How can I get my site included in the Archive?

Alexa Internet has been crawling the web since 1996, which has resulted in a massive archive. If you have a web site, and you would like to ensure that it is saved for posterity in the Internet Archive, and you've searched wayback and found no results, you can visit the Alexa's "Webmasters" page at http://pages.alexa.com/help/webmasters/index.html#crawl_site.

Method 2: if you have the Alexa tool bar installed, just visit a site.

Method 3: while visiting a site, use the 'show related links' in Internet Explorer, which uses the Alexa service.

Sites are usually crawled within 24 hours and no more then 48. Right now there is a 6-12 month lag between the date a site is crawled and the date it appears in the Wayback Machine.

How can I remove my site's pages from the Wayback Machine?

The Internet Archive is not interested in preserving or offering access to Web sites or other Internet documents of persons who do not want their materials in the collection. By placing a simple robots.txt file on your Web server, you can exclude your site from being crawled as well as exclude any historical pages from the Wayback Machine.

Internet Archive uses the exclusion policy intended for use by both academic and non-academic digital repositories and archivists. See our exclusion policy.

You can find exclusion directions at exclude.php. If you cannot place the robots.txt file, opt not to, or have further questions, email us.

What is the Internet Archive Wayback Machine?

The Internet Archive Wayback Machine is a service that allows people to visit archived versions of Web sites. Visitors to the Wayback Machine can type in a URL, select a date range, and then begin surfing on an archived version of the Web. Imagine surfing circa 1999 and looking at all the Y2K hype, or revisiting an older version of your favorite Web site. The Internet Archive Wayback Machine can make all of this possible. See our original press release at http://www.archive.org/about/press_release.php.

Can I link to old pages on the Wayback Machine?

Yes! The Wayback Machine is built so that it can be used and referenced. If you find an archived page that you would like to reference on your Web page or in an article, you can copy the URL. You can even use fuzzy URL matching and date specification... but that's a bit more advanced (check out our advanced search page at http://web.archive.org/collections/web/advanced.html).

Why isn't the site I'm looking for in the archive?

Some sites may not be included because the automated crawlers were unaware of their existence at the time of the crawl. It's also possible that some sites were not archived because they were password protected, blocked by robots.txt, or otherwise inaccessible to our automated systems. Siteowners might have also requested that their sites be excluded from the Wayback Machine. When this has occurred, you will see a "blocked site error" message. When a site is excluded because of robots.txt you will see a "robots.txt query exclusion error" message.

What does it mean when a site's archive data has been "updated"?

When our automated systems crawl the web every few months or so, we find that only about 50% of all pages on the web have changed from our previous visit. This means that much of the content in our archive is duplicate material. If you don't see ""*"" next to an archived document, then the content on the archived page is identical to the previously archived copy.

Who was involved in the creation of the Internet Archive Wayback Machine?

"The original idea for the Internet Archive Wayback Machine began in 1996, when the Internet Archive first began archiving the web. Now, five years later, with over 100 terabytes and a dozen web crawls completed, the Internet Archive has made the Internet Archive Wayback Machine available to the public. The Internet Archive has relied on donations of web crawls, technology, and expertise from Alexa Internet and others. The Internet Archive Wayback Machine is owned and operated by the Internet Archive."

How was the Wayback Machine made?

Alexa Internet, in cooperation with the Internet Archive, has designed a three dimensional index that allows browsing of web documents over multiple time periods, and turned this unique feature into the Wayback Machine.

How large is the Archive?

The Internet Archive Wayback Machine contains approximately 1 petabyte of data and is currently growing at a rate of 20 terabytes per month. This eclipses the amount of text contained in the world's largest libraries, including the Library of Congress. If you tried to place the entire contents of the archive onto floppy disks (we don't recommend this!) and laid them end to end, it would stretch from New York, past Los Angeles, and halfway to Hawaii.

What type of machinery is used in this Internet Archive?

Much of the Internet Archive is stored on hundreds of slightly modified x86 servers. The computers run on the Linux operating system. Each computer has 512Mb of memory and can hold just over 1 Terabyte of data on ATA disks. However we are developing a new way of storing our data on a smaller machine. Each machine will store 1 terabyte. For more information go to www.petabox.org.

How do you archive dynamic pages?

There are many different kinds of dynamic pages, some of which are easily stored in an archive and some of which fall apart completely. When a dynamic page renders standard html, the archive works beautifully. When a dynamic page contains forms, JavaScript, or other elements that require interaction with the originating host, the archive will not contain the original site's functionality.

Why are some sites harder to archive than others?

If you look at our collection of archived sites, you will find some broken pages, missing graphics, and some sites that aren't archived at all. Here are some things that make it difficult to archive a web site:

• Robots.txt -- We respect robot exclusion headers.
• Javascript -- Javascript elements are often hard to archive, but especially if they generate links without having the full name in the page. Plus, if javascript needs to contact the originating server in order to work, it will fail when archived.
• Server side image maps -- Like any functionality on the web, if it needs to contact the originating server in order to work, it will fail when archived.
• Unknown sites -- The archive contains crawls of the Web completed by Alexa Internet. If Alexa doesn't know about your site, it won't be archived. Use the Alexa Toolbar (available at www.alexa.com), and it will know about your page. Or you can visit Alexa's Archive Your Site page at http://pages.alexa.com/help/webmasters/index.html#crawl_site.
• Orphan pages -- If there are no links to your pages, the robot won't find it (the robots don't enter queries in search boxes.)

How do I view the DJVU books?

DJVU is a open format for scanned documents. There are free readers available at:

http://www.lizardtech.com/download/?x=2&p;=1&o;=1&titl;=Download%20DjVu%20Browser%20Plug-in

for windows, mac, linux, mac OS-X, solaris.
Try it. We like this compact, searchable, good looking, and open format.

What is the status of the Internet Bookmobile?

Internet Archive's Internet Bookmobile is currently out of commission. However Eric Eldred it currently (May 2004) touring the U.S. with his bookmobile. You can contact him by writing to: ericeldred at usa.net. You can also post question, stop requests, etc to the bookmobile forum as well. There is also a new organization called Anywhere Books (anywherebooks.org) that is working to put bookmobiles in struggling nations.

How do I view the PDF books?

Books that are available in PDF format require Adobe Acrobat. The software is free to download and use.

How do I download a book in tk3 format?

This is a beautiful format, and well worth trying. To download a reader for Windows and Mac (pre OSX) go to http://www.nightkitchen.com/download/reader/index.phtml

How do I print book books as Letter or Legal?

Letter Books can be printed on letter size paper (8.5x11inches), and Legal Books can be printed on legal size paper (8.5x14inches), but we find it looks much better printed as "Booklet".

This is a feature of many printer drivers that allows one to print 2 pages facing up rotated 90 degrees. So each piece of paper has 4 pages of a book. Thus if you were to fold the page in half (touch the top and the bottom), then you would get a booklet. These are often done for short books where you can staple the pages together.

For these longer books, we cut the pages apart and fold them together to make a book. After that we also add a cover for it to look like a book. We use Exact Glass Coated 80lb (215g/m˛) paper which is fed into the manual tray of the printer.

In order to bind these books, we have been using binding and scoring equipment from Powis Parker. The model-15 halfback from Powis Parker allows one to make a soft book without a cover with its ability to thermally bind the pages together by using binder strips.

The scoring machine enables one to add scores precisely to most cover materials. These straight scores provide folding lines on the covers. (For more information on binding and scoring equipment, check Powis Parker Equipment)

Once the cover is folded around the creases and then wrapped around the book, the strips of the soft book are removed allowing one to stick the cover onto the book.

The finishing touches are added by trimming the edges of the book and then we have a professional bound book!

The directory structure for the texts?

In order to store all the texts that the archive has, and will eventually acquire, the directory structure is:


NAME_OF_BOOK/NAME_OF_BOOK.extension (tif, djvu, pdf)

NAME_OF_BOOK: As long as this is unique and alphanumeric, this the original name adopted by the originating collection (but under 80 characters)

EXTENSIONS:

How do you remove line breaks from the Gutenberg texts?

In Word use find and replace 3 times:

Step 1. Find two paragraph markers - ^p^p

Replace with a neutral character ~ or # or @

Step 2. Find one para markers - ^p

Replace with a single space

(This might take about 10-15 minutes on large files)

Step 3. Put 2 para markers back in - find ~

Replace ^p^p

What is the best way to link to a book?

Every book in the Archive has an identifier. For example, RomeoAndJuliet. To link to the book, you should use the following URL:

http://www.archive.org/download/RomeoAndJuliet

Can I volunteer for the book project?

Volunteers are welcome to come to our San Francisco location during business hours and help make books. These books are given out as calling cards and thank you gifts to help raise awareness to the Internet Archive. Please write to info@archive.org for more information or to make an appointment.

What is the Live Music Archive all about?

This audio archive is an online public library of live recordings available for royalty-free, no-cost public downloads. We only host material by trade-friendly artists: those who like the idea of noncommercial distribution of some or all of their live material. Live recordings are a part of our culture and might be lost in 100 years if they're not archived. We think music matters and want to preserve it for future generations.

The LMA draws strength from the members of etree.org and other online communities of music fans devoted to providing public access to high-quality digital recordings of tradable performances. Typically, recordings are made by the fans themselves. Recordings are preserved in "Lossless" archival compression formats such as Shorten or FLAC (MP3 is not Lossless) for highest quality preservation.

Patrons may download from the LMA with the understanding that the artists still hold their copyrights. All material is strictly noncommercial, both for access here and for any further distribution.

I noticed a recording I uploaded and marked for 'no lossy formats' somehow had them created (mp3, ogg, m3u, etc...) and they are being hosted here. How can I remove them so only the lossless format is available?

If you come across this situation and you are the uploader, click [edit] and then 'Update'. You should see the message "Format Options Updated Successfully". Within 10 minutes the system will create a "_rules.conf" file in the recording's folder. Then, the next time the system performs an automatic sweep looking for changes, it will notice the new rules file and remove the lossy files automatically. The sweep occurs approximately twice a day, so you should see the files removed within 12-24 hours.

If you are not the uploader, fill out an error report letting us know that the derivatives shouldn't be there and an admin will remove them when they get to the error report.

Can I log into an FTP server to download these concerts?

Yes, you can log into audioXX.archive.org (where XX is a number), with the username anonymous and use your email address as the password. Each recording will have a link for FTP information that will tell you which number server the show is on, and in which directory.

I allowed derivations to be made on one of my shows, but I changed my mind and checked the box to remove the mp3's. They were removed but now on the show details page is the loss-less whole show link as well as a 64kbps m3u stream link that shouldn't be there anymore. how do i remove it?

This is a known bug that the archive is working on fixing. If you find one of these shows with a 64k m3u stream link left over on it, fill out an error report for that show and a file admin will get to removing it in the order it was received. No derivations are left, so even if a user clicked on the stream link, there would be nothing to play.

What are SHN files?

SHN stands for shorten. It is a lossless compression algorithm for digital music. It was developed by SoftSound and it compresses music files to 50-60% of their original size, with no loss in quality. See this FAQ.

What are MD5 files?

MD5 files contain checksums, strings of characters used to uniquely represent a file. These checksums enable users to verify that music files downloaded correctly.

How can I listen to SHN files?

Macintosh: Download and install MacAmp Lite, a multi-format audio player, and then install the Shorten Plugin for MacAmp.

Windows: Download and install WinAmp, a multi-format audio player, and then install the ShnAmp Plugin for WinAmp.

Linux or any other UNIX-based architecture: Download and install the xmms-shn plugin for the XMMS media player.

How do I burn SHN files to CD as audio tracks?

You will first need to convert the SHN files to another format that your burning program is familiar with. The following programs will convert SHN files to WAV files, which can be burned to a CD. More resources are listed in this FAQ.

Macintosh: Download and install Doug Hornig's tool, appropriately titled, Shorten for Macintosh.

Windows: Download and install Michael K. Weise's tool, mkwACT. Or, another good tool is Foobar2000 - make sure you get the "Special" version to have Shorten compatibility!

Linux or any other UNIX-based architecture: Download and install shorten.

There's no setlist for this show - OR - The setlist does not match up with the number of files. Should I submit an error report?

There has been an increasing number of shows uploaded to the Live Music collection without setlist information, or the setlist was not properly matched to the files. When you notice a recording like this, please submit an error report only if you have an updated setlist, or you are able to match the files up correctly.

We would prefer that you do not submit error reports letting us know that there is no setlist - tracking down setlists for every concert and matching them up to the recordings is a monumental task that has grown beyond the capabilities of the small group of Archive.org admins. We would like fans that are familiar with each artist's material to help us with this project - in your error report, please give us specific instructions on what changes to make and we will do so.

How can I download SHN files? They just show up as weird characters in my browser.

To download SHN files on a PC, right click the link to the file, and select "Save Target As". On the Macintosh, hold the button down while the mouse is over the link, and when the menu comes up, select "Save Target As"

What are FLAC files?

FLAC stands for free lossless audio codec. It is an open source, lossless compression algorithm for digital music. It compresses music files to 50-60% of their original size, with no loss in quality. More FLAC information can be found on the FLAC sourceforge site and in this etree FAQ.

If you upload FLAC filesets to the LMA, please follow the naming standards to help the checking program here. Directories should be named with .flac16 or .flac24 suffix, not .flac. Otherwise, the program will report failures.

What are FFP files?

FFP files contain checksums, strings of characters used to uniquely represent a FLAC file. These checksums enable users to verify which particular source a file comes from.

How can I listen to FLAC files?

Macintosh: Download and install MacAmp Lite, a multi-format audio player, and then install the FLAC Plugin for MacAmp.

Windows: Download and install WinAmp, a multi-format audio player, and then install the FLAC Plugin for WinAmp.

Linux or any other UNIX-based architecture: Download and copy "libxmms-flac.so" to your XMMS media player input plugins folder.

How do I burn FLAC files to CD as audio tracks?

You will first need to convert the FLAC files to another format that your burning program is familiar with. Windows users can use the FLAC Frontend, to convert FLAC files to WAV files, which are suitable for burning programs. For Macintosh OS X users, Dan Greuel has created a tool called MacFLAC.

Why are there no shows by band X?

We'd like to make sure that a trade-friendly band would not mind having their shows in the Archive for public download. The best way for us to find out is by getting permission from a band representative or by the band's having an explicit policy that covers this type of site. If there are no shows by the band, either we don't have enough of this information to go forward with archiving, they have declined participation, or we are ready to accept shows but no one has uploaded anything yet. You can check on the status of bands in the Archive here (and see next FAQ question).

Trade-unfriendly bands will not be found in the Archive, nor will otherwise trade-friendly bands who have declined to have material archived here.

Bands, see other relevant FAQs here and here. Patrons, see more about how you can help here.

What is the status of band X for the Archive?

You can check on the status of a band relative to the Archive on the Trade-Friendly Band Information page. We have 3 categories:

May be Archived- Band sections have been activated by Archive admins. Shows can be hosted here to the extent permitted by the band. Click on the band name and then their Notes link to see what limits they may have placed on taping, trading or archiving.

Pending- When a patron adds a fresh entry for an an additional trade-friendly band, the new band section is placed in the Pending category, with default status "Not contacted" in its Notes. Admins will update the contact status based on information that people send to etree@archive.org.

Opted Out- Some bands that may be otherwise trade-friendly may have explicitly said, "No, thanks" to our project. We respect their wishes. We still keep notes of their taping/trading policies for reference.

If there is no listing for a band here, maybe they are not trade-friendly, or no one has thought to create a pending section for them yet. In the latter case, chances are no one has tried contacting the band yet (or if a person has tried, he hasn't told us about it yet).

Bands, see other relevant FAQs here and here. Patrons, see more about how you can help here.

I'm an artist who would like to be included in the Archive, what do I need to do?

We'd love to have you! Just write to us at etree@archive.org in English giving some kind of permission for us to archive your shows for public download and noncommercial, royalty-free circulation. It does not need to be a formally worded declaration, and can come from anyone you feel has the "say-so." We just need to be clear on how you feel about the project. We will put relevant quotes in our Band Information section, along with a link to your official website.

If you happen to make your own Band Information section, it is still necessary to email us in order to activate the section. We want to be sure that the desired listing really is coming from you (more discussion here).

You can give as much or as little scope for archiving as you like. Some bands place limits on what can be hosted, and we can accomodate those. Archive Curators, volunteer fans who have proven to be in line with the spirit of this archive, will attempt to screen contributions for OK'ed material only.

At the same time you give the go-ahead, feel free to pass along any notes or policy links on your general taping/trading stance as well. You don't need to have a formal written or posted policy before inclusion, but we'd like to know how you feel about the topic.

Besides fans' sending their copies of your shows, you can also prepare and upload your own live recordings to the Archive, if you like. In fact, if you'd like to limit your material to selected contributions from you only, please just let us know.

If you have any questions about the project, please ask us anytime at etree@archive.org.

Can I upload concert videos?

At this time, video uploads are not being accepted, namely because most of the bands archived prohibit the video taping of their shows. Moreover, unlike audio, where we actually have a shot at archiving the vast majority of any given band's live concerts (in very high quality format), video is scarce and, unless made by the artist (in which case, it's typically for commercial purposes), is not of particularly good quality.

Why do my download speeds spike violently?

The etree servers are very busy and get very bogged down. Hundreds of downloaders are accessing blocks of disk, each off in a different location. so the disk heads have to move to appropriate block to retrieve it for you. In the mean time, for fairness, the disk heads move off to another location after giving you your block(s) so they can provide another user(s) with some blocks. When that's done, the heads move back to your show and give you a bit more. The more downloaders who are downloading shows in different places on disk, the more pronounced this effect becomes. As we populate more servers with data this may become less of an issue since the demand will be spread over more disks.

How do I upload a show?

Be sure that you are logged in as an Internet Archive member, then click here. The directories and files you upload should be named in accordance with etree.org standards, which can be found here. Additionally, to facilitate the importing of shows, name the top directory like this: bbyyyy-mm-dd.source.shnf
Each show must be in its own, named directory in order to be seen by the importing system.

[Special Admin Note for uploads containing a number in the band abbreviation prefix: In these cases only, please add a dash between the prefix and date in the directory name (foo4tet-2002-02-02.shnf) so the import software will work. Usually, directory names must not have the dash (footet2002-02-02.shnf) to be imported. Numbers in the abbreviation are special cases.]

I have more audio questions...who do I ask?

Feel free to email etree at archive dot org with any questions, and we'll do our best to post the answers here as soon as possible. Also, the message board is a great resource; with so many kind, knowledgable folks out there, you can often get a speedy answer to your question.

I have a different source for a show that is already in the archive, should I upload it anyway?

In keeping with the nature of this Archive, it is appropriate for multiple sources of the same show to be available for download. When you upload the new source, be sure to name the source in the show's top level folder to avoid confusion. Some bands do place limits on the types of sources allowed (such as soundboard recordings), so please check the policy for any given band.

How can I help get bands into the Live Music Archive?

If you know of a trade-friendly live-performing band that is a good candidate for the Archive, you can initiate contact. Some tips and letter templates can be found here. When you write, make it clear you are asking about the Live Music Archive at archive.org. Don't just ask about their general taping/trading stance. We want bands to know what's up.

Next, follow up with a message to etree@archive.org. Mention when you tried to contact the band and what contact point you used. These are important in order to update our contact records. You can create a new "pending" section for the band on the Band Information page if one isn't listed there yet. Admins will update the contact status in that section based on the message you send us.

If you receive a reply from the band, positive or negative, send a complete copy of the email, complete with its sender's address, to etree@archive.org. It's a good idea to send a copy of what you asked them as well (if not quoted in the reply), since it will give context to the answer. We need to have full info in hand in order to set up the band appropriately in the Archive, and we may need to contact them for followup questions.

If you are hesitant to make contact yourself, you can mention the band to Archive admins and they can try a contact as time permits. To help out, first add the band to the Trade-Friendly Band Information page if it is not listed already.

What's the deal with WAV MD5 files?

MD5 cheksums files are not exclusive to SHN files, in fact, an MD5 checksum can be used to ensure the accuracy of any data file (e.g. .doc, .mp3, .mpeg). Some seeders produce MD5 checksums for their WAV files, as well as the SHN files. This is just an extra level of protection to ensure exact copies of the original WAV files are being burned from the SHN files. Checking a WAV file with a MD5 cheksum is no different than checking a SHN file. If you use mkwACT, you can just right click on the wav MD5 and choose "verify."

I just uploaded a directory that contained WAV MD5 checksums, is that OK?

The WAV MD5 checksums are ignored by our robot. Do not worry if you see that the WAV MD5 checksums fail, the shows will be imported as soon as possible.

When I try to connect to a server via FTP, I get the error "connection timeout." How can I fix this?

This error is caused by a setting in your FTP client, that limits the amount of time your FTP client will wait for a server to respond. In order to fix this problem, increase the "server timeout" setting; a setting of 180 seconds should be enough time to connect to the archive.org servers. If you use SmartFTP, the "server timeout" setting can be found in Tools > Settings > Connections.

Can bands place restrictions on material to be archived?

Yes. Each band can tailor the extent of their permission to the Archive. We quote the band's wishes in their section of the Band Information page. Here are some examples of special restrictions bands have requested.

We have a contribution system set up to accomodate individual bands' requirements. During the upload process, contributors are urged to double check the band's policy notes at different stages. Archive Curators, volunteer fans who have proven to be in line with the spirit of this archive, will attempt to screen contributions for OK'ed material only. In addition, access to a particular item can be removed if it becomes restricted later (for example, a date newly chosen for commercial release must be removed under some band's policies).

Bands, please contact us at etree@archive.org anytime to let us know how we can work with you to make things happen.

I just uploaded a show and all the files fail the MD5 check, what's the deal?

Check to make sure the FTP program you used to upload the files is set to "binary" mode. If you try to upload .shn or .flac files in "ASCII" mode the files will fail the MD5 check. ASCII is the standard format for encoding plain text files (actually a subset of binary), while binary is used to encode almost all other types of files. More information on binary vs. ASCII can be found here.

If this does not solve the problem, be sure that all the file names in the MD5 file match the .shn file names. Be aware that the UNIX system the Internet Archive runs on is case-sensitive.

If you upload FLAC filesets to the LMA, please follow the naming standards to help the checking program here. Directories should be named with .flac16 or .flac24 suffix, not .flac. Otherwise, the program will report failures.

Where have all the Dave Matthews Band concerts gone? Will they be back?

At the request of the band's management and as a result of the band's recent policy change, Dave Matthews Band concerts (as well as Dave Matthews solo concerts and Dave and Tim shows) have been removed from the Internet Archive. We're very sorry about this unfortunate turn of events but feel like it is important to honor the wishes of the band and its management.

For more information and discussion see this post:
http://www.archive.org/iathreads/post-view.php?id=3670

Why is there no Phish? What about Widespread Panic?

Phish has decided not to participate in the Archive at this point in time. Their official response can be viewed here.

Similarly, Widespread Panic has opted out of the project for the time being. They were last contacted on 11/9/2004. Their response can be seen here.

I used to use a download manager and now it stopped working. What's the deal?

Download managers increase your download speed by connecting to the server multiple times. Doing this does not significantly increase download speeds but dramatically hurts the performance of the server. If you wish to use queue to download from the HTTP servers, be sure you set your download program to only use one connection at a time.

How do I help make corrections to shows?

Sometimes people make typos or other mistakes on uploads, or leave gaps in info that can be filled in later. You can help supply good information for archived items. Here is the current best method to submit corrections:

If you uploaded the show, you can make the changes to the details page yourself. Make sure you are logged in as the user who uploaded the show and go to the details page of the show you are trying edit. Click on the "edit" link next to the band name at the top of the details page and you will be able to edit the show details including venue, location, source, setlist, etc. Be aware that editing these field will only change the show details of the Archive's database. If you need to make changes to the text file, please follow the steps below and contact an archive administrator.

If you did not upload the show, please click the 'Report Error' button and state concisely and precisely what the problem with that particular show is (If the problem is a missing setlist, please see this FAQ). If there are one or more missing or broken files that you can provide, please re-upload and re-import the entire show under a new directory name, and then hit 'Report Error' for the old, broken show, asking for that show to be removed.

What file formats are accepted for contributions to the Live Music collection here?

Currently, the Live Music Archive will only accept audio files in 2 formats: Shorten (.shn) and FLAC (.flac). Please Note that MKW files (.mkw) are *NOT* an acceptable file format for your contributions because they lack cross-platform compatibility (Mac users are unable to play or decode MKW files)

In addition, please do not upload the lossy files (MP3 or OGG) next to your FLAC or SHN format files - the Archive creates those files automatically, provided that the contributor agrees to having them available. This ensures that all the files here have uniform quality options selected.

Please follow Etree.org's Seeding Guidelines when preparing your contributions for addition to the collection. Pay particular attention to the Naming Standards section. If your contribution does not follow the Naming Standards they set forth, it will be frozen before becoming available to the public and you will be contacted to fix the filenames.

I like adding concerts. Do you have a preference on the way I put in information?

First of all - thank you so much for contributing to the Archive. Yes, here are some guidelines that will help us maintain good records for each concert.

• Do not include HTML in the source and lineage fields.
• Do not repeat information in the notes fields (such as source information, or number of discs). Only include information in the notes fields that is not already in any other field.
• If at all possible, keep absolutely nothing but song names in the setlist (even things like disc splits, set splits, etc. should not be in this field). If possible, putting all song names on one line, separated by commas is wonderful.
• Do not fill in unknown field with questions marks or N/A - just leave them blank. The exception to this guideline is the setlist and source fields (which are mandatory) - in the event that this information is not known, simply write "unknown".

Good FTP clients for downloading music

While HTTP is preferred, some users like using FTP. Here are a couple free FTP clients that users have found to be good:
On Windows SmartFTP
On Mac OS-X Transmit

What's the deal with magic number errors?

If you get a magic number error when listening to or decoding a SHN file, the SHN file is most likely corrupt. First, make sure the SHN file passes MD5 verification; if it does not, redownload the file. If the file passes MD5 verification and you are still getting the magic number error, leave am error report via the show details page noting the magic number error and which track the error occurs on. Hopefully others who have download the show will confirm or deny the error. If the error occurs for all downloaders, the seeder will be contacted to provide a new, uncorrupted track. Please note that there is nothing the Internet Archive administrators can do about a magic number error, becuase the only solution to the error is re-encoding the SHN file from the original WAV file.

Do you provide an RSS feed of new updates to the LMA?

Indeed! The URL of the feed is http://www.archive.org/services/collection-rss.php?mediatype=etree&collection;=etree You can plug this into a front end like AmphetaDesk (available at: http://www.amphetadesk.com)

What does the "Transferred by" field mean?

This field indicates the person who did the original DAT/MD/Cassette to WAV conversion. Also, note that in the case of recordings made directly to laptops there is no transfer.

Why don't I get an email when my uploads fail MD5 checksums?

The system currently only sends emails when MD5 files are included. This means that, if you're uploading FLAC files, you still need to generate and include an MD5 file if you want to receive informational emails about the failures.

A recommended tool for creating these files is MD5summer. Please note that before uploading the MD5 created with this tool you should open the MD5 in a text editor and remove the top 3 lines so the first signature is now flush with the top of the file.

How can I get iTunes to create a new playlist when I stream MP3s?

As an iTunes user, you might have noticed that iTunes loads the Archive's streaming MP3s (M3U files) into your library, and subsequentially the files get shuffled and are out of order. We have come up with a solution to this problem.

How to play OGG files?

On the mac, there is a free component to ogg-ify itunes. Also vlc plays it. http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20020424233612407 Other info to follow.

What is the Laszlo Flash widget?

The Laszlo Flash widget is a program which can be embedded in a web page to play MP3 files. It requires Macromedia Flash.

What are the options for downloading a full recording?

Lossless: A ZIP file containing Shorten files or Flac files. Unlike formats like MP3, lossless formats are true to the original - there is no degradation in quality.

What are the options for streaming a full recording?

Hi-Fi: An MP3 playlist, readable by most players, that has the addresses of MP3 files encoded with a variable bit rate.

What are the P2P Options links?

The P2P, or peer to peer, option takes advantage of a technology called "magnet links" which distributes the file and may speed up your download. If you have a peer to peer client (such as Shareaza, Kazaa, Gnutella, LimeWire, Morpheus, Bearshare, Xolox, etc.) installed that is configured to handle Magnet links (most do by default), clicking on one of the links under the “Download via P2P” option will automatically launch your P2P client and download the appropriate file. Internet Archive uses the power of peer to peer and magnet links to more efficiently and economically distribute files with the full approval and permission of the artists who created the files.

My in-progress upload says ' No metadata describing files found. Waiting for user to enter metadata' - what do I do?

If your upload is stuck in this way, you'll need to click on the show in question in the Contribution Center, then click the 'Edit' button to edit your show. Then you'll need to choose the File Options button, (in the top right) and fill in any missing information in that particular dialog box that pops up. Finally, hit update, and when the contribution engine checks the show again (this can be a few minutes, so you may need to wait a little!), the show should proceed to the next step in the Contribution Engine.

I'm having trouble with a 'blank'/corrupted ZIP file. What do I do?

There are a variety of problems that may be causing this. Here are a couple of the most common. If you have a Mac running OS X, the default unzip utility (Stuffit) does not deal well with those Archive ZIP files that are 'compressed on the fly'. You may see an empty directory - if so, then try downloading Zip Tools for Mac OS X and using the drag and drop software within that to unzip your download. [Make sure you save your download to your desktop before trying things on it.] If you're having any trouble with downloads timing out or being incomplete, especially on Windows, then you may be able to use download managers such as GetRight. These will restart your download if it fails. However, some 'ZIP on the fly' downloads don't play well with download managers. If you find that to be the case, the safest thing to do is to download each track individually in a download manager, or use FTP to log in.

When I try to import my upload, I am getting the error message 'This directory or files contained within the directory have illegal characters in the name' What does this mean?

The folder or files that you sent to the upload server have characters in the name that cause problems with the system - so we have designated them "illegal". This includes the following characters in the name:

* ( ) { } [ ] / \ $ % @ # ^ & | < >

In addition, files and folders may *not* have spaces in the naming.

You will need to remove any of these illegal characters in order for the system to accept your contribution.

Can I upload live recordings that were broadcast on XM Radio or Sirius Satellite Radio?

At this point in time, Archive.org cannot host recordings that were broadcast over either of these services. Subscribers have informed us that they were required to sign a "Terms of Use" document that forbids the recording/hosting/rebroadcasting of any material received from these services. Until we hear otherwise, these recordings cannot be hosted here.

The Grateful Dead is here, when will we see Jerry Garcia Band recordings?

The taping policy of the Grateful Dead does not extend to recordings of Jerry Garcia Band. Jerry's solo work is controlled by his estate.

More info here: http://www.archive.org/iathreads/post-view.php?id=18987

Archive.org does not have permission to host his recordings at this time.

Regarding removing the lossy files ... I edited my show, checked the box to remove them and clicked update. Now when I click update again, the box is still not checked. Why?

It takes 2-10 minutes for your checking of that box to 'stick' ... see this discussion board post: http://www.archive.org/iathreads/post-view.php?id=22816 for an explanation of why.

Can I begin uploading Grateful Dead to the Collection?

At this time, the Grateful Dead section of the collection is not open to public uploads. This status will be lifted when the GDIAP (Grateful Dead Internet Archive Project) has completed importing all of the recordings they have access to. There will be an announcement on the discussion board and this FAQ will be removed when we open the doors for fans to begin filling in the gaps.

What's the significance of the Archive's collections?

Societies have always placed importance on preserving their culture and heritage. But much early 20th-century media -- television and radio, for example -- was not saved. The Library of Alexandria -- an ancient center of learning containing a copy of every book in the world -- disappeared when it was burned to the ground.

What is the nonprofit status of the Internet Archive? Where does its funding come from?

The Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) public nonprofit organization. It receives in-kind and financial donations from Alexa Internet, the Kahle/Austin Foundation, and Quantum Corporation

Does the Archive issue grants?

No; although we promote the development of other Internet libraries through colloquia, and other means, the Archive is not a grant-making organization.

How do I contact the Internet Archive?

General questions about the Internet Archive should be addressed to info@archive.org. For technical assistance and information please see the FAQs and search the forums.

What software can play the downloaded movies?

For Windows:
MPEG1 (VCD) most players;
MPEG2 (DVD) freeware VLC, shareware player from http://www.elecard.com, or for-pay quicktime6 plugin: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/products/mpeg2playback/ ;
MPEG4 quicktime6 from www.apple.com

For Mac OSX and 9:
MPEG1 (VCD) most players;
MPEG2 (DVD) freeware VLC ( http://www.videolan.org/ ) the for-pay quicktime6 add-on (see http://www.apple.com/quicktime/products/mpeg2playback/ ).
MPEG-4 Quicktime6.

some mac users have written to us suggesting MPlayer (OS X), BBDEMUX, and MPEG2DECX -- free on www.versiontracker.com.

Please contact us if you have information about players.

What other software and equipment can I use?

You can try any of various players available for downloading. In addition, for better performance, you can add decoder board hardware to your computer.

PLAYERS: Try the evaluations of players at coolstf.com. Unfortunately, because computers can be set up in so many different ways and because different standards exist for playing video, finding a player that will work is a hit-and-miss process. If you have trouble playing the movies, try another player, post your question on our discussion list (moviearchive-subscribe@yahoogroups.com), or write to us at info@archive.org.

Besides freeware VLC ( http://www.videolan.org/ ) and Quicktime, see above for other Macintosh players. See http://www.apple.com/quicktime/ for the free QT6 player for MPEG4 and the for-pay quicktime6 add-on for MPEG2 (DVD). We will update this page as players become available. Please contact us if you have information about Macintosh-compatible players or decoder boards.

HARDWARE: Using a decoder board shifts all the responsibility for decoding the video into hardware and lets you watch full-screen, full-motion video on just about any PC running Windows. Most decoder boards also include a video-out jack so that you can watch the output on a TV monitor or even record a film directly to a VCR. The Archive can't take responsibility for recommending any hardware solutions, but we've been happy with the Sigma Designs RealMagic Netstream 2000 card (for Windows machines).

At present, we know of no hardware solutions for the Macintosh. Please contact us if you have information about hardware for that platform.

Why does my computer hang or give me errors when I try to download or play a movie?

1. There is heavy traffic to our site. If you experience a delay, please try again later or at a different time of day.

2. You're behind a firewall and the firewall software is attempting to modify incoming bits. Contact your network or firewall administrator (to test, try downloading from outside the firewall first).

3. Your Internet connection went down or timed out. Check with your ISP or network administrator to see if there's a special policy about keeping a connection live.

4. If your browser seems to hang after a "100% downloaded" message, check to see that you have sufficient hard-disk and TMP disk space. Rebooting the system sometimes helps.

If you still have trouble, post your question on our discussion list (moviearchive-subscribe@yahoogroups.com) or write to us at info@archive.org.

Can I download movies via FTP?

Yes — via anonymous FTP.

On the details page for a film, look for the location information in any download link, after "url=". For example: http://www.archive.org/movies/download.php?
id=846&download;=1&url;=http://movies03.archive.org/2/movies/Perversi1965/Perversi1965.mpg

You can FTP to that server, in this case movies03.archive.org and navigate to the directory indicated, in this case /2/movies/Perversi1965/.

Why do I get errors when I try to play a movie?

1. You are trying to play an MPEG-2 file on a platform other than Windows or Linux. At present, you need the freeware VLC ( http://www.videolan.org ) or the for-pay quicktime6 add-on to play MPEG-2 files on the Macintosh. We will update this page as players become available. Please contact us if you have information about players that work on platforms other than Windows.

2. Your player tried to stream the movie. (You may get a display of odd-looking text in the browser involving "application/octet-stream.") Try downloading the file again, but right-click the link to save the file to disk so that the player won't try to stream it. Our files will not stream.

3. Some conflict exists between your computer's configuration and the player you're using. Unfortunately, because PCs can be set up in so many different ways and because different standards exist for playing video, finding a player that will work is a hit-and-miss process. Try Rod Hewitt's evaluations of a number of players.

If you still have trouble, post your question on our discussion list (moviearchive-subscribe@yahoogroups.com) or write to us at info@archive.org.

Can I use these movies in FinalCutPro -- in the Quicktime format?

You can Re-encode Mpeg2 movies to quicktime for FinalCut Pro using Cleaner5.0.2 using the following settings. There is no de-interlacing, so you don't lose anything. The files increase in size 10 fold, so make sure you have enough HD space. This procedure gives you quicktime movies suitable for use with final cut.

Cleaner 5 -- if you don't have 5.0.2, you can download.0.2 from the terran.com site.
- output > quicktime, .mov
- tracks > process everything
- image > image size constrain to 720*480, display size normal, do not deinterlace, field dominance-SHIFT DOWN
- encode > apple DV-ntsc codec, millions of colors, spatial quality 100%, frame rate, same as source
- Audio > we're still not sure about which is best. start with mono, 48kb, experiment.

Some have had good results with their decoder cards. compare a few films done both ways on a good monitor with scopes and see which method is best.

Sometimes when I play a movie, the video is choppy or very pixelated. Why is that?

When we encode the video in MPEG-4, we first reduce its size to 320 x 240 — a quarter of the resolution of NTSC video. We then translate it at 350 kbps, which is really borderline for that resolution. You see errors occasionally because there simply isn't enough bandwidth available, so the MPEG-4 encoder either drops frames — resulting in jerky or choppy motion — or drops macro blocks — resulting in blurred or pixelated video. That is the price we pay for the small file size — 80 MB for a 1/2-hour clip is really very small in the digital video world.

Why does this site only offer such high-resolution copies that can't be easily played by everyone?

MPEG-2, a widely accepted standard for video playback, is a full-screen, full-motion compressed video format, most familiar to consumers as the format underlying the digital video disc (DVD) and digital satellite television (DBS). The image quality of MPEG-2 encoded files is far superior to files encoded in other formats, especially low-bandwidth streaming video.

The Archive's goal is to make high-quality video copies of the movies available to everyone. Unlike the thumbnail (less than full-screen, full-motion) quality offered by many sites, whose movies are usually subject to many rights restrictions, our video files can actually be downloaded, recorded to videotape, and displayed on TVs or monitors or even projected. We have sought to prove that the Internet can be a delivery medium for high-quality video without payment or restrictions. The high quality of the video files we offer makes them too large to stream, but technology marches on and this may be possible within the next few years.

How can I search for movies?

You can search from the navigation bar on any page in the Moving Images section of the site. You can also perform a more sophisticated search from the advanced search page.

How did you digitize the films?

Almost all the films in the Internet Moving Images Archive are held (by Prelinger Archives) in original film form (35mm, 16mm, 8mm, Super 8mm, and various obsolete formats like 28mm and 9.5mm). Films were first transferred to Betacam SP videotape, a widely used analog broadcast video standard, on telecine machines manufactured by Rank Cintel or Bosch. The film-to-tape transfer process is not a real-time process: It requires inspection of the film, repair of any physical damage, and supervision by a skilled operator who manipulates color, contrast, speed, and video controls.

The videotape masters created in the film-to-tape transfer suite were then digitized at Prelinger Archives in New York City using an encoding workstation built by Rod Hewitt. The workstation is a 550 MHz PC with a FutureTel NS320 MPEG encoder card. Custom software, also written by Rod Hewitt, drove the Betacam SP playback deck and managed the encoding process. The files were uploaded to hard disk through the courtesy of Flycode, Inc.

The files were encoded at constant bitrates ranging from 2.75 Mbps to 3.5 Mbps. Most were encoded at 480 x 480 pixels (2/3 D1) or 368 x 480 (roughly 1/2 D1). The encoder drops horizontal pixels during the digitizing process, which during decoding are interpolated by the decoder to produce a 720 x 480 picture. (Rod Hewitt's site Coolstf shows examples of an image before and after this process.) Picture quality is equal to or better than most direct broadcast satellite television. Audio was encoded at MPEG-1 Level 2, generally at 112 kbps. Both the MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 movies have mono audio tracks.

To convert the MPEG-2 video to MPEG-4, we used a program called FlasK MPEG. This is an MPEG-1/2 to AVI conversion tool that reads the source MPEG-2 and outputs an AVI file containing the video in MPEG-4 format and audio in uncompressed PCM format. We then use a program called Virtual Dub that recompresses the audio using the MPEG-1 Level 3 (MP3) format. This process is automated by the software that runs the system.

An article on re-coding Prelinger Archive films to SVCD so you can watch them on your DVD player.

See http://www.moviebone.com/

Where can i find more information on how to play movies on the macOS?

See above

Where can i find more information on how to play movies on other operating systems?

For more details, troubleshooting, and how to play movies on other operating systems, see this how to page.

Is there a discussion list for technical issues?

Yes — our list is about both technical issues and movie content. You can subscribe at moviearchive-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

How can I use the MPEG2 files to make my own movie?

This has been challenging in the past, but we are told that Final Cut Pro on Mac OS-X 10.2 (jaguar) will import the MPEG2 file with the optional MPEG2 plugin module ( http://www.apple.com/quicktime/products/mpeg2playback/ ) Please send a note to moviearchive@yahoogroups.com if it does not.

What about streaming the movies?

You can watch the movies without downloading using RealPlayer from Real Networks (www.real.com). We support two bitrates: 32Kbps-192Kbps for modem and ISDN users plus 256Kbps-450Kbps for DSL and cable-modem users.

To stream MPEG4 files you will need to use QuickTime.

What is an editable file?

An editable file is a file which can be downloaded and used in an editing program. The MPEG-4 are the highest bitrate versions we could do with the linux mpeg-2 to mpeg-4 conversion tools we use. These files can be read directly into FinalCut-Pro from Apple, and can be converted to mov using Quicktime-pro and read directly into iMovie from Apple.

What is the "EU" link?

These are links to download files from a mirror in Europe. These are often very fast.

How do I make DVD's from Internet Archive movies?

The following was posted in the Internet Archive forums. If you have further information to add, please email us.

Skip
http://www.avgeeks.com

Why not Squid or mod_proxy?

Both Squid and mod_proxy are great for reducing the load on web servers, and we encourage everybody to use them. The disadvantage of these caching proxies are that they only work "vertically", i.e., they reduce the bandwidth downstream from the originating web site to the users' browsers. That web site still gets 1 download per (non-cascading) proxy. The FreeCache system works more "horizontally", i.e., FreeCaches fill themselves up from neighboring FreeCaches if at all possible. Hence, the load on the originating web site is much lower. FreeCache and caching proxies are complementary technologies. Both can be used to reduce the impact on web sites.

Why FreeCache?

FreeCache is a demand-driven, distributed caching system. Cooperating caches exchange files without burdening the original site too much.

Why not BitTorrent?

BitTorrent is good and similar to FreeCache in that it balances download "horizontally". BitTorrent uses other BitTorrent clients for this balancing; these clients often become un-available after a particular file is not popular anymore. The FreeCache system utilizes permanent FreeCaches that don't go away (although particular files get flushed out after a while). Unlike BitTorrent, the FreeCache system is transparent to the end-user. No new client or server software is required, and the files do not need to be converted. To offer a file via the FreeCache system, all you need to do is prefix the URL with http://freecache.org/

What files are being served by FreeCache?

FreeCache can only serve files that are on a web site. If the link to a file on that web site goes away, so will the file in the FreeCaches. Also, there is a minimum size requirement. We don't bother with files smaller than 5MB, as the saved bandwidth does not outweigh the protocol overhead in those cases.

What's a good download manager?

We like wget, because you can tell it to play nice and go slow. It's highly configurable and very powerful. Wget runs on all Unix platforms (incl. Mac OS X), and it comes standard with Cygwin on Windows. If you prefer something graphical, Mozilla's built-in download manager works fine.

What is DocuComp?

DocuComp is a sophisticated technology that compares inserted, deleted, replaced and moved text and content in Web pages. It's patented algorithm has been specially designed and licensed for use in the Wayback Machine.

What do I need I to know to use DocuComp in the WayBack Machine?

You only need to know the basic functions of the Wayback Machine. Begin by typing in a URL to search for into the Wayback Machine and hit the 'Take Me Back' button. Once you've found your choices on the results page, click the 'Compare Archive Pages' button in the upper right hand corner of the page. The reloaded page will have a series of check-boxes before each page date. Check any two dates and select the 'Compare two dates' button in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. The system is designed to automatically generate results for any URL's indexed by the Wayback Machine.

What Archive Pages are comparable?

You can compare any two pages from the Archive's library dating from 1996 to the present (approximately 10 billion pages).

Why should I compare results of past Web pages?

Access to the Archive's Collections is provided at no cost to you and is granted for scholarship and research purposes only. The DocuComp feature is intended to provide interesting insight into how content on pages in every field-- from the government to entertainment to business sites-- changes over time.

Where can I find out more about DocuComp?

Please visit the ww.docucomp.com site. DocuComp is a widely-used technology that is licensed by it's parent company, Advanced Software, into many of the software products and content management systems available today. Formerly a standalone application for Advanced Software, the company now focuses exclusively on licensing the DocuComp technology and patent to software vendors.

Some images are missing in my comparison?

In certain cases, images within the Web pages are not available. Not all images are archived nor are retrievable from the original site. If they no longer exist on the original site then the images will not be available and not displayed within the archived pages.

Certain links or actions are not working in the comparison results?

Links to other pages may not be live if those pages (or links) no longer exist and are not in the archive library. Also, javascript enabled links and actions are disabled in the comparison results to prevent errant scripts from being run.

Can I copy and use my results?

The results of any comparison done on the Internet Archive site are governed by the terms of use listed at: http://www.archive.org/about/terms.php. Additionally, any use of the DocuComp trademark or logo without express written permission by Advanced Software, Inc and any of it's affiliates is prohibited by law.

Guidelines for Press, Magazines and General Media

DocuComp is a registered trademark of Advanced Software, Inc. Please contact the company at (866) 329-7480 or info@docucomp.com for background information on the company's history, technology data, or to schedule executive interviews.

Who owns the rights to these movies?

Each collection has come from some donor and may impose some restrictions on use and re-use. We are endevouring to make it easy to understand what you can do with these movies, but this is a work-in-progress. Many of the movies and collections are licensed with Creative Commons Licenses. Look for the Creative Commons logo to the left of the screen on a movie's detail page. Click on this link to find out exactley what the permissions are for the particular film. Many other films have the contact information listed for the filmmaker. If the information is provided, feel free to contact the filmaker or organization the film comes from.

Is there a discussion list about the movies?

Yes — our list is about both movie content and technical issues. You can subscribe at moviearchive-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Are there other similar archives on the Web?

As far as we know, this is the only site that presents high-quality downloadable movie data files practically free of use restrictions. See the Links page at Prelinger Archives for a number of sites that may be useful to researchers or those seeking specific films or footage.

Why does this site contain only movies produced in the United States?

Again, the reason is copyright law. A great many ephemeral films produced in the United States are not currently protected by copyright, either because their original copyrights have expired without renewal or because they were not properly copyrighted before publication (for example, published without copyright notice in proper form). Films produced in most other nations enjoy a greater degree of copyright protection and, for the most part, could not be placed on this site without the permission of the copyright owners and other stakeholders.

What are those animations associated with each movie and how did you make them?

The animations on the details pages and on the browse pages are animated GIF files. In most cases, still shots from each minute of the program were grabbed and saved as JPG files (these are the thumbnails which you can reach by clicking on the "See movie scenes" links). Then a tool called ImageMagick was used to create the animated GIF files from the JPGs.

How are images compared?

When compared pages contain different images, only the new (or latest) set of images is shown. Images that were either changed or removed are not displayed in the comparison results.

How can I report problems?

After comparing two pages, the upper frame on the results page includes a hyperlink to report results which return any page faults. By clicking this hyperlink, an automatic error report is generated to both the Internet Archive webmaster and DocuComp's technical team. If you wish, there is an additional help screen to describe the issue. Please keep in mind that with over two billion pages to index and compare, not all being created alike; some pages will differ greatly and not have a common frame of reference to effectively compare.

What is the proposed directory structure for uploading movies?

PROTOCOL://HOST/DIR/movies/TITLE/

TITLE.FORMAT

TITLE.gif - animated gif

TITLE.thumbs/TITLE_FRAME.jpg

Encoding Parameters

We attempt DVD, VCD, and MP4 streaming for broadband. We want these parameters to easily work with low-end video editors, but have had trouble.(pls comment on this on the movies forum if you have any ideas on what we should do differently).

MPEG-2, DVD -- 720x480 or 702x480 interlaced. With a system header on each pack to be compatible with DVD. (Prelinger movies are 1/2 D1 352x480 29.97 fps which causes some players to make them look skinny)

MPEG-1, VCD-- Video Resolution SIF (352 x 288
PAL, 352x240 NTSC)
Framerate 29.7 or 25 for PAL
Video Compression MPEG-1
Video Bitrate Up to 1151 kbps constant bitrate (CBR)
Audio 224 kbit/sec MPEG-1 Layer2
Stereo 44.1khz

MPEG-4 (big) -- 900Kbps VBR 320x240 29.97 fps progressive video with 64Kbps AAC audio. Hinted for streaming.

(We are having trouble finding a mpeg-2 to mpeg-4 converter that works. QT6 loses the audio, and mpegable does not handle 1/2 D1 correctly. Any help here would be appreciated, especially linux converters.)

MPEG-4 (small) -- 250Kbps VBR 160x120 29.97 fps progressive with 64Kbps AAC audio. Hinted for streaming.

How can I view/stream Mpeg4 encoded films?

MPEG4
Mpeg4 files can be viewed with Quicktime, Xine, VideoLan. Envivio TV provides a plugin that will enable wmp or RealOne to stream or view mpeg4 files.
Editable MPEG4
Editable mpeg4 files can be directly imported into iMovie and Final Cut Pro on the Macintosh.
These files are encoded at very high bandwidths, on the order of 2Mbps, and are comparible in quality to the mpeg2 formatted films. These files are not yet provided.

What parameters were used when making the Real Media files on the website?

Rod Hewitt posted some very useful information here

Do I need to credit the Internet Archive and Prelinger Archives when I reuse these movies?

We ask that you credit us as a source of archival material, in order to help make others aware of this site. We suggest the following forms of credit:

Archival footage supplied by the Internet Moving Images Archive (at archive.org) in association with Prelinger Archives

or

Archival footage supplied by the Internet Moving Images Archive (at archive.org)

or

"Archival footage supplied by archive.org"

Do I need to inform the Internet Archive and/or Prelinger Archives when I reuse these movies?

No. However, we would very much like to know how you have used this material, and we'd be thrilled to see what you've made with it. This may well help us improve this site. Please consider sending us a copy of your production (postal mail only), and let us know whether we can call attention to it on the site. Our address is:

Rick Prelinger
c/o Internet Moving Pictures Archive
PO Box 29064
San Francisco, CA 94129
United States

How can I get access to these movies on videotape or film?

Access to the movies stored on this site in videotape or film form is available to commercial users through Archive Films, representing Prelinger Archives for stock footage sales. Please contact Archive Films directly:

Archive Films/Archive Photos
75 Varick Street
New York, NY 10013
United States
+1 (646) 613-4100 (voice)
+1 (646) 613-4140 (fax)
+1 (800) 876-5115 (toll free in the US)
sales@archivefilms.com

Please visit us at www.prelinger.com/prelarch.html for more information on access to these and similar films. Prelinger Archives regrets that it cannot generally provide access to movies stored on this Web site in other ways than through the site itself. We recognize that circumstances may arise when such access should be granted, and we welcome email requests. Please address them to Rick Prelinger.

The Internet Archive does not provide access to these films other than through this site.

Are there restrictions on the use of the Prelinger Films?

The Prelinger movies are open and available to everyone without charges or fees. You are warmly encouraged to access, download, use, and reproduce these films in whole or part, in any medium or market throughout the world, for any purpose whatsoever. We would appreciate attribution or credit whenever possible, but do not require it.

Can you point me to resources on the history of ephemeral films?

See the bibliography and links to other resources at www.prelinger.com/ephemeral.html.

Why are there no post-1964 movies in the Prelinger collection?

Because of copyright law. While a high percentage of ephemeral films were never originally copyrighted or (if initially copyrighted) never had their copyrights properly renewed, copyright laws still protect most moving image works produced in the United States from 1964 to the present. Since this site exists to supply material to users without most rights restrictions, every title has been checked for copyright status. Those titles that either are copyrighted or whose status is in question have not been made available. For information on recent changes in copyright law, see the circular Duration of Copyright (in PDF format) published by the Library of Congress

How do I add books that are online to the Archive?

The Open Source Books collection exists so that users like you can add books to the Archive. There are two ways to add a book, depending on whether or not the book you want to add is already in the Archive.

1) If the book you want to add is in the Archive, you can simply go to the book's detail page (by searching for it, or by browsing through the collections) and click the link that says "Click here to add your own edition of this text." This will bring you to a form for adding your edition of the book with the fields already filled in.

2) The other option is if the book you would like to add is not yet in the Archive (or you cannot find it for some reason). To do this, all you need to do is access this form. If you're adding a book by an author who has some books in the Archive, please strive to format the author's name exactly as it appears on the details pages for those books (this allows us to maintain consistency when users browse by author).

What do FORMAT:URL and TITLE#URL mean on the

FORMAT:URL represent links to the actual books on the Internet. For example, suppose I have a copy of Alice in Wonderland stored on my web server in Adobe Acrobat format, that has the URL http://www.myserver.com/books/alice.pdf. The Archive can link to this copy of the book from the details page that will be created once you submit the form. In order to know what format the book is in, we ask that you supply the URL of the book as FORMAT:URL. In this case this would be Adobe Acrobat:http://www.myserver.com/books/alice.pdf. The details page will then display a link in the "Read Texts" section of the page that looks like this: Adobe Acrobat which points to http://www.myserver.com/books/alice.pdf.

Alice in Wonderland example, suppose I found a website called Alice's World, related to this book, located at http://www.alicesworld.com. For the details page to properly display the title, you must supply it in the Related web pages section of the form, and you have to format it as such: Alice's World#http://www.alicesworld.com. The details page will then display a link like this: Alice's World which goes to http://www.alicesworld.com.

How can I request a feature or report a bug for the Internet Archive?

You can use the form linked to from the To Do List

Can you tell me a bit more about choosing a license?

From the Creative Commons website: "Creative Commons licenses help you share your work but while keeping your copyright. Other people can copy and distribute your work, but only on certain conditions."

You can choose a license to associate with your contribution and this license will be linked to when users see the details page.

I'm having trouble uploading via FTP. What tips can you give me?

When uploading files that are not just text (such as sound files, movies, or images), be sure that your FTP client is in BINARY mode (or at least in automatic mode). Every FTP client is different, but usually this setting is in the connection settings.

How should I name the files for movies I upload

Take for example a movie called My Home Video. The identifier (AKA base name) for this movie should be something like MyHomeVideo. The naming convention for the files depends on the encoding.

How can I make links clickable in my posts?

You may have noticed that some posts have highlighted links in them. Internet Archive forums permit the use of HTML codes. Suppose you want to make a link to the Internet Archive home page, one that looks like this: Internet Archive home page. To do this, you would enter the following HTML code: <a href="http://www.archive.org">Internet Archive home page</a>.

How can I format text in my posts

Since the Internet Archive forum system accepts HTML codes, you can make text bold, italic, underlined, or even colored by using normal HTML codes. See WebMonkey for a list of HTML codes.

I forgot my password, what can I do?

As long as you remember the email address which you originally used when signing up for your virtual library card, you can use this form to have your password emailed to you. Bear in mind that your password will be sent in clear text, which means that anyone who views the email (or anyone with sophisticated "packet sniffing" software) can obtain your password. For this reason you should return to the Internet Archive website once you have your old password and change it to something new.

When I attempt to log in using my username and password, I am told that the username or password is invalid. What could be wrong?

There are several things to keep in mind when you encounter this error.

• Your username is your email address, not your screen name. Make sure you enter the same email address that you supplied when signing up for your virtual library card.
• Your password is case-sensitive. Check to see if the CAPS-LOCK key is engaged (typically a light would be illuminated on your keyboard).
• You might have forgotten your password. If you think this is the case, you can have your password emailed to you here

What is the difference between a virtual library card and an account?

These two terms are used interchangably.

How do I change my password?

You can use this form to change your password.

How do I change my screen name?

You can use this form to change your screen name.

What happens to my forum posts and movie, software, audio, and book reviews when I change my screen name?

Your old reviews and posts will be updated with your new screen name.

What happens if my email address changes? How can I change my email address?

You can use this form to change your email address

How can I remove my account?

You can use this form to remove your account.

How can I connect to SFLan?

With a laptop: Be in the vicinity of a SFLan node. Associate with it: The SSID is sflanNN, where NN is the number of node, e.g. sflan13. No WEP. You'll get an IP number assigned via DHCP. With a house: Contact us at info at archive dot org. (Please include your address and a phone number.) Find out if you have line of sight to another SFLan node, buy a node, and we'll put it on your roof.

I live at 123 Main St at Crossing; do I have line of sight access to a node?

Go to our map at: http://woody.archive.org/nagios/cgi-bin/statusmap.cgi and see how close you are to an existing node. Also you can try something like netstumbler or kismet to look for a SFLan ssid.

What is the cost of a node?

The nodes cost $1100, which includes the price of parts and installation. Discounts are potentially available depending on the location.

How can I get a node?

Send an email with your name, exact address and phone number to info at archive dot org. Be sure to write "SFLan node" (or something similar) in the subject line. The information will be passed on to our fantastic installation team who will contact you.

If I get a node, can my neighbors connect also?

Yes, a SFLan node can connect your neighbors and co-condo association members.

What is included in the node?

Most of our nodes are composed of two radios, but some have three. The components are in a weather tight box with a four foot coax cable and two antennas attached. The whole unit is mounted on your roof (generally) on a pole. There is a picture of our lovely 5'3" spokesmodel holding one here: http://www.archive.org/iathreads/uploaded-files/AstridB-PICT0017.JPG

What are the power requirements of a node?

A node takes on average 5 watts.

What are the connection characteristics of the network?

There are no average characteristics, but 2MBs shared among 20 or so people would be an example.

What is the percentage of uptime?

SFLan is an experimental network, so the uptime varies. Right now uptime averages around 90% or more.

What about IP addresses?

SFLan uses real, routable IP addresses. These are usally given out dynically via DHCP. The nodes themselves use static addresses. We can also assign static addresses for servers. For the techies: We use tunneling, layer 2 and layer 3 bridging in parts on the network to make it all appear as a "flat" LAN. There are pros and cons about this approach. It has worked best for us so far. However, it is a moving target, and might change in the future.

I still have more questions, what should I do?

SFLan is a work in progress. If you have more questions, try the SFLan forum. If you still need help, write to info at archive dot org.