Help Page

We get a lot of questions about using the site, downloading, etc. So I have put together this Help and FAQs page which will be extended over time to cover many aspects of the media we have.

• My downloads cut off early and I cannot download the entire file.
• I found a faulty link or file.
• How do I play .rar files?
• I have extracted the audio/video files but they do not play.
• What is a codec?
• What is the difference between lossless and lossy media?
• Why don't you have lossy versions of some shows available?
• How do I burn a DVD?
• How do I rip a dvd?
• How do I burn FLAC to CD?
• How can I cut mp3s into individual tracks?
• How do I convert audio/video to other formats?
• How do I split video to upload to YouTube/Facebook etc?

Answers

My downloads cut off early and I cannot download the whole file.

There is a timeout error, this is quite common.  In order to overcome this we strongly recommend that you always use a download manager when downloading large files.  Like a torrent application, these offer you several options such as pausing a download.  There are quite a few available - I personally use Download Accelerator Plus which you can obtain from http://www.speedbit.com.  It is free and there are several other free managers out there which are all very good.

 

I found a faulty link or file.

Please check to make sure that you have all the necessary codecs/programs installed (such as winrar) necessary to run allow the file to play/extract.  If you do, then send us a mail to PftHM@live.com with the subject heading Faulty.  Please include the name of the band, the format of the show and the date/venue.

 

How do I play .rar files?

.rar files are not meant to be played, they are archives.  An archive contains the media files and you must extract them in order to play them.  To do this you will need winrar which you can download for free here.  If you are using a Mac then you can use winrar for mac which is also free, download it from here.  

If a show comes in several parts, you will need to download them all before extracting.  Just right click on part1 and you will see the extract options - just choose a location to have them extracted to.

 

I have extracted the audio/video files but they do not play.

It is possible that the files are faulty but it may be that you do not have the correct codecs installed.  You will need these in order to play many of the files here as many file types are are not supported by default on most media players.  I would recommend installing the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack, you can download it for free from here.  The only format I have found that is not supported by this pack is lossless .shn which are not often used.  We have a few .shn downloads available and you will need to install the .shn addon which you can download here in order to play them.  Mostly people just convert them to .wav in order to burn onto CD using Traders Little Helper which you can download free from here.

If the file you are trying to play is .divx simply change the extension to .avi.  If the file you are trying to play is .mp2 simply change the extension to .mp3.

If you have all the necessary codecs or are using a player which does support the format you are trying to play, send us a mail to PftHM@live.com with the subject heading Faulty.  Please include the name of the band, the format of the show and the date/venue.

 

What is a codec?

A codec is a piece of software which allows a player to 'read' different digital formats.  Codec families are collections of related digital formats which are indicated by the extension of a file such as .avi. 

Many digital formats are not supported by most players by default.  You must install the codec for each unsupported format.  I recommend installing the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack which has all the codecs that you will need for the popular formats as well as most of the rarer ones you will come across.  You can download it for free from here.

 

What is the difference between lossless and lossy media?

Quality.  When a file is compressed to a lossy format, information is lost and the quality is reduced.  That is the case with an .mp3, while .flac files are lossless.  Although we say that DVD is a lossless video format, that is not strictly true.  It is just the best format available to us at this time.

A lot of people prefer to download lossy formats such as .mp3 and .mpg because of the smaller file sizes and portability.  Modern rippers are pretty good and give a decent quality output that satisfies most people.  NEVER convert lossy to lossless - it is a waste of time, is easily detectable and will piss people off if you try to pass them on.  Once information is lost it is gone for good, all you are doing is inflating the file size.  If, however, you want to be able to watch a lossy video on your standalone DVD player, you may convert it to a VCD and burn it.

 

Why don't you have lossy versions of some shows available?

In some cases I just haven't got round to ripping them yet.  Often tapers do not want their recordings circulating in lossy and although I think they are wrong, I do try to respect their wishes.  If a lossy version is already circulating I may put it up - when something hits the internet there is no point pretending it does not exist and you can't put it back in the box. 

 

How do I burn a DVD?

You will need a DVD burner and a program such as Nero.

 

How do I rip a DVD?

There are several good rippers out there but the best I have found is Magic DVD ripper.  This is not free but there are others that are.

 

How do I burn FLAC to CD?

There are a couple of programs which allow you to burn FLAC directly to CD but I would recommend using Nero which will not do a direct burn.  You will first need to convert the FLAC files to .wav using Traders Little Helper which you can download for free from here.  Do not use a regular converter - you will usually end up with gaps between tracks or files which will not decode properly.

 

How do I cut mp3s into individual tracks?

Sometimes an audio concert will come in a single mp3 track.  To cut it into individual tracks you should use an mp3 splitter such as Absolute mp3 splitter.  This program is not free but you can get a 30 day trial here.

 

How do I convert audio/video to other formats?

There are quite a few converters out there but I personally prefer Total Video Converter.  It is stable and has a lot of formats to choose from.  This is also superb for ripping audio from videos.

 

How do I split video to upload to YouTube/Facebook etc?

There are a few good video splitters out there.  I think that the best one is Boilsoft's AVI/MPEG Splitter.  It is a superb probram and easy to use.  Another good one is Easy Video Splitter, although this one often has problems and can give more synch errors than the Boilsoft.  Neither of these programs is free.