[CTS] Understanding movie downloads...
- From: "Surfin Suzy" <surfin_suzy@xxxxxxx>
- To: "CTS" <computertalkshop@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 03:05:05 -0600
If you download films, it's a good idea to know what you're downloading. So
here's a rundown on suffixes that will give you a little more information about
the movie codes.
---------------
CAM -
A cam is a theater rip usually done with a digital video camera. A mini tripod
is sometimes used, but a lot of the time this wont be possible, so the camera
make shake. Also seating placement isn't always idle, and it might be filmed
from an angle. If cropped properly, this is hard to tell unless there's text on
the screen, but a lot of times these are left with triangular borders on the
top and bottom of the screen. Sound is taken from the onboard microphone of the
camera, and especially in comedies, laughter can often be heard during the
film. Due to these factors picture and sound quality are usually quite poor,
but sometimes we're lucky, and the theater will be fairly empty and a fairly
clear signal will be heard.
TELESYNC (TS) -
Telesync is one of the multiple terms used by movie bootleggers to describe the
source material that was used to make bootlegged copies, normally distributed
in Video CD, SVCD, KVCD, DVD, KDVD or DivX/XviD format.
Other bootleg version methods include telecine, screener, cam, and DVD-Rip
A Telesync copy was shot in a cinema like a cam (often with a professional
camera from the projection booth), and directly connected to the sound source
(often FM audio provided for the hearing-impaired, or from a drive-in theatre).
The visual quality usually surpasses cam quality, which is in itself variable,
the audio is potentially better, having none of a cam's usual audience noise.
A telesync is the same spec as a CAM except it uses an external audio source
(most likely an audio jack in the chair for hard of hearing people). A direct
audio source does not ensure 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 digitally from the reels. Sound and picture
should be very good, but due to the equipment involved and cost telecines are
fairly uncommon. Generally the film will be in correct aspect ratio, although
4:3 telecines have existed. A great example is the JURASSIC PARK 3 TC done last
year. TC should not be confused with TimeCode , which is a visible counter on
screen throughout the film.
SCREENER (SCR) -
A screener is an advance video or DVD copy of a film sent to critics, awards
voters, video stores (for their manager and employees), and other film industry
professionals, including producers and distributors. Often, each individual
screener is sent out with distinct markings, which allow copies of a screener
to be tracked to their source.
DVD-SCREENER (DVDscr) -
Same premise as a screener, but transferred off a DVD. Usually letterbox , but
without the extras that a DVD retail would contain. The ticker is not usually
in the black bars, and will disrupt the viewing. If the ripper has any skill, a
DVDscr should be very good. Usually transferred to SVCD or DivX/XviD.
DVDRip -
A copy of the final released DVD. If possible this is released PRE retail (for
example, Star Wars episode 2) again, should be excellent quality. DVDrips are
released in SVCD and DivX/XviD.
VHSRip -
Transferred off a retail VHS, mainly skating/sports videos and XXX releases.
TVRip -
TV episode that is 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/commentary tests are included on the rips. PDTV is
capped from a digital TV PCI card, generally giving the best results, and
groups tend to release in SVCD for these. VCD/SVCD/DivX/ XviD rips are all
supported by the TV scene.
Formats:
VCD -
VCD is an mpeg1 based format, with a constant bitrate of 1150kbit at a
resolution of 352x240 (NTCS). VCDs are generally used 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 -
Super Video CD (Super Video Compact Disc or SVCD) is a format used for storing
video on standard compact discs. SVCD falls between Video CD and DVD in terms
of technical capability and picture quality.
Technical specifications
SVCD has two-thirds the resolution of DVD, and over 2.7 times the resolution of
VCD. Video is stored at 480x480 pixels for NTSC, and 480x576 pixels for PAL and
SECAM. One CD-R disc can hold up to 60 minutes of SVCD-format video at a
picture quality roughly comparable to Laserdisc. It is possible to fit nearly
arbitrary amounts of SVCD video onto one CD-R, though one must lower the video
bitrate, and therefore quality, in order to accommodate very long videos. It is
usually difficult to fit much more than 100 minutes of video onto one SVCD
without incurring significant quality loss.
Video is encoded as MPEG-2, and may have a variable bitrate up to 2.6 megabits
per second. The lower bound for bit rate is not specified in the standard,
though hardware compatibility on most SVCD and DVD players effectively limits
it to between 300 and 600 kilobits per second. Audio is stored in MP2.
XVCD/XSVCD -
These are basically VCD/SVCD that don't obey the "rules". They are both capable
of much 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
usually for home-ripping by people who don't intend to release them.
DivX / XviD -
Divx stands for Digital Video Express
DivX Files Use the AVI Format
DivX uses the AVI format as its file container, and files have either an AVI or
.DIVX extension. If a DivX movie is played in a media player that supports AVI,
only the audio will be played, not the video.
A video codec from DivXNetworks, Inc., San Diego, CA
(www.divx.com<http://www.divx.com/>) that is popular for downloading movies
from the Internet. Based on MPEG-4,
DivX can compress a DVD movie to fit on a CD, and DivX HD can reduce an HD
movie to fit on a DVD. The DivX software provides tools for encoding in DivX
and MPEG-4, as well as a player for DivX, MPEG-4 and other video formats.
Many newer "DivX Certified" DVD players are able to play DivX encoded movies,
although the QPEL and GMC features are often omitted to reduce processing
requirements, so for compatibility reasons, are excluded from the base DIVX
encoding profiles.
Name
"DivX" should not be confused with "DIVX", a failed earlier version by the
store, Circuit City. The winking emoticon in the early "DivX ;-)"
codec name was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the failed DIVX system.
Early work
DivX ;-) 3.11 Alpha and later 3.xx versions refers to a hacked version of the
Microsoft MPEG-4 Version 3 video codec, extracted around 1998 by French hacker
Jerome Rota (also known as Gej). The Microsoft codec, which originally required
that the compressed output be put in an ASF file, was altered to allow other
containers such as AVI.
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 commonly found on file sharers, these
are usually labeled something like Film.Name.Group( 1of2) etc. Common groups
are SMR and TND. These aren't really worth downloading, unless you're that
unsure about a film u only want a 200mb copy of it. Generally avoid.
CVD -
CVD is a combination of VCD and SVCD formats, and is generally supported by a
majority of DVD players. It supports MPEG2 bit-rates of SVCD, but uses a
resolution of 352x480(ntsc) as the horizontal resolution is generally less
important. Currently no groups release in CVD.
DVD-R -
Is the recordable DVD solution that seems to be the most popular (out of
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 nearly 10gb in some circumstances. SVCD
mpeg2 images must be converted before they can be burnt to DVD-R and played
successfully. DVD>DVDR copies are possible, but sometimes extras/languages have
to be removed to stick within the available 4.7gb.
MiniDVD -
MiniDVD/cDVD is the same format as DVD but on a standard CDR/CDRW. Because of
the high resolution/bit- rates, its only possible to fit about 18-21 mins of
footage per disc, and the format is only compatible with a few players.
Misc Info:
AVI
AVI stands for Audio Video Inrerleave
Audio Video Interleave, known by its acronym AVI, is a multimedia
container format introduced by Microsoft in November 1992 as part of the Video
for Windows technology. AVI files contain both audio and video data in a
standard container that allows simultaneous playback.
Like DVDs, AVI files support multiple audio and video streams, although these
features are rarely used. The file's data is divided up into data blocks called
"chunks". Unlike other video formats, an AVI video cannot be played incomplete.
It contains a codec. The codec translates between raw data and the data format
inside the chunk. An AVI file may therefore carry audio/visual data inside the
chunks in almost any compression scheme,
Intel Real Time Video, Indeo, Cinepak, Motion JPEG, Editable MPEG, VDOWave,
ClearVideo / RealVideo, QPEG, MPEG-4, XviD, DivX and others.
Continued use despite obsolescence:
AVI is considered by many to be an outdated container format. There is
significant overhead when used with popular MPEG-4 codecs (XviD and DivX, for
example), increasing file size more than necessary. Despite its limitations and
the availability of more modern container formats (see Matroska, Ogg and MP4),
AVI remains popular among file-sharing communities.
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 by
different companies. 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 most commercial DVDs. Its a
system that will display lines and darken the images of copies that are made by
sending the VHS signals it can't understand. Certain DVD players (for example
the Dansai 852 from Tescos) have a secret menu where you can disable the
macrovision, or a "video stabaliser" costs about 30UKP from Maplin (www.maplin.
co.uk<http://co.uk/>)
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 generally sharper picture. Playing NTSC discs on
PAL systems seems a lot easier than vice-versa, which is good news for the
Brits Smile An RGB enabled scart lead will play an NTSC picture in full colour
on most modern 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 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.
Release Files
RARset -
The movies are all supplied in RAR form, whether its v2 (rar>.rxx) or v3
(part01.rar > partxx.rar) form.
BIN/CUE -
VCD and SVCD films will extract to give a BIN/CUE. Load the .CUE into notepad
and make sure the first line 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 just the plain DivX -
.AVI
NFO -
An NFO file is supplied with each movie to promote the group, and give general
iNFOrmation about the 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 mainly used on site level
to check each file has been uploaded correctly, but are also handy for 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.
PAR files -
As well as the .rxx files, you will also see files listed as .pxx/.par . These
are PARITY files. Parity files are common in usenet posts, as a lot of times,
there will be at least one or two damaged files on some servers. A parity file
can be used to replace ANY ONE file that is missing from the rar set. The more
PAR files you have, the more files you can replace. You will need a program
called SMARTPAR for this.
Scene Tags
PROPER -
Due to scene rules, whoever releases the first Telesync has won that race (for
example). But if the quality of that release is fairly poor, 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 most subjective tag
in the scene, and a lot of people will generally argue whether the PROPER is
better than the original release. A lot of groups release PROPERS just out 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, it usually means it has hard
encoded subtitles burnt throughout the movie. These are generally in
malaysian/chinese/ thai etc, and sometimes there are two different languages,
which can take up quite a large amount of 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 may be
released
LIMITED -
A limited movie means it has had a limited theater run, generally opening in
less than 250 theaters, generally smaller films (such as art house 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 amount of rips done already. An INTERNAL release is available as normal on
the groups affiliate sites, but they can't be traded to other sites without
request from the site ops. Some INTERNAL releases still trickle down to
IRC/Newsgroups, it usually depends on the title and the popularity. Earlier in
the year people referred to Centropy going "internal". This meant the group
were only releasing the movies to their members and site ops. This is in a
different context to the usual definition.
STV -
Straight To Video. Was never released in theaters, and therefore a lot of sites
do not allow these.
Watermarks -
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,
generally in one of the corners. Most famous are the "Z" "A" and "Globe"
watermarks.
Asian Silvers / PDVD -
These are films put out by eastern bootleggers, and these are usually bought by
some groups to put out 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 many in the scene at the moment, mainly from smaller groups
who don't last more than a few releases. PDVDs are the same thing pressed onto
a DVD. They have removable subtitles, and the quality is usually better than
the silvers. These are ripped like a normal DVD, but usually released as VCD.
WORKPRINT (WP) -
A workprint is a copy of the film that has not been finished. It can be missing
scenes, music, and quality can 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
Silent Bob) . WPs can be nice additions to the collection once a good quality
final has been obtained.
ASPECT RATIO TAGS -
These are *WS* for widescreen (letterbox) and *FS* for Fullscreen.
RECODE -
A recode is a previously released version, usually filtered through TMPGenc to
remove subtitles, fix color etc. Whilst they can look better, its not looked
upon highly as 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.
NUKED -
A film can be nuked for various reasons. Individual sites will nuke for
breaking their rules (such as "No Telesyncs") but if the film has something
extremely wrong with it (no soundtrack for 20mins, CD2 is incorrect film/game
etc) then a global nuke will occur, and people trading it across sites will
lose their credits. Nuked films can still reach other sources such as
p2p/usenet, but its a good idea to check why it was nuked first in case. If a
group realise there is something wrong, they can request a nuke.
NUKE REASONS :: this is a list of common reasons a film can be nuked for
(generally DVDRip)
** BAD A/R ** :: bad aspect ratio, ie people appear too fat/thin
** BAD IVTC ** :: bad inverse telecine. process of converting framerates was
incorrect.
** INTERLACED ** :: black lines on movement as the field order is incorrect.
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