Congratulations, you are about to learn all you need to know about movie downloading. So you’ve heard about torrent files and the ability to download movies, music, audio books, and just about anything else your heart may desire. But how do you do it? This guide will have you downloading your favorite content in a matter of minutes, safely and securely. This is how I did it and so far I have had zero problems. Remember this guide is for a brand new beginner. This guide will not get into how torrents work or the legalities of downloading content. The purpose of this guide is to tell you HOW to do it. The rest is up to you. Yes, there are MANY other ways to tweak or improve the torrent experience to your preferences and machine. The moviedownloadingguide is the easy way that works every time. If you have ever wanted to avoid all the complications of trying to download movies for free, you can simply put an antenna on your roof and get an over the air dvr instead, it is up to you!
Step 1: Choose a torrent program and install it on your computer.
Vuze is the most popular torrent host website because of it’s simplicity and a slew of great features. Downloading is simple and straight forward.
Go to the website www.vuze.com .
Once there, download the VUZE FREE version not the VUZE PLUS version. You can do that later once you have more experience and decide if you need or want it.
The first window is “Terms and Conditions.” Agree to the terms and conditions.
The next window is ” Install Vuze Remote.” This is to install a tool bar you don’t need or want.
UNCHECK both the boxes at the bottom of that window. You don’t want the Vuze remote or want Bing to be your default search engine.
Next the installation will begin. You will probably get a pop up offer or two for some type of plugin.Decline them all! Depending on your computer and internet connection it may take a
minute or two for the program download and install.
Once installed the VUZE window will come up. Take a moment and look at the layout of the site.
The top left corner the is where the search bar is located. It has a image of a magnifying glass and “find” in the search field. Below that on the left side are the words “Getting Started.” Below that are the tabs “Library,” “Downloading” and “Unwatched.” At the bottom right corner of the Vuze window notice two blue triangles, one pointed up the other down, each with number to the right. They indicate your upload and download speeds. The center of the window is where the current view is displayed. There should be a large search bar.
If not click on “Getting Started.” The large search bar is where you will type the title you want to download.
Step 2: Do a title search.
Pick a fairly recent popular title that is not currently in theaters. For this example type The Departed.
Enter it now. It may take a minute for the results to completely post. On the day this was written I had over 100 results.
STOP! Read the tips for searching safely BEFORE selecting any of the files found in your search.
You now have the means to get your files downloaded but a little direction and information is required to help avoid downloading viruses and other malicious code.
Tips for searching safely:
Consider the size appropriate for the file you are attempting to download. For example, a feature length two hour video file that is not in Blu-ray or HD High Def. But is in AVI or similar codec is between 675-800 MB in size. A little bigger if longer, a little smaller if shorter, you get the idea. So a red flag for a file to avoid would be a movie DvDRip that is 1.5GB with no indication as to why it is so big. It may have a dangerous file attached. Skip this file.
Consider the source where the file was found. Notice in your search results that on the right of the page the words “Show results from…” Beneath that is a list of torrent sites where your current results were found. Next to the name of the site is an icon. Also notice the icon next to each file found in your search. That icon indicates what site that file came from. For example, the Kickass Torrents icon is a gold shield with a lower case letter t. Any file with that icon came from that site. By the way, Kickass Torrents is my first choice when choosing which file to download. Pirate Bay and Bit Junkie are also reliable.
Update: You can also search for your title directly from the torrent site. Once a torrent is chosen Vuze will open automatically and begin to download the file. See the page “How To Download Free Kickass Movie Torrents from Kickass Torrents“.
Consider the comments of others. I ALWAYS read the comments of people who downloaded the torrent before me. The information is vital to the selection of a good file. Notice in your search results that beneath each file name is the word “Report” and to the right of that are the words ” votes” and “comments.” If there are no votes and no comments that is a red flag. Why? Perhaps it is a phony file waiting to devour your hard drive. Skip it.
Consider the age and health of the file. If your aim is to download a movie, look for files that have DvDRip in the name. That means it was “ripped” from a DVD and uploaded. DvDRips tend to be of high quality and in good availability. Files for movies currently in the theaters, prior to release on DVD, are usually CAM videos of poor quality. They also greatly increase the chances you will download a virus.
AVOID CAM VIDEOS.
Consider the popularity of the file. Notice in your search results for each file on the right side are the words “seeds” and “peers.” The number to the right of each of those is an indication of the
availability of your file. Generally the higher the number of seeds the faster your download will complete. Many other factors play into the speed of your download but for now seeds is the place to start. No seeds indicates that your download will likely fail or you will grow old waiting for it to complete.
Skip it.
Consider your time for downloading the file. As mentioned earlier, the time it takes to complete a file download is extremely variable. I use an older computer, AMD Athlon 1.25Ghz, 2Gb RAM, connected to a high speed ATT U-Verse internet connection. On average it takes 2 to 6 hours to download a feature length DvDRip file. Typically, I set it to download while I sleep or am at work. Your times will be found through trial & error. Newer more powerful computer will download the torrent files exponentially faster, in minutes instead of hours.
Step 3: Select a file from your search results.
Using The Departed example. At the top of the list are the most popular files with the highest seeds. The first file looks good. It is from Kickass Torrents and the 801 MB size is appropriate. It has 67 votes & 38 comments. It is 3yrs old which fits the release date according to www.imdb.com . It has 953 seeds and 156 peers. It should download very fast.
Click the file name, not the download arrow.
Once the window opens notice the screen is in two sections; the top half and the bottom half. The top half is the “Download Now ” button and the file name. The bottom half is the Kickass Torrent site. Scroll that half down until you see the file detail. It should be below the file name next to an image of a folder. Below that is a list of the files in the torrent. In this case there are
two files; a text file and a video file. Look to see if the text file is small in size. Are there multiple text files? In this case it is good, only 106 bytes, and there is only one. That is acceptable.
Step 4: Download the file.
Go to the top half of the window and click on the big blue “Download Now” button.
A pop-up window will immediately come up advising that some files might not comply with copyright laws. Click continue downloading.
A progress bar will pop up for a moment. Notice on the left side of the Vuze window beneath “Library” next to” Downloading” the rotating progress arrows. Your file is downloading.
Click on “Downloading” and the window changes. Now you are looking at the Library Downloading. The status bar displays the progress and ETA. The ETA for this The Departed file is
48 minutes and decreasing rapidly. You can change the view from simple to advanced at the top of the Vuze window in the “View” tab drop down window. Don’t adjust the side bar or toolbar
text. Here is another neat tip: highlight the file, then at the top left, in the “Tools” tab, click “Statistics” in the drop down. This will graphically show the performance of your download.
Don’t adjust anything else.
Step 5: Adjust upload & download settings.
If needed you can adjust the settings. This is what I did to increase my download performance. In the Vuze window at the bottom right are two blue triangles with a number next to them. Put your cursor over the one pointing down and right click. This is the download settings. A window will pop up. In that window are the “Download Limit Settings.”
It’s a little tricky but I found that setting it to 2GB was better than unlimited or auto. To set it that high scroll the slide bar at the bottom of the pop up window to the right. If 2GB is not displayed set to the highest available and get out of the window. Right click over the blue arrow again to open the pop up window. The scale should now display higher numbers. Repeat the
process until 2GB is visible. Set as close to that number as possible. It does not have to be exact. Do the same process for the blue arrow pointing up; the upload settings. I found that setting the upload cap at 25kB works better than auto or unlimited.
It took 24 minutes for The Departed file to download, how long did it take on your computer?
We’re not quite done yet.
Step 6: Safety first!
Before opening the file or watching your movie you need to scan it for viruses. First you need to find the file in your computer.
In the Vuze window there is a number next to the words “unwatched” on the left.
Click the “Unwatched” tab. You should now see your file listed and to the right of the file name under “Status” it should say “seeding.” I’ll explain that in a moment.
Right click on the file. A drop down window appears.
Click on “Show Details”. You are now in the “Details View.” Half way down the page under “Info” next to the words “Save In” is the file location. Write down the file location. Also notice
above the file location on the left ,the words “Share Ratio.” That will be important in a moment.
Use the file location you wrote down to locate the file in your computer. Scan the file with your virus scan.
Now you’re done. Oh but wait. You probably want to watch the movie!
Step 7: Watch or listen to the file.
Vuze has an excellent player built in. Play it from there by clicking on the large play button at the top of the Vuze library view.
In addition, I suggest you download a reliable media player. Forget Windows Media Player. Save that for pictures of your Gramma. Don’t use it, because you will have nothing but problems if you do. Here are the ones I use and believe are the best and most versatile on the internet today.
My first choice is The VLC Media Player followed by the KM Player. Both players can be found on the CNET website and are completely free. During the install of your new media player you will be asked if you want to make the player your default media player. Click yes. This will automatically change the default media player setting. You can play the file directly from the Vuze window. By highlighting the file and pressing play at the top of the window. It will play on your default media player. You can also play the file by opening it with the media player.
A word about seeding. The way torrents work is on the theory of mutual support. Seeds are files available for partial download. If no one seeds then no one can download a file. So please don’t just hit and run. Once you download a file, leave it in your library with seeding enabled so others can enjoy the convenience a torrent can provide. At a very minimum give back at least what you took. How you know is by the file’s “Share Ratio.” It should be at least 1.0000 or more before you make it unavailable. To view the share ratio of a file in your Vuze library click “Details view,” follow the same instructions used to locate the file location in your computer.
A word about burning a file to disk. After a whole bunch of trail and error, headache, frustration and untold hours and hour and hours spent trying to find a safe, reliable and simple way to burn files to disk, I chose to upgrade to Vuze Plus, it cost $29.99 for the year and unlimited burns. It is a no frills convert and burn program that works 100% of the time. I’m sure there is a better free way to do it but I couldn’t find it. Please note on average it takes four hours to convert and burn a program to disk, not to mention the additional space needed on your hard drive.
A word about Bit Torrent. I actually prefer this site for my downloads because of the versatility it offers. The ability choose which files in the torrent to load or exclude before downloading is a huge benefit. It is safer and requires less time to complete the download. As of the writing of this guide the site does not offer a convert & burn option. Once you are more familiar, you should explore which site is better for your needs. I use both Vuze and Bit Torrent regularly. www.bittorrent.com
To learn more. Take the time to read the F.A.Q. and the comments in the files. Keep coming back to moviedownloadingguide.com and stay informed!
Congratulations the wide world of torrents is now at your finger tips. Be safe, be responsible and enjoy!
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Filed under Uncategorized by on Feb 13th, 2008. 2 Comments. 
