September 30, 2010 by sharky
After more than a month of intense development, BitTorrent’s hottest new movie tracker is ready for public launch. The Swarm, a new Gazelle-based multi-format film tracker, is actually still in a late beta phase but already incorporates some very impressive features. Dual-option parsing, combined with a unique autofill and literally thousands of pre-cached indexed movie pages are just a few of the ideas Swarm brings to the table. Check it out; this tracker has some serious potential.
2010|10|13 - EDIT: Signups are now closed.
Joining TheSwarm.me…
Swarm is currently open for registration for a limited time to the first lucky 2,500 members. As a bonus, all new signups receive 10 invites and everything is freeleech for at least the next three days.
2010|10|07 - EDIT: Signups are now closed. Recruitment can be found at Waffles, What.CD and BTN to those who qualify.
| Default Torrent Browse: | Custom CSS Browse: |
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Features at TheSwarm…
AutoFill & Parsing
The basic premise behind IMDb parsing is the ability to automatically extract data, imagery/media, and detailed movie information (directors & full cast list, plot summary, rating, etc) from IMDb.com and auto-incorporate these details into a torrent description (details) page. As witnessed on many quality-inspired movie trackers, IMDb parsing is often an included feature (if not a necessity, for sake of convenience). Most torrent movie buffs - especially uploaders - are already familiar with the idea, but things are done a little differently at TheSwarm.
Swarm incorporates not one, but two options for parsing - TheMovieDB.org (TMDb) and IMDb.com (IMDB). Parsing is used to import movie data using Swarm’s autofill; an important feature which is used to assist uploaders, and it’s also applied to the tracker frontend to add extended details to a torrent’s description. When uploading, members need simply to input the appropriate film ID number (ie - tt1179056 - used for a link appended to a movie on IMDb), or 23437 for a film listed at TMDb. Upon entering the ID# the autofill works its magic to provide the movie title, year, release type, proper tags/genres, movie poster, and a short synopsis of the film. Everything you see below is then automatically populated into the new upload page:
On the tracker frontend, what you end up with is a uniformed torrent page containing an abundance of information about the film - most of which the uploader didn’t need to manually supply or fill in. The example would be something similar to this resultant torrent page:
Easy Uploading
There are two methods to upload torrents. They are:
- • Regular uploading using the Upload link.
- • Using "Add Format" to an existing torrent page. (Recommended)
At TheSwarm, much of the parsing has been done well in advance, even for movies that don’t even exist on the tracker (as a torrent) yet. To shed some insight to this, there are nearly 32,000 parsed movie titles (torrent pages) ready-to-go. As with most movie trackers, all members are permitted (and more importantly, encouraged) to upload new content*, these preconfigured titles/torrent pages make it very easy to upload. Simply do a site search, locate the correct torrent page for the film, and click "add format". If the title/page doesn’t exist then use the traditional Upload feature to create a new torrent. If a page has already been created (very likely) but a torrent does not yet exist for it, members can add a format:
*Be sure to follow the rules. Both scene & non-scene releases are allowable, just so long as they’re uncompressed. RAR/ZIP archives are not allowed.
Whichever method you use to upload torrents, we previously mentioned there are two available options to add parsing into the new torrent - IMDb and TheMovieDB. Both are appropriate and either one can be used - If both are filled in then TheMovieDB parsing will trump IMDb’s entry. It should be mentioned that at least one option should always be used when uploading a torrent. You’ll want to do this anyways since it makes uploading a whole lot simpler to do. TIP: When a torrent page already exists - and it probably will - it is not necessary to use autofill since the parsing has already been done beforehand. This brilliant idea is what separates TheSwarm from any other movie tracker.
Even though the autofill, parsing and pre-designed torrent pages do most of the work, uploaders will still have to manually input a few details in the new torrent:
1. Choose the correct details. Self-explanatory. Use the dropdown boxes to select proper Codec, File Format, Source/Media and Resolution.
2. Three (3) screenshots of the torrent media are required for the format, and should be added to the appropriate section when uploading (refer to image below). TDMaker is an excellent application to capture screens from media.
3. Media information is required (video/audio codecs, container, framerate, etc) - the more, the better. This can be done using the MediaInfo utility and should be copy/pasted into the release description section. TIP: Identical torrents that exist at other trackers will usually contain these details, or else they can be found in the corresponding NFO file for the release.
TheSwarm.me… On IRC
- Host: irc.swarm-network.me
- Ports: 6667 (non-SSL) or 6697 (SSL)
- Channel: #swarm
NOTE: To join #swarm, you’ll need to first set up an IRCKey in your profile on the tracker (a feature that’s similar to most Gazelles). Then, register & identify yourself using your site nickname on swarm-network.me. Lastly, type the proper command in this fashion to join:
/msg swarm enter #swarm sitenick irckey
Mobile Device Ready
Members are able to login to the tracker from a mobile device using this specific mobile link. For those with an Android device, use Transdroid to send torrents to a remote seedbox or to a local BT client at home.
The torrents.php page in ‘mobile’ view:
Final Thoughts
TheSwarm is just out of the box so there’s not a whole lot of content (torrents) up on the tracker yet (110 360 active at last check, with lots of HD). Having just opened yesterday, changes are happening fast (Swarm v2 is being planned whilst v1 is still being worked on) as site coders make continuous daily updates to the current code. As expected from most Gazelles, Swarm’s layout is sleek and easy to navigate & customized to work well with movies. And do your eyes a favor - check out the beta CSS stylesheet - there’s nothing quite like it anywhere else. Simply paste the supplied URL into your profile, save the update and browse the site!
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