GUIDELINES FOR GROUPS/SITES/SITEOPS/NUKERS regarding VCDs and other mpeg releases: 1.) THEATRICAL RELEASES - Releases are valid only if a particlar title can not be bought/rented legally anywhere in the world. - Made-for-TV movies and Direct-to-video titles are BANNED. - Subtitled movies are banned. Foreign language films with english subs are allowed only if approved by siteop. - All releases must be in .cue/.bin format. (Raw .dat and .mpg are banned) - All releases must be playable on standalone VCD/DVD players. - Each release must include a .sfv and .nfo file. Filenames may not include any NON-Dos characters or spaces. MS-DOS 8.3 filenames are recommended. EXAMPLE: TFA-BUM1.RAR WHAT CHARATERS NOT TO USE: (),[]|/\;:'{}"<>$#%!&+=^* - File size of releases are limited to 15-20 Megabytes, not to exceed 20000000 bytes. - The only accepted archive format is RAR. Compression is left up the individual group/packager to decide. - To determine quality without having to download the whole release, ALL releases must include a 5-10 Megabyte preview clip in .mpg format and should be put in a subdir called "Sample" for scripting purposes. The sample name must be a new filename each time, the rar name for example: EXAMPLE: TFA-BUM1.RAR, the sample name will be TFA-BUM.MPG - At all times, the quality of the VCD image determines whether it is a viable release or not, however a Cam cannot be released after a Telesync has been released, a Telesync cannot be released after a Screener has been released , unless the quality of the screener is extremely poor and deemed unacceptable. Workprints will be judged by the quality of the SAMPLE at all times. Labels for VCD releases: (from worst quality to best) VCD types: 1. Cam: This catagory represents movies that were cammed in a theater with a STEADY BASE such as a TRIPOD. The audio of these movies were taken from the mic on the camera, and is usually very hollow. The video can be with a straight angle or slightly tilted. HANDHELD CAMS ( shaky, crowd noise ...) ARE BANNED. 2. Telesync: This catagory represents movies that were cammed in a theater with a steady base such as a tripod. The audio of these movies are taken from some sort of an ALTERNATE source. The video can be with a straight angle or slightly tilted. If the sound is hollow and/or you can hear an audience, it's a cam. 3. Workprint: This catagory represents movies that were taken usually from VHS tape. If the source is as good as first generation VHS demo tape with GOOD encoding, it should be labeled Screener. All other home-made VCDs must be labeled Workprint. If you know your copy is not complete, use this label. (missing scenes, missing audio tracks, additional scenes, alternate ending etc.) 4. Screener: Best quality. This catagory represents movies taken from either DVD, Laserdisc, or tape. They may contain warnings, B&W sections, TCR codes or NOT. Also includes Telecine. All releases must have a dirname in the right format describing the actual quality of the release and type of VCD (DO NOT release Telesync as Screener) Call CAMS what they are: CAM. Release it as Telesync when an audio cable has been used to tape the movie. The dirnames may not include any NON-Dos characters or spaces. EXAMPLES: Moviename.TYPEOFVCD.Quality.Extras-RELEASEGROUP Go.VCD.Screener.Widescreen-TFAiSO Lick.Em.Dry.XXX.VCD-PEEPERS (since all porn releases are screeners or store bought VCDs, you can leave quality out.) Image area wider than 4:3 aspect ratio must be lebeled Widescreen. Releases of the same type are dupes. All mislabeled releases should be either nuked or renamed correctly. When a better version of the same movie is released, all previous releases should be nuked 0x to make space. The sites themselves can decide what quality to allow and what not. Same goes for porn, DVD rips etc. However, it is STRONGLY ADVISED to allow all types of VCDs. 2.) OTHER RELEASES: Releases such as: DVD rips, VHS rips, TV shows, Pay-Per-View specials, Porn, Anime etc. - They should be in separate dir(s) if possible, not in the same dir as theatrical releases. Example: /PORN, /TV - It is totally up to siteops if they are going to to allow all or some of them and should be clearly stated in site rules. - DVD/VHS rips are allowed only if there was no SCREENER released previously. - All releases must be in either .mpg, .cue/.bin or .asf format. (.asf is especially recommended for TV shows) - Each release must include a .sfv and .nfo file for each release. Dir names should follow the same guidelines as theatrical releases. - File size of releases are limited to 15-20 Megabytes, not to exceed 20000000 bytes. - The only accepted archive format is RAR. Compression is left up the individual group/packager to decide. - To determine quality without having to download the whole release, ALL releases must include a 5-10 Megabyte preview clip in .mpg format and should be put in a subdir called "Sample" for scripting purposes. The sample name must be a new filename each time, i suggest the name of the rars.