Video Releases Explained

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sneakypete (moderator at newsreactor) wrote:

TYPES of RELEASES
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) -
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 or DVD, sent to rental stores, and various other places for
promotional use. A screener is supplied on a VHS tape or DVD, 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.
VIDEO 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.
KVCD -
KVCD is similar to VCD but using special encoding techniques to fit up
to 3hours on a single 80min cd
SVCD -
SVCD is an mpeg2 based (same as DVD) which allows variable bit-rates of
up to 2500kbits at a resolution of 480x480 (NTSC) which is then
decompressed into a 4:3 aspect ratio when played back. Due to the
variable bit-rate, the length you can fit on a single CDR is not fixed,
but generally between 35-60 Mins are the most common. To get a better
SVCD encode using variable bit-rates, it is important to use multiple
"passes". this takes a lot longer, but the results are far clearer.
SKVCD -
SKVCD is similar to SVCD but using special encoding techniques to fit
up to 2.5 hours on 1cd
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 is a format designed for multimedia platforms. It uses two codecs,
one low motion, one high motion. most older films were encoded in low
motion only, and they have problems with high motion too. A method
known as SBC (Smart Bit-rate Control) was developed which switches
codecs at the encoding stage, making a much better print. The format is
Ana orphic and the bit-rate/resolution are interchangeable. Due to the
higher processing power required, and the different codecs for
playback, its unlikely we'll see a DVD player capable of play DivX for
quite a while, if at all. There have been players in development which
are supposedly capable, but nothing has ever arisen. The majority of
PROPER DivX rips (not Re-Encs) are taken from DVDs, and generally up to
2hours in good quality is possible per disc. Various codecs exist, most
popular being the original Divx3.11a and the new XviD codecs.
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.
ratDVD -
Takes a full featured DVD-9 movie and puts it into a highly compressed
.ratDVD container format file of about 1.x GB in size - while
preserving all the features of the original DVD. You can directly play
back the .ratDVD file in Windows Media Player or any other compatible
player - with all the options the original DVD movie would give you. A
ratDVD can be converted back to standard DVD format and burned to DVD
and played on a DVD player with the ratDVD software.
VIDEO STANDARDS
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. 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.)

hr - "Higher Resolution". From HDTV source (not true hdtv), but not sub dvd resolution. *unconfirmed*.
dd51 - Dolby Digital 5.1 aka ac3 - http://ac3filter.sourceforge.net/
cce*p - (Cinema Craft Encoder *number* passes) -(The more passes the better).
DSR -Digital Satellite Receiver
OAR -Original Aspect Ratio
540p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p -Aspect ratios for High Definition usually with the *.ts extension (transport stream). Someone may come along one day and tag these as (ts) by accident
To save tagging real estate: when something has a source of dvd but is ripped to xvid, you'll see something like; (dvd)(xvid)

Languages you'll sometimes see;
(en) english
(es) espanol or "spanish"
(de) deutsch
(fr) france or "french"