapes? Who trades tapes anymore?;)). If you feel any should be added or deleted, please post it and I'll add it to the master list on top.

Frequently Asked Questions

alt.music.bootlegs FAQ
ftp://ftp.visi.com/users/astanley/ambfaq.txt
A detailed explanation on bootleg trading in general

CD-R FAQ
http://www.cdrfaq.org/
Info on using and trading CD-Recordables

CD-R Info
http://www.cdrinfo.com
Good site with news and info about CD-Rs and burners

DAT FAQ
http://www.eklektix.com/dat-heads/FAQ
Info on using and recording Digital Audio Tapes

DVD Answer Man
http://www.dvdanswerman.com
Great resource for DVDs

DVD FAQ
http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html
Info on Digital Video/Versatile Discs

MIC FAQ
http://home.worldonline.nl/~mjjm/mic-faq/mic-faq.html
Info on recording concerts and equipment

Tape Tree FAQ
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mleone/gdead/faq/tape-trees.html
A detailed explanation on tape trees

VCD FAQ
http://www.vcdhelp.com/
Great resource for VCDs - Video Compact Discs

Torrent Sites
Jam To This
http://www.jamtothis.com

Software Sites
EAC - Exact Audio Copy
http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

Tape Trading Web Sites/Trader Lists

Tape Trader Network
http://www.tapetracker.com/traderindex

Resources For Tapers Site
http://www.resourcesfortapers.com

TapeTrader.com
http://www.tapetrader.com

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Here is a reference guide for all the video's available:

VAN HALEN DVD LIST
http://www.vhtrading.com/video/

SAMMY HAGAR SOLO DVD LIST
http://www.vhtrading.com/sammydvd/

DAVID LEE ROTH SOLO DVD LIST
http://www.vhtrading.com/davedvd/

Well, I guess a good starting point for anyone who starts to trade is the following:

http://www.vhtrading.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9225

The quality assurance standards is very important - the ones listed are for CDs, but for DVDs here's what you want to do:

1. Always burn at 4x - nothing faster!
2. Use quality media - brands that have been proven are Maxell, TDK, Taiyo Yuden, Sony, and Ritek Ridata
3. Use paper sleeves to send discs - try to keep it at one paper sleeve per disc so they won't get scratched
4. Never write on discs - use post its or write on sleeve
5. Use a bubble mailer - it's lighter and will save you on postage

Now, being that you don't have much to trade, you might want to offer up a B+P - here's a great guide to that:

http://www.mcnichol.com/bnp/

Or you can offer up a 2:1 trade - you send 2 blanks for every show you request.

You might be wondering how much it will cost to mail shows out, so here's a link to the most recent postal rates:

http://www.vhtrading.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10124

As you acquire more shows, you might want to use the following to make a list:

http://www.vhtrading.com/traders.php
http://www.tapetrader.com/
http://www.phishhook.com/

That way, when you want to trade, you can provide a link to your list instead.

There are other ways of acquiring shows - for example, bittorrent! Scott has provided this link:

http://torrentfreak.com/bittorrent-tutorial-roundup/

You can get shows throught bittorrent, but you will find you can't get everything - so when you are ready to offer a B+P or 2:1, just post and ISO with the date/name of the show under the appropriate Audio or Video section. Then describe what you offer and a fellow member will be able to help you out.

Remember, clear and timely communication is key!

I know this sounds like a lot, but believe me, soon you will get started the right way and become a great trader like many in this forum!

Good luck!

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As "newbies" (new traders) you will eventually want to start building a collection. With that being said one way to do so is to request B&P's (blanks & postage). Basically if someone has a show you would like to have you can make a request, or they may offer a B&P. You send them blank media and a return SASE. They in turn will burn the show for you and mail it back. For you to have successful B&Ps consider these guidelines...

B&P Guidelines:

* Send discs in a bubble mailer.
* Also a self addressed, stamped (stamps, not metered postage) bubble mailer inside package.
* Include a printout of the email or PM to let the other person know what it is they are making a copy of for you.
* Send discs in envelopes. Shipping in the plastic case can result in damaged blank media.
* Do not write on the discs. All info should be written on the envelope or included on a separate sheet of paper.
* Send the correct media. (DVD+R, DVD-R, single layer, dual layer, etc.)
* Be patient. People have lives and they are doing you a favor.
* Keep the lines of communication open. Many problems can be avoided this way.
* Most important, BE HONEST!

If you have any questions, just ask. All of us know what it is like to be new to trading or to a new site. If you are unsure of anything, ask. Everyone here will be more than happy to help you along your way.

Welcome to VHT!

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BitTorrent Client Info

For the benefit of newbies, here's a review of a few BitTorrenting programs. Different clients provide different features, some offer more details, and others offer better functionality. The following rundown will be updated with more clients in future posts.

Azureus

Azureus is a Java based client. It is full of features, and allows more control over your torrents than any other client. It includes multiple torrent downloads, queuing/priority systems (on torrents and files), start/stop seeding options and instant access to numerous pieces of information about your torrents. It also offers an embedded tracker easily set up and ready to use. Azureus alsoremoves the need for a separate app for making torrents (such asMakeTorrent), because it has a built-in "Create a Torrent" feature.

As of version 2.5.0.0, Azureus now has a distributed, decentralized database that can be used to track decentralised torrents. This permits both "trackerless" torrents and the maintenance of swarms where the tracker has become unavailable or where the torrent was removed from the tracker. It uses the UDP protocol, if you have a firewall/router, you will need to open/forward the UDP port in the same way you did with TCP to download data. See http://azureus.aelitis.com/wiki/index.php/...ckerAndDatabase

For torrents that are tracked decentrally, Azureus can export a "Magnet Link". This is of the form "magnet:?xt=urn:btih:..." and can be used to download the torrent from the distributed database via the "open->url" menu item.

Joltid Peer Cache (JPC) is now integrated into Azureus. For users whose ISP support this, JPC should allow faster downloads, while helping the ISP reduce its bandwidth costs. The JPC Plugin is safe in the way that your ISP won't know what you are downloading, and can't use it to spy on you. The JPC plugin can be disabled through Tools > Options > Plugins > JPC.

Azureus is updated frequently by a dedicated team of developers. It's a cross-platform client, with releases for Linux and Mac, as well as Windows. There is also an advanced web interface, which requires Java to be installed, to allow remote monitoring of torrents, including the adding of new torrents.

Unfortunately, with all these features, Azureus can be a memory hog and resource hungry. This is an off-putter for many. Those with computer resources to spare, however, may grow to find Azureus becoming their favorite client.

Azureus Homepage

BitTornado

BitTornado is one of the most popular clients. It was originally known as Shad0w's Experimental, at which time it became the client of choice for many beginners who had found that the official client (v3.x) just didn't offer enough control. Even today, as BitTornado, experienced users and beginners alike use this feature-packed client.

In the main window, you will find a set of lights, which are replacable, that will change to indicate the status of your connection; however, they aren't always 100% accurate. You can also change IP settings and ports, have default save paths, and perform other operations with one or two clicks of the GUI. It is quite small and doesn't harm CPU too much, but if you want multiple downloads, you will have to have separate instances of the client open (which isn't much of a problem because of the low CPU load). The main window displays a bevy of pertinent information including your connections to peers and seeders, your upload rate, if applicable, your download rate, your connection status, your share rating, the amount uploaded, the amount downloaded, and much more. A lot of this is standard in most clients, but because of its small size, its apparent superiority when compared to the official client (especially in the piece checking arena), it is a highly recommended client to use.

Unfortunately, it has been having a few problems recently, with incompatibility issues (brought about with XP SP2), and crashes upon exiting the client. The creator intends to completely re-invent the BitTornado, by writing in a new language and creating a new GUI (he's sick of it himself!).

With the latest version of the official client being a great improvement on previous iterations, and the problems with BitTornado that have surfaced and have yet to be fixed, it leaves little to be desired about this client. Until the creator finally releases a new milestone build, BitTornado seems to be falling behind the rest of the pack.

BitTornado Homepage

ABC

ABC is a client based on BitTornado. It features handling of multiple torrents, as well as a GUI to go along with it; It should run everywhere Python runs, but has only been tested on Win32 and Linux. It remains a popular choice amongst users.

It did feature a web interface at some point, and still does, but unfortunately the script is no longer available, and needs to be built from scratch.

However, with only one developer left working on it, and updates few and far between, ABC is virtually a dead project.

ABC Homepage

BitComet

BitComet is a powerful, clean, fast, and easy-to-use bittorrent client. It supports simultaneous downloads, download queue, selected downloads in torrent package, fast-resume, chatting, disk cache, speed limits, port mapping, proxy, ip-filter, etc. This is a very good client to use for downloading specific files within a torrent by checking or unchecking the contents before the download begins (all items are checked by default, however it is worth noting that nearly ALL other clients do this as well). The chat feature (disabled by default) is interesting as it allows you to chat with others downloading the same torrent if desired, however the other users must be using the same client with the feature enabled for it to work.

Note that BitComet (v0.70) appears to have problems with recovering gracefully when trying to send tracker updates. If the send fails for any reason (tracker busy?), instead of backing off for a while, BitComet will keep trying to send the update, thus 'hammering' the tracker.

BitComet is being popular very quickly. Unfortunately, many people, the majority being n00bs, are under the perception that BitComet offers them better speeds than other clients. This is, of course, untrue, as download speed is dependant on settings, among other things, as oppososed to the client.

Note: BitComet v0.6x has been banned from many private trackers. Initially it was due to BitComet not observing private flags, and so allowing DHT on all torrents. However, other issues such as "cheating tactics" are now the reasons for BitComet remaining banned.

BitComet Homepage

µTorrent

"µTorrent is an efficient and feature rich BitTorrent client for Windows sporting a very small footprint. It was designed to use as little cpu, memory and space as possible while offering all the functionality expected from advanced clients."

This client has been gaining popularity very, very fast, and it's easy to see why. It really does have a tiny memory footprint, and it definitely worth a try if you're looking to minimize memory and CPU usage. It's almost as feature complete as Azureus. It's also skinnable, and a web interface is currently in development. It's definitely a client to keep an eye on in the future.

µTorrent Homepage

As it was stated in the beginning, more clients are planning to be added as time goes on. However, anyone can chime in with their own thoughts about various BitTottent programs with which you've had experience here.

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Preparing files/folder for torrenting

For seeding the files, they should be in a folder on your computer with a proper name, which describes its contents. It is very important the files have the right extention, which is for the most part *.flac for audio files. Any changes of the folder name or the files after creating a .torrent file will cause errors and incomplete downloads for leechers. If it is neccessary to change anything, a new torrent must be created.

Creating a .torrent file

There are many torrent makers out there (MakeTorrent, TorrentSpy, clients' built-in..); they all are quite similar and there's no difference using one or another. Just in case of some problems (i.e. the tracker won't accept your torrent file), try using another torrent maker.

Here's how to do it with the Torrent Builder that comes with the BitSpirit client, downloadable here.

Just start the Torrent Builder, add any files or folders you want to share and click the "Make" button.



After the torrent file is saved, it's time to release it to the tracker.

Publishing on the tracker

Next go to forum and create a new topic (but only in the Torrents category), write the name and description (just the same as if you were posting the usual topic) and add the torrent file to the post. To do this click on Browse at the bottom of the posting form and select your torrent file (you don't need to press Add Attachment as it will be done automatically once you press the Submit button).



Press the Submit button. Successful posting will show the following message:



It says that the torrent was successfully registered on tracker.

Now download the torrent you've just posted and run it using your BitTorrent client choosing the folder with the files you're sharing as the download path.

Note: downloading the torrent you've uploaded is important as the tracker has done some necessary changes to it. If you run the torrent file you have created, it just won't work!

If something went wrong and the torrent wasn't registered automatically (or if this feature is disabled on tracker) the message would look like this:



In this case you have to register it manually, by going to your topic (click to return to the topic) and pressing the Register on tracker link:



Then download the torrent file and run it using your BitTorrent client.

Please note that the torrent you downloaded from forum contains your personal tracker passkey which is used to identify you. Do not expose the torrent or its contents to anybody, otherwise it could lead to misuse of your username on the tracker!

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To participate, in any TREE you must meet these requirements:

1. You must be a member here for 6 months.
2. You must have at least 75 posts in the forum.
3. In order to participate in a tree you must have a PC/DVD/CDR burner to sign-up.
4. You have to trade show/s or blank disc/s in order to receive your TREE disc/s.
5. After your 3rd sign-up in a row as a LEAF you must offer to be a BRANCH.
6. LEAFS will be required to trade disc/s to members who missed the sign-up or didn’t meet the requirements.

The SEED (TREE organizer) will determine who will be BRANCHES, although your help would be appreciated if you offer.
There is NO BRANCH waiver.
BRANCHES will have no more then 4 LEAFS.
Depending on the amount of BRANCHES that sign-up for the tree the LEAFS may be on a first come first serve basis.
All the LEAFS may not be guaranteed a copy of the disc/s.
There will be a 7 day period for LEAFS to make contact with their BRANCH. If a LEAF fails to contact their BRANCH they are off the TREE. It's all about communication!!!

These rules apply to any tree started on or after 12:00 noon CT 01/19/07.

[kite]

welcome overhere.

starting your collection with the opening night from the 2007 tour on jam to this

http://jamtothis.com/showthread.php?p=70326#post70326

[Animal]

Welcome to the site

[macdon22shipp]

the_atomicpunk wrote: Hi there!!!
I´m new here!

I'am a 24 years old VH fan from BRAZIIIIIIIL!!!!
I love Van Halen sice i was 12, and i didn't knew of the existence of this forum 0_0 !!!!!

Well, i hope to make some good friends here and talk about VH, hear and see some live bootloegs from this tour!!!

Hey, i have too, they won't play here :-(

See ya!!

Welcome to the greatest VHTrade site around. We have a few awsome traders here from Brazil. You sould look them up and see if ya can get something going. Stick around post aften and get involved with what you can. Have fun.

Mike

[radikal]

Welcome and enjoy your stay :D