It's not too hard if you pay attention [smile].
1) Get a bit torrent client. I use Azureus. The bit torrent client is the program that reads torrent files and then downloads the music files you want.
Azureus: http://sourceforge.net/projects/azureus/
Once you'e downloaded and installed Azureus, you now need to find a torrent file of a show you'd like to download. Go to bt.etree.org for those, they have a TON of GD shows:
List of GD shows: http://bt.etree.org/index.php?cat=8
I selected the 3rd show in the list because it's a soundboard and was done by Charlie Miller - he really knows his stuff. Grateful Dead, Soldier Field - June 25, 1992: gd92-06-25.dsbd.miller.32496.sbeok.flac16
To the right of the show name, you'll see a little icon that looks like a floppy disc. Clicking this will allow you to download the torrent file of the show. Click it. You can now save the torrent file to a folder on your PC, I have one called Torrents.
Once you save the torrent file, you can then click the Open button on the dialog. This will cause Azureus to start and will "feed" it the torrent file. Simply tell Azureus where you want to store the downloaded files - you might want to create a folder called Grateful Dead and save them there.
The downloaded files are usually in some kind of compressed format, usually FLAC or SHN. You can either play these files using WinAmp or convert them to WAVs for burning to a CDR.
WinAmp: http://www.winamp.com/
I use dbPowerAmp to convert my FLAC or SHN files for burning: http://www.dbpoweramp.com/
Install dbPowerAmp and the FLAC and SHN plug-ins and you're good to go. Convert the FLACs or SHNs to WAVs and use any CD burning program to burn 'em.
Yes, you will have to do a little bit of reading, and you will mess up a bit here and there. But the payoff is SO great that it's definitely worth the effort. I currently have over 100 GD shows that sound terrific and cost me virtually nothing.
-RW-
