Who sponsors this site?
This site is sponsored by the Old Time Radio Researchers, located at OTRR FACEBOOK and a website. Members and friends contribute to the cost of the server. If you wish to contribute funds to the support of the Library, contact the Librarian or use the 'Donate' button.
Are the programs here really free?
Yes, all programs are available for free downloads. They have been provided for your listening pleasure. Members and friends have contributed them from their personal libraries.
Why is this site up when you can purchase mp3 files from FTP dealers?
This site is here to make sure that old time radio programs in mp3 format or FLAC are always available for free, for those not wishing to pay FTP sites for the right to download them. The vast majority of FTP dealers do not originate the material they sell, there are a few exceptions. Many of them get their material from one of the OTR groups located at Yahoo, from one of the local clubs, from purchasing it on eBay, or by becoming a member of another FTP site under a ficticious name.
So they get it either free or extremely cheap and then get you to pay for the right to download it. Their claim is that they are not 'selling' the program, they are just charging you for bandwidth to download it. Some say that you can make a donation. But if you do not pay or make a 'donation', you are extremely limited in what you can download. There are no bandwidth charges, fees, or anything else required to download from the OTRRLibrary. All our programs are entirely free. You will never be asked to 'pay',
I can't download any of the episodes. I can only listen on-line. What gives?
Downloading is simple for most of you. You simply highlight the name of the episode you want to download. Hold down the right button of your mouse. From the pull down menu, select 'Save As'. You will then be given the option of which drive and directory you wish to save the episode in. Make your choice, it's that simple.
Why can't I download whole series at once?
There are programs that allow you to do that, but we do not offer them as we consider the practice leeching.
How can I know the programs are right? So many that the MP3 dealers sell are mis-named, mis-dated, duplicates or are just wrong.
Our programs are verified by the database program OTTER , which generally catches most errors. However, some few are missed. So we have membersand friends who download and listen to every episode to verify its correctness. When they find a problem, they let us know, and we will let you know about it by posting to the blog. If possible, we will find a corrected or better episode.
Are there any restrictions on bandwidth?
Yes. Our server only allows 50 logins at a time. Therefore we ask that you be reasonable about the amount of time you spend in the library. Give the borrowers a fair chance to obtain episodes they are interested in.
If you are on dial-up, then naturally it takes you much longer to download files than someone who is on DSL or cable. You can stay on longer.
For those of you who are on cable, there is a limit of 10 gigs per calendar month. If you exceed that amount, your download privilege is revoked until the first of the next month. If you exceed that amount on a frequent basis, then your download privilege will be revoked for good.
How can I tell if I am close to using my bandwidth?
Keep a watch on the number of episodes you downoad. You can generally estimate from that. However, if you want to be absolutely sure, we recommend that you get a fantastic FREE program called 'Netmeter '. It monitors your upload and download bandwidths. This is great for those with restrictions placed on their bandwidth by their internet service providers. Even if you are not restricted on bandwith by your isp, Netmeter can help you monitor your downloads from the OTRRLibrary. You can put in 9.50 Gigs in the ' Notifications' window, and then just run the program when you are downloading from OTRRLibrary.
I am on cable. How long can I stay on at any one time?
We ask that again, you be reasonable. These files will be here for a long time, unless the server and bandwidth are continually abused. Don't try to grab all the files at one time. We have a three year contract with the server. Again, remember your bandwidth limit.
How can you tell when someone has reached their download limit?
We have access to a daily report generated by the server that gives a wide range of information about the site, including who logs on, how much time they spend, the number of files they download, and the bandwidth they use. Your computer id number is also shown in that report.
What MP3 Player do you recommend?
We recommend the VLC Media player. It is an open source program and is free. It will play all of the various multimedia files, including MP3. It will also support FLAC which is a lossless program and is rated by many as being superior to MP3. You may download the program from http://www.videolan.org/.
Even though all the files are free, I want to help OTRR to get more series and/or episodes. How can I do that?
It is the policy of the OTRR organization that all radio programs should be available for free in the mp3 format, for those not wishing to pay for them. Our files are totally free, and you will never be asked to pay for the privilege of downloading. However, if you wish to contribute, the OTRR does have a treasury that assists in purchasing transcription disks, reel-to-reels, cassettes, CDAs, and other formats. We've spent over $20,000 in the past four years acquiring new materials. You can use the DONATE button to make contributions. But again, we emphasize, you will NEVER be asked for any money to download any of the programs from this site.
I have some series or episodes that are not included in the library and want to donate them. How can I do that?
E-mail the Librarian to see if they might be in line for uploading. If they are new, then you will be provided with instructions on how to best contribue them.
I'm a member of another group or forum. Can I post a notice there about this free library?
Feel free to recommend it to your friends by posting to any group or forum you may belong to.
I want to start my own FTP Pay site. Can I download programs from it to start it?
Well, you could, but that would not be honest or ethical. This site is free. Why would you want to offer programs anyone can get here for free? Anyone who we discover is downloading from the OTRRLibrary and re-offering series/episodes for a charge will be dropped and the computer id noted so that they will be prevented from ever becoming a member again. Please do not abuse the generosity of the members and friends of the Old Time Radio Researchers organization.
Recently some pay sites have arisen purporting to offer 100,000 episodes. These were either taken from the OTRRLibrary or are unchecked duplicates and triplicates. Remember we spend over $5,000 a year obtaining new material or better encodes and you get them for free! Some of these pay sites are stating that they are going to buy new transcriptions, but remember, the OTRR has a purchasing group that has bought for 14 years, and is also a member of 4 other purchasing groups.
So where would you rather be? With the OTRR where you get everything for free or with some dubious site that you have to pay to download from. We think the answer is simple.
Why are some episodes encoded at 32, some 64, and some 96?
Good question! When the Library was first set up, we took what we could get. Since then we have been trying to update encodes on files as we can get them. Our goal is to eliminate the 32 encodes altogether. Where possible we will go to 96 encodes. Some have asked - Why don't you dump all files and go to 96. This would be an impossibility! To delete over 80,000 episodes and start over? Our patrons would start an uprising. But we will move to FLAC where possible.