┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ The federation of releasing groups presents │
│ │
│ The XviD Releasing Standards 2009 │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Requirements: Notepad with terminal font or any other ascii viewer. │
├──────────────────────────────┬───────────────┬──────────────────────────────┤
│ └───[ INTRO ]───┘ │
│ │
│ These rules take effect March 5, 2009 (2009-03-05) at 00:00 UTC. Thanks to │
│ all groups who participated. │
│ │
└───────┬┬───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬┬───────┘
┌───────┴┴─────────────────┬───────────────────────┬─────────────────┴┴───────┐
│ └───[ RELEASE RULES ]───┘ │
│ │
│ │
│ Movie Length: │
│ - Allowed sizes are 175MB, 350MB and multiples of 1 CD (700MB). │
│ - The following formula will guide you to get the appropriate size: │
│ target-size = VIDEO-FPS * VIDEO-RUNTIME(in mins) * 0.28 │
│ Use the target-size value to index the MAXIMUM allowed size, examples: │
│ target-size = 25.000fps * 98min * 0.28 = 686, MAX size is 1 CD │
│ target-size = 23.976fps * 49min * 0.28 = 329, MAX size is 1/2 CD │
│ target-size = 18.000fps * 65min * 0.28 = 328, MAX size is 1/2 CD │
│ VIDEO-RUNTIME is in minutes only, no fractions, and rounded up to the │
│ next full minute, e.g. 104 min and 5 secs = put 105 min inside the │
│ formula. The following table describes the MAXIMUM size allowed for │
│ each runtime in minutes: │
│ │
│ FPS │ 175MB │ 350MB │ 700MB │ 1400MB │ 2100MB │
│ 23.976 │ -26 │ 26:01-52 │ 52:01-104 │ 104:01-208 │ 208:01-312 │
│ 25.000 │ -25 │ 25:01-50 │ 50:01-100 │ 100:01-200 │ 200:01-300 │
│ 29.970 │ -20 │ 20:01-41 │ 41:01-83 │ 83:01-166 │ 166:01-250 │
│ │
│ - The above table indicates the MAXIMUM size allowed to encode at, but │
│ it is ripper's discretion to use smaller values, e.g. 110 min PAL movie │
│ can use AT MOST 1400MB but can also use lower sizes such as 700MB. │
│ - If at the lowest resolution allowed and MP3 audio bitrate of 128 kbps │
│ average I/P quant is above 4.5, releases may jump 1 size up (e.g. 2 CDs │
│ may be used instead of 1). Such cases MUST provide proper proof and │
│ explanation in the nfo. │
│ - If the formula gives a value below 100MB, sizes smaller than 175MB are │
│ allowed, at ripper's discretion. │
│ - MAXIMUM CD media capacity value is 736966656 bytes = 719694 KB = 702 MB │
│ - MINIMUM CD media capacity value is 723517440 bytes = 706560 KB = 690 MB │
│ - When using multiple CD releases, releases MUST utilize the full │
│ burnable media capacity for each CD used (each CD must conform to the │
│ 690MB minimum). │
│ │
│ │
│ TV Length: │
│ - All Episodes <RETAIL rips> are obligated to follow these rules. │
│ - Allowed sizes in MB are 175, 233, 350 and multiples of 700 (an extra │
│ OPTIONAL size is 550MB, see below). │
│ - Use the same target-size formula listed above to determine appropriate │
│ sizing. Some examples are: │
│ target-size = 25.000fps * 20min * 0.28 = 140, MAX size is 175 MB │
│ target-size = 23.976fps * 60min * 0.28 = 403, MAX size is 700 MB │
│ target-size = 29.970fps * 25min * 0.28 = 210, MAX size is 233 MB │
│ * VIDEO-RUNTIME is in minutes only, no fractions, and rounded up to │
│ the next full minute, e.g. 41 min and 5 secs = put 42 min inside the │
│ formula. │
│ - 550MB may be used at ripper's discretion when target-size is above │
│ 260MB. │
│ - If the formula gives a value below 100MB, sizes smaller than 175MB are │
│ allowed, at ripper's discretion. It is also ripper's discretion to use │
│ smaller sizes than those targeted by the formula for each specific │
│ runtime and framerate (e.g. a release that should be 350MB according to │
│ the formula may also be released at 233MB). │
│ │
│ │
│ AUDIO: │
│ - MUST be VBR MP3 or Studio AC3. │
│ - ABR is considered a VBR technique. │
│ - MUST be STEREO for STEREO sources, MONO for MONO sources │
│ (Any audio track with identical channels is considered a MONO source). │
│ - MP3 tracks must keep the original frequency as it was on the source's │
│ audio: e.g. 48khz for 48khz and 44.1khz for 44.1khz. │
│ - Mono or Dual Mono (1+1) AC3 is forbidden; use mono MP3. │
│ - MP3 audio must be normalized. Stereo sources must use stereo or │
│ joint-stereo encoding mode. Mono sources must use mono encoding mode; │
│ dual-mono is forbidden. │
│ - Encoding or re-encoding audio to AC3 is strictly forbidden, except in │
│ in the case of HD retail source (see Source related notes). │
│ - Use of AC3 is at the ripper's discretion, but should be used wisely. │
│ Choice of AC3 or MP3 is not a technical flaw except as otherwise noted. │
│ - Multi-language audio tracks are FORBIDDEN! (Use INTERNAL) │
│ │
│ │
│ VIDEO: │
│ - Keyframe: │
│ MUST be <=20 seconds and MUST be inserted according to scene changes │
│ and framesizes as determined by the codec or encoding application. │
│ - Group watermarks of any kind on the video are forbidden. │
│ - English retail releases may not contain foreign language text overlays │
│ from localized versions. │
│ │
│ │
│ Framerate: │
│ - MUST be as close to original source framerate as possible. │
│ - In some cases PAL movies need to be IVTC'd (e.g. to 24fps). Therefore │
│ using a PAL source is not an excuse for lack of IVTC. │
│ - Hybrid sources are left at ripper's discretion if to IVTC or not. │
│ Ripper should mention and provide proof to any claim for ITVC or lack │
│ thereof. │
│ │
│ │
│ Codec: │
│ - MUST BE XviD (all DivX codecs are banned). │
│ - MUST use 2 pass technique during encoding. │
│ - No dupes based on codec type, use INTERNAL! │
│ │
│ │
│ Resolution and Aspect Ratio: │
│ - Width: 576 - 640 pixels for movies with an AR of 1.70-3.00 │
│ 512 - 640 pixels for movies with an AR of 1.00-1.69 │
│ - Width and Height must be multiples of 16. │
│ - Cropping is required such that black borders are cropped to their │
│ maximum. In the case that the video presents changing ARs, the video │
│ must be cropped such that no frame is overcropped. │
│ * Over- or undercropping by more than 1 pixel is considered a technical │
│ flaw, although it is preferable to crop the 1 pixel out. │
│ - Video encodes must be within 4% of the original aspect ratio. │
│ Calculating AR % error: (Original AR - Release AR)/Original AR x 100 │
│ - Non-retail video sources may not have the usual retail aspect ratio │
│ due to different processing. All releases should be based on the actual │
│ source AR, not on retail AR listed on IMDB or other sources. │
│ │
│ │
│ Subtitles: │
│ - OPTIONAL (ONLY if all other requirements have been met). │
│ - Subtitles MUST be packed in a RAR file with the most compression │
│ available. This RAR file shall be placed in a directory named 'Subs' │
│ along with an SFV file containing standard checksum information for │
│ that RAR. The subtitles must not be packaged in the main RARs for the │
│ release and the RAR file containing the subtitles must not be listed in │
│ main SFV for the release. │
│ - Vobsub packs must have the .sub file packed with the MOST compression: │
│ subs.rar = [ <avi-name>.idx + <avi-name>.rar = (<avi-name>.sub) ] │
│ - Burned subtitles are only permissible when present in the source. If │
│ the subtitles overlay both active video and matting (black bars), │
│ cropping to the bottom of the subtitles is permissible, and an equal │
│ amount of matting shall be left at the top. If the burned subtitles │
│ overlay only matting, they must be OCR'ed and cropped out. │
│ - English subs on non-English releases MUST fit in the standard size │
│ with the rest of the release. All other subs are considered optional │
│ and are not required to fit in the standard release size. │
│ - English subs on non-English releases must be synced with the video. │
│ - Foreign releases (non-English spoken) lacking English subtitles MUST be │
│ tagged with the spoken language. Releases with English subtitles MUST │
│ NOT be tagged with the spoken language. A release containing English │
│ subtitles after a foreign-tagged release is not considered a dupe, │
│ regardless of whether or not the foreign-tagged release has English │
│ subs. │
│ - Subtitles on multiple-CD releases must be split. Inclusion of non-split │
│ subtitles in addition to the split subtitles is encouraged. │
│ - Custom subtitles are not allowed on retail sources. They may be used │
│ only with non-retail sources. Propers for incorrect or missing dialogue │
│ on custom subtitles are not allowed; release a subpack! │
│ - Multi-language subtitles cannot be used as a basis for a dupe. │
│ - English subbed (with original spoken language) may follow a dubbed │
│ release (in any language); use SUBBED tag. │
│ │
│ │
│ Packaging: │
│ - All releases MUST be AVI. │
│ - Must be packed with RAR and broken into 15 or 20 MB volumes. │
│ Each AVI for a multiple-CD release must be packaged into separate RAR │
│ volumes. │
│ - Filenames (even subpack rar file) MUST be unique (to avoid dupe). │
│ - Compression is not allowed. │
│ - Recovery and MD5 record are recommended. │
│ - Must have an SFV included for each CD. │
│ - Must have an NFO. │
│ - NFO SHOULD INCLUDE: │
│ Group name │
│ Title │
│ Actual XviD release date │
│ DVD release date │
│ Theatrical release date (US preferably) │
│ Video size │
│ Resolution / Aspect Ratio │
│ Audio codec / Audio bitrate │
│ Video bitrate │
│ Movie runtime │
│ IMDB / Amazon / Any other DVD site info link │
│ Number of rars per CD (e.g. 50x15MB) │
│ XviD build │
│ Packed Bitstream │
│ Maximum consecutive B-frames │
│ │
│ │
│ Credits: │
│ - Credits may be encoded at a lower bitrate unless they contain scenes │
│ like bloopers or continuation of story. │
│ - Cutting credits on RETAIL sources is not allowed. │
│ │
│ │
│ Samples: │
│ - Sample is required and must have a unique name for each release. │
│ - 1 full minute in length and in a separate folder marked as 'Sample'. │
│ - MUST be taken from the video, NOT encoded separately. │
│ - Source samples are recommended for any rip that is deemed questionable: │
│ no IVTC possible on source, IVTC to 24.975fps, etc. │
│ │
│ │
│ Propers: │
│ - Propers are only permitted in the case of a technical flaw in the │
│ original release (e.g. bad.ivtc, interlacing, oversized). │
│ - Propers MUST include a note in the NFO file detailing the reason. │
│ - Releases not nuked on release lists and/or sites MUST include │
│ original sample of the technical flaw in the release sample dir. │
│ - Qualitative propers are not allowed, nor are propers based on │
│ decisions made by a ripper (e.g. AC3 or MP3). │
│ - Propering a release done under a previous ruleset timeline is allowed │
│ if it has a technical flaw, such as bad.ar, bad.ivtc, over.cropping. │
│ Other propers acceptable are propers based on releases that did not │
│ follow previous guidelines at the time they were pred. │
│ - Releases containing hardcoded subs may be propered by non-hardsubbed │
│ video. Original release SHALL NOT be nuked. │
│ - Propering a release when a working fix is released is not allowed. │
│ - Sizefixes are not allowed. │
│ - Propers based upon the compliance with new instances of TXD2K9 are │
│ allowed only for releases after 2009-03-05. │
│ │
│ │
│ WS vs. FS: │
│ - WS or FS name tags on the release name are allowed. │
│ - A WS release after an FS release (and vice versa) requires proof that │
│ the new release contains more picture area than the original release │
│ (provide sample from the original release or JPG screenshot of the same │
│ frame in both releases showing additional area). A release not │
│ documenting additional picture area is considered a DUPE. │
│ - Wider wide screen where more of the original source is visible is valid │
│ & not considered a dupe but should be tagged as WS not PROPER. Original │
│ release should not be nuked. Provide proof as listed above. │
│ - Letterboxed DVDs are not considered FS even if the aspect ratio flagged │
│ on the disc is 4:3; only active picture area should be considered. │
│ │
│ │
│ Special Movie Editions: │
│ - Allowed: DC, EXTENDED, UNCUT, REMASTERED, UNRATED, THEATRICAL, CHRONO, │
│ SE (or any other special edition, e.g. AE). │
│ - Special Edition releases with same time length as previous released │
│ versions of the movie shall be considered dupes. │
│ - Shorter cut version of a movie after a longer version was released is │
│ allowed (e.g. THEATRICAL), and MUST be mentioned in the dirname. │
│ - Remastered movies after the original have been released are allowed │
│ only if one of the releases is BLACK AND WHITE and the other is colour. │
│ Everything else use INTERNAL! (Remastered DVD releases that were nuked │
│ in the past and were colour after black&white and vice versa, shall not │
│ be unnuked and shall not be duped!) │
│ - Extras released in a special movie edition can not be used as a basis │
│ for a dupe, unless released separately (and are not dupes of previous │
│ releases). │
│ - Homemade rips are not allowed (Use INTERNAL!). │
│ - NOTE: PAL - NTSC length difference comes from the no. of frames per │
│ second and not extra footage. │
│ │
│ │
│ Directory and File Naming: │
│ - All releases need to include production year. │
│ - DO NOT indicate ripping method, DVD/XviD release date, genre, audio │
│ which was used (no AC3) or anything else! (ONLY WITHIN THE NFO) │
│ - Movie distribution tags e.g. FESTIVAL, STV, LIMITED or TV (TV tag │
│ is used for TV movies only) are allowed and shall be used wisely and │
│ correctly. │
│ - READ.NFO tag is allowed, but shall not be abused. │
│ - Other permitted tags are: WS/FS (rules above), PROPER, REPACK, RERIP, │
│ REAL, RETAIL, EXTENDED, REMASTERED, RATED, UNRATED, CHRONO, THEATRICAL, │
│ DC, SE, UNCUT, INTERNAL, DUBBED, SUBBED, FINAL, COLORIZED. │
│ * Use RERIP for ripping issues and REPACK for packing issues. │
│ * RERIPs/REPACKs must use different file names from previous release. │
│ - Acceptable characters in naming a directory include (NO spaces or │
│ double dots - single dots or underscores ONLY): │
│ │
│ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ │
│ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz │
│ 0123456789.-_ │
│ │
│ - Releases that are more than 1 CD MUST be named CD1, CD2, CD3 and so │
│ on ('disc1' and others are NOT allowed). │
│ │
│ │
└───────┬┬───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬┬───────┘
┌───────┴┴───────────────┬────────────────────────────┬──────────────┴┴───────┐
│ └───[ NOTES TO THE RULES ]───┘ │
│ │
│ │
│ Source related notes: │
│ - HD retail may be used as source only if no DVDRip has already been │
│ released (and vice versa). Such releases must be tagged accordingly │
│ (e.g. BDRip, HDDVDRip). │
│ - When using AC3 on a rip from HD retail source, re-encoding DTS, LPCM, │
│ TrueHD, DTS-HD and 640kbit/s AC3 to 448kbit/s AC3 is mandatory. │
│ - Re-encoding material of any transcoded source is strictly forbidden! │
│ - HD retail rip released after 1080p/720p needs source proof (a raw m2ts │
│ sample including all audio/subtitles tracks) in sample dir. │
│ - R5 is not considered retail. │
│ - Non-studio audio must be tagged accordingly, e.g. LINE audio. │
│ * Releases provided with studio audio do not dupe releases with non- │
│ studio audio. The reverse does not apply! │
│ - The use of sources like CAM, TS, TC, Workprint, SCREENER, Laserdisc │
│ etc. MUST be tagged with source in the dirname and must adhere to ALL │
│ TXD2K9 rules! │
│ - DVD Screeners shall be clearly marked in the directory name and the │
│ nfo shall contain presence of studio watermarking, black&white scenes │
│ and counters or lack thereof. │
│ │
│ │
│ Internals: │
│ - INTERNALS should follow all TXD2K9 rules and are exempt from the time │
│ length rules. │
│ - Multi-language audio tracks are allowed. Multiple languages should be │
│ interleaved into the AVI, with a graphedit filter for each appropriate │
│ audio stream. │
│ - Other codecs and containers are allowed for experimental purposes. │
│ - INTERNAL dirfix should not be used as a basis of avoiding a nuke. │
│ │
│ │
│ Ripping related notes: │
│ - MAXIMUM bitrate must not exceed 4854 for more than a second and must │
│ not exceed 8000 kbps ever. DivX Home Theatre and MTK (not 6000) │
│ profiles follow these guidelines. │
│ - Quantizer matrix MUST be H.263 or MPEG. Custom matrices are forbidden │
│ due to lack of standalone support. │
│ - Pixel shape MUST be square. │
│ - Quarterpixel/GMC are forbidden due to lack of hardware support. │
│ - The use of ITU-R (Gknot function) is not recommended. │
│ │
└───────┬┬───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬┬───────┘
┌───────┴┴───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┴┴───────┐
│ The Tradition Continues: TXD RULES 2K9 (2009-03-05) │
│ TXD2K5 (2005-09-25) 2K2 (2002-07-12) 2K1 (2001-04-22) Original (2000-04-26) │
└───────┬┬───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬┬───────┘
┌───────┴┴───────────────┬──────────────────────────┬────────────────┴┴───────┐
│ └--------[ GROUPS ]--------┘ │
│ TXD2K9 signed by the following XviD Groups: │
│ ────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ ALLiANCE DMT DoNE NeDiVX ViTE iMBT COCAIN PUKKA Larceny AMIABLE │
│ │
│ HLS LMG ARROW COALiTiON SAPHiRE MOTION BeStDivX NEPTUNE iNTiMiD │
│ │
│ HEFTY BaLD mVs OPTiC VoMiT ESPiSE TWiST EPiSODE FRAGMENT ARiSCO │
│ │
│ FFNDVD SAiNTS TVA iNFiNiTE FoV ORPHEUS TOPAZ REWARD WAT NODLABS │
│ │
│ PHASE HAGGiS aAF OSiTV RiVER REMAX MACRO FQM SFM WPi DOMiNO DvF │
│ │
│ 5MeOAMT ELiA ARTHOUSE BETAMAX EPiC iLS BrG DnB REACTOR DOCUMENT │
│ │
│ AEN FiCO BLooDWeiSeR TNAN CoWRY iGNiTE SSF D3Si ARiGOLD AsiSter │
│ │
│ FLAiR WRD AFO SSB TheWretched LAJ KiNOBOX WiRA BiEN GAYGAY RUBY │
│ │
│ MESS AEROHOLiCS VH-PROD iMMORTALs JFKXViD iFN MoH XanaX WaLMaRT │
│ │
└──┬───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬──┘
└----[ Edited by tcj 2009. Respect goes to all TDX teams 2000-2009 ]----┘