Ron Paul DVD

[Sevenate]

I've had pretty good luck distributing Ron Paul DVD's via bittorrent. Just upload the .torrent to a couple of sites like http://www.thepiratebay.org and http://www.conspiracycentral.net:6969 .

Once it gets seeded people can download it pretty quickly and you don't have to worry about hitting your bandwidth limit from your hosting provider.

I've not been involved much with torrents, but will try to figure it out in the near future. It sounds like a smart decision. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Sevenate]

Excellent links. Will put them on the list to add to this or the next disc. Thank you.

 

[American]

I've not been involved much with torrents, but will try to figure it out in the near future. It sounds like a smart decision. Thanks for the suggestion.

This thread is a step-by-step guide that will guide you through the process of creating a torrent and sharing it with others. It's quite easy!

Step 1

Download the latest version of MakeTorrent (currently v2.1) here : http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/burst/maketorrent-2.1.exe?download

It wil list many different mirrors/locations to download the file from, simply choose the location closest to you to get the fastest speed (although MakeTorrent v2.1 is only 394kb so it won't take long regardless).

Once the download finishes, install the program by double-clicking the file.

Now click install and you're done.

Step 2

Now that you have the application installed that creates the torrent file, you will want to get the files you plan on sharing all together in 1 place.

If you don't already have a folder to store the file(s) you plan on sharing/seeding, create one, I usually do it on the desktop because it's easy to keep track off.

Now that you have your folder, drag and drop the file(s) you want to share into the newly created folder.


NOTE: Before going to the next step you may want to consider using WinZIP or WinRAR to compress the file(s) to lower the overall filesize which in turn is lowering the size of the file other peers download. I will ammend this guide soon with a more in-depth guide on how to do this. In the meantime, it's pretty self-explanatory, download WinZip , choose your folder and click compress. Compress your folder after you have already put all of the files you wish to share in it.


Step 3

Ok, so you have everything together that you want to share/seed, now lets create the torrent file. The torrent file is the actual file you upload to other websites/torrent trackers that others download which allows them to connect to the torrent.

Launch MakeTorrent…this is what you’ll see :

You have your choice between Simple and Classic. I personally prefer Classic.

After choosing 'Classic', click ‘dir’ (or ‘file’ if you aren’t creating the torrent from a folder) and browse to the folder you created and click ok.

Next you are required to fill in the ‘Tracker:’ field with the tracker you are using. A BitTorrent tracker centrally coordinates the P2P transfer of the files among users(seeds/peers).

A few recommended trackers:
http://tracker.prq.to/announce (this is thepiratebay.org tracker)
http://mongo56.org:3434/announce cut and paste that into the tracker field in Make Torrent.

Which tracker to use? Well, arguably torrents at thepiratebay.org get the most exposure, and only torrents using their tracker can be uploaded there.

Some may choose not to use thepiratebay's tracker because it's known to timeout frequently (however lately it does seem they've improved the stability of the tracker)

Now that you have all of the required inputs filled in, click ‘Create .torrent now!’. It will ask you where you want to save the torrent file, I usually choose the desktop because once again, it’s easy to keep track of. Choose whatever location you want and click ok…you’ll see a progress bar come up and when it’s done you’ll see the ‘Finished’ button, click it and you’re all done creating the torrent file!

Step 4

Now that you have your torent file created, anyone that downloads it can connect to the torrent and download it.

Double-click the newly created torrent file, it will open your BitTorrent client, choose the folder where you already have the file(s) and click ok. It should say ‘checking existing data’ and then put you in ‘seeder’ mode. This is NOT AN OPTION. If you don’t seed your torrent, nobody will be able to download the file(s)!!

Now let’s add the torrent to some websites so it gets a lot of exposure, afterall, the more peers that download the torrent, the more seeds/peers there will be and the faster everyone will receive the file(s)

If you used thepiratebay.org’s tracker and don’t already have an account there, create an account so you can add the torrent to the directory there.

Register your piratebay account here : http://thepiratebay.org/register.php

Once registered click here to upload the torrent : http://thepiratebay.org/upload.php

Now let’s add the torrent to a few more places:

Register at http://www.torrentreactor.net and upload the torrent. (You will want to do this, it will get a lot of exposure!)


ALL FINISHED! You now have a torrent that you are 'seeding' and that others are downloading from various sites...REMEMBER, try to seed for as long as you possibly can!!

What a properly seeded torrent looks like :

 

[Sevenate]

Thanks! Will see what I can do. To top the load off... I've got family from out of town, that just came to stay... for a week. Keep your fingers crossed, though. This is a priority.

 

[American]

once we get a few seeders, this thing will spread pretty quickly.

 

[Suzu]

At the moment, I'm not quite sure exactly what postage will run. I'm waiting on the 400 disc mailers to arrive. Will hopefully get the numbers figured out soon. Stay tuned.

I ordered 7 DVDs from you today, mainly because I like the nice label you put on them. I would have liked to get more, but could only afford $10. I did write a note in the paypal memo asking for a postage reduction by including one (or more) additional DVD(s), but you emailed me that you had shipped 7. I guess you didn't read the memo.

 

[American]

I think the DVD is priced pretty fare considering that he bought a DVD replicator (4-600 dollars) and still sells them this cheap not to mention the time it took to put the content together with the label etc...

If you have nero and the youtube downloader you can create your own. Its not real hard. Burning them in numbers is the most cumbersome process.

 

[Sevenate]

A little slack?

I'm sorry I missed your memo. I've been trying to keep up with my day job, and get the discs I had ready to the post office before they closed. At the moment, shipping is costing me much more than anticipated, as I am having to purchase the packaging from the local Post Office at a premium price. My DVD mailers haven't arrived yet. I have since read your PayPal note. I am not rich either, and am NOT trying to make a buck at this. I have the cost of 400 DVDs ($100), 400 disc sleeves, a disc printer ($129), 400 disc mailers, and a DVD Duplicator ($540.87) over my head, as well. I'm a programmer by day, a dad by night, and Ron Paul fan all the time. I have never before tried to "sell" or "distribute" anything physical, and so am still working out the kinks. If you feel shafted for having to pay $1.44 per disc, I'm sorry. I thought it was pretty nuts that I was getting quoted $1.50 per disc, from local duplication services... just to BURN the disc (nothing else - no printing, no stuffing, nothing). So, to save money (mine and yours), I opted to buy a duplication unit, and do everything myself. On top of this, we have donated more than two grand to the Ron Paul campaign. I'm not trying to boast in any way. But, please try and understand. You received exactly what you paid for, regardless of how I have prematurely attempted to break down the costs.

 

[Sevenate]

I ordered 7 DVDs from you today, mainly because I like the nice label you put on them.

BTW, as you might have already guessed... it's not a label. The printing is right on the disc. Looks very professional. ;-)

 

[Sevenate]

I think the DVD is priced pretty fare considering that he bought a DVD replicator (4-600 dollars) and still sells them this cheap not to mention the time it took to put the content together with the label etc...

If you have nero and the youtube downloader you can create your own. Its not real hard. Burning them in numbers is the most cumbersome process.

Thanks. The DVD was created using Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0. After selecting the clips, adding minor transitions, trimming them up, and getting them in the right order (somewhat chronologically)... it took 4 renderings to get other program-related bugs worked out. Each rendering (attempt) took hours... long enough to just let it run overnight, as there was no sense "waiting" for it to finish. While this may have been cake for some, it has been no small project for me.

Hopefully by next week I can have my exact costs (per disc / shipped / etc) ironed out, and everyone will feel they are being treated fair. (BTW, I didn't plan on working in the cost of the duplicator.)

In all honesty $2 per disc could be considered fair, and that's what I'm selling them for on eBay.

 

[American]

I'm waiting to seed this and I also will be buying a few dozen for my local group here once you get production up.

The label is a lightscribe then?

Thanks again for this, this is exactly what my meetup group was looking for.

 

[Sevenate]

Excellent, I hope to be up to speed by the weekend, if all goes well. If not, early next week. Shoot me an e-mail (address is on the site) with the quantity you want, and your mailing/shipping address, and I'll get back to you with a quote on what it'll cost.

The DVDs have simply a white matte finish on the top, that is inkjet printable. So, with a compatible printer, you can insert one disc, and print whatever you want right on the disc, in color. The current design (official logo, and some text) takes about 1 1/2 minutes to print.

Glad to hear it! I hope it's a big success. We have absolutely GOT to get Ron Paul elected. There is no other option.

 

[Sevenate]

Hello Everyone. I have made an attempt to create a torrent, as requested. Visit http://www.ronpauldvd.com and click on the Downloads section. You should see a Torrent download link.

I've not created one before, and have no idea if it's even setup right... so please let me know if it works or not.

The ISO should be available for download, directly from the RonPaulDVD site, as soon as tomorrow evening.

 

[jblosser]

Working so far.

 

[American]

Yeah works for me, I will keep seeding this as long as I can. I wont close bitlord which is the client I use.

Thanks

 

[Politeia]

This is fantastic!

Hopefully by next week I can have my exact costs (per disc / shipped / etc) ironed out, and everyone will feel they are being treated fair. (BTW, I didn't plan on working in the cost of the duplicator.)

In all honesty $2 per disc could be considered fair, and that's what I'm selling them for on eBay.

Nate,

This is fantastic! I was thinking about putting together something like this myself, but it looks like you've done it already, and probably better than I could've.

I heard about your project from a link this morning at the Lew Rockwell blog. From the YouTube video, it looks like you know what you're doing. You're going to be swamped.

As Lew writes: "Another creative, productive young person for Ron. As I frequently ask, does Rudy or Hillary have even one volunteer like this?" I'm 64 years old, I've been a fan and sometime supporter of Ron Paul for over 25 years (voted for him in 1988, the last time I bothered). It's always been an exercise in principled futility, done for its own sake rather than any hope of real change occurring. This sudden eruption of enthusiasm from young people is blowing me away. Whatever may come of this particular campaign, it really does seem that something is changing. I'm grateful I've lived to see it; sad that Harry Browne, who should have, did not.

Make it $2 per disc: It's a nice round number, and really practically nothing at our current rate of inflation. Is there actually anything of value that can be bought these days for 56 cents (the difference between $1.44 and $2.00)? You deserve to not have to worry if you're going to make your costs. And you certainly deserve to make your costs. If you end up with a little extra for encouragement, you deserve that too.

There are always going to be people who will piss & moan and nickle & dime anything; just ignore them. No reasonable person could accuse you of trying to make a "profit" at $2. You could set up a simple pricing structure with easy discounts for quantity orders that cost you less per item to ship, say starting at orders of 10. But always round upwards a bit to some simple number.

I'd put one of those little icons of hands clapping here, if I knew how.

 

[Sevenate]

Thanks so much for your kind compliments. Just doing what I can to help. I hope to make time in the near future to put up some various options for bulk orders, as obviously it's much cheaper (and easier!) for me to send a ton, instead of just one.

Mind sending me a link to the Lew Rockwell blog? I've not yet seen the one you quoted.

If I do happen to somehow *magically* make a profit (as I'd have to have really screwed up somewhere in my math...), it would all get donated to the campaign anyway. ;-)

Stay tuned! Hopefully more good stuff to come.

 

[Suzu]

Please note, it was not my intention to "piss & moan" about the price. I just don't have money to spare. Even spending $10 is a stretch for me. Food costs have about doubled in the last 5-6 years. People on small fixed incomes notice this kind of thing, although the CPI does not.

 

[Sevenate]

Please note, it was not my intention to "piss & moan" about the price. I just don't have money to spare. Even spending $10 is a stretch for me. Food costs have about doubled in the last 5-6 years. People on small fixed incomes notice this kind of thing, although the CPI does not.

Hey, not a problem. We're all in this together, for one cause. Keep up the good work you're doing in your neck of the woods. When Ron Paul gets elected... we'll ALL be a lot richer!

 

[Politeia]

Lew Rockwell .com

Mind sending me a link to the Lew Rockwell blog? I've not yet seen the one you quoted.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/014740.html

Also the main Blog page always has a lot of interesting stuff:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog

And the main site:
http://www.lewrockwell.com