Here's some usefull stuff for ya:
Downloaded a movie and don't know what CAM/TS/TC/SCR means?
CAM -
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) -
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 pre 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-copy 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.
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, 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.
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.
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.
AVI
Audio Video Interleaved - A multimedia file format for storing sound and moving pictures in RIFF
format developed by Microsoft. An AVI file can use different codecs and formats so there is no set
format for an AVI file unlike for example standard VCD video which sets a standard for resolution,
bitrates, and codecs used.
VCD
VCD stands for 'Video Compact Disc' and basically it is a CD that contains moving pictures and
sound. If you're familiar with regular audio/music CDs, then you will know what a VCD looks like. A
VCD has the capacity to hold up to 74/80 minutes on 650MB/700MB CDs respectively of full-motion
video along with quality stereo sound. VCDs use an encoding standard called
MPEG-1 to store the video
and audio. A VCD can be played on almost all standalone
DVD Players and of course on all
computers with a
DVD-
ROM or CD-
ROM drive with the help of a software based decoder / player.
SVCD
SVCD stands for 'Super VideoCD'. A SVCD is very similiar to a VCD, it has the capacity to hold
about 35-60 minutes on 74/80 min CDs of very good quality full-motion
MPEG-2 video along with up to 2
stereo audio tracks and also 4 selectable subtitles. A SVCD can be played on many standalone
DVD
Players and of course on all computers with a
DVD-
ROM or CD-
ROM drive with the help of a software
based decoder / player.
XVCD
eXtended VCD - XVCD has same features as VCD but it is possible to use higher bitrates and higher
resolution to get higher video quality. XVCD is basically everything that uses
MPEG-1 video, is
not within the VCD standard, and burned in "VCD" Mode on a CD-R or CD-R(W). XVCD can be played on
some hardware VCD or
DVD players and many computers with appropriate software. VCDHelp XVCD Info
XSVCD
eXtended SVCD - XSVCD has same features as SVCD but it is possible to use higher bitrates and
higher resolution to get higher video quality. XSVCD is basically everything that uses
MPEG-2 video,
is not within the SVCD standard or close to
DVD, and burned in "SVCD" Mode on a CD-R or CD-R(W).
XSVCD can be played on some hardware
DVD players and many computers with appropriate software like a
software
DVD player or a media player with a
MPEG-2 codec. VCDHelp X(S)VCD Info
XviD
XviD is an
ISO MPEG-4 compliant video codec. It's not a product but an open source project which
is developed and maintained by people around the world. XviD.org
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.
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.
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.
ASPECT RATIO TAGS -
These are *WS* for widescreen (letterbox) and *FS* for Fullscreen.
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.
DUPE -
Dupe is quite simply, if something exists already, then theres no reason for it to exist again
without proper reason.
R5 or R5.Line -
R5 releases differ from normal releases in that they are a direct Telecine transfer of the film without any of the image processing. They take the information from the
DVD disc and sync it to an English version of the film, usually a previously released version. Which means that the sound often isn’t as good as DVDRips. In some cases, R5 DVDs may be released without an English audio track, requiring pirates to use the direct line audio from the film’s theatrical release. In this case, the pirated release should be tagged with “.LINE” to distinguish it from a release with a
DVD audio track.