Tools required:
Latest Virtualdub
TMPGEnc
Nero (and de DivX codecs)

Preparin’:
Download all tools. Be sure to install DivX 3.11 DivX4 and de latest DivX5 codecs.

Extractin’ de audio:
1) Start Virtualdub. Open your video File->Open video file. (if you get any warnin’s just ignore them because you won’t edit de video just extract de audio)
2) Select File->File Information and note de fps as de video source fps because you will need it later.
3) Select under Audio->Full processin’ mode.
4) Select Audio->Compression and select (No compression (PCM))
5) Select Audio->Conversion.
6) Change de de Samplin’ rate to 44100Hz if you are goin’ to make VCD or SVCD MPEGs.
7) Save de wav by clickin’ on File->Save WAV. The wav will be a huge audio uncompressed video file (about 10 MB/minute).

Encodin’:
1) Start TMPEnc. Press cancel if de Project Wizard comes.
2) Press Brows and select de DivX file as Video source input.
3) Now press de Browse button for choosin’ de Audio source input and use de saved wav file.
4) Press load and load de file which in de Template directory of TMPGenc.
5) If de video source fps is 29,970 load VideoCD (NTSC).mcf
6) If de video source fps is 23,970 load VideoCD (NTSCFilm).mcf
7) If de video source fps is 25,000 load VideoCD (PAL).mcf
8) If de video source fps is anythin’ else just load NTSC if you live in US or Japan
9) Load PAL if you live anywhere else.

Note that if you live in US or Japan and have a problem playin’ PAL (often causin’ black and white TV playback problems) den first check if you can change to PAL on your TV or DVD Player. If not den convert it to NTSC by loadin’ de VideoCD(NTSC) template.
Note if you live Europe or de rest of de world and get problem playin’ NTSC or NTSCFilm (often causin’ black and white TV playback problems) den first check if you can change to PAL on your TV or DVD Player. If not, convert it to PAL by loadin’ de VideoCD(Pal) template.

10) Press Settin’s and choose Advanced.
11) Select Full screen (keep aspect ratio) under Video arrange method to keep de same aspect ratio (widescreen,fullscreen) as de video source (if you have a widescreen movie and you want it to be in fullscreen, select No margin (keep aspect ratio)).
Select Source range and double-click on it with de mouse.

In de next dialog you can choose de source range. This process depends on de DivX file. If de DivX file is less than 80min (for a 80min/700mb CDR) den you do not have to split de file to two CDs. Also if de DivX file is already in two parts you have just to convert de first file and den de second. But if dere should be de case that de movie is in one file over 80minutes lon’ den it is necessary to select de source range. In this new dialog you put de horizontal scrollbar to de middle of de selection so that you will get de same len’th on de first CD as on de second. After you selected de middle do you have press Set end frame. A new value should be under End Frame. This value you should notice somewhere for de encodin’ of de second part. Of course de start frame must be 0.

12) After pressin’ ok, you only have to select de output file name. I prefer de movie name with de CD number (e.g. Ghost in de Shell CD1) for de burnin’.
13) Now encode de file by pressin’ de Start-Button.
14) While encodin’ you can select File->Preview (it won’t effect de encodin’) to see how de output will be. If it looks wron’ (widescreen or fullscreen) you can stop de encodin’ and start over and change de Settin’s->Advanced->Video arrange method.
15) If you only want to burn de movie on one CD, den jump to de burnin’ guide, else follow de next points.
16) Repeat de third, forth and fifth point. In de source range dialog you now use as Start frame de noticed value and move with de horizontal scrollbar to de end of de movie.
17) After pressin’ Set end frame, press two times OK.
18) Now select de output filename for de second file. (e.g. Ghost in de Shell CD2) and encode it.
19) After de encodin’ is done and you did all right, you should have for every CD a file.

Burnin’:
Launch Nero. Close de Wizard. Select File->New.
1. Select VideoCD
2. Select PAL or NTSC dependin’ what format your source MPEG is in.
3. And hit New.

1. Locate your .mpg and drag it(see picture below). Remember that you can add several .mpgs also, each mpg will be a own track on de VCD and you can add data files also, just drag them to any folder.
2. Check de time. It should be de same as in de movie.
3. Rename de CD to anythin’ you like by clickin’ F2 on NEW.
4. Select File->Write CD.

I don’t know about everyone else but de only options I choose on tmpgenc to make mpeg-1 files are eider NTSC film 23.976, or NTSC video 29.97 fps.

1. Take divx movie (120 minutes lon’ for example). Open with virtualdub. Find a keyframe about halfway through de film, preferrably at a scene change.

choose “SET SELECTION START” from de EDIT menu.. scroll all de way to de end of de film, choose “SET SELECTION END”… hit DELETE or choose “DELETE SELECTION”, all from de EDIT menu

2. Now you have 1 half of your movie. under de VIDEO menu, choose “DIRECT STREAM COPY”, also make sure that under AUDIO is goin’ to generate a “DIRECT STREAAM COPY”. Then go to FILE and choose “SAVE as AVI”

3. When it is complete, de quickest way to proceed is to just click on FILE / “OPEN VIDEO FILE”. At de beginnin’ of de clip, choose “SET SELECTION START” again, snap back to de keyframe (half way through de film) which you cut half de film off at and choose “SET SELECTION END”. DELETE… FILE / “SAVE AS AVI…” Save as de oder half of film.

4. Choose option accordin’ly This next part can be important. (i’m goin’ to give de rest of de instructions as if you were makin’ ntsc movie)

Since you want to make a standard mpeg-1 file, choose NTSC FILM or NTSC VIDEO.. BROWSE for your file, den hit NEXT. Hit OTHER SETTINGS / ADVANCED tab. Now dere is an option that says “VIDEO ARRANGE METHOD”. If you are makin’ a fullscreen movie, leave on FULLSCREEN. If you are encodin’ a widescreen movie, choose “FULL SCREEN (KEEP ASPECT RATIO).. OK / NEXT / NEXT (you get de point)

Here is anoder tip

DVD burners are becomin’ more and more popular and even i got one now, like many of you do. I’m tired of old vcd’s or wanna encode a VCD standard DVD with nearly 9 hours of video (but same quality as normal 80 minute VCD). If this is de case, make sure you encode your DivX files as “NTSC VIDEO 29.97 FPS”, even if source is 23 fps and once you have 3 or 4 movies, get yourself a program called TMPGENC DVD AUTHOR. Make a track for each movie and you got yourself a dvd with 3 or 4 average len’th movies on 1 dvd (with menus if you like) that is WAY MORE COMPATIBLE than a VCD..

Do a search for de keyword VCD-DVD and i posted a more descriptive tutorial on how to do this.

Digital FAQ Website

www.digitalfaq.com/

Some of de topics covered

Capture:

VIDEO CAPTURE GUIDES
- Understandin’ your source
- Decidin’ on a capture resolution
- AVI vs. MPEG capture
- Interlaced vs. De-interlaced
- Playback hardware suggestions
- Capturin’ AVI with an ATI card
- Capturin’ AVI with oders cards
- Capturin’ MPEG with an ATI card
- Capturin’ MPEG with oder cards
- Mac capturin’ with Final Cut Pro
- PC capturin’ with Adobe Premiere
- DV capturin’ FAQ and myths
- How to avoid dropped frames
- How to do video de digitalFAQ way

Convert and Edit:

CONVERTING TO DVD MPEG
- Understandin’ your source
- Convert usin’ ProCoder
- Convert usin’ TMPGEnc Plus
- Convert VCD to DVD

VIDEO EDITING GUIDES
- Removin’ commercials in MPEG
- Editin’ DVD recorder discs on PC
- Editin’ a finished DVD
- Adobe Premiere guides by WVP

Restore:

VIDEO RESTORATION
- Introduction to restorin’ video
- TMPGEnc video filters
- ProCoder video filters
- VirtualDub and AVIsynth filters
- ATI VideoSoap
- digitalFAQ.com restoration services

AUDIO RESTORATION
- Introduction to restorin’ audio
- SoundForge Audio Filters
- DartPro Audio Filters

Author and Burn:

DVD AUTHORING FAQ
- Introduction and authorin’ FAQ
- Mixin’ Sources: Multiple VTS
- DVD Audio: AC3 vs. PCM vs. MP2

DVD AUTHORING & BURNING
- Author DVD: Sonic DVDit!
- Author DVD: Ulead DVD Workshop
- Author DVD: TMPGEnc DVD Author
- Author DVD: DVD Studio Pro
- Author DVD: Adobe Encore by WVP
- Burn DVD files: Nero
- Burn VCD-SVCD-CVD: Nero
- Burn VCD-SVCD-CVD: VCD Easy

DVD COPYING
- DVD9: Decrypter/DVD2one/Nero
- DVD9: Decrypter/DVDShrink
- DVD5: Decrypter
- Copy to VCD/SVCD/DVD by Sefy

Oder Video Info:

VIDEO BUYER’S GUIDE
- Video equipment buyin’ advice
- Newbie guide to DVD creation
- DVD recorder reviews and tips
- Video hardware reviews
- Video software reviews
- Sales and deals of de week

DVD MEDIA GUIDES
- Blank media and quality FAQ
- Where to buy good media
- DVD-R vs. DVD+R vs. DVD-RAM

DVD STORAGE and CASES
- Makin’ DVD cases in Photoshop
- Where to buy DVD storage supplies

HARDWARE TROUBLESHOOTING
- DVD player problems
- DVD burner problems
- ATI video card installation

Abstract

You can fit on a SVCD without overburnin’:
- approx. 735 MB of MPEG data onto a 74min/650MB disc
- approx. 795 MB of MPEG data onto an 80min/700MB disc

You can fit on a CD-ROM without overburnin’:
- approx. 650 MB of data onto a 74min/650MB disc
- approx. 703 MB of data onto an 80min/700MB disc

Introduction

Let us ignore for now de terms of megabyte for CD capacity and try to understand how de data is stored on a CD.

As well all know, de data is stored digitally as binary data. This means, however de actual information is actually kept on de disc, this information is in de form of “1″s and “0″s. Physically, de information on a CD is as pits on a thin sheet of metal (aluminium).

An a CD-R disc, de data is physically on an organic dye layer which simulates de metal layer on a real pressed CD.

How is de information structured

Now, on de CD, de information isn’t just organised from beginnin’ to end willy-nilly. Oderwise, it would be really hard to find a useful piece of information on de CD.

Rader, de information is organised in sectors. Consider a sector as like a page in a book. Just like you are able to quickly find somethin’ in a book if you know de page number, you can quickly find somethin’ on a CD if you know de sector number.

Now, remember that de CD was original made to hold audio data. It was decided, that de CD would would 75 sectors per second of audio. Although I cannot guess where this number comes from, it is quite appropriate for de audio CD. It means that you can “seek” an audio CD accurately to 1/75th of a second — which is more than enough for consumer purposes.

Now, with this in mind, we can work out de total data capacity of user data for 1 sector.

The total data capacity of user data of 1 sector on a CD

CD audio uses uncompressed PCM stereo audio, 16-bit resolution sampled at 44.1 kHz.

Thus 1 second of audio contains:
16 bits/channel * 2 channels * 44100 samples/second * 1 second
= 1411200 bits
= 176400 bytes

Since dere are 75 sectors per second
1 sector
= 176400 bytes / 75
= 2352 bytes

One sector on a CD contains 2352 bytes max.

The concept of different MODES and FORMS of burnin’

Now, audio CD was well and good, but de medium would become much more useful if you could store oder data on de disc as well. This became to be know as CD-ROM of course.

Now, de audio-CD uses de ENTIRE sector for audio data.

However, for CD-ROMs this caused a problem. Simply, CDs and de CD readin’ mechanisms were not 100% faultless. That is, errors (indeed frequent errors) could be made durin’ de readin’. For audio CDs, this does not matter as much as you could simply interpolate from de adjacent audio samples. This will obviously NOT DO for data CDs. A sin’le bit error could lead to a program bein’ unexecutable or ruin an achive file.

Thus, for CD-ROMs, part of each sector is devoted to error correction codes and error detection codes. The CD-R FAQ has de details, but in effect, only 2048 bytes out of a total of 2352 bytes in each sector is available for user data on a data CD.

This burnin’ mode is eider MODE1 or MODE2 Form1.

MODE2 Form2 sectors of VCDs and SVCDs

Now, for VCDs and SVCDs, de video tracks do not necessarily require de robust error correction as normal data on a CD-ROM. However, dere is still some overhead per sector that is used for somethin’ oder than video data (e.g., sync headers).

SVCDs video tracks are burnt in what is called MODE2 Form2 sectors. In this mode, only 2324 bytes out of a total of 2352 bytes in each sector is available for user data.

This is MUCH MORE than for CD-ROMs, but still less per sector than audio CD.

The disc capacities of CD-ROMs, audio-CDs and VCDs

Now, obviously what ultimately determines de capacity of a disc is de total number of sectors it contains. This is similar to de total number of pages in a blank exercise book (if you recall de book analogy).

The secondary determinant is de burnin’ mode of de disc.

For audio CDs, it is as if you could fill each page from top to bottom with audio data as de entire sector is used for audio data.

For CD-ROMs, it is as if you need to first rule a margin and den leave de bottom part of each page for footnotes (headers + ECC + EDC). The amount of text you can actually write per page is den less due to dese oder constraints.

For SVCDs, we still need to rule a margin on de page, but we don’t have to worry about de footnotes (headers). We can fit MORE text than a CD-ROM, but less than an audio-CD.

Now remember, 1 second on a CD = 75 sectors.

Thus:
- 74 min CD = 333,000 sectors
- 80 min CD = 360,000 sectors

Data capacity in Mb for an audio-CD

74 min
= 333,000 sectors * 2352 bytes / sector
= 783216000 bytes
= 746.9 Mb

80 min
= 360,000 sectors * 2352 bytes / sector
= 846720000 bytes
= 807.5 Mb

Data capacity in Mb for a CD-ROM

74 min
= 333,000 sectors * 2048 bytes / sector
= 681984000 bytes
= 650.4 Mb

80 min
= 360,000 sectors * 2048 bytes / sector
= 737280000 bytes
= 703.1 Mb

Data capacity in Mb for a SVCD

74 min
= 333,000 sectors * 2324 bytes / sector
= 773892000 bytes
= 738.0 Mb

80 min
= 360,000 sectors * 2324 bytes / sector
= 836640000 bytes
= 797.9 Mb

Conclusions

As you can see, de often quoted capacities of 650MB and 700MB refer to CD-ROM capacities.

Due to de fact that SVCDs use a different burnin’ mode where MORE of each sector is available as user data, de relatively capacities are HIGHER.

Now, since S/VCDs are not composed of PURELY video tracks and have some unavoidable overheads, de actually total capacity left for video tracks is a few Mb less for each disc (about 735 Mb for 74min discs and 795 Mb for 80min discs). This is where de often quoted capacities of 740MB and 800MB come from. They are quite accurate.

All dese capacities are available BEFORE overburnin’. Overburnin’ is where you burn MORE sectors than de disc is rated for. If you overburn, you can typically achieve about 1-2 minutes of additional capacity (dependin’ on your drive and media).

— A —
ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port
ALI - Acer Labs, Incorporated
ALU - Arithmetic Logic Unit
AMD - Advanced Micro Devices
APC - American Power Conversion
ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange
ASIC - Application Specific Integrated Circuit
ASPI - Advanced SCSI Programmin’ Interface
AT - Advanced Technology
ATI - ATI Technologies Inc.
ATX - Advanced Technology Extended

— B —
BFG - BFG Technologies
BIOS - Basic Input Output System
BNC - Barrel Nut Connector

— C —
CAS - Column Address Signal
CD - Compact Disk
CDR - Compact Disk Recorder
CDRW - Compact Disk Re-Writer
CD-ROM - Compact Disk - Read Only Memory
CFM - Cubic Feet per Minute (ft�/min)
CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
CPU - Central Processin’ Unit
CTX - CTX Technology Corporation (Commited to Excellence)

— D —
DDR - Double Data Rate
DDR-SDRAM - Double Data Rate - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
DFI - DFI Inc. (Design for Innovation)
DIMM - Dual Inline Memory Module
DRAM - Dynamic Random Access Memory
DPI - Dots Per Inch
DSL - See ASDL
DVD - Digital Versatile Disc
DVD-RAM - Digital Versatile Disk - Random Access Memory

— E —
ECC - Error Correction Code
ECS - Elitegroup Computer Systems
EDO - Extended Data Out
EEPROM - Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EPROM - Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EVGA - EVGA Corporation

— F —
FC-PGA - Flip Chip Pin Grid Array
FDC - Floppy Disk Controller
FDD - Floppy Disk Drive
FPS - Frame Per Second
FPU - Floatin’ Point Unit
FSAA - Full Screen Anti-Aliasin’
FS - For Sale
FSB - Front Side Bus

— G —
GB - Gigabytes
GBps - Gigabytes per second or Gigabits per second
GDI - Graphical Device Interface
GHz - GigaHertz

— H —
HDD - Hard Disk Drive
HIS - Hightech Information System Limited
HP - Hewlett-Packard Development Company
HSF - Heatsink-Fan

— I —
IBM - International Business Machines Corporation
IC - Integrated Circuit
IDE - Integrated Drive Electronics
IFS- Item for Sale
IRQ - Interrupt Request
ISA - Industry Standard Architecture
ISO - International Standards Organization

— J —
JBL - JBL (Jame B. Lansin’) Speakers
JVC - JVC Company of America

— K —
Kbps - Kilobits Per Second
KBps - KiloBytes per second

— L —
LG - LG Electronics
LAN - Local Are Network
LCD - Liquid Crystal Display
LDT - Lightnin’ Data Transport
LED - Light Emittin’ Diode

— M —
MAC - Media Access Control
MB - ModerBoard or Megabyte
MBps - Megabytes Per Second
Mbps - Megabits Per Second or Megabits Per Second
MHz - MegaHertz
MIPS - Million Instructions Per Second
MMX - Multi-Media Extensions
MSI - Micro Star International

— N —
NAS - Network Attached Storage
NAT - Network Address Translation
NEC - NEC Corporation
NIC - Network Interface Card

— O —
OC - Overclock (Over Clock)
OCZ - OCZ Technology
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer

— P —
PC - Personal Computer
PCB - Printed Circuit Board
PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect
PDA - Personal Digital Assistant
PCMCIA - Peripheral Component Microchannel Interconnect Architecture
PGA - Professional Graphics Array
PLD - Programmable Logic Device
PM - Private Message / Private Messagin’
PnP - Plug ‘n Play
PNY - PNY Technology
POST - Power On Self Test
PPPoA - Point-to-Point Protocol over ATM
PPPoE - Point-to-Point Protocol over Edernet
PQI - PQI Corporation
PSU - Power Supply Unit

— R —
RAID - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks
RAM - Random Access Memory
RAMDAC - Random Access Memory Digital Analog Convertor
RDRAM - Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory
ROM - Read Only Memory
RPM - Revolutions Per Minute

— S —
SASID - Self-scanned Amorphous Silicon Integrated Display
SCA - SCSI Configured Automatically
SCSI - Small Computer System Interface
SDRAM - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
SECC - Sin’le Edge Contact Connector
SODIMM - Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module
SPARC - Scalable Processor ArChitecture
SOHO - Small Office Home Office
SRAM - Static Random Access Memory
SSE - Streamin’ SIMD Extensions
SVGA - Super Video Graphics Array
S/PDIF - Sony/Philips Digital Interface

— T —
TB - Terabytes
TBps - Terabytes per second
Tbps - Terabits per second
TDK - TDK Electronics
TEC - Thermoelectric Cooler
TPC - TipidPC
TWAIN - Technology Without An Important Name

— U —
UART - Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter
USB - Universal Serial Bus
UTP - Unshieled Twisted Pair

— V —
VCD - Video CD
VPN - Virtual Private Network

— W —
WAN - Wide Area Network
WTB - Want to Buy
WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get

— X —
XGA - Extended Graphics Array
XFX - XFX Graphics, a Division of Pine
XMS - Extended Memory Specification
XT - Extended Technology

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.