Getting credits for uploaded clips
You'll get them once the video is checked and approved. This can take anything between days and months currently. If you want to make things go faster, MAKE DOUBLE SURE the file is free of copyright or you are the copyright holder and wish to give us permission to distribute the clip.
Video playback issues in Windows
I've found the following trio of free players to suit pretty much all my needs:
BSPlayer for DivX/XviD/AVI/WMV playback (reports of adware in the latest version)
VLC Media Player for MPEG(MPG) files, even most of the broken ones play with this puppy
Media Player Classic for Apple MOV's and Real Media files, support isn't complete but it gets most of the job done (the homepage for this program also a home for a great deal of other good tools)
As for codecs, most needs are fulfilled by a simple system called ffdshow, which is based on libavcodec for Linux. It can decode most AVI packed movies.
For DivX movies, I suggest you download a DivX 5.X package directly from www.divx.com, the decoding version is free for public use.
XviD is an another popular format, I recommend getting a precompiled codec installer for it as well, since that is the best way to ensure proper playback. Xvid.org offers a few links for downloading ready-made installers, but I suggest you use Google for a bit of searching to find the best installer to suit your needs.
USE OF CODEC PACKS IS NOT RECOMMENDED. Why? Because most of them will install stuff you might never need, might install older versions of stuff you already have, and might install some GFX card specific stuff that can possibly break stuff on your system.
If you do not know what codec a file uses: Get GSpot. It'll tell you the codec and sometimes even where to get it.
Taking screenshots of clips
This is something I'd like to see. It also gives people a better chance to decide if they want to use their precious bandwidth to download the video. 2 or 3 shots should do.
Please don't upload the screenshots, instead post them on a separate website (maybe on the same one where the file is located, if the file host is under your control?), and add them to your posts with either [.url] or [.img] tags.
As for making screenshots, at least BSPlayer knows how to make some.
What are RAR files and how do I play them?
RAR is a compression format much like ZIP. You need to unpack the files with WinRAR to see the actual video files. WinRAR can be downloaded for a free 30-day trial. See the next section to learn more about unpackers.
I tried unpacking a RAR with program XYZ, but I keep getting a CRC error. Why?
What you are experiencing is one of two things: 1) the files in question have been packed with WinRAR with settings that make the files incompatible with the known parameters of the software you've tried to open it with. The only solution to this is to unpack them using WinRAR. 2) one or more of the files are broken. Either post the URL of the topic here or send me a PM.
On that note, any notes on what settings to avoid to insure compatability with other programs would be appreciated.
Multi-part videos
To make downloading large clips possible for non-sponsors, clips were sometimes posted in parts, and packed with various archiver formats. I thought I'd recommend PowerArchiver and 7-Zip, since they're compatible with most known archives and are both free. Also, Pharrari has made a fairly useful, video-illustrated guide on splitting and joining files with WinRAR, check that out at http://www.whatboyswant.com/forum_read/350081 if you wish. HAPPYDICK made a shorter version, that one is at http://www.whatboyswant.com/forum_read/408009 .
Common problems with multi-part files:
× "Unable to find file movie.partXX.rar": Most probably you are missing one of the files. Go back to the thread and see if you've missed anything. If not, try to see if the poster has. If so, contact him/her via PM.
× "Unable to find file movie.rXX": The files have been renamed before they have been uploaded to the site. Rename the extension partXX.rar to .rXX and then try decompressing again. Note: The first file is always .rar, the second .r00 and so on.
Downloading multiple files made easy
cURL is the absolutely best tool for this, since it allows you to enter lists of files to download by using a simple "script" language. cURL is available for most, if not all Unix variants (Linux, MacOS X etc.) and Windows.
For the Windows version, you need to download GetLeft from SourceForge. It uses cURL as the download engine. Here's how to use cURL on Windows the simple way:
You can use cURL.exe that is distributed in the package in the same way as you'd use cURL on any *nix platform. The commands are totally compatible. You'll just have to do one thing and remember another:
- Add the path to cURL.exe into your PATH variable. To do this, open up a command prompt (Start Menu -> run -> cmd) and type path %PATH%;"C:\Path\To\cURL.exe"
- Make a directory where you wish to store the files, then go to that directory in a command prompt (use the cd command to get where you want, you can change drives by typing x: and Enter/Return in the prompt (substitute X for the drive letter you wish to go to)), then just enter the curl command with all the options to start downloading.
For a more detailed guide on using cURL, go to http://www.whatboyswant.com/forum_read/278998
Getting a 403 "Access Denied/Forbidden Error":
- See that you are using the domain www.whatboyswant.com and not .nl
- If this doesn't help, contact a moderator or support@whatboyswant.com
Can I record ICQ/MSN video chats?
Yes. You'll need to use a screen recorder. CamTasia Studio is probably the best out there, but it isn't free. There might also be 3rd party plug-ins that allow you to record video, but I don't know of any.
You'll get them once the video is checked and approved. This can take anything between days and months currently. If you want to make things go faster, MAKE DOUBLE SURE the file is free of copyright or you are the copyright holder and wish to give us permission to distribute the clip.
Video playback issues in Windows
I've found the following trio of free players to suit pretty much all my needs:
BSPlayer for DivX/XviD/AVI/WMV playback (reports of adware in the latest version)
VLC Media Player for MPEG(MPG) files, even most of the broken ones play with this puppy
Media Player Classic for Apple MOV's and Real Media files, support isn't complete but it gets most of the job done (the homepage for this program also a home for a great deal of other good tools)
As for codecs, most needs are fulfilled by a simple system called ffdshow, which is based on libavcodec for Linux. It can decode most AVI packed movies.
For DivX movies, I suggest you download a DivX 5.X package directly from www.divx.com, the decoding version is free for public use.
XviD is an another popular format, I recommend getting a precompiled codec installer for it as well, since that is the best way to ensure proper playback. Xvid.org offers a few links for downloading ready-made installers, but I suggest you use Google for a bit of searching to find the best installer to suit your needs.
USE OF CODEC PACKS IS NOT RECOMMENDED. Why? Because most of them will install stuff you might never need, might install older versions of stuff you already have, and might install some GFX card specific stuff that can possibly break stuff on your system.
If you do not know what codec a file uses: Get GSpot. It'll tell you the codec and sometimes even where to get it.
Taking screenshots of clips
This is something I'd like to see. It also gives people a better chance to decide if they want to use their precious bandwidth to download the video. 2 or 3 shots should do.
Please don't upload the screenshots, instead post them on a separate website (maybe on the same one where the file is located, if the file host is under your control?), and add them to your posts with either [.url] or [.img] tags.
As for making screenshots, at least BSPlayer knows how to make some.
What are RAR files and how do I play them?
RAR is a compression format much like ZIP. You need to unpack the files with WinRAR to see the actual video files. WinRAR can be downloaded for a free 30-day trial. See the next section to learn more about unpackers.
I tried unpacking a RAR with program XYZ, but I keep getting a CRC error. Why?
What you are experiencing is one of two things: 1) the files in question have been packed with WinRAR with settings that make the files incompatible with the known parameters of the software you've tried to open it with. The only solution to this is to unpack them using WinRAR. 2) one or more of the files are broken. Either post the URL of the topic here or send me a PM.
On that note, any notes on what settings to avoid to insure compatability with other programs would be appreciated.
Multi-part videos
To make downloading large clips possible for non-sponsors, clips were sometimes posted in parts, and packed with various archiver formats. I thought I'd recommend PowerArchiver and 7-Zip, since they're compatible with most known archives and are both free. Also, Pharrari has made a fairly useful, video-illustrated guide on splitting and joining files with WinRAR, check that out at http://www.whatboyswant.com/forum_read/350081 if you wish. HAPPYDICK made a shorter version, that one is at http://www.whatboyswant.com/forum_read/408009 .
Common problems with multi-part files:
× "Unable to find file movie.partXX.rar": Most probably you are missing one of the files. Go back to the thread and see if you've missed anything. If not, try to see if the poster has. If so, contact him/her via PM.
× "Unable to find file movie.rXX": The files have been renamed before they have been uploaded to the site. Rename the extension partXX.rar to .rXX and then try decompressing again. Note: The first file is always .rar, the second .r00 and so on.
Downloading multiple files made easy
cURL is the absolutely best tool for this, since it allows you to enter lists of files to download by using a simple "script" language. cURL is available for most, if not all Unix variants (Linux, MacOS X etc.) and Windows.
For the Windows version, you need to download GetLeft from SourceForge. It uses cURL as the download engine. Here's how to use cURL on Windows the simple way:
You can use cURL.exe that is distributed in the package in the same way as you'd use cURL on any *nix platform. The commands are totally compatible. You'll just have to do one thing and remember another:
- Add the path to cURL.exe into your PATH variable. To do this, open up a command prompt (Start Menu -> run -> cmd) and type path %PATH%;"C:\Path\To\cURL.exe"
- Make a directory where you wish to store the files, then go to that directory in a command prompt (use the cd command to get where you want, you can change drives by typing x: and Enter/Return in the prompt (substitute X for the drive letter you wish to go to)), then just enter the curl command with all the options to start downloading.
For a more detailed guide on using cURL, go to http://www.whatboyswant.com/forum_read/278998
Getting a 403 "Access Denied/Forbidden Error":
- See that you are using the domain www.whatboyswant.com and not .nl
- If this doesn't help, contact a moderator or support@whatboyswant.com
Can I record ICQ/MSN video chats?
Yes. You'll need to use a screen recorder. CamTasia Studio is probably the best out there, but it isn't free. There might also be 3rd party plug-ins that allow you to record video, but I don't know of any.
CrossMix finds this awesome.