Checking for incompletes without par or sfv

[flamy]

Hey guys,

I've been searching the forum for some time now and didnt find any relevant info. Here is my query.

I use newsleecher for downloading with powerusenet. Sometimes some mp3 albums are posted without sfv or par2. So, I wont be able to tell whether I have downloaded an album completely or not. Sometimes, even though the files are reported as complete on the server, when newsleecher downloads it and decodes it, the files are incomplete.

So, is there any way to download those mp3s without sfv or par2 reliably?

Thank You,

flamy

[mesaman]

No. Any CRC or size mismatches reported by Newsleecher translate to sync errors and audio glitches in MP3 files. Only repairable with parity files.

[flamy]

so, will using any other newsreader help?

[Broken]

No.
Without par files, regardless of your client, you can not check for or repair any errors.

[flamy]

I heard NZB-O-Matic notifies when files are incomplete. is that true?

[Beck38]

Knowing a file is incomplete or wacked is nice, but in the end is immaterial if you can't repair it. There is NO getting around it. And yes, transmission (and storage, ect.) through/in news-servers has improved greatly over the years, and yes, lots of silly folks posting small MP3's and such fail to do the minimum required to allow basic parity check and/or repair. I came to the conclusion long ago that 'usually' the MP3 specs (sample rate ect) of such were usually at the lowest quality level (128Kbps ect.) and it was simply too easy to d/l the cd or lossless FLAC file and 'do it myself' to quality MP3. Too many excellent 'swiss-knife' tools out there, I use 'MediaMonkey' for example.

[superfuzzy]

If the par IS available, Newsleecher will show files that are corrupted or missing sectors as highlighted in red- in the queue.

The original poster asked a good question. I have had mp3's corrupted on my ISP's server, but the exact file in perfect shape on my premium news server.
It makes sense that if there is only the data file - in this case mp3, there can be no parity checks.

[NovaPatrol]

i use my isp's usenet server and they suck. so i usually download as much as i can from them then i go to a torrent site and type in a filename of what i have in the search engine. when i open the torrent up it checks to see if it is complete and if its not it will download the rest. dont know if you really wanna do this just to double check but it does work. i have tried it when i downloaded mp3s. usually works when the album is a new release and is from a scene group.

[mesaman]

I use my ISP's news server and they suck. So I usually download as much as I can from them and have a free or cheap 2nd news server filling in the missing pieces automatically. Then if I download a torrent for the same files the hash check is 100% and I seed immediately.

[link2009]

Easiest way to know if a file is incomplete is by looking at it's filename.

SONG.NUMBER1.MP3 <--- Incomplete
Song.number1.mp3 <----Complete

All caps means incomplete.

[superfuzzy]

Will you be able to know if it is incomplete if there is no par2?


Easiest way to know if a file is incomplete is by looking at it's filename.

SONG.NUMBER1.MP3 <--- Incomplete
Song.number1.mp3 <----Complete

All caps means incomplete.

It IS material to me, since if my primary news server (my ISP) has incomple/corrupted files, I have the option of downloading only the bad files from my premium - pay by the block without expiration - news server.
My ISP's server has some corrupted files from time to time.



Knowing a file is incomplete or wacked is nice, but in the end is immaterial if you can't repair it..

[mesaman]

Just because the file is complete doesn't mean it's undamaged. There are posting and transit bugs that can damage multiparts internally, and even premium servers would get the pieces in damaged condition. If posted in yEnc, all the multiparts might be there on a premium server but some parts could fail the yEnc CRC check. If Newsleecher's CRC checking is disabled, then the filename could be in lowercase but the MP3 could still be damaged by one of the NNTP article posting or transit bugs, and therefore have sync errors and audio glitches, even though the poster has the songs in perfect condition.