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Quick Set-up: Premium Version, Usenet Downloads

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The current version of Media Center Master is 2.14. Version 1.32 has been used for many the examples in the wiki, so beware that some of the options may be expanded or look different than various screen shots.

Official/Unofficial Wiki Pages Most of the content on the wiki was written by fans and users like yourself. If a page is marked as Official, then the content was written with official information (usually by the software author).


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***** Disclaimer -- read this before using Usenet Downloader *****

Media Center Master Version 2.04, build 34612.1315, released 12/11/2012, or a later version should be used with this guide. Additional registration for a Usenet/News provider is required for Usenet downloads, no additional software is needed.

This Quick - Set-up Guide is designed for users with or without experience with usenet downloads. It provides the same basic set-up configuration for downloading Movies and TV Series Episodes with the associated meta-data for each, just like the Quick Set-up: Premium Version, Torrent Downloads Guide. It also provides some additional information related to Usenet downloading for those users unfamiliar with Usenet. It will not include information for setting up an existing collection for fetching meta-data.

A detailed set of guides is available for downloading with torrents. It starts with the Installation Notes - read, before installing and finishes with How to Interpret the First Run. It includes images, details about the steps, information about how the processing of fetching meta-data, downloads, and automation works, as related to the installation. It is designed for a specific task of downloading a few episodes at a specific time for a known result to be used for testing the user's configuration and settings.

The settings used in this guide are not designed to be used as a real life, real time, configuration. This guide is intended to get an installation of Media Center Master functional so the settings can then be customized by the user.

Should a user have issues with the program or any of the guides, support is available through the forum. How to access logs, support information file, and other information is listed at the end of this guide. Please send any related material, what guide was used, step number, portion of log file, support information, screen captures... along with a detailed description of the problem in your posting.

Benefits of Using Usenet Over Torrent Downloading

The benefits are many and this list is not exhaustive, but highlights some of the key advantages:

  • Fewer delays: release groups often post to scene FTP servers first, which typically then get uploaded or leaked to Usenet next, and then finally torrent sites last.
  • Faster downloads: files are hosted by a remote server and are not transmitted by peers, therefore you are always guaranteed full speed from the remote server without relying on other peers and seeds to send you data.
  • Safer connections: you are never sharing files, such as you would as a peer using torrents. You are only downloading from a remote server which is hosting the files.
  • Higher retention: most Usenet servers retain data for a little over three years. Torrents are usually only available for a few months, if they're very popular, and have nobody sharing them beyond that.
  • Better categorization: standard and high definition sources have their own categories, which makes it easier to determine the quality of a download before committing to downloading it.

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Media Center Master's Support for Usenet

  1. Usenet downloading can be configured for no user intervention, just like torrent downloading.
  2. Media Center Master will search it's own, private, Indexing Site, and the binsearch.info Site to look for T.V. episodes and movies relative to the user's settings and configuration.
    No additional registration is required to use the above listed sites.1
  3. Media Center Master will connect to your Usenet/news hosting provider and begin downloading those articles, as it is also a fully-fledged NZB downloader.
    An account with a Usenet/news hosting provider is required.
    There are several providers and price plans to choose from. Sites like USENETCOMPARE can be used to compare provider packages.2 3
  4. Media Center Master allows a user to manage and view downloads with it's Usenet Download Manager.
  5. Media Center Master can, after downloading, parse, auto-rename, auto-fetch meta-data and images, and auto-move the files to the specified collection location.
  6. Alternatively, Media Center Master can work with a third-party external application.
    Media Center Master can move the .nzb files to a specified location and do nothing else with it, or
    Media Center Master can automatically detect, load, and download .nzb files from a specified location.

Notes:

1 Media Center Master also provides for using a third search site, but a NZB.su account is required for an API key. At the time of this writing NZB.su is not excepting registration for free, or VIP accounts.
2 Some Internet Service Providers provide access to Usenet for free. Usually it imposing limits on the number of connections you can make, restricting your bandwidth, restricting the amount of data you can download, restricting which groups you have access to, poor retention (duration downloads are available on their servers), logging which groups and articles you're downloading..., often in combination. Therefore, users will probably want to acquire Usenet access elsewhere.
3 Pete uses and recommends Newshosting.com for a Usenet/news hosting provider. A month-to-month account with Newshosting.com will run $14.95 USD per month, as of 12/2012. The account has unlimited bandwidth, unlimited total data downloaded, a retention of a little over 1500 days, and up to 30 simultaneous connections with no restriction on groups. An account can be cheaper, if it is acquired through a referral program, or if a subscription for a year in advance is purchased, $155.40/year USD ($12.95/month USD), as of 12/2012.

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Media Center Master Settings for Usenet Downloads (Version 2.04)

PLEASE NOTE BEFORE GETTING STARTED

A Premium Version, i.e., 10 day free trial, a paid 1 Month, 1 Year, or Lifetime license, is required for Usenet downloading.


Additional options, outside of what is listed, should be made after a test run.

  1. Application Menu->Set scan folders...
    Enter folder Location/s for Media Collections.4 5
    Must use separate folders, one for Movies and one for TV Series.
    For first time run/test purposes empty folder/s should be chosen.
    If a folder with an existing media collection is used for this location,
    Media Center Master will automatically start a scan of the folder contents after closing the Scan Folder List Window.
    Notes:
    4 Do not attempt to use the root of a hard drive, partition, or mapped drive as a scan folder.
    5 Do not attempt to use the "Completed Downloads" folder used in uTorrent, also known as the "Watch" or "Parsing" folder in Media Center Master, as a scan folder.
  2. Application Menu->Settings & Preferences->Organization Tab (Use to be Renaming Tab).
    Set options as needed.
    Do not enable the Folder cleaning options for this test.
    These options can be configured later, after a successful test run.
  3. Application Menu->Settings & Preferences->Downloader Tab.
    Enable, "Enable movie downloads."
    Select quality of download.
    Enable, "Enable TV downloads."
    Select quality of download.
    Skip TV episodes before:6
    This is a global setting. If this option is not set to a date, Media Center Master will attempt to download every episode for each TV Series added.
    "Don't download movies with an IMDB score under:"
    Setting this number to "10" will reduce the number of movie titles to be downloaded during test run.
    "Don't download movies released..."
    Setting this number to "1" will, also, reduce the number of movie titles to be downloaded during test run.
    "Don't download movies that can't be found at imdb.com"
    Enabling this option will further reduce the number of movie titles to be downloaded during the test run.
    "Look for higher definition of movies than what I have and download if found"
    Do not enable. This setting will not work with this test run (scan folders should be empty).
    "Run downloaders and download parser at start-up"
    Do not enable. Other settings will be used, and configured below.
    Notes:
    6 Episode downloads are dependent on this date setting, and the Airing Dates of the TV Series/s chosen in Step 7.
  4. Application Menu->Settings & Preferences->Usenet Tab.
    If using Media Center Master for the complete usenet download process (no external program required),
    Enable, "enable Usenet downloads,"
    "use MCM's index," and "use binsearch.info" are enabled by default during installation, if not enable both.
    "NZB.su API key:" optional, if one is available.
    This option is not required for this test run.
    This option is included for times when Media Center Master's indexing site, and/or binsearch.info site maybe down.
    A free account use to be available, and NZB.su was initial used as a back-up site when the NZBMatrix (RIP) site was having technical difficulties.
    "Cache location:" temporary NZB article download area.
    FYI: The default NZB article download processing folder (Cache location) is located in Media Center Master's user hidden folder.
    This folder can be relocated by creating a folder, and entering it's location in the above field.
    "What should Media Center Master do when it downloads a .nzb file:"
    If using Media Center Master for the complete usenet download process (no external program required),
    Enable, "Let Media Center Master download from Usenet directly using these settings:," and
    Provide information in the blank fields, if needed change settings for "port:" and "max. connections:"
    If using third party external software for downloading NZB files,
    Enable, "Launch the .nzb using its associated external program (you must install and associate a NZB downloader yourself)."
    If using Media Center Master just to download .nzb files and store them for future use,
    Enable, "Move the .nzb file to this path and do nothing else with it:" and provide location.
    If using Media Center Master to download NZB files with .nzb files supplied by third party external software,
    Enable, "enable Usenet downloads,"
    Enable, "Automatically detect, load, and download NZB files here:," and provide location.
  5. Application Menu->Settings & Preferences->Download Parser Tab.
    "Completed downloads scanned from this folder (watch folder):"7 8
    Create folder and enter folder location where Media Center Master is to move completed downloads.
    "Automatically detect new video files here and process them."
    Enable this option, and
    Enable, "auto-rename"
    Enable, "auto-move"
    Enable, "auto-fetch meta data"
    "Use pop-up move window for auto-move"
    Enable if wanted.
    "Don't allow duplicates; replace with better quality"
    This will not work in the test run (scan folders should be empty)
    "Bad episode downloads should be:"
    "skipped (I will handle them manually)"
    This setting should be enabled by default during installation, if not enable it.
    "Move movie downloads to this folder:"
    If this location is not set to the same location set in Step 1, these movies will not be processed into the collection.
    "Attempt to extract from archives"
    .rar downloads will require this option.
    "Automatically clean-up folders left behind by T.V. downloads (if no video files or archives exist)"
    Enable/Disable - user choice.
    Notes:
    7 The "Watch Folder" for completed downloads can also be the same folder used for uTorrent, if torrent downloading is also used.
    8 Do not attempt to use a "Scan" folder, as set in Step 1, for this location.
  6. Click "Save" button to save settings and exit "Settings & Preferences."
  7. Media Menu->Add a T.V. series...
    Step 1.
    Be careful to select the T.V. folder, not the Movie folder, from list.
    Step 2.
    Enter a current airing TV Series Name, or Series ID.
    Spelling or ID must match thetvdb.com site TV Show Listing Name.
    Click "Search," or "Look Up".
    Wait for Media Center Master to respond with Selected T.V. series: information.
    Click "Next."
    Step 3.
    Double check: "Status: Continuing," and that the option for "Keep this series up to date with new episodes" is enabled.
    Click "Finish" button to close window.
  8. Auto Run.
    Application Menu->Settings & Preferences->General Tab.
    Adjust Time Frames.
    download new movies every.
    download new TV episode every.
    run download parser every.
  9. Manual Run.
    TV Series.
    Tools Menu->Download new T.V. episodes.
    Right Click on the Series in the Media Collection List.
    Download new episodes now.
    Download back episodes...
    Movies.
    Tools Menu->Download new movie releases.
  10. Usenet Download Manager.
    The Usenet Download Manager is where a user can manage and view the progress of all current usenet downloads.
    Tools Menu->Usenet download manger...
  11. Additional Options.
    Search Forum, or Post Topic in Forum.
    See User Interface for Option Descriptions in wiki.
    This is a work in progress, please be patient.

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Additional References

Support Information, Log Files, Debugging, and About

User Settings and Program Files/Folders Locations

Preparing for a Fresh Re-install of Media Center Master


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