This document defines and describes various types of digital video file releases, including BDRips (high quality rips from Blu-Ray discs), DVDRips (rips from final released DVDs), R5 (low-cost DVD releases from the former Soviet Union), PPVRips (releases of new movies available to hotel customers), TVRips (episodes ripped from television broadcasts), workprints (unfinished copies of films), CAMs (recordings of films screened in theaters), telesyncs (similar to CAMs but using an external audio source), telecines (digital copies of film reels with good quality picture and sound), screeners (promotional copies on VHS or DVD sent to rental stores
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1. BDRip (BluRay Disk Rip)
BDRips are encoded directlyfrom the BluRay disk,so should be of better quality than a DVDRip. They usuallyhave a
resolution of720p (or 1080p),and are encoded using the matroska (.mkv) container and x264 codec.
DVDRip
A copy of the final released DVD.If possible this is released PRE retail (for example,Star Wars episode 2) again,
should be excellentquality. DVDrips are released in SVCD and DivX/XviD.
R5
R5 refers to a specific formatof DVD released in the Former-SovietUnion,which is in DVD Region 5.In an effort to
compete with movie piracy, the movie industrychose to create a new formatfor DVD releases thatcould be produced
more quickly and less expensivelythan traditional DVD releases.R5 releases differ from normal releases in thatthey
are usuallya direct Telecine transfer of the film without any of the image processing common on DVD releases,and
withoutany special features.This allows the film to be released for sale atthe same time thatDVD Screen ers are
released.Since DVD Screeners are the chiefsource of high-qualitypre-DVD release pirated movies,this allows the
movie studios to beat the pirates to market.Bootlegged copies ofthese releases are often distributed on the Internet
via torrent sites.
PPVRip
PPVRips are said to have come from Pay-Per-View sources,butwhatis interesting is thatall these releases are
brand new movies which have not yet been released to Screener or DVD but are available to view by Hotel
customers.
TVRip
TV episode thatis either from Network (capped using digital cable/satellite boxes are preferable) or PRE-AIR from
satellite feeds sending the program around to networks a few days earlier (do not contain "dogs"but sometimes have
flickers etc) Some programs such as WWF Raw Is War contain extra parts, and the "dark matches"and
camera/commentarytests are included on the rips.PDTV is capped from a digital TV PCI card, generallygiving the
bestresults,and groups tend to release in SVCD for these.VCD/SVCD/DivX/XviD rips are all supported by the TV
scene.
WORKPRINT (WP)
A workprintis a copy of the film that has not been finished.It can be missing scenes,music,and qualitycan range
from excellent to very poor. Some WPs are very different from the final print(Men In Black is missing all the aliens,
and has actors in their places) and others can contain extra scenes (Jay and SilentBob) . WPs can be nice additions
to the collection once a good quality final has been obtained.
CAM
A cam is a theater rip usuallydone with a digital video camera.A mini tripod is sometimes used,buta lot of the time
this wont be possible,so the camera make shake.Also seating placementisn'talways idle,and it mightbe filmed
from an angle.If cropped properly, this is hard to tell unless there's text on the screen,buta lot of times these are left
with triangular borders on the top and bottom of the screen.Sound is taken from the onboard microphone ofthe
camera,and especiallyin comedies,laughter can often be heard during the film.Due to these factors picture and
2. sound qualityare usuallyquite poor, but sometimes we're lucky, and the theater will be fairly empty and a fairly clear
signal will be heard.
TELESYNC (TS)
A telesync is the same spec as a CAM except it uses an external audio source (mostlikelyan audio jack in the chair
for hard of hearing people).A directaudio source does notensure a good quality audio source,as a lot of
background noise can interfere.A lot of the times a telesync is filmed in an empty cinema or from the projection booth
with a professional camera,giving a better picture quality. Quality ranges drastically,check the sample before
downloading the full release.A high percentage of Telesyncs are CAMs that have been mislabeled.
TELECINE (TC)
A telecine machine copies the film digitallyfrom the reels.Sound and picture should be very good, but due to the
equipmentinvolved and cost telecines are fairly uncommon.Generallythe film will be in correct aspectratio, although
4:3 telecines have existed. A great example is the JURASSIC PARK 3 TC done lastyear. TC should notbe confused
with TimeCode ,which is a visible counter on screen throughoutthe film.
SCREENER (SCR)
A pre VHS tape, sent to rental stores,and various other places for promotional use.A screener is supplied on a VHS
tape, and is usuallyin a 4:3 (full screen) a/r, although letterboxed screeners are sometimes found.The main draw
back is a "ticker" (a message thatscrolls pastatthe bottom of the screen,with the copyright and anti-copy telephone
number).Also,if the tape contains any serial numbers,or any other markings thatcould lead to the source of the
tape, these will have to be blocked,usuallywith a black mark over the section.This is sometimes onlyfor a few
seconds,butunfortunatelyon some copies this will lastfor the entire film, and some can be quite big.Depending on
the equipmentused,screener qualitycan range from excellent if done from a MASTER copy, to very poor if done on
an old VHS recorder thru poor capture equipmenton a copied tape. Most screeners are transferred to VCD, but a few
attempts at SVCD have occurred,some looking better than others.
DVD-SCREENER (DVDscr)
Same premise as a screener,buttransferred off a DVD. Usuallyletterbox , but withoutthe extras that a DVD retail
would contain.The ticker is not usuallyin the black bars,and will disruptthe viewing.If the ripper has any skill,a
DVDscr should be very good.Usuallytransferred to SVCD or DivX/XviD.
VHSRip
Transferred off a retail VHS, mainlyskating/sports videos and XXX releases.
DivX Re-Enc
A DivX re-enc is a film that has been taken from its original VCD source,and re-encoded into a small DivX file. Most
commonlyfound on file sharers,these are usuallylabeled something like Film.Name.Group(1of2) etc.Common
groups are SMR and TND. These aren't really worth downloading,unless you're that unsure abouta film u only want
a 200mb copy of it. Generallyavoid.
Watermarks
3. A lot of films come from Asian Silvers/PDVD (see below) and these are tagged by the people responsible.Usually
with a letter/initials or a little logo, generallyin one of the corners.Most famous are the "Z" "A" and "Globe"
watermarks.
Asian Silvers / PDVD
These are films putout by eastern bootleggers,and these are usuallyboughtby some groups to putout as their own.
Silvers are very cheap and easily available in a lot of countries,and its easy to put out a release,which is why there
are so manyin the scene at the moment,mainlyfrom smaller groups who don'tlastmore than a few releases.
PDVDs are the same thing pressed onto a DVD. They have removable subtitles,and the quality is usuallybetter than
the silvers.These are ripped like a normal DVD, but usuallyreleased as VCD.
Scene Tags
PROPER
Due to scene rules,whoever releases the firstTelesync has won that race (for example).But if the quality of that
release is fairlypoor, if another group has another telesync (or the same source in higher quality) then the tag
PROPER is added to the folder to avoid being duped.PROPER is the mostsubjective tag in the scene,and a lot of
people will generallyargue whether the PROPER is better than the original release.A lot of groups release
PROPERS justout of desperation due to losing the race. A reason for the PROPER should always be included in the
NFO.
SUBBED
In the case of a VCD, if a release is subbed,itusuallymeans ithas hard encoded subtitles burntthroughoutthe
movie. These are generallyin malaysian/chinese/thai etc,and sometimes there are two different languages,which
can take up quite a large amountof the screen.SVCD supports switch able subtitles,so some DVDRips are released
with switch able subs.This will be mentioned in the NFO file if included.
UNSUBBED
When a film has had a subbed release in the past,an Unsubbed release maybe released
LIMITED
A limited movie means ithas had a limited theater run,generallyopening in less than 250 theaters, generallysmaller
films (such as arthouse films) are released as limited.
INTERNAL
An internal release is done for several reasons.Classic DVD groups do a lot of .INTERNAL. releases,as they wont
be dupe'd on it. Also lower quality theater rips are done INTERNAL so not to lower the reputation of the group, or due
to the amountof rips done already. An INTERNAL release is available as normal on the groups affiliate sites,butthey
can't be traded to other sites withoutrequestfrom the site ops.Some INTERNAL releases still trickle down to
IRC/Newsgroups,itusuallydepends on the title and the popularity. Earlier in the year people referred to Centropy
going "internal".This meantthe group were only releasing the movies to their members and site ops.This is in a
different context to the usual definition.
4. STV
Straight To Video. Was never released in theaters,and therefore a lot of sites do not allow these.
ASPECT RATIO TAGS
These are *WS* for widescreen (letterbox) and *FS* for Fullscreen.
RECODE
A recode is a previously released version,usuallyfiltered through TMPGenc to remove subtitles,fix color etc. Whilst
they can look better, its not looked upon highlyas groups are expected to obtain their own sources.
REPACK
If a group releases a bad rip,they will release a Repack which will fix the problems.
Formats
VCD
VCD is an mpeg1 based format,with a constantbitrate of 1150kbitat a resolution of352x240 (NTCS). VCDs are
generallyused for lower quality transfers (CAM/TS/TC/Screener(VHS)/TVrip(analogue) in order to make smaller file
sizes,and fit as much on a single disc as possible.Both VCDs and SVCDs are timed in minutes,rather than MB, so
when looking at an mpeg,it may appear larger than the disc capacity, and in reality u can fit 74min on a CDR74.
SVCD
SVCD is an mpeg2 based (same as DVD) which allows variable bit-rates ofup to 2500kbits ata resolution of
480x480 (NTSC) which is then decompressed into a 4:3 aspectratio when played back. Due to the variable bit-rate,
the length you can fit on a single CDR is notfixed, but generallybetween 35-60 Mins are the mostcommon.To get a
better SVCD encode using variable bit-rates,itis importantto use multiple "passes".this takes a lot longer,but the
results are far clearer.
XVCD/XSVCD
These are basicallyVCD/SVCD that don't obey the "rules".They are both capable ofmuch higher resolutions and bit-
rates,but it all depends on the player to whether the disc can be played. X(S)VCD are total non-standards,and are
usuallyfor home-ripping bypeople who don't intend to release them.
DivX / XviD
DivX is a formatdesigned for multimedia platforms.It uses two codecs,one low motion,one high motion.mostolder
films were encoded in low motion only, and they have problems with high motion too.A method known as SBC
(SmartBit-rate Control) was developed which switches codecs atthe encoding stage,making a m uch better print.
The formatis Ana orphic and the bit-rate/resolution are interchangeable.Due to the higher processing power
required,and the different codecs for playback, its unlikelywe'll see a DVD player capable of play DivX for quite a
5. while,if at all.There have been players in developmentwhich are supposedlycapable,butnothing has ever arisen.
The majorityof PROPER DivX rips (not Re-Encs) are taken from DVDs, and generallyup to 2hours in good quality is
possible per disc.Various codecs exist,mostpopular being the original Divx3.11a and the new XviD codecs.
CVD
CVD is a combination ofVCD and SVCD formats,and is generallysupported by a majorityof DVD players. It
supports MPEG2 bit-rates of SVCD, but uses a resolution of352x480(ntsc) as the horizontal resolution is generally
less important.Currentlyno groups release in CVD.
DVD-R
Is the recordable DVD solution that seems to be the mostpopular (outof DVD-RAM, DVD-R and DVD+R). it holds
4.7gb of data per side,and double sided discs are available,so discs can hold nearly10gb in some circumstances.
SVCD mpeg2 images mustbe converted before they can be burntto DVD-R and played successfully.DVD>DVDR
copies are possible,butsometimes extras/languages have to be removed to stick within the available 4.7gb.
MiniDVD
MiniDVD/cDVD is the same formatas DVD but on a standard CDR/CDRW.Because ofthe high resolution/bit-rates,
its only possible to fit about18-21 mins offootage per disc,and the formatis only compatible with a few players.
Misc Info
Regional Coding
This was designed to stop people buying American DVDs and watching them earlier in other countries, or for older
films where world distribution is handled bydifferentcompanies.A lot of players can either be hacked with a chip, or
via a remote to disable this.
RCE
RCE (Regional Coding Enhancement) was designed to overcome "Multiregion"players,but it had a lot of faults and
was overcome.Very few titles are RCE encoded now,and it was very unpopular.
Macrovision
Macrovision is the copy protection employed on mostcommercial DVDs.Its a system that will displaylines and
darken the images ofcopies thatare made by sending the VHS signals itcan't understand.Certain DVD players (for
example the Dansai 852 from Tescos) have a secretmenu where you can disable the macrovision,or a "video
stabaliser"costs about30UKP from Maplin
NTSC/PAL
NTSC and PAL are the two main standards used across the world.NTSC has a higher frame rate than pal (29fps
compared to 25fps) but PAL has an increased resolution,and gives off a generallysharper picture.Playing NTSC
discs on PAL systems seems a loteasier than vice-versa, which is good news for the Brits icon_smile.gifAn RGB
enabled scartlead will play an NTSC picture in full colour on mostmodern tv sets,but to record this to a VHS tape,
you will need to convert it to PAL50 (not PAL60 as the majority of DVD players do.) This is either achieved by an
6. expensive converter box (in the regions of??200+) an onboard converter (such as the Dansai 852 / certain Daewoos
/ Samsung 709 ) or using a World Standards VCR which can record in any format.
RARset
The movies are all supplied in RAR form, whether it's v2 ".r01" or "part01.rar" form.
BIN/CUE
VCD and SVCD films will extract to give a BIN/CUE. Load the .CUE into notepad and make sure the firstline contains
only a filename,and no path information.Then load the cue into Nero/CDRWin etc and this will burn the VCD/SVCD
correctly. TV rips are released as MPEG. DivX files are justthe plain DivX - .AVI
NFO
An NFO file is supplied with each movie to promote the group,and give general iNFOrmation aboutthe release,such
as format, source,size,and any notes that may be of use.They are also used to recruit members and acquire
hardware for the group.
SFV
Also supplied for each disc is an SFV file. These are mainlyused on site level to check each file has been uploaded
correctly, but are also handyfor people downloading to check they have all the files,and the CRC is correct. A
program such as pdSFV or hkSFV is required to use these files.