soundand.me - Limited Signups (Ratioless FLAC music tracker)

http://soundand.me/signup.php

Newly started FLAC tracker (Sept 2012) open for signups. Post an introduction, and admins will approve/reject it based on bittorrent competency & speed test/seedbox. We're 15 users over the 3000 user limit, so we'll be thinning the herd soon.

What is this lol ?

^

Private bittorrent site for FLAC music & HD videos. FLAC is a lossless data compression method arguably superior to MP3s. Site works on an invite only basis, and signups/applications were opened recently. Just giving any bittorent users here a heads up.

soundand.me wrote:Private bittorrent site for FLAC music & HD videos. FLAC is a lossless data compression method arguably superior to MP3s. Site works on an invite only basis, and signups/applications were opened recently. Just giving any bittorent users here a heads up.

You just blew my mind.

How have you guys not heard of bittorrent/file sharing?! I'm not that much of a nerd. Public bittorrent sites are pretty common (like The Pirate Bay, isohunt, h33t, etc.)

Step 1: Users upload files to the site.
Step 2: Users (leechers) connect to uploaders (seeds) and download files via uTorrent.
Step 3: Leechers become seeders, step 2 repeats.

There are tons of these sites, we call them trackers. There are general trackers, music trackers, ebook/audiobook trackers, application trackers, p0rn trackers, game trackers, and the list goes on. Most sites keep a ratio of content downloaded:uploaded, which gives an incentive to share. The sites, like soundand.me, are kept private to keep any unwanted members from joining.

i mean im pretty sure everyone has uTorrent.. where else would i get music.. but i've never heard of FLAC tracking.. i just use http://kat.ph/ KICKASSTORRENTS

MP3 is a lossy type of file, this means that it has been compressed to make the file smaller however because of this the overall quality of the audio is degraded. Many people value the smaller size of MP3 and other similat compressed file types purely because of the convenience, also because they find that there is no difference in the quality but this is because many people use lower quality outputs for audio (<£100) which are not capable of replicating the finer parts of lossless files.

FLAC is lossless and one of the most popular forms of lossless codecs seeing as it is open source (available to be used and edited by anyone with no costs of licensing etc) This is the complete opposite of lossy because it is exactly how it would have been on the CD/Vinyl/Digital Download. When lossless audio is compressed it doesn't eliminate "unnecessary" bits of information, this is why lossless audio files are generally much larger. When using higher quality audio outputs and digital to analog conversion then these "unnecessary" bits are really noticeable - from greater clarity of the lower frequency bass rumbles in electronic music to more details in live recordings as far as the plucking of the strings a guitar.

Of course, with lossy compression, you can't get the original file back after it has been compressed. You're stuck with the compression program's reinterpretation of the original. This is why I personally love to have my entire library in Lossless formats (Mainly AIFF as that is the only apple codec that iTunes accepts in lossless quality) it acts as a backup in the highest quality possible if I ever need it.

I hope this long winded explanation has clarified any confusion.

Muir said it better than I could! The Pirate Bay, KAT, H33T, isohunt, etc. are good but quite public & easy to get infringement notices, etc. I recommend using a VPN/seedbox service, regardless of the website. "Private" trackers work like country clubs; a well known member has to invite you.

Thanks for the write up.