For First Timers

For First Timers "How to download anime", and similar questions, answered here

Introduction

New to Bittorrent? Or perhaps your first time watching a fansub? This section answers your questions and serves as your initiation into the fansub and Bittorrent community.

What is this BitTorrent all about anyway? How do I get the files?

Check out Brian's Bittorrent FAQ and Guide.

How do I watch the files I download?

Visit this page and have a look around. The CCCP (Combined Community Codec Pack) is the simplest codec pack available on the internet, and the simplest codec pack to set up. Out of the box, it is practically guaranteed to play anything that you throw at it (from our site, of course). If you have any problems, please look here for possible solutions. If you can't find one, you may either post in the forums asking for help or use the Help Form.

Where can I learn more about codecs/anime/manga/Japanese culture?

Google and Wikipedia are your friends.
For specific information on Japanese animations, there are 3 main resources: AniDB, AnimeNewsNetwork (ANN), and AnimeNFO. Each site offers unique information on any given title.
For specific information on manga, there's MangaUpdates and AnimeNewsNetwork (ANN).

Downloading

How do I download?

There are generally 4 ways to download anime online: from IRC, Bittorrent trackers, filehosts, and eMule.

1. To download using IRC, you need an IRC client. A quick guide to downloading using IRC can be found here and here.

1. To download via Bittorent, you need a Bittorrent client.

1. To download from filehosts or direct-download sites, you will first have to find one that hosts the files you are looking for. Then register for an account on it, and download in accordance to their rules and guidelines.

1. To download using eMule, you need the eMule client.

Where do I download from?

There are typically 4 sources to download from:

1. Public trackers (i.e. TT) or torrent aggregators (i.e. AnimeSuki)
2. Private trackers and semi-private trackers (such as BakaBT; membership accounts required)
3. Distro IRC bots, which you can usually find in the fansub group's IRC channel (if you don't know where, you can find information on AniDB)
4. Direct-download websites (I'm afraid you will have to find your own; people generally do not reveal their direct-download sources)

(More information needed)

Seeding

I've finished downloading the files, so how do I seed back?

Once your download has completed, most clients will continue to run the torrent in seeding mode until the ratio is 1:1. If this is not the case, try some of these steps:

1. Simply press Start on your torrent again. Some clients might stop torrents that have finished downloading.
2. Check your client's settings regarding how much a torrent should be seeded to before stopping. Your settings may be preventing seeding.
   1. e.g., uTorrent's 'Torrent Properties' dialogue box for each torrent has an adjustable ratio target. It automatically stops the torrent when you hit the target ratio or seeding time.

If you have removed the torrent from your torrent client but still have the downloaded files on your disk, read on to learn how to re-seed the files.

Re-seeding Downloaded Files with Different Clients

Azureus

If you have downloaded something but removed it from Azureus and wish to seed it again, follow these steps:

Please Note: You must re-download the .torrent file.

  1. Go to Azureus > File > Open > Torrent File...
  2. Select the .torrent file for the data from its location on your hard drive
  3. Select the location where the file you want to seed is stored
  4. Wait for Azureus to finish checking the file. When it does, the file will move automatically 
     from the download window into the seeding window 

If the torrent does not move into the seeding window on its own: Right-click on newly created entry in the download window of the My Torrents view. Select Force Re-check. The value in the 'Done' column will count from 0% to 100%. Upon reaching 100%, the file will be moved to the seeding list on the bottom of the My Torrents tab.

If you do not have the original .torrent file but the original data, try this:

  1. Download the file again
  2. Azureus will check it out
  3. Azureus will move it to the seeding list (the process is very quick) 

(taken from Azureus wiki)

uTorrent 1.6.0 -1.8.3

1. Go to the torrent page and download the .torrent file again (make sure you're logged in before downloading, if not the tracker URL will be incorrect).
2. Open the .torrent file in uTorrent, but do not start it yet (uncheck the "Start Torrent" checkbox). [Image:Add Torrent dialog window in uTorrent (with "Start Torrent" unchecked).]
3. Click on the ". . ." button at the end of the directory name display, and browse to the folder where the files are.
4. In Windows Explorer, make sure the filenames in the folder match the filenames in the torrent filelist.
   1. If some/all of the filenames do not match, uTorrent allows you to relocate them, so as to avoid renaming. [Image:Relocate files in uTorrent.]
5. Click "Ok" in the Add Torrent dialog box. The torrent should now appear in your torrent window in stopped state.
6. Right-click on it, and select "Force recheck". uTorrent will now scan the selected folder for matching files, so if the files are the same and still have the same filenames you should see the progress bar start filling up. [Image:Force the torrent to recheck the downloaded files.]
7. Let it scan until it says "Stopped" under the Status column. Then press "Start" to start the torrent proper.
   1. If the files are 100% verified it should say "Seeding" under the Status column.
   2. If there are missing files, or some of the pieces did not hash properly, uTorrent will download the missing pieces before putting the torrent in Seeding status.
8. You're done! Now just let the torrent sit and seed.

Official BitTorrent 6

Please update

Transmission 1.7x

For users of Mac OS X (possibly other OS's as well):

First, navigate to Preferences > Transfers, and make sure "Display 'adding transfer' options window" is checked. Next, open the torrent with Transmission. The Add window should pop up, with options for which files to download, destination, etc. Click "Verify Local Data", and if your anime is still in the folder Transmission downloads to, it should update everything to 100% complete. After this, simply click Add, and it should immediately start seeding.

Managing Your Ratio

Throttle your download

If you're a first-time BakaBT user with not-many files for seeding, it is likely that you will start off by downloading some torrents. More astute users would have noticed that many of our torrents have a very high seeder:leecher ratio, which means it will be quite hard for you to seed back quickly. What do you do then?

The easiest way to manage this would be to throttle your download bandwidth. Your ratio is calculated by amount uploaded divided by amount downloaded, so the slower you download, the slower your ratio drops (do the math). Unless the torrent has enough leechers on it that you can upload at a decent speed, we advise you to make sure you don't kill your ratio too quickly yet.

Prioritize your download

While downloading big files, usually longer series and OVAs, it is always a good idea to set individual file download priority. That way you will be a partial seeder even while leeching and there is a bigger chance that another peer will connect and request packets from you rather then the seeder.

This can easily be achieved in most common recommended clients by choosing the files tab and setting download priority to high, normal or low. Some clients may have 3-6 priority levels.

Fixing Your Ratio

I got warned, I have no files so I can't seed or download. Woe is me

BakaBT is not the only source of downloadable anime. Try the sources listed above. You'll be surprised at how much stuff is available outside of BakaBT. Download something that's recent and in demand, and seed it here to fix your ratio.

Wow, that's too much trouble for me, I don't think I'm quite cut out for that

While we're not quite financially in the red, a little economic boost is always welcome. It's a simple idea; you donate money, and in return, you get more uploaded data on your tracker statistics. Note that donations are handled manually, so you'll get the bonus points whenever we get round to it.

will be updated when donation handling is decided completely

Currently we only accept donations through Paypal.

Oh dear, I'm going to have to sell my house, car and dog to have enough to fix my ratio. Anything cheaper and faster?

You might want to try a seedbox service. Not much will be said about them here, but if you ask the right people they might point you in the right direction.

Addendum: PFCorner is offering BakaBT users a cheap, hassle-free seedbox service. See this forum post for more information.

All those options are too pricey or would take too long, can't you just unwarn me if I ask nicely?

No.

Can I just delete my account and start all over again then?

No.

See also: I don't want my account anymore. Can you delete it?