Inside the P2P Cabal — What These 3 Trackers Control and How to Climb
Inside the P2P Cabal — What These 3 Trackers Control and How to ClimbPTP. BTN. HDBits. Everyone knows the names. Almost nobody has the accounts.
These aren’t just “good trackers.” They’re the final bosses of P2P. The content that ends up on public sites? A huge chunk of it originated here. The encoders, the quality standards, the archive depth — nothing else comes close. But you can’t just sign up. There’s no registration page. There’s no “forgot password.” There’s a pyramid, and you start at the bottom.
🍿 The Big Three — What Makes Them Untouchable
| Tracker | Focus | Why It’s #1 | Economy | Fun Fact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PassThePopcorn (PTP) | Movies | 400K+ torrents. Every format from CAMRip to 4K Remux. Trumping system ensures only the best encode survives per slot. | Ratio-based (soft) — freeleech events + bonus points make it manageable | Rumored that actual Hollywood industry people use it for screener access |
| BroadcasTheNet (BTN) | TV Shows | The single largest TV archive in existence. If a show aired anywhere on Earth, BTN probably has it. | Ratioless — download whatever you want, no ratio stress | If BTN went down, the ripple effect would gut half the TV torrent ecosystem |
| HDBits (HDB) | HD Movies + TV | The source. Content uploaded here gets re-uploaded to PTP and BTN. Home to the most skilled encoders in the scene. | Ratio-based + minimum download activity required to avoid pruning | Even PTP and BTN members find it nearly impossible to get HDB access |
The hierarchy: HDB sits above PTP and BTN. HDB is where the encodes are born. PTP and BTN are where most people consume them. All three share staff connections through what the community calls “the cabal” — a network of elite tracker staff who share ban lists and coordinate invites.
🧗 The Pyramid — How People Actually Get In
You don’t apply to PTP, BTN, or HDB directly. You climb.
The standard path that actually works:
Step 1: Join RED (Redacted) — music tracker, free IRC interview
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Step 2: Build ratio + reach Power User on RED
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Step 3: Access RED's invite forums — the best in the private tracker world
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Step 4: From RED's forums, get recruited into mid-tier trackers
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Step 5: Build reputation on mid-tier trackers → reach higher user classes
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Step 6: Get recruited into PTP or BTN through official invite threads
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Step 7 (endgame): PTP/BTN high ranks → HDB recruitment (if it ever opens)
Why RED is the gateway: RED (redacted.ch) is the only top-tier tracker you can join from zero — through an IRC interview. No existing account needed. No friend required. Just knowledge about music formats, transcoding, and tracker etiquette. Pass the interview → get an account → start climbing.
| Step | Tracker | How to Join | Time Estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RED (Redacted) | IRC interview — study their prep guide | 1-2 weeks of prep + interview day |
| 2 | Build on RED | Upload music, seed, reach Power User | 1-3 months |
| 3 | Mid-tier trackers | Apply through RED’s invite forums (GGn, AB, MAM, BHD, etc.) | 1-2 months per tracker |
| 4 | PTP | Official recruitment from RED (Elite+) or other cabal trackers | 3-12 months from RED PU |
| 5 | BTN | Recruitment from PTP (Power User, 6+ months) or RED (higher class) | 6-12 months after PTP |
| 6 | HDB | Recruitment from PTP/BTN (very high ranks) — extremely rare | Months to years. Maybe never. |
Total realistic timeline from zero to PTP: 6-18 months of active participation. To HDB? Could be years. Some people never make it.
⚠️ What NOT to Do — Instant Ban Territory
| Mistake | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Buying an invite | Both buyer and seller get banned. Cabal trackers share ban lists — you’ll be blacklisted everywhere. The seller’s entire invite tree gets nuked. |
| Trading invites on forums | Same as buying. Tracker staff monitor invite forums and trading sites. They will find you. |
| Using someone else’s account | IP logging, browser fingerprinting, usage pattern analysis. They know. |
| Inviting strangers | The inviter is responsible for the invitee. If your invite causes problems, YOU get disabled too. |
| Cheating ratio | Automated detection systems. Global cabal ban across all connected trackers. |
| Going inactive | Most trackers prune inactive accounts. HDB is especially strict — minimum download activity required. Log in regularly. |
The golden rule: Every invite is a personal vouching. Treat it like co-signing a loan. If the person you invited cheats, you both lose everything.
🛠️ Tools You'll Need for the Climb
| Tool | What It Does | Why You Need It | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seedbox | Remote server for 24/7 seeding | Building ratio without killing your home bandwidth. Almost mandatory for RED. | Whatbox, Ultra.cc, Seedbox.io |
| ruTorrent / Deluge / qBittorrent | Torrent clients | Required for downloading/seeding. Most seedboxes come with ruTorrent. | qBittorrent |
| autodl-irssi | Auto-download new uploads from IRC announce channels | Snatching new uploads instantly = better ratio. Essential for RED. | autodl-irssi |
| flacsfor.me / other transcoding tools | Convert FLAC to MP3/other formats | Uploading transcodes to RED is the fastest way to build upload credit. | flacsfor.me |
| HexChat / mIRC | IRC clients | Required for the RED interview and many tracker communities. | HexChat |
| MusicBrainz Picard | Music tagger | Proper tagging is required for RED uploads. Wrong tags = deleted upload. | MusicBrainz Picard |
| MediaInfo | Shows technical details of media files | Verify encode quality, check codecs, validate uploads. | MediaInfo |
🪜 Stepping Stone Trackers — Mid-Tier Worth Joining
These aren’t the endgame — but they build your reputation and unlock invite forums:
| Tracker | Focus | Why It Matters | How to Join |
|---|---|---|---|
| GGn (GazelleGames) | Games | Best game tracker. Easy to join from RED PU. | RED invite forum |
| AB (AnimeBytes) | Anime | Top anime tracker. Active community. | RED invite forum or application |
| BHD (Beyond-HD) | HD Movies/TV | Good HD content, stepping stone toward PTP/HDB | Application or invite forums |
| MTV (MoreThanTV) | TV/Movies | Decent general tracker, good for building history | RED invite forum |
| MAM (MyAnonaMouse) | eBooks/Audiobooks | Easy to join (IRC interview), friendly community, good for building tracker reputation | IRC interview |
| TL (TorrentLeech) | General | Large general tracker, often has open signups | Periodic open registration |
| AR (AlphaRatio) | General | Decent general tracker, accessible from RED | RED invite forum |
Strategy: Don’t collect trackers like Pokémon. Join what you’ll actually use, build genuine ratio and reputation, and the doors open naturally.
🎯 The RED Interview — Your First Real Step
The RED interview is the single most important thing in this entire guide. Everything starts here.
What they test you on:
- Lossless vs lossy audio formats (FLAC, MP3, AAC, OGG)
- Bitrates and transcoding rules
- What spectral analysis shows (how to spot transcodes)
- Tracker etiquette and rules
- Proper file naming and tagging conventions
How to prepare:
- Read the entire interview prep site — cover to cover
- Understand the difference between FLAC, MP3 V0, MP3 320, and why it matters
- Learn to use Spek (spectral analyzer) to identify fake lossless
- Know the rules about trumping, freeleech, and upload requirements
- Join
irc.redacted.chchannel#red-interviewwhen you’re ready
Tips:
- They ask you to close everything except IRC and screenshot your desktop
- Answer honestly — if you don’t know, say so
- The interview can take 20-60 minutes depending on queue
- You can retake after a waiting period if you fail
- Study for real — it’s not a formality
📊 Realistic Expectations — The Honest Truth
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Can I get into PTP this month? | No. Unless you already have accounts on cabal trackers with high ranks. |
| Is buying an invite safe? | No. You will get banned. The cabal shares data. It’s not worth the risk. |
| Do I really need a seedbox? | For RED, practically yes. For PTP/BTN, strongly recommended. |
| What if I just want movies/TV? | Public trackers + Usenet + streaming cover 90% of needs. The Big Three are for the remaining 10% — rare content, perfect quality, archival depth. |
| Is HDB even worth trying for? | Most people in PTP and BTN never get HDB. The content flows downstream anyway. Don’t lose sleep over it. |
| How much does the climb cost? | Seedbox: $5-15/month. Time: 6-18 months. Everything else is free. |
Key Resources
| Resource | What It Is | Link |
|---|---|---|
| RED Interview Prep | Study guide for the gateway interview | interviewfor.red |
| Private Tracker Wiki | Community-maintained guide to the pyramid | InstallGentoo Wiki |
| Tracker Invite Threads (GitHub) | List of which trackers recruit from where | GitHub |
| Private Trackers Spreadsheet | Compare trackers side-by-side | Spreadsheet |
| r/trackers | Reddit community for private tracker discussion | reddit.com/r/trackers |
The Big Three aren’t gatekept to be elitist. They’re gatekept because the quality only survives when everyone inside gives a damn.
!