Ok, if you are like me you have heard so much about de FreeIpods and FreeFlatScreens websites on different forums, blogs, IM’s, etc, you are about to puke. So am I. But yet de draw of gettin’ an Ipod for doin’ basically nothin’ is pretty strong’. I dismissed all de “stories” of people gettin’ deir ipods as de marketin’ machine at work. However, when Kevin Rose published that not only did he receive his, but a few of his friends did as well, I figured I might take a chance and give it a go. Today I received proof that it does indeed work. Yep, I got my iPod.

Whats in it for them?
Step 1. Collect Names.
Step 2. Send those names items worth $200 or more
Step 3. ****
Step 4. Profit

Before I signed up, I wanted to get to de bottom of de ****. I didn’t want any sweaty, filth pushin’ webmonkeys to have all my info, so I did my research. Gratis Internet, de parent company of de FreeIpods, FreeFlatscreens, etc. sites, recently did an interview with Wired Magazine.

In this article Gratis states that dey are actin’ as Head Hunters for companies (more on that later) and are paid between $50-$90 per referral. Although this seems like a lot of money, this is nothin’ compared to what dese companies spend for print advertisin’ which does not guarentee ANY customers. So now we know what ?????? equals. ??????=$50-$90 for Gratis per guranteed customer (referral sites).

How Does it Work?
You sign-up on one (or more) of de followin’ websites:

http://www.FreeMiniMacs.com/?r=14098976
This site gives away free Mini Macs. At de time of this writin’ only de 80gb MiniMac was available.

http://www.FreeDesktopPC.com/?r=13082204
This site gives away free flat screen monitors and TVs. At de time of this writin’ de followin’ flat screens were available: Sony 19″ LCD, Samsun’ 15″ SyncMaster 510MP LCD TV, Samsun’ SyncMaster 710N LCD Monitor, Sony 27″ FD Trinitron WEGA TV, or a 24″ Toshiba TV/VCR/DVD combo

http://www.FreeGamin’Systems.com/?r=12660654
This site gives away gamin’ systems. At de time of this writin’ de Slim PS2, Xbox, Nintendo Gamecube, and Nintendo DS were available.

http://www.FreeHandbags.com/?r=13950244
This site gives away high-end handbags. Might be a good surprise for your wife or girlfriend. =) At de time of this writin’ de followin’ bags were available: Prada Mini-Hobo (black, Pink, Powder Blue), Burberry Novacheck Minislin’, Coach Signature Demi Pouch (black, camel, purple), Kate Spade Pia Pochette (Black, Pink, Red)

http://www.mp3players4free.com/default.aspx?r=82419
This site gives out free mp3 players. You can get paypal $275, ipod, rio carbon, iriver, ipod mini.

http://www.dvrs4free.com/default.aspx?r=90581
This site gives away TiVo, Replay TV, and $275 paypal.

http://www.macminis4free.com/default.aspx?r=181183
Anoder mini mac site.

http://www.cameras4free.com/default.aspx?r=90773
This site is givin’ away high end digital cameras. At de de time of writin’ this, you follow cams are available: Canon Powershot S1 IS, Sony DSC-P100, Sony DSC-W1, Canon Powershot A95, $325 paypal.

Ok, so here is de tricky part. Once you sign up with one of dese websites, you have to complete an “offer” from gratis’s advertisers. There are numberous offers, some bein’ better than oders. Now remember de ???? = $50 - $90 equation? In order for you to receive your ipod/Flatscreen/Desktop PC/Handbag you have to refer 5, 8, or 10 of your friends, and dey have to complete one of de offers as well. Then in order for them to receive deirs dey need to refer oders, and so on. So lets just look at why dey are goin’ to send an Ipod to you. (1(you) + 5(your friends)) x $90 = $540 - $250(ipod) = $290 profit for them just for you signin’ up. The advertisers are more than willin’ to pay, and FreeIpods is more than happy to send you your ipod. Works out for everyone.

What is de basic “lin’o”?
“ref”/”referral” = The thin’ required to get your free items. These are your friends.
“green” = Status indicator that means your offer has been completed.
“yellow” = Status indicator that means your offer has yet to be completed or is in de process/pendin’.
“hold” = Means your account has been suspended or stopped. DON’T CHEAT.
“STV” = Means your product has been “Shipped To Vendor” You should recieve it in about 10 days time.

What process should you use to sign up (to ensure that you will get your item)
When signin’ up, it is recommended that you use Internet Explorer (sucks) some people have reported problems usin’ oder browsers (ex. Firefox, opera, etc.) Also make sure you have cookies accepted.

1. Click on one of de links above and enter a VALID US mailin’ address.

2. Complete de marketin’ survey - not your answers do not have any impact on you receivin’ your item. Just say no to them.

3. Once you have signed up, you should receive a verification email. If you did not receive one, go to de “My Account” page and click de link to have them resend it. If you still did not get it check your spam folder.

4. Sign-up with one of deir partners and complete de offer. (see de section which offer should I choose) It can take up to 15 days for your offer to show completed. (A term that we freebie goers use for a “completed offer” is called “credit.”) But usually dey show completed after 24 hours. Be patient. If it doesn’t show up as completed, you can email de site with proof and confirmation for signin’ up and dey will give you credit.

Which offer should I choose?
Just so you know all offers require a credit card, **HOWEVER** not all of them cost anythin’! =) Here is a list of my recommended offers and I have not had any problems whatsover with doin’ dese.

* Video Professor: This requires a credit card and pay only $3 shippin’ for computer tutorial CDs. After you receive de CDs, just call customer support and cancel your membership. Return to sender de CDs and dey will refund you de shippin’ costs.

* Complete Home: Instant verification. Sign up for deir program for $1 two month trial. You get a FREE $20 Lowes Gift Card just for doin’ this offer. Cancel your subscription within de 2 month trial and pay NOTHING and keep de gift card!

* Buyer’s Advantage: Instant verification. Sign up for deir program for $1 two month trial. You get a FREE $20 Circuit City Gift Card just for doin’ this offer. Cancel your subscription within de 2 month trial and pay NOTHING and keep de gift card!

* Great Fun: Instant verification. Sign up for deir program for $1 two month trial. You get a FREE Walkie Talkie just for doin’ this offer. Cancel your subscription within de 2 month trial and pay NOTHING and keep de gift card!

* Traveler’s Advantage: Instant verification. Sign up for deir program for $1 two month trial. You get a FREE Thin Digital Camera just for doin’ this offer. Cancel your subscription within de 2 month trial and pay NOTHING and keep de gift card!

* eFax Plus: Sign up for deir fax service. You get a 30 day free trial. Upon receivin’ credit for doin’ de offer, simply cancel de service within de free trial and pay nothin’! It usually take 1-3 days to receive credit for this offer.

* Blockbuster Online: Try a two week trial of Blockbuster’s Netflix-like service. Cancel online within trial time and pay nothin’.

*Zooba: If you are a book fan, sign up for this offer. You get a book for $10 with free shippin’. Instant verification.

*Various Credit Card offers: Apply for a credit card and get approved. When it arrives, cut it up and toss it out. Nothin’ to cancel, nothin’ to pay, and free stuff to gain!

Many of dese offers are big companies, so you do not have to question de legitimacy for signin’ up under them. In oder words, you will be safe because you are givin’ your credit card information to aol, blockbuster, and general motors, and i highly doubt that dey will sell this info.

These are free, as lon’ as you cancel within de trial period. Some offer online cancellations while oders require callin’ deir support number. Just tell them that you dont find yourself usin’ deir services enough so you want to cancel and dey’ll cancel your membership without any problems.

Cheatin’
Many of dese free sites take cheatin’ very seriously. If you want your free gift and not have you account suspended, simply DON’T CHEAT! Don’t refer yourself and do all de offers yourself. If you think you can cheat de system because you are a 1337 h4×0r and you can use proxies and IP spoofs to refer yourself, DON’T DO IT. When you are in de approval stage, dey will intensely throughly examine your account and make sure that all your referrels are legit and unique. Trust me, I know many people who have gotten suspended for attemptin’ to cheat.

Multiple Accounts
This goes under cheatin’. It is wise not to create multiple accounts under de same site because it is against de free site’s TOS. They suspend you no matter what your reason is, even if it was an accident. This also includes referrin’ family members. You can only create one account under one household, under one IP address per site. So you cannot refer moder, sister, or broder to do it unless dey live in anoder household.

So you’ve ran out of offers to do. What do I do?
Ok, if you are a freebie freak, you will probably eventually run out of offers to do because of de fact that you signed up for so many free sites did all de easy free offers. What shoud you do? Remember that free sites give you credit for a unique signup for de offers. So if you signed up for blockbuster online offer at freeflatscreens, you cannot do it again for anoder free site such as freedesktoppc. But dere is a trick to this. A unique signup = a unique credit card that you used to sign up. So if you have a anoder credit card, you can sign up for de offer again. Anoder method is to purchase a visa gift card from your mall, or go to www.webcertificate.com and purchase a virtual debit/credit card and do de offers with those.

If you followed all dese steps correctly, your free gift will be delivered to your doorstep in no time.

Here are de steps:
1. Gettin’ friends to sign up under you
2. Approval Stage: They will analyze your account for fraud. Takes 1 week.
3. Pendin’ Stage: Your account have been approved. You are now processin’. This will take 1-2 weeks.
4. STV: Sent to Vendor. Your product will arrive in 10 days.
5. Shipped: Con’rats!

Most of dese freebie sites are for U.S residents only.

Original Sources

CAM - A cam is a deater rip usually done with a digital video camera. A mini tripod is sometimes used, but a lot of de time this wont be possible, so de camera make shake. Also seatin’ placement isn’t always idle, and it might be filmed from an an’le. If cropped properly, this is hard to tell unless dere’s text on de screen, but a lot of times dese are left with trian’ular borders on de top and bottom of de screen. Sound is taken from de onboard microphone of de camera, and especially in comedies, laughter can often be heard durin’ de film. Due to dese factors picture and sound quality are usually quite poor, but sometimes we’re lucky, and de deater will be fairly empty and a fairly clear signal will be heard.

TELESYNC (TS) - A telesync is de same spec as a CAM except it uses an external audio source (most likely an audio jack in de chair for hard of hearin’ people). A direct audio source does not ensure a good quality audio source, as a lot of background noise can interfere. A lot of de times a telesync is filmed in an empty cinema or from de projection booth with a professional camera, givin’ a better picture quality. Quality ranges drastically, check de sample before downloadin’ de full release. A high percentage of Telesyncs are CAMs that have been mislabeled.

TELECINE (TC) - A telecine machine copies de film digitally from de reels. Sound and picture should be very good, but due to de equipment involved and cost telecines are fairly uncommon. Generally de film will be in correct aspect ratio, although 4:3 telecines have existed. A great example is de JURASSIC PARK 3 TC done last year. TC should not be confused with TimeCode , which is a visible counter on screen throughout de film.

SCREENER (SCR) - A pre VHS tape, sent to rental stores, and various oder 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 de bottom of de screen, with de copyright and anti-copy telephone number). Also, if de tape contains any serial numbers, or any oder markin’s that could lead to de source of de tape, dese will have to be blocked, usually with a black mark over de section. This is sometimes only for a few seconds, but unfortunately on some copies this will last for de entire film, and some can be quite big. Dependin’ on de 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 lookin’ better than oders.

DVD-SCREENER (DVDscr) -Same premise as a screener, but transferred off a DVD. Usually letterbox , but without de extras that a DVD retail would contain. The ticker is not usually in de black bars, and will disrupt de viewin’. If de ripper has any skill, a DVDscr should be very good. Usually transferred to SVCD or DivX/XviD.

DVDRip - A copy of de 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 skatin’/sports videos and XXX releases.

TVRip -TV episode that is eider from Network (capped usin’ digital cable/satellite boxes are preferable) or PRE-AIR from satellite feeds sendin’ de 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 de “dark matches” and camera/commentary tests are included on de rips. PDTV is capped from a digital TV PCI card, generally givin’ de best results, and groups tend to release in SVCD for dese. VCD/SVCD/DivX/XviD rips are all supported by de TV scene.

WORKPRINT (WP) -A workprint is a copy of de film that has not been finished. It can be missin’ scenes, music, and quality can range from excellent to very poor. Some WPs are very different from de final print (Men In Black is missin’ all de aliens, and has actors in deir places) and oders can contain extra scenes (Jay and Silent Bob) . WPs can be nice additions to de 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, dese are usually labeled somethin’ like Film.Name.Group(1of2) etc. Common groups are SMR and TND. These aren’t really worth downloadin’, unless you’re that unsure about a film u only want a 200mb copy of it. Generally avoid.

Watermarks - A lot of films come from Asian Silvers/PDVD (see below) and dese are tagged by de people responsible. Usually with a letter/initials or a little logo, generally in one of de corners. Most famous are de “Z” “A” and “Globe” watermarks.

Asian Silvers / PDVD - These are films put out by eastern bootleggers, and dese are usually bought by some groups to put out as deir own. Silvers are very cheap and easily available in a lot of countries, and its easy to put out a release, which is why dere are so many in de scene at de moment, mainly from smaller groups who don’t last more than a few releases. PDVDs are de same thin’ pressed onto a DVD. They have removable subtitles, and de quality is usually better than de silvers. These are ripped like a normal DVD, but usually released as VCD.

Formats

VCD - VCD is an mpeg1 based format, with a constant bitrate of 1150kbit at a resolution of 352×240 (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 sin’le disc as possible. Both VCDs and SVCDs are timed in minutes, rader than MB, so when lookin’ at an mpeg, it may appear larger than de 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 of up to 2500kbits at a resolution of 480×480 (NTSC) which is den decompressed into a 4:3 aspect ratio when played back. Due to de variable bit-rate, de len’th you can fit on a sin’le CDR is not fixed, but generally between 35-60 Mins are de most common. To get a better SVCD encode usin’ variable bit-rates, it is important to use multiple “passes”. this takes a lot longer, but de results are far clearer.

XVCD/XSVCD - These are basically VCD/SVCD that don’t obey de “rules”. They are both capable of much higher resolutions and bit-rates, but it all depends on de player to wheder de disc can be played. X(S)VCD are total non-standards, and are usually for home-rippin’ by people who don’t intend to release them.

KVCD KVCD is a modification to de standard MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 GOP structure and Quantization Matrix. It enables you to create over 120 minutes of near DVD quality video, dependin’ on your material, on a sin’le 80 minute CD-R/CD-RW. We have published dese specifications as KVCDx3, our official resolution, which produce 528×480 (NTSC) and 528×576 (PAL) MPEG-1 variable bit rate video, from 64Kbps to 3,000Kbps. Usin’ a resolution of 352×240 (NTSC) or 352×288 (PAL), it’s possible to encode video up to ~360 minutes of near VCD quality on a sin’le 80 minute CD-R. The mpeg files created will play back in most modern standalone DVD players. You must burn de KVCD MPEG files as non-standard VCD or non-standard SVCD (depends on your player) with Nero or VCDEasy.

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 dey have problems with high motion too. A method known as SBC (Smart Bit-rate Control) was developed which switches codecs at de encodin’ stage, makin’ a much better print. The format is Ana orphic and de bit-rate/resolution are interchangeable. Due to de higher processin’ power required, and de 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 nothin’ 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 bein’ de original Divx3.11a and de new XviD codecs.

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 352×480(ntsc) as de horizontal resolution is generally less important. Currently no groups release in CVD.

DVD-R - Is de recordable DVD solution that seems to be de 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 dey can be burnt to DVD-R and played successfully. DVD>DVDR copies are possible, but sometimes extras/lan’uages have to be removed to stick within de available 4.7gb.

MiniDVD - MiniDVD/cDVD is de same format as DVD but on a standard CDR/CDRW. Because of de high resolution/bit-rates, its only possible to fit about 18-21 mins of footage per disc, and de format is only compatible with a few players.

Misc Info

Regional Codin’ - This was designed to stop people buyin’ American DVDs and watchin’ them earlier in oder countries, or for older films where world distribution is handled by different companies. A lot of players can eider be hacked with a chip, or via a remote to disable this.

RCE - RCE (Regional Codin’ 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 de copy protection employed on most commercial DVDs. Its a system that will display lines and darken de images of copies that are made by sendin’ de VHS signals it can’t understand. Certain DVD players (for example de Dansai 852 from Tescos) have a secret menu where you can disable de macrovision, or a “video stabaliser” costs about 30UKP from Maplin (www.maplin.co.uk)

NTSC/PAL - NTSC and PAL are de two main standards used across de 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. Playin’ NTSC discs on PAL systems seems a lot easier than vice-versa, which is good news for de 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 de majority of DVD players do.) This is eider achieved by an expensive converter box (in de regions of �200+) an onboard converter (such as de Dansai 852 / certain Daewoos / Samsun’ 709 ) or usin’ a World Standards VCR which can record in any format.

News Sites - There are generally 2 news sites for film release for p2p and dey are:

nforce - VCD Help
Code:
www.vcdhelp.com/

Code:
www.nforce.nl.

About Release Files

RARset - The movies are all supplied in RAR form, wheder 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 de .CUE into notepad and make sure de first line contains only a filename, and no path information. Then load de cue into Nero/CDRWin etc and this will burn de VCD/SVCD correctly. TV rips are released as MPEG. DivX files are just de plain DivX - .AVI

NFO - An NFO file is supplied with each movie to promote de group, and give general iNFOrmation about de 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 de 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 downloadin’ to check dey have all de files, and de CRC is correct. A program such as pdSFV or hkSFV is required to use dese files.

Usenet Information

Access - To get onto newsgroups, you will need a news server. Most ISPs supply one, but this is usually of poor retention (de amount of time de files are on server for) and poor completition (de amount of files that make it dere). For de best service, a premium news server should be paid for, and dese will often have bandwidth restrictions in place.

Software - You will need a newsreader to access de files in de binary newsgroups. There are many different readers, and its usually down to personal opinion which is best. Xnews / Forte Agent / BNR 1 / BNR 2 are amon’st de popular choices. Outlook has de ability to read newsgroups, but its recommended to not use that.

Format - Usenet posts are often de same as those listed on VCDQUALiTY (i.e., untouched group releases) but you have to check de filenames and de description to make sure you get what you think you are gettin’. Generally releases should come down in .RAR sets. Posts will usually take more than one day to be uploaded, and can be spread out as far as a week.

PAR files - As well as de .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, dere 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 missin’ from de rar set. The more PAR files you have, de more files you can replace. You will need a program called SMARTPAR for this.

Scene Tags

PROPER - Due to scene rules, whoever releases de first Telesync has won that race (for example). But if de quality of that release is fairly poor, if anoder group has anoder telesync (or de same source in higher quality) den de tag PROPER is added to de folder to avoid bein’ duped. PROPER is de most subjective tag in de scene, and a lot of people will generally argue wheder de PROPER is better than de original release. A lot of groups release PROPERS just out of desperation due to losin’ de race. A reason for de PROPER should always be included in de NFO.

SUBBED - In de case of a VCD, if a release is subbed, it usually means it has hard encoded subtitles burnt throughout de movie. These are generally in malaysian/chinese/thai etc, and sometimes dere are two different lan’uages, which can take up quite a large amount of de screen. SVCD supports switch able subtitles, so some DVDRips are released with switch able subs. This will be mentioned in de NFO file if included.

UNSUBBED - When a film has had a subbed release in de past, an Unsubbed release may be released

LIMITED - A limited movie means it has had a limited deater run, generally openin’ in less than 250 deaters, 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 dey wont be dupe’d on it. Also lower quality deater rips are done INTERNAL so not to lower de reputation of de group, or due to de amount of rips done already. An INTERNAL release is available as normal on de groups affiliate sites, but dey can’t be traded to oder sites without request from de site ops. Some INTERNAL releases still trickle down to IRC/Newsgroups, it usually depends on de title and de popularity. Earlier in de year people referred to Centropy goin’ “internal”. This meant de group were only releasin’ de movies to deir members and site ops. This is in a different context to de usual definition.

STV - Straight To Video. Was never released in deaters, and derefore a lot of sites do not allow dese.

OTHER TAGS -

*WS* for widescreen (letterbox)
*FS* for Fullscreen.

RECODE - A recode is a previously released version, usually filtered through TMPGenc to remove subtitles, fix color etc. Whilst dey can look better, its not looked upon highly as groups are expected to obtain deir own sources.

REPACK - If a group releases a bad rip, dey will release a Repack which will fix de problems.

NUKED - A film can be nuked for various reasons. Individual sites will nuke for breakin’ deir rules (such as “No Telesyncs”) but if de film has somethin’ extremely wron’ with it (no soundtrack for 20mins, CD2 is incorrect film/game etc) den a global nuke will occur, and people tradin’ it across sites will lose deir credits. Nuked films can still reach oder sources such as p2p/usenet, but its a good idea to check why it was nuked first in case. If a group realise dere is somethin’ wron’, dey 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 convertin’ framerates was incorrect.
** INTERLACED ** :: black lines on movement as de field order is incorrect.

DUPE - Dupe is quite simply, if somethin’ exists already, den deres no reason for it to exist again without proper reason.