=============================== =============================== == FAQ for downloading Clips == =============================== =============================== =========== v1.04 ============= Last updated: Saturday, January 10, 2004 - 04:48:25 PM Table of Contents 1. Knowing where and how to fetch clips 2. Instructions on downloading these clips 3. Error messages 4. The Bandwidth Problem 5. Viewing the clips with the right software 6. Miscellaneous information Note: The latest version of this FAQ is always available on http://wrestleclips.cjb.net =========================================================================================== ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Knowing where and how to fetch clips ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First, note that all CLIPS are stored in Yahoo! groups. You need to have a Yahoo account and register in the group containing the clip to be able to download it. If you do not know how to do this, follow these steps: You need to register for a free Yahoo account (or e-mail) if you don't already have one. Create a free account here: http://mail.yahoo.com Once that's done, log into your account (and better, have Yahoo remember your ID on your computer so that you don't have to log in each time -- just remember after you are done to log out) Then, return to the list of sites, on this page: http://wrestleclips.cjb.net OR http://www.bearhugger.net/wrestleclips/sites.html click on any group link on the first column of the table (scroll down the page to view the list of sites) (for example, the first link http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Bearhug_Clips ) then join that group. Once you've succesfully joined the group (should be a piece of cake, follow the instructions on your screen), you can then access the "Files" section of the group to access clips. From there, you can return to the list of sites on http://www.bearhugger.net/wrestleclips/sites.html to choose additional groups for more clips. Voila :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Instruction on downloading these clips ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First of all, there is a bandwidth limit for these clips and if there are too many people downloading these clips at a given time of the day, then access to these clips will be temporarily unavailable. All you have to do is to come back at a later time, preferably a time where there is less people accessing these clips. The best way to download these clips is to do the following: On Internet Explorer (tested with IE 6): RIGHT-CLICK the clips and then choose "Save Target As.." On Netscape (tested with Netscape 7): RIGHT-CLICK the clips and then choose "Save Link Target As.." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Error messages ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You'll know that the bandwidth limit is reached when you see this on Internet Explorer: ==================================================== You are not authorized to view this page You might not have permission to view this directory or page using the credentials you supplied. OR Internet Explorer cannot download *****.mpg from **.grp.yahoofs.com. Internet Explorer was not able to open this Internet site. The requested site is either unavailable or cannot be found. Please try again later. ==================================================== It's pretty exagerated to say "You are not authorized to view this page".. it just means that bandwidth has been used. In both cases, you need to come back later. Or this on Netscape: ================================================= Document Unavailable The document you requested is temporarily unavailable because this group has exceeded its download limit. Please try again later. OR The link could not be saved. The web page might have been removed or had its name changed. =============================================== Now the first error is more self-explanable.. it clearly states that bandwidth has been used up because the "group has exceeded its download limit". The second is wrong, the web page is still there, but nobody can download it for a while. In both cases, it just means that you need to come back later to download the clips because bandwidth has been used up. If you get other error messages, please let me know by posting your message on the group. I know it can be painful, but what you expect with free clips? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. The bandwidth problem ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If after several "different atttempts at later times", you still get an error, then chances are that download/upload limits (bandwidth) are reached for a certain period of time (which can vary from a day, a week or probably even a month). The following is a quote from someone who shared his own bandwidth problems with Yahoo: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! for some time have has download (and upload) limits on a daily or even shorter time basis. No-one is sure as to what the limits actually are, but the larger the file and image size, the sooner the limits are reached. It also affects viewing message attatched images quite frequently. You are forced to compromise on quality. In a few cases when areas are fullish there have also been cases of pixellation of images into large blocks. There appears to be no way round it [...] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- In our case, the size of our files is actually very large and the limits are reached very fast. There's not much we can do since these are the bandwidth restrictions imposed by Yahoo! Here is also a reply from Yahoo! concerning bandwidth: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello, Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Groups. Each group has a daily limit for the amount of data that can be downloaded from it. This limit was applied due to abuse of the Groups system. The limit varies from group to group depending on certain aspects of the individual group. In the event that you receive this message, you will need to wait 24 hours to download the data. If you need to share more files with members of your Group than the Group limit, you can set up a free Yahoo! Briefcase to store those files. Find out how at: http://briefcase.yahoo.com/ Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care. Regards, Yahoo! Customer Care http://www.yahoo.com/ 37937451 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24 hours is unfortunately a lot :( considering that once that 24 hours is passed, it should only take a couple of users to download a clip to block files again for another 24 hours. On top of this, it is hard for moderators to detect the moment when limits are reached. Most often, when the files are blocked, they are only blocked for MEMBERS of a group -- however, MODERATORS can still download the files. Therefore, moderators *think* that the files are working, while every member will complain that the files are not accessible. Well, that's because the files are automatically blocked for members only. This makes it hard for moderators to know wether or not the files are blocked. Remember, clips are huge in terms of memory size. This is why they are hard to download. Any Yahoo! group has its bandwidth utilization monitored and temporarily blocked if exceeded. If you don't believe me, try making a group, post a clip and tell your friends to download it at the same time. You'll run into the same problem. By the way, you can encounter this with both images and clips. The only solution: come back later when there's less rush in the groups :) or try coming back at the beginning of the next month once bandwidth utilization is resetted. As a partial solution, you can always try to go into each of the sites where clips are posted as free samples. There's bound to be at least one site/group where bandwidth has not been fully used up. The full list is available at http://wrestleclips.cjb.net Simply click on the groups/sites listing. Also, a real real sure way to know that you are really able to download clip is to go to groups that are REALLY underused. Examples of this is the VideoGameSpriteAnimation (the link of which can be found by using the URL above) which holds 1 clip that no one rarely ever download. If you are able to download that clip, then it means that you can download any other clip, except that the clips you were trying to download were probably blocked because of bandwidth limits. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Viewing the clips with the right software ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you manage to download any of the clips (it would most likely be a single clip at a time), you can view it with any of the following applications: RealPlayer http://www.real.com Windows Media Player http://www.microsoft.com WinAmp 3 http://www.winamp.com I suggest you download the free version if you don't already have it. Also, take note that most home computers with any of the Windows installed should have an old version of Windows Media Player that should be capable of playing these files without having to upgrade or to install any codec. So, before you go and download a software, try opening the clip first to see if you are already able to view it. I strongly do not recommend viewing these files with Macintosh or on UNIX. They might work fine, but I never tested them on those platforms. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Miscellaneous information ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- All clips have the MPEG-1 format which is supported by most multimedia software. Type: MPEG-1 Video: 352 x 240, NTSC (525) - 1.13 M Bit/Second Audio: 44.100 Khz, 16 Bit, Stereo Here is my estimation about bandwidth allowance. Yahoo! Web pages are allowed around 1 GB of bandwith a month. The same should be applied for groups. You have around: 24 x 30 = 720 hours per month 1 GB = 1,024 MB 1,024 MB / 720 days = 1.42 MB allowed per hour. And as you can see, the average file length of a clip is 1.8 MB to 4 MB :) That pretty much gives you an idea why it's so hard to download a clip.