+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ¼ ¼ ¼ The TV XviD Releasing Standards 2007 ¼ +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ¼ Requirements Notepad with terminal font or any other ascii viewer. ¼ +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------¼ ¼ +---[ INTRO ]---+ ¼ ¼ Thanks to those who came before with TVx2642K7, TDX2K2, and TXD2K5. ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ These standards are intended to bring a level playing field to the TV-XviD ¼ ¼ scene and attempt to put down some rules to end some of the controversy ¼ ¼ that has plagued us in recent years. ¼ ¼ ¼ +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ¼ +---[ RELEASE RULES ]---+ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ Release sizing: ¼ ¼ - Shows 18:00-23:59 shall be 175MB ¼ ¼ - Shows 24:00-34:59 shall be 233MB ¼ ¼ - Shows 35:00-52:59 shall be 350MB ¼ ¼ - Shows 53:00-59:59 shall be 440MB ¼ ¼ - Shows 60:00-64:59 shall be 525MB ¼ ¼ - Shows 65:00-95:00 Shall be 700MB ¼ ¼ *NOTE: Shows 60:00-64:59 may be sized at either 525 or 700MB at the ¼ ¼ capper's discretion based on show framerate and content. ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Best effort should be made to release all episodes of a given series ¼ ¼ at the same size. If one episode runs slightly over or under the size ¼ ¼ lines, it should still be done at the same size as other episodes in ¼ ¼ order to maintain consistency. ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - 2CD releases may be optionally split into separate discs, but this is ¼ ¼ not required. 3CD or more releases must be split to prevent issues with ¼ ¼ 2GB files. If releases are split into multiple discs, they must be ¼ ¼ placed in directories named CD1, CD2, CD3, etc. (No Disc1, cd1, or other ¼ ¼ naming styles). ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Episodes that air back-to-back without a natural break such as full ¼ ¼ credits or commercials in between must be encoded as a single release. ¼ ¼ Directory naming for this will be in the following format ¼ ¼ TV.Show.S03E04-E05.HDTV.XviD-Group. ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Releases must be within the range of 5.0MB under to 3.0 MB over the ¼ ¼ target size. ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ Previously on/Credits: ¼ ¼ - It is suggested that any previously on footage be included in the ¼ ¼ release, but it is not required. No release may be propered for glitches ¼ ¼ in or missing portions of previously on footage. ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Credits that are overlayed on actual show content are required to be ¼ ¼ included ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Credits that are run cleanly, i.e. with no modifications such as ¼ ¼ promos for upcoming shows, are encouraged but not required ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Credits run with promos for other shows are not recommended, but may ¼ ¼ optionally be included ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ Video: ¼ ¼ - 2-pass variable bitrate XviD must be used ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Quantization type must be either MPEG or H.263. Custom quantization ¼ ¼ matrices are not allowed. ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - QPel and GMC are not allowed ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - B Frames ¼ ¼ - The use of B frames is required ¼ ¼ - A maximum of 2 consecutive B frames may be used ¼ ¼ - This document gives no preference to packed vs. unpacked bitstreams ¼ ¼ as there are benefits to each format, and it is trivial to convert ¼ ¼ between them using MPEG4 Modifier. ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Framerates must be in relation to the original source. Valid ¼ ¼ framerates for releases are FILM (23.976 fps), PAL (25.000 fps), and ¼ ¼ NTSC (29.970 fps). ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Valid resolutions are 512x384 or 576x432 for 43; 624x352, 640x352, ¼ ¼ or 640x368 for 169; and 544x352 or 576x368 for 149. NTSC Video ¼ ¼ (29.970 fps) may also be released at 608x336. ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Releases shall be cropped so that all blacknoise on the edges is ¼ ¼ removed. In the case of changing crops, cropping should be done so that ¼ ¼ no part of the release is overcropped. Portions of a channel logo ¼ ¼ extending into black areas must be cropped. ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Video defacement such as intros, outros, and group watermarks is ¼ ¼ forbidden. ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ Audio: ¼ ¼ - Allowed audio formats are VBR MP3 and original AC3. ABR is considered a ¼ ¼ VBR technique. ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - MP3 audio should be encoded using standard LAME presets such as ¼ ¼ '--preset 128' or '-m s -V 5 -b 32' ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Average bitrate on MP3 audio may not exceed 192kbps ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - MP3 audio must be normalized ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Audio frequency must be maintained at 48kHz ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Original AC3 audio may be used at the discretion of the capper. ¼ ¼ However, transcoding to AC3 is forbidden. ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ Release Naming\Packaging: ¼ ¼ - Directory Naming ¼ ¼ - Numbering for episodic programming shall be in the format S00E00 or ¼ ¼ 0x00 (or S00E0000x000 for series with more than 99 episodes per ¼ ¼ season) ¼ ¼ - Number for date-based programming including sports and variety shows ¼ ¼ shall be in the format YYYY.MM.DD ¼ ¼ - Other numbering formats such as S00.E00, DD.MM.YY, and MM.DD.YY are ¼ ¼ not permitted ¼ ¼ - For variety shows, it is strongly recommended that the primary ¼ ¼ guest's name be included in the directory name ¼ ¼ - Different shows that have the same name in different countries should ¼ ¼ be tagged with the ISO country code for the country of airing ¼ ¼ - example Big.Brother.US.S01E01.PDTV.XviD-Group ¼ ¼ - Different shows with the same name produced in different years should ¼ ¼ be tagged with the year of airing of the first season ¼ ¼ - example Battlestar.Galactica.2003.S03E01.HDTV.XviD-Group ¼ ¼ - Releases are to be named in the format ¼ ¼ Show.Name.S00E00.HDTV.XviD-Group ¼ ¼ Show.Name.2007.08.10.Guest.HDTV.XviD-Group ¼ ¼ Show_Name.0x00.HDTV_XviD-Group ¼ ¼ - The episode title may optionally be included between the episode ¼ ¼ number and the source ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Additional Tagging: ¼ ¼ - PROPER, REPACK, RERIP, REAL, UNCUT, SUBBED, iNTERNAL, DIRFIX, ¼ ¼ SAMPLEFIX, NFOFIX, or Read.NFO are allowed (discretion is recommended) ¼ ¼ - All releases tagged PROPER, REPACK, RERIP, REAL, and Read.NFO must ¼ ¼ include notes in the NFO as to why the release was tagged that way. ¼ ¼ PROPER.Read.NFO is therefore redundant and should not be used. ¼ ¼ - Additional tagging should be placed directly before the source, i.e. ¼ ¼ Show.Name.S00E00.PROPER.HDTV.XviD-Group ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Source Naming: ¼ ¼ - Valid source names are DSR, WS.DSR, PDTV, WS.PDTV, HDTV, and no tag ¼ ¼ - Analog source will have no tag other than WS if appropriate. ¼ ¼ - Source Definitons: ¼ ¼ - 480i\576i\576p shall be tagged DSR when horizontal resolution is ¼ ¼ less than 704px ¼ ¼ - 480i\576i\576p shall be tagged PDTV when horizontal resolution is ¼ ¼ greater than or equal to 704px ¼ ¼ - 720p\1080i\1080p shall be tagged HDTV ¼ ¼ - 4:3 content broadcast at HDTV resolutions shall be tagged PDTV ¼ ¼ - Windowboxed (16:9 with black on all sides)\Letterboxed (16:9 with ¼ ¼ black on the top and bottom)\Native 16:9 content shall be labeled as ¼ ¼ Widescreen (WS.DSR or WS.PDTV) ¼ ¼ - The use of the HDTV tag implies widescreen, so WS.HDTV shall not ¼ ¼ be used ¼ ¼ - All sources listed must be 100% digital. S-Video, composite, or RF ¼ ¼ from a digital receiver to a tuner card is analog. Valid DSR, PDTV, ¼ ¼ and HDTV sources will be received via a digital connection such as ¼ ¼ USB, Firewire, or Ethernet from a receiver, or using an ATSC, QAM, or ¼ ¼ DVB tuner. ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - AVI: ¼ ¼ - Container must be AVI ¼ ¼ - The AVI itself should be named like the release and include some ¼ ¼ format of episode number (show initials are fine, as is shortening the ¼ ¼ episode number) ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - RAR\SFV: ¼ ¼ - Releases shall be packed into 15,000,000 or 20,000,000 byte rars ¼ ¼ using store compression ¼ ¼ - An SFV must be created for all RAR files in the release ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Sample: ¼ ¼ - All releases must include a sample of length :50-1:10, cut directly ¼ ¼ from the release ¼ ¼ - The sample must be placed in a directory named Sample (SAMPLE and ¼ ¼ sample are not permitted) ¼ ¼ - The file itself should be named uniquely, preferably containing the ¼ ¼ name of the release as well as the word sample ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - NFO: ¼ ¼ - An NFO must be included in the release and, at a minimum, must ¼ ¼ contain release name, episode number (or title), and date of ¼ ¼ airing/release ¼ ¼ - The NFO must be named uniquely based on the name of the release ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Allowed Characters: ¼ ¼ - abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ¼ ¼ - ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ¼ ¼ - 0123456789 ¼ ¼ - ._- ¼ ¼ - All Sample, NFO, SFV, and RAR names MUST be in all lowercase ¼ ¼ letters. The name of AVI inside the RARs is permitted to contain ¼ ¼ capital letters ¼ ¼ - Double dots (..) are not allowed ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ Propers: ¼ ¼ - Propers are only permitted in the case of technical flaws with the ¼ ¼ original release or violations of applicable rules ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - All propers must include a note in the NFO detailing the flaw in the ¼ ¼ original release, including timecodes if relevant ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Including a sample of the flaw is suggested but not required ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ - Propers are expressly permitted in cases of any of the following flaws ¼ ¼ in a release: ¼ ¼ - Audio 150ms or more out of sync ¼ ¼ - Severe audio drops resulting in the inability to understand material ¼ ¼ dialogue ¼ ¼ - Improper audio normalization, including audio with levels that vary ¼ ¼ widely between parts, very quiet audio, or audio with excessive ¼ ¼ clipping ¼ ¼ - Bad cropping resulting in a line of black pixels or noise along an ¼ ¼ edge for the entire episode ¼ ¼ - Releases missing a significant portion of video, either in duration ¼ ¼ or content ¼ ¼ - Loss of 2 seconds of fade in after a break, with no lost dialogue, ¼ ¼ is considered bad form, but is not a valid proper reason ¼ ¼ - Change in video format (i.e. PDTV on an HDTV release) exceeding five ¼ ¼ seconds or causing loss of dialogue. ¼ ¼ - Local overlays such as weather, breaking news, or Amber Alerts that ¼ ¼ exceed five minutes in length, cause a change in video format (i.e. ¼ ¼ drop to PDTV on an HDTV release), or cause loss of dialogue or video ¼ ¼ - The proper release must be completely free of overlays to be ¼ ¼ considered valid; merely having less spam is not enough ¼ ¼ - Inclusion of 2 or more seconds of commercials over an entire release ¼ ¼ - Releases with sizing outside the allowed range. 3.01MB oversize is a ¼ ¼ valid proper reason. ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ¼ The TV XviD Releasing Standards 2007 (2007-09-12) ¼ ¼ ¼ +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ¼ + ------[ GROUPS ] ------+ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ TVX2K7 rules created by the following Groups: ¼ ¼ ------------------------------------------------ ¼ ¼ DIMENSION LOL FQM XOR ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ TVX2K7 rules signed by the following Groups: ¼ ¼ ------------------------------------------------ ¼ ¼ 2HD aAF AFFiNiTY BiA CAPH CaRaT CRiMSON FoV FUtV ¼ ¼ GOTHiC hV iNGOT KYR NODLABS NoTV OMiCRON ORENJi ¼ ¼ RiVER SSTV SYS TBS YesTV ¼ ¼ ¼ +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+