Euro Cross MPEG's?

[CDB]

Anyone aware of any sites to download (for free) any of the live "sporza tv"
Belgium/Holland races from Europe? I'm talking about the current season. Last year, Ewoud Dronkert was making some amazing high res. posts, but not yet this year. They were pretty cool and sized in bundles so that a whole race would fit on a CD.

Thanks for sharing if you know.

CDB

[morganfletcher]

Originally Posted by CDB

Anyone aware of any sites to download (for free) any of the live "sporza tv"
Belgium/Holland races from Europe? I'm talking about the current season. Last year, Ewoud Dronkert was making some amazing high res. posts, but not yet this year. They were pretty cool and sized in bundles so that a whole race would fit on a CD.

Thanks for sharing if you know.

CDB

Just this morning I watched "Mr. Raket's" full-hour video from the 10/09 "Neerpelt" race, won by Bart Wellens. It was excellent. You'll need a usenet account and a binary decoder for usenet. See alt.binaries.multimedia.sports. There's also some Lombardia coverage from him too.

I heart Ed Raket.

Morgan

[CDB]

Originally Posted by morganfletcher

Just this morning I watched "Mr. Raket's" full-hour video from the 10/09 "Neerpelt" race, won by Bart Wellens. It was excellent. You'll need a usenet account and a binary decoder for usenet. See alt.binaries.multimedia.sports. There's also some Lombardia coverage from him too.

I heart Ed Raket.

Morgan

Thanks!

I googled it to find:
http://www.binsearch.info/?b=neerpel...ket%29&max=250

Would you be willing to provide some additional instructions/advice on how to go about doing the viewing/download part? Is it a file that can be downloaded, or only viewable through a stream?

Do you recommend a particular binary decoder? You need some kind of NZB "grabber" software, right? I would prefer to obtain the files for as close to "free" as possible! thanks much!

[morganfletcher]

I'm on linux so I use ubh, (http://ubh.sourceforge.net) which is a perl program that also requires the mysql database. It works well for me but it's kinda techie, does not have a friendly interface, or much of an interface at all, really. Perl and mysql exist for win32 and macos, so theoretically you could run ubh there too. There are probably win32 and macos usenet binary programs with nicer gui interfaces, I just don't know about them.

Man, if only those races were on our North American tv channels!

Morgan

[GearDaddy]

Yes, Mr. Raket is a saint.

Originally when the Neerpelt race was posted, it was missing enough parts so that it could not be put back together again. I actually did some googling, found what I believed to be an E-mail addres for him, and sent him a nice message requesting that he repost the missing parts. I actually translated the E-mail to Dutch to be extra nice. A week or so later, I noticed it was repaired. I'm not sure that my message had anything to do with it, but it sure was great to see the excellent coverage of Wellens and Nys duking it out.

Do a search for "nzb" and you'll find some descriptions for Windows based tools for doing NZB downloads. I am a Linux head, so I've been using the combination of tools "nzbget", "par2", and "rar" to get the stuff and reassemble it. Thank goodness for "xine" too, as it works for nearly any kind of video format. All free tools with the usual Linux assembly required.

Your internet feed will probably also come with a USENET access server too. You just have to find the right name for the server and then set up your NZB download program to refer to it. However, the retention of files on the free USENET access from your provider is usually pretty bad, which means that you'll have download your stuff very soon after it's been posted. I signed up for a cheap account at www.giganews.com in order to get a much more reliable USENET feed.

[cycloscott]

I've always used Agent with good results. http://www.forteinc.com/agent/download.php

It handles yenc encoded files, multi-part postings, etc. There are other great apps as well, but Agent is what I know.

[CDB]

So, I'm still struggling with this... Sorry. I try to learn via google searches and trial/error, but not getting it this time. I'm not a super techy guy, but not absolutely incompetent either...

I have downloaded the NZB file from the link posted above. I have also downloaded a trial version of "newsleacher". I have installed that program. The part I'm struggling with now is:

What do I do next? I import the NZB file into Newsleacher?....

I guess I don't understand what an NZB file is. I don't understand how it differs from a typical MPEG file I'd download, then view. Does Newsleacher allow me to access the contents of the folder out there on some server which contains bits and codes that are decoded, re-built into a standard MPEG type of file? Is Newsleacher a viewer that enables me to view/save a standard format movie file?

I greatly appreciate your help with this. I can figure it out if you know of any helpful links too. I just seem to be striking out so far and have devoted too much time to it.

Thanks!
CDB

[GearDaddy]

Originally Posted by CDB

So, I'm still struggling with this... Sorry. I try to learn via google searches and trial/error, but not getting it this time. I'm not a super techy guy, but not absolutely incompetent either...

I have downloaded the NZB file from the link posted above. I have also downloaded a trial version of "newsleacher". I have installed that program. The part I'm struggling with now is:

What do I do next? I import the NZB file into Newsleacher?....

I guess I don't understand what an NZB file is. I don't understand how it differs from a typical MPEG file I'd download, then view. Does Newsleacher allow me to access the contents of the folder out there on some server which contains bits and codes that are decoded, re-built into a standard MPEG type of file? Is Newsleacher a viewer that enables me to view/save a standard format movie file?

I greatly appreciate your help with this. I can figure it out if you know of any helpful links too. I just seem to be striking out so far and have devoted too much time to it.

Thanks!
CDB

The NZB file is simply a file that lists all of the various pieces and parts of the thing that you want to download in a special format. It is actually a readable file, so you can look at it with an editor if you wish. Newsleacher will probably need to use the NZB file to do the actual download of the pieces and parts. I am not familiar with newsleacher, but I'm sure there is some sort of "get" or "download" function where you would give it a NZB file as input.

You will probably need to configure newsleacher as to which USENET news servers you are going to access to do the download as well. Your internet provider may have some news servers that are free to access. For instance I have RoadRunner as my provider, so I can read off the news server "news-server.mn.rr.com". You may need to pay for access to some other news server if you need to access files that have been out there for awhile.

After you've downloaded the pieces and parts, you'll need to assemble them together to formulate the MPEG file, or AVI file, or whatever the thing is. Newsleacher may be able to do this part too, but I am not sure, and maybe you need another program to do that part.

Hope this helps.

[edraket]

Hi there, it is I, Ed Raket. Just posted world cup no. 2 (Tabor) earlier today to the newsgroup. Yes, you need an ISP with a newsserver that carries binary groups, or an account with a specialized outlet like Giganews (there are hundreds, all with different pay schemes). A successful install of Newsleecher (or Newsbin, or Grabit, or Agent, etc.) should register the .nzb file extension to be opened automatically on doubleclick for it to start downloading. Of course, like GearDaddy says, you must first enter your newsserver account info somewhere in the options. An .nzb file is a sort of XML file, just plain text with tags, most importantly containg messageIDs of all the needed parts. Any modern news client will automatically de-yenc the parts and put them all together. What you get is a .rar file in Newsleecher's download folder, which is a sort of zip-archive that you need to unpack (for example with Winrar or its free command line tool unrar32.exe). THEN you get the .mpg file (320x240 VCD format = MPEG1) that is the actual video. Have fun!

[travis200]

Originally Posted by edraket

Hi there, it is I, Ed Raket. Just posted world cup no. 2 (Tabor) earlier today to the newsgroup.

Excellent!!! keep up the good work. Downloading it now as I type this.

[iamandy]

anyone else getting communication errors? using grab it and I click to download the files and it starts, and after 30-45 seconds it says communication error. New to newsgroups/grab it. I tried other newsgroups and could download ok but no world cup for me???

[cx&xc]

where do go to download these files??

[morganfletcher]

Originally Posted by cx&xc

where do go to download these files??

The internet!

news:alt.binaries.multimedia.sports

Ed: Thanks again for the videos. In last Sunday's Tabor (name?) race, the announcer says something about "September" and "San Francisco" at about 33 minutes into the race. What was he talking about?

Morgan

[morganfletcher]

Originally Posted by iamandy

anyone else getting communication errors? using grab it and I click to download the files and it starts, and after 30-45 seconds it says communication error. New to newsgroups/grab it. I tried other newsgroups and could download ok but no world cup for me???

Nope, worked fine for me. Sounds like a problem between you and your newsgroup server. Usenet (news) expires articles over time, and each server has different expire and size limits that may cause articles to expire sooner or later. Make sure your connection works (sounds like it does) and the articles you're trying to fetch still exist on the server.

Morgan

[edraket]

Originally Posted by morganfletcher

The internet!
Ed: Thanks again for the videos. In last Sunday's Tabor (name?) race, the announcer says something about "September" and "San Francisco" at about 33 minutes into the race. What was he talking about?

Yeah, Tabor is correct, that's the Czech city. They were talking about a slightly disappointing Enrico Franzoi (ITA), that maybe he overshot and did too much road work, namely a full schedule up to and including the SFGP in September: "What was he doing there?". The co-commentator agrees and says that Franzoi was probably representing sponsor interests there.

[CDB]

Wow! I finally got two of the three movies downloaded. Still having trouble acquiring the Neerpelt one. Anyways, I highly recommend the Tabor one. Holy crikes that was an exciting finale. I like that kind of fast turny course. Fantastic post, Ed!

I had better luck w/ the Newsbin program, vs. Newsleacher, to acquire the .rar files. I used WinRAR to unpack them back into the original mpegs.

Anyone else having problems w/ the Neerpelt? Prior to extracting the files, I ran a test in WinRAR. It told me that there was some corruption in 4 of the files. I also notice that in my list of "rar's", I see things like 10, 10.1, 11, 11.1, etc. Should I just re-download them, or can I do something w/ the pars files? I still don't quite understand the "pars" part, but I think it is something to fix it.

Thanks for the help. I attached screen shots of the files I downloaded in my folder.

CDB

[CDB]

In case you're struggling w/ the binary newsgroup download method, you can save yourself some time and purchase them direct as listed below. Looks like about $20 per race plus $5 shipping.

CB

===========
Subject: New 05-06 Cross DVD's: Ruddervoorde and Kalmthout

Fellow Cross Fans,

Two new CycloCross race DVDs of the 05-06
season are now available!

Check out the links on the procyclocross.com
webpage for details, or follow the URL below
for a full race report.

-------------------------------------------------
Ruddervoorde
-------------------------------------------------
My favorite course, with it's set of 4 rolling earth
berms and the staircase climb. First in the
SuperPrestige series with Wellens and Nys in
a great sprint finish!

Full Race Report at:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/cross.php...Pruddervoorde0
5

-------------------------------------------------
Kalmthout (VLAAMSE INDUSTRIEPRIJS BOSDUIN)
-------------------------------------------------
" Although he was beaten by a narrow margin in last
week's Superprestige race in Ruddervoorde, Belgian
World Champion Sven Nys (Rabobank) took revenge over
Bart Wellens (Fidea) in the most impressive fashion,
beating his compatriot by half a minute in the first
round of the World Cup in Kalmthout. "

Full Race Report at:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/cross.php...5/worldcup1_05

[UK rider]

I'm not so computer literate as you guys, (last year I downloaded from the Dutch site, as most I guess, which was pretty straight forward). I work on a Mac and can't seem to access via the method mentioned here. Any 'Mac-bods' know of a way?

Cheers

[CDB]

Even better would be if some benevolent soul out there would be willing to post these converted files to their own website and provide a link for direct downloads!!! Of course, that is my own fantasy, but one likely shared with many.

[cx&xc]

couldn't the person who has converted the files to mpeg login on Bearshare so we could all share files that way??

[UK rider]

The guy who owns http://www.cyclo-cross.com/ over here has offered directly, but hasn't got an answer (publically at least) yet.
Fingers crossed.
You lot start bugging him

[Spero]

You can buy Unison and subscribe to their usenet access. Bundle is $28.95 w/ one month access. Available here:

http://www.panic.com/unison

[mattv2099]

uhhhh... in english???? please.


Can someone just host these vids online where we can download them like normal people. I don't understand any of this stuff you guys are talking about.

[Powerlink]

Originally Posted by edraket

Hi there, it is I, Ed Raket. ...!

I'm new to the forum and fairly new to cyclocross.

I figured out how to download and unpack these files on my Mac. It's been well worth the cost of subsribing to a news service.

Watching these races is a highlight of the week (apart from racing). There's so much to be in awe of and thinking about those guys inspires me to go out and race harder next time.

Thankyou and keep up the good work!

[edraket]

Originally Posted by mattv2099

uhhhh... in english???? please.
Can someone just host these vids online where we can download them like normal people. I don't understand any of this stuff you guys are talking about.

Gesus focking krist. They *are* hosted online, on usenet. No, I can't log on to any of the p2p networks because I only have a measily 512 kbps upload. No, no-one will put them on their website because the files are 650 MB each.