What is #Disney-Central and How to Use Guide

[RU42]

Greetings everyone!

Lots of questions come up about #Disney-Central, mIRC , Invision and how to use/configure them. We answer them as often as we can. I thought about starting this thread to provide easy answers.

WHAT IS #DISNEY-CENTRAL
#Disney-Central was born of Disney fans that wanted an easy way to trade Disney related sounds, video's, and other multimedia. As far as I know, this is the single largest location for Disney Multimedia in the world. If I would hazard a guess I would say we have well over 100gigs across all the individual servers.

PROGRAMS (click on name to download the program):
mIRC 6.14
Invision build 3515

mIRC - This is an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) program. Think of this like an AOL Chat Rooms or as a Real Time Forum. People can come together to discuss common interests. We have a channel on the NEWNET system called #Disney-Central.

mIRC can be a bit tricky to use. It is based on user command line inputs. This is like DOS of years ago. That is why we highly recommend downloading Invision.

Invision turns the command lines based operation of mIRC into a windows based command system (point and click.) It truely is the best way to go. Just install mIRC first, configure it and then install Invision - Invision will take care of the rest for you.

GUIDES
There are 3 key guides:

Basic mIRC settings part 1
mIRC Commands part 2 (and command line instructions)
Invision GuideATTENTION! This guide is awesome BUT the servers referenced on page 3 are no longer Newnet. (A) should now be IRCHighway and (B) should now be IRCHighway: Random Server. Also check http://www.irchighway.net for other servers you can use.

Guide 1 is important so you can get the server settings and nick name correct. Unless you want to learn about the command line interface, I suggest you go straight to Invision and it's related guide.

SO, STEP BY STEP
1) Download mIRC
2) Download Invision
3) Install mIRC - install to c:/mIRC (not c:/program files/mirc) recommended
4) Use the IRC GUIDE to configure the server and nickname settings
5)Install Invision
6) Use the INVISION GUIDE to configure Invision
7) Have fun! Once in the channel type !list and Invision will show you a list of servers. Double click your way through the directories. If you find a file you like, double click on it. It's that easy. See the Invision guide for greater detail.

While in the channel please feel free to contact an of the Ops (@ in front of their name) for help. Or post publically in the channel. We are a nice bunch and always willing to help.

I hope this helps to answer your questions. If you have suggestions or think I should make an addition to this post, please PM it to me. Thanks

Enjoy and have fun

RU42

 

[RU42]

Other Common Questions

There are some other common questions that I shall answer here.

1) mIRC says I only have XX days left to use. What do I do?
mIRC is a great program and I highly recommend that you pay the $20 for a Lifetime license. However, if you go by the 30 trial period, the program will NOT stop running. you might get a 'nag' message from time to time but the program will continue.

2) What if I want to serve files?
That is awesome. Currently we have anywhere from 6-12 individuals serving from their computers. Yes, it is safe and secure to serve. We do not have a guide for this yet. Disneyjedi seems to be the key contact on how to serve. Invision is a must.

3) Who heads #Disney-Central?
No one really. The lead server is by Popkid. The lead technical person is DisneyJedi. I spend my time creating videos and helping. The trivia queen is TiggerBW with additional support by Bamboo7. And the other Ops (@ in front of their name) and Voiced (+ in front of the their name) help in many ways.

4) Is there a web page?
Yes, the address is http://www.wdwresorttv.com and it contains news and guides. It is not a web that 'serves' videos. All video's are served through IRC.

5) Is there FTP access?
No - not unless you have opened up your computer to be a server. We will give you special FTP access after a period of time serving.

6) I see posts about DISTRO, what is that?
Distro is a Servers only system. It is used as a distribution point for all servers. Example, when I create a new video I post it to DISTRO and tell the Servers to go get it. Each server (Cableboy, NewFun, SirLamer etc) can them visit that central point, download my video, and place it on the servers for the world to grab. Distro access is extremely limited and is available to our very long term Servers.

7) You keep saying 'Servers' - what does that mean?
IRC works on the true network principle. No one computer controls the entire thing. There are a group of servers that make #Disney-Central available to the world (called NEWNET.) Within the channel #Disney-Central some people choose to open up specific directories on their computer so that people can download files. (See question #2 above.) If there was only 1 server, then everyone would have to wait in line. By having 6 to 12 servers the load is distributed amongst several computers. Servers are denoted with a + in front of their name. (Cableboy is an Op and a Server.)

8) I have some videos that I would like to share but I do not have the capture capability on my computer. What can I do?
Contact me (RU42) by PM and I can help.

9) What is a queue?
A queue is a line (we are familiar with those at Disney) for your download. People can open up how many files to send at one time, usually between 2 to 5. Once all of those 'pipes' are in use, you go into a queue. When one of those finishes, the first one in queue gets sent and the rest move up one spot.

10) How long will my queue wait be?
There is not way to determine it. Some files are small, 3-5 megs, and some are large 200-300megs. Just depends on what is in front of you.

Added 4/22/04

11) What is 'auto-accept'?
Auto-accept will enable mIRC/Invision to accept any file that is sent to your computer. This is a good thing if your request is in a queue. When your turn comes up, auto accept will accept the file. This prevents you from having to sit at your computer staring at the screen waiting for your turn. OPTIONS - DCC: look for On Send options. See #12 for virus concern answers.

12) Can I get a virus on #Disney-Central?
Yes - using a computer opens you up to viruses. However it is EXTREMELY unlikely. The same principles you use with your e-mail apply here:

A) Never open a file unless YOU chose to download it
B) Keep you virus protection updated
C) mIRC/Invision allows you to specify what files to 'auto-accept'. Limit the list to .zip, .rar, .mp3, .wmv, .wma, .avi, .wav, .mpg, .midi and .doc. This should cover 99% of the files. You can always add if you want something specific.
D) mIRC/Invision will block certain files (default is on); (a few being) .exe, .ini, .com, .bat, .vbs, and .scr. (Find the entire list under OPTIONS - DCC - IGNORE
E) mIRC/Invision allows you to specify which people to accept files from. OPTIONS - DCC: look for the Trusted button.

Use these basic steps and you will most likely NOT ever be hit with a virus. Also, Newnet actively scans for problems and scammers.

13) What about Mac's - is there a IRC program for them?
I have heard of X-Chat Aqua for OS X. (If there are others out there and you have used them with #Disney-Central) please drop me a PM about them.

14) Can Mac's serve?
I do not know of anyone serving on a Mac but one person is experimenting with a program called Hotline.

15) I see posts referring to #D-C, what is that?
That is just shorthand for writting #Disney-Central

Added 5/01/04

16) I am getting audio but not video upon playback?
99% of the time this is a codec problem. A codec is a set of instructions that tells the computer 'how' to view the video. If your computer does not have the proper codec video playback will not happen, but audio probably will. Solutions: make sure you are using the most up-to-date software (Windows Media Player and Real Payer being the 2 most popular.) Also, many of the files on the site are encoded in DivX. You can visit http://www.divx.com for free codecs. Also you can ask an Op in the channel and they can help.


I will add more as I think of questions. If you have an specific questioon, please PM it to me.
RU42

 

[RU42]

More

*this thread position reserved for future info*

 

[RU42]

More

*this one too*

 

[RU42]

More

*why not save another*

 

[NemoRocks78]

RU42, THANK YOU! I had been so confused with the whole thing, and actually didn't know about Invision. But thanks to your guide, I've got it, everything makes sense (well, i'm actually a bit confused on the queue part, but i've already got two mp3 files), and i'm on #Disney-Central! Thanks again RU!

 

[RU42]

Glad this was able to help you. And good question about the queue - I am adding that to the Common Question section.

RU

 

[DisneyJedi]

Think of a queue as the line to ride Test Track (or any other Disney attraction). Servers CAN assign priority queing to their friends and other servers (advanced options), but that is more like a fast pass and I don't think any of the servers have done that, except Popkid on occassion for insta-send downloads (files smaller than 3MB or whatever he specified download immediately and sorta fast-pass the whole queing system)). Just like Disney, when the channel is slow, the line is short and you can jump right on the attraction. In this case no que means you download right away.

 

[NemoRocks78]

Thanks for explaining that, DisneyJedi. I've been trying to get some audio from WDWGuyAudio, but the maximum allowed queues of 20 has been reached, and it's been that way for some time now. But your explanation cleared everything up.

 

[DisneyJedi]

Originally posted by NemoRocks78
Thanks for explaining that, DisneyJedi. I've been trying to get some audio from WDWGuyAudio, but the maximum allowed queues of 20 has been reached, and it's been that way for some time now. But your explanation cleared everything up.

Unfortunately some people still use dialup (probably not all by choice) and their slow connection bottles up all the queues. If the servers wanted to cater to broadband folks, they could impose a minimum file transfer speed limit that would prevent people with slow connections (like dialup) from downloading the media. That'd be harsh and since we're all about sharing, I don't think any server in #disney-central is going to enable a minimum speed limit. You could always private message the server and request they increase the number of queues they have slotted for files. If there are more people wanting to serve, I can possibly help set them up (the hard part for most is opening the right ports on their router to allow sending files.. easier on some routers than others)

 

[RU42]

Just another thought for you Nemo is that many files are not on just one server. You might look around at some of the other servers to see if they have the files you want.

RU

 

[mkt]

this is a great resource.. any chance a we could get a moderator to sticky it?

 

[d0peychik]

question, if i just got into a subfolder, say wishes for example, would i be able to go back up to main street electrical parade, to download something from there or would i have to close out and go through all the folders again?

thnkx for the help

 

[marni1971]

I found this hard at first, then:

type cd.. to go back one level.

 

[barnum42]

Originally posted by d0peychik
question, if i just got into a subfolder, say wishes for example, would i be able to go back up to main street electrical parade, to download something from there or would i have to close out and go through all the folders again?

thnkx for the help

What Marni said!

Also, if you install Invision the whole thing becomes easier, you just click to navigate, similar to Windows explorer (sort of)!

 

[gidrac]

Hi all,

A few questions about serving:

1)Has anyone received any bandwith overage notifications from their ISP?

2)Is there any benefit for the one doing the serving?

...Back when the only way to get mp3's was to ftp, most servers would have an upload to download ratio of, say 2:1. i.e, you would have to upload 2 songs in order to download 1. Can this be done?

3)What port range would have to be open?

4)If you serve, what type of internet connection do you have? cable, DSL, ISDN,etc.

Thanks.

 

[xfkirsten]

1. I have SBC DSL, and haven't gotten any overuse notices yet.

2. The biggest benefit is being generous! Yay! Aside from that, any new videos that come out you can get more quickly using hte Distro FTP site (set up to quickly disseminate new files among the servers). Also, some servers use a priority queue system, that puts servers at the front of download lines. I believe Popkid uses it (or at least has in the past), and I know I do. I see it as more of a couortesy, a kind of extra bonus for taking the time to share files.

3. Not sure on this one, but someone else should know

4. As I mentioned before, I have DSL. My upload speed is capped at 16 kbps unfortunately, so it's a bit slow, but I keep the number of sends at a time low and it's usually not a problem.

-Kirsten

 

[mkt]

I have cable.. and I think I'll set up to share some files soon..

 

[RU42]

Originally posted by gidrac
Hi all,

A few questions about serving:

1)Has anyone received any bandwith overage notifications from their ISP?

2)Is there any benefit for the one doing the serving?

...Back when the only way to get mp3's was to ftp, most servers would have an upload to download ratio of, say 2:1. i.e, you would have to upload 2 songs in order to download 1. Can this be done?

3)What port range would have to be open?

4)If you serve, what type of internet connection do you have? cable, DSL, ISDN,etc.

Thanks.

1) No one in my 1 year plus on the site has ever mentioned getting anything from their ISPs

2) Servers potentially get access to 2 FTP servers; one called Distro and the other is Popkids. Distro is used to get new product to the individual servers quickly. Popkid is the 'central' point of #disney-Central with over 75 gigs of goodies. We are working on policies now and what you have to do to get access and how long you need to do it. So, you can;t throw up a server for a week, leech everything, and then split.

This special access allows you to get files quickly and easily - and gets rid of the upload to download type of program.

3) That's a Jedi question.

4) I think most if nto all of our servers are on some sort of highspeed and most of them are cable/DSL. I don't know of anybody serving on a dial-up.


SECOND:
Great MKT - the more the merrier!

RU

 

[DisneyJedi]

3)What port range would have to be open?

6000 to 6009 seems to work well