Utorrent 1.6x and RSS Feeds

[enter8]

I've been considering using RSS feeds to DL TV. I have two sites (TvTorrents and thebox) that give me 'direct download' feeds and I'm using utorrent 1.6.1 which is supposed to be able to handle feeds. Before I get into the hassle of figuring this all out/finding my passkey, I'm trying to ascertain whether or not it's worth the trouble.

Who here is using utorrent 1.6x's RSS downloader? Are you happy with it? Any caveats? Any tips/tricks?

Anyone know of a good RSS feed for uttorrent primer (other than utorrent.com)?

And, for those that are using RSS feeds to autoDL TV, generally speaking, what's the lag between when a show appears on the tracker and when it publishes a feed?

[thepuzzler]

And, for those that are using RSS feeds to autoDL TV, generally speaking, what's the lag between when a show appears on the tracker and when it publishes a feed?

The RSS feeds update every 20 minutes, so that would be the only lag between site -> client.

I'm trying to ascertain whether or not it's worth the trouble.

It really is, (especially now the new TV season has started in America), and should take you 15 minutes to setup. (Then it's just a case of fine-tuning it to behave exactly the way you want it to).

Tips: If you're downloading TV shows you'll have too use the NOT qualifier so you don't download the same copy of something three times. (Example; NOT: CTU, PDTV, HDV etc etc)

Also I have generic RSS feeds setup on OiNK. Ie;

APS / V0 / Scene

that way I grab a bunch of albums randomly every twenty minutes. It's also very easy to gain ratio this way as you are usually one of the first seeders by downloading so early.

With OiNK in particular, I search the requests page, see what's going to be really popular when it hits and add a few to my RSS feeds. It really works wonders.

http://www.utorrent.com/rsstutorial.php

[enter8]

The RSS feeds update on the server every 20 minutes or on the client every 20 minutes?

What version of utorrent are you using?

Hmmm... Oink can't filter on a genre can it? It's strictly a title based string search, right?

[thepuzzler]

The RSS feeds update on the server every 20 minutes or on the client every 20 minutes?

Client. (Although you can manually update whenever you like).

What version of utorrent are you using?

Azureus (I'm on a mac). That said I used to do it last year with no problems on utorrent 1.61

Hmmm... Oink can't filter on a genre can it?

It certainly can. In fact there are individual feeds for each category.

It's strictly a title based string search, right?

As far as I'm aware... (Might be worth a double check though).

EDIT: In Azurues I've just noticed two check boxes; "Filter searches title" and "Filter searches link" which would imply it can search both by title and .or description.

[noodle v1]

there is a great tutorial on how to do this on google docs

http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dgsf923m_2d6k97n

[thepuzzler]

Oh yeah, how did you get on Enter8?

[enter8]

Thepuzzler, I'm moving forward, slowly but surely.

Thanks for the invaluable info. It's a huge help.

I'm working through a few logistics, such as:

1. If have something set to autoDL, I have to make sure there is space on my HD. Unless I get a bigger HD, that's going to require a lot of keep/throw away/burn decisions.
2. Figuring out which tracker(s) I want to pull my shows from. TvTorrents requires a donation for RSS, so that gets crossed off my list. A lot of my other trackers have complicated hit and run policies that I'm attempting to sort out/document.
3. Planning my DLs so they don't fight with each other for seeding bandwith
4. Figuring out which shows I want to DL/watch on a weekly basis, DL/collect and watch in bulk or watch on DVD.

I did figure out that utorrent's default tracker update is 15 minutes, but that can be changed to 5. How resource intensive is RSS? Do you notice any lag on your computer when the update kicks in? How many feeds/filters are you currently running?

Throughout this entire process, I am figuring out that I'm outgrowing utorrent 1.6.1 in a big way. I need a LOT more sophisticated UL bandwith allocation/seeding priority. As it is, I can't set it up so one file draws as much as it wants and the other takes whatever is left over. I also desperately need a way to allocate total bandwith by tracker.

If I can't figure out a way to get my rss DLs to seed in the priority that I want them to, this endeavor might not be worth my while.

All in all, it looks extremely promising, but logistically, I've got a LOT to work out.

[thepuzzler]

I did figure out that utorrent's default tracker update is 15 minutes, but that can be changed to 5. How resource intensive is RSS? Do you notice any lag on your computer when the update kicks in? How many feeds/filters are you currently running?

I'm running 8 feeds and don't notice any lag at all during the updates.

From the sounds of things you might be better off trying Azureus insofar as bandwidth options are concerned.

3. Planning my DLs so they don't fight with each other for seeding bandwith

I don't see this as too much as an issue, especially if you've set your max simultaneous downloads to a low number. Besides it's not often (if at all) that two tv shows I'm looking out for start to download at the same time.

[enter8]

I'm running 8 feeds and don't notice any lag at all during the updates.

That's good to know, thanks.

From the sounds of things you might be better off trying Azureus insofar as bandwidth options are concerned.

I've tried Az a few times and really don't like it. I want extra functionality, but I don't want bloat.

I don't see this as too much as an issue, especially if you've set your max simultaneous downloads to a low number. Besides it's not often (if at all) that two tv shows I'm looking out for start to download at the same time.

One popular show can, if I get in on the swarm quickly enough, maximize my upload. If I download two popular shows during the same hour (say, Prison Break and Chuck), they'll split my bandwith, so neither will be drawing to their full potential. The bulk of a show's upload potential occurs during it's first few hours. I like to reap the most UL I can out of every torrent. At least, until I hit 100 gb buffers at all my sites. Once I have a big enough buffer, I might not worry too much about seeding every torrent to it's full potential.

[enter8]

UPDATE: My first RSS direct download finally went through. I was a little hairier than I thought it would be (tracking down the required uid, passkey and pass) but... I have to admit, it's pretty darn cool.

It's not unlike programming a VCR :)

Now that I've done it for one feed, other feeds should be a walk in the park.

It also doesn't seem to be using too many resources when it updates, which is nice.

Downloading twice for PROPERs is a bit of pain in the butt, but I guess it comes with the territory.

there is a great tutorial on how to do this on google docs

http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dgsf923m_2d6k97n

Thank you!

[robincheema]

Well i have used utorrent rss and had a bad experience,it mistakenly downloaded 20 french movies over the night each 4 GB and my ISP closed my connection for 2 weeks.. so now i don't use it anymore.

[enter8]

Well i have used utorrent rss and had a bad experience,it mistakenly downloaded 20 french movies over the night each 4 GB and my ISP closed my connection for 2 weeks.. so now i don't use it anymore.

Ouch, that had to hurt!

I could see if you pick the wrong word to filter on, it could get you in trouble. I think, though, if you use RSS at a TV only tracker and choose a show with a unique name, you shouldn't run into that problem.