Video Sources
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 may shake. Also seating placement isn't always ideal 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)
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 the hearing impaired). 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. TC should not be confused with TimeCode , which is a visible counter on screen throughout the film. Most R5 releases are Telecines.
Rx
Typically these are high quality Telecines intended for the East European market (released in Russian language only) to combat piracy in that region. Ironically, these movies then have the English audio track from another source (such as a CAM) dubbed over them and get released. Until recently these releases have been tagged as R5 but we're starting to see similar sources from other regions tagged as R3 or R6. The number is derived from the DVD region the source came from.
SCREENER (SCR)
A VHS tape, sent to rental stores, and various other places for promotional use. A screener is supplied on a VHS tape, and is usually in a 4:3 (full screen) a/r, although letterboxed screeners are sometimes found. The main draw back is a "ticker" (a message that scrolls past at the bottom of the screen, with the copyright and anti-piracy telephone number). Also, if the tape contains any serial numbers, or any other markings that could lead to the source of the tape, these will have to be blocked, usually with a black mark over the section. This is sometimes only for a few seconds, but unfortunately on some copies this will last for the entire film, and some can be quite big. Depending on the equipment used, screener quality can range from excellent if done from a MASTER copy, to very poor if done on an old VHS recorder thru poor capture equipment on a copied tape.
HDTV
Commonly used to tag high definition TV rips.
DVD-SCREENER (DVDscr)
Same premise as a screener, but transferred from DVD. Usually letterbox format but without the extras that a retail DVD 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.
DVDRip
A copy of the retail DVD and should be excellent quality with no markers/tickers. DVD screeners are sometimes mislabed as DVD rips
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.
BLURAY
Blu-ray Disc (also known as BD, BDRIP or Blu-ray) is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the standard DVD format. Blu-ray discs are in high definition format and as such are the best quality source commonly available.
Video Formats
XviD
Xvid is a primary competitor of the DivX Pro Codec (Xvid being DivX spelled backwards). In contrast with the DivX codec, which is proprietary software developed by DivX, Inc., Xvid is free software distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License.[1] This also means that unlike the DivX codec, which is only available for a limited number of platforms[2], Xvid can be used on all platforms and operating systems for which the source code can be compiled. Xvid is a primary competitor of the DivX Pro Codec (Xvid being DivX spelled backwards). In contrast with the DivX codec, which is proprietary software developed by DivX, Inc., Xvid is free software distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License.
x264
x264 is a free software library for encoding video streams into the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC format. It is released under the terms of the GNU General Public License. x264 is typically used for encoding high definition video. Typically from HDTV or Blu-Ray. x264 files are also further denoted by either 720p or 1080p tags, which is the vertical resolution of the image. HDTV rips are normally 720p format whereas Blu-ray rips are often released in both 720p and 1080p (the latter requiring significantly more processing power to decode but offering a higher resolution).
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.
Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc (also known as BD or Blu-ray) is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the standard DVD format. Its main uses are for storing high-definition video, PlayStation 3 video games, and other data, with up to 25 GB per single layered, and 50 GB per dual layered disc. Although these numbers represent the standard storage for Blu-Ray drives, the specification is open-ended, with the upper theoretical storage limit left unclear. The disc has the same physical dimensions as standard DVDs and CDs.
Release Files
RARset
The movies are all supplied in RAR form, whether its v2 (rar>.rxx) or v3 (part01.rar > partxx.rar) form.
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 release 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 is required to use these files.
PAR
These parity files use a forward error correction-style system that can be used to perform data verification, and allow recovery when data is lost or corrupted. Using software such as QuickPAR you can use PAR files to repair a corrupt download. Note that downloading PAR files for a release can significantly increase the size of the download and the size of the PAR files is directly proportional to the size of RARset. 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.
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
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.
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, it usually depends on the title and the popularity.
STV
Straight To Video. Was never released in theaters.
ASPECT RATIO TAGS
These are "WS" for widescreen (letterbox) and "FS" for Fullscreen. Typically widescreen releases are rarely tagged that way as many people assume a widescreen format.
RECODE/RE-ENCODE
A recode is a previously released version, usually filtered to remove subtitles, fix color etc. Whilst they can look better, it is frowned upon in the scene as groups are expected to obtain their own sources. However, re-encodes are quite common on Peer-2-peer sites when members quite often release their own "improved" version. Re-encodes typically don't work or produce questionable results simply because you cannot turn a "bad" source into a good one by playing with numbers.
REPACK
If a group releases a bad rip, they will normally release a Repack which will fix the problem. The reason for the repack should be stated in the .nfo
NUKED
A release 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 or missing the ending for example) 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.
DUPE
Dupe is quite simply, if something exists already, then theres no reason for it to exist again without proper reason.
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 by different companies. A lot of players can either be hacked with a chip, or via a remote to disable this. Scene-released DVDs *should* have regional coding removed.
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.
Source: VCDQ.Com
