Lovefest Downloads

Jared Meyer

Jared Meyer

Veteran
The whole "online" aspect of the fests poses a huge amount of work for all of the behind the scenes folks, Larry, Jason, Barry et al. and I think they've done a fantastic job. Huge kudos and thanks for all of their hard work.

I hope this doesn't seem like complaining - but I had a few thoughts about the download experience this time around in the hopes that the system can improve in the future. (Which it obviously has and will continue to do.)

For some reason I had a really difficult time downloading the films this fest. None of the zipped files every worked for me since I started trying on day one. They still don't, as of right now. Also, a large number if not the majority of the films would not download correctly. I've had to download 25 or so a second and then sometimes a third time to get a complete working file.

Lastly - is there any way that in the future, we could get the direct links to the files all on the main Lovefest viewing page? Maybe I'm just lazy/impatient (ok, yes and yes :)) but it takes FOREVER to enter each page, wait for the download to initiate, verify that it's actually downloading, go back to the main page, find the next one, 50+ times.

I'm not sure how this compares to everyone else's experience and forgive me if this has already been mentioned or acknowledged.....just wanted to throw it out there.

Thanks DVXuser and members for some of the best viewing entertainment on the web!!!
 
First, I have to say thanks to all the hard workers that make this possible, I'm really having a great time watching all this great films.

talking about problems, I also had to download some films 3 times and none of the zips worked for me.

Anyway the downloading time was worth it.

congratulations to everyone for the great work!!!
 
Hey guys - sorry that you had trouble with the downloads ... I have to say, I'm puzzled as to what the issue may be. I have been unable to recreate any of the download issues presented by the handful of folks that indicated they were having them.

That said, I'm very sensitive to the annoyance level when things don't work right and require extra effort to get what your after. That was the impetus for creating this system in the first place, to make things easier for everyone. I will definitely continue to look into the issue and hope to find some resolution, and appreciate your patience as we continue to grow/build this system.

It makes sense that selecting a film, waiting for the download then going back and starting the process all over for the next is a difficult, time consuming process. Some of that stems from the way we have to manipulate the pages in order to trigger the forced download. However, that said, there are definitely some things that can be done to improve the overall experience, and prevent some of the unnecessary steps (going back to the list, etc) that I will work on implementing for the next go around.

Regarding the zips ... I have heard a lot of people indicating problems downloading them, more so than the individual files. Again, I am able to download them fine, so can not reproduce the issue. But that said, they are considerably larger than the individual files and therein may lie the problem. It takes a considerably longer amount of time to process/transfer a file of that size, my guess is the connection(s) time out sometime during the connection, though I'm not sure exactly why.

The zips was a trial this time around to see if they would improve the overall process, but will definitely require some additional attention before attempting again.

I'd like to thank everyone, here and in other threads/PMs, for the heads up on issues and thanks for the patience in working with us through the issues. Hopefully you were ultimately able to download all the films and will honestly and fairly vote for your favorite entries: http://www.dvxfest.com/vote.php

Peace,
Larry
 
maybe an FTP system next time that allows only downloads? Most browsers can handle an FTP download link so that may help the process instead of a failed http link.
 
We have considered direct FTP access in the past, and continue to do so. The chalenge there is that it becomes impossible to load-balance across multiple servers if you are using direct FTP.


I'm curious as to how many people also where able to succesfully download zip files?

- Mikko
 
all of the zip files failed for me. "Where the Heart Lies" is still giving trouble, only downloading 20MB of the whole file.
 
Ok, I went through the system again and identified an issue that could potentially cause problems with the zip downloads. That issue has been addressed, if you could please try downloading one or more of the zips and let me know if you meet with success or failure, it would be greatly appreciated.

I had no problem with WTHL, but will double check the mirrors.
 
mikkowilson said:
I'm curious as to how many people also where able to succesfully download zip files?

- Mikko
Click to expand...
I was able to download the zip files with no problems. Well, one problem...one of the movies had a problem but I went back and downloaded its individual file and all was good.
 
Thanks Larry! The zips work for me now. Still having an issue with some of the individual films, though, such as only being able to download a small portion of it. I will keep trying.

Thanks to everyone for a great fest and great films! A lot of work went into this and I want you all to know it is greatly appreciated!
 
If you have a problem with a download, it would help great if you could grab two pieces of information and send to me.

1. The film name
2. The mirror being accessed - if you move your mouse pointer over the "click here to download" link and look in your browsers status bar it will tell you the link. I just need the "www.something.com" part

Thanks,
Larry
 
I set my browser to d/l the zips and came back an hour later with all of them sitting perfectly on my HDD. I LOVED this system.

I don't really see a benefit for each film on the list to have it's own page, especially since they don't all really tell us anything. If we want to show off a poster we have the individual thread forum. Same goes with the tag line and camera used. If that list, instead of taking us to another page, was just the DL link that would be sweet. I am guessing you all are doing forced d/l to throttle bandwidth but can this be done by click in a link (I am assuming yes)?

Thank you all very much for all the work you guys have done. Best fest ever!
 
Snap! What kind of connection you got over there William? That's a lot of downloading in not a lot of time :)

And, yes, the individual page is a part of the force download system, but that will be improved next go around. Already have some ideas and some test code as a result of this thread.
 
You just amaze me, Larry, with your constant improvements, attention to detail and your sensitivity to everyone's enjoyment. It is really refreshing.

Keep up the great work. It is really paying off with a great festival!

-Ted
 
I'm just on regular old broadband from my local cable provider. Surfing isn't lighting speed but whenever i d/l something it happens in a flash. I was averaging over 1.5mbps on these folders IIRC. Anyway, PLEASE keep the bulk d/l system. I love the set and forget.
 
Larry R said:
If you have a problem with a download, it would help great if you could grab two pieces of information and send to me.

1. The film name
2. The mirror being accessed - if you move your mouse pointer over the "click here to download" link and look in your browsers status bar it will tell you the link. I just need the "www.something.com" part

Thanks,
Larry
Click to expand...

Thanks Larry, but when I tried it for the third time it downloaded like clockwork. If you still want to know the mirror, let me know and I'll go get it. Thanks again!
 
if the zip system seems to be stable (and can be improved) i think it's vastly superior to individual downloads. besides the obvious reason of efficiency it also makes sure that folks at least have all the shorts on their computer - this, i think, would increase the chance of all the shorts being watched!

love the setup, it's been a blast. thanks to all of you behind the scenes keeping the fest going and making this one of the most valuable experiences i've had as a filmmaker!

edit: i didn't have any issues with the zip, but was referring to the intermittent problems others seemed to have!
 
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Yea, I understand the preference for the zips from a viewer standpoint, but it is quite a bit more work on the back end. So, it will be necessary to keep the individual downloads as well, as some of the films may get updated/fixed along the way and so it will be necessary to re-download those via the individual rather than try to update the zip and push it to all the mirrors and then have everyone re-download the whole zip for one file.

ConspiracyPenguin said:
Thanks Larry, but when I tried it for the third time it downloaded like clockwork. If you still want to know the mirror, let me know and I'll go get it. Thanks again!
Click to expand...

No need ... it was more of a general statement. If anyone has an issue, those two pieces of information will make it easier for me to track down the issue, if there is one. I am working on some changes for next time that will make it easier to report issues like that.

Thanks,
Larry
 
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