SOME MORE HELP......
I`m asked a lot about various file types and what to do with them so this may
help. Its not intended to be a complete guide but may point you in the right
direction!
.rar .zip .ace .r01 .001
These extensions are quite common and mean that your file(s) are compressed into
an "archive".This is just a way of making the files more compact and easier to download.
To open any of those archives listed above you can use WinRAR (Make sure you
have the latest version) See the software page!
If those progams aren't working for you and you have a .zip file you can try
WinZip .
If the two first mentioned programs aren't working for you and you have a .ace
or .001 file you can try Winace See the software page!
.cbr .cbz
These are usually comic books in an archive format. a .cbr file is actually the
same thing as a .rar file and a .cbz file is the same as a .zip file. However,
often when opening them with WinRAR or WinZip it will disorder your pages. To
display these archives properly it's often best to use
CDisplay.
.avi .mpg. .mpeg .divx .xvid .wmv
These files are usually movies or TVshows, or a host of other types of media.
They can be viewed using various media players, but I suggest using Media
Classic or Windows Media Player. Also, you'll need to make sure you have the
right codecs to play each individual file. Codecs are a tricky business
sometimes so to help you out with your file and what exact codecs it needs try
using GSpot. It tells
you what codecs you need. Then just look on the net to find them, below are some
common codecs for quick reference:
• ffdshow (Recommended! (plays many formats: XviD, DivX, 3ivX, mpeg-4))
• XviD codec
• DivX codec
• ac3filter (for AC3 soundtracks, aka "5.1")
• Ogg media codec (for .OGM files)
Final Builds Site
where you get all the codecs and most programs mentioned here.
Still can't find what you're looking for? Check out these sites...
• http://www.divx-digest.com/
• DivX Digest - Home
• http://www.doom9.org/
• http://www.videohelp.com/
.mov
These are QuickTime files. Hopefully you won't have to open these as I hate
quicktime , but if you do you can get it on the software page. There are however
alternatives to the original program, Check out QuickTime Alternative.
.ra .rm .ram
These are RealPlayer files. RealPlayer IMO is the devils work. It installs lord
knows what on your system and never really goes away when you want to uninstall
it.
vcd/svcd
These can be a pain on some peoples setups, but more so, on your stand-alone DVD
player. For all your vcd needs check out
VideoHelp.com. These blokes know their stuff, and can help you with all
kinds of media related questions.
.mp3 .mp2
Usually music files. Play them with WinAmp or Windows media player
.ogm .ogg
Ogg Vorbis media files. You can find out more about them and download
applications here. This filetype is another music file format, but can be used
for various media. You will probably want to download the DirectShow Ogg filter
to play back OGM files. Any new version of WinAmp will also do.
CD Image Files
.bin and .cue
These are your standard images of a CD, and are used quite a lot these days. To
open them you have a couple options. You can burn them using Nero or Alcohol 120%, but this proves to be soooooooo
problematic for a lot of people. You can also use Daemon Tools, which lets you mount the image
to a "virtual cd-rom", so basically it tricks your computer into thinking that
you have another cd-rom and that you're putting a cd with your image file on it
into this virtual cd-rom, it's great cuz you'll never make a bad cd again,
Alcohol 120% also sports a virtual cd-rom feature. Finally, if you're still
struggling to access the files contained within any given image file you can use
CDMage to extract the files and then burn them, or just access them from your
hard drive. You can also use VCDGear to extract the mpeg contents of a SVCD or
VCD image file such as bin/cue.
.iso
Another type of image file that follows similar rules as .bin and .cue, only you
extract or create them using WinISO or ISOBuster. Sometimes converting a
problematic .bin and .cue file to an .iso can help you burn it to a cd.
.ccd .img .sub
All these files go together and are in the CloneCD format. CloneCD is like most
other CD-Burning programs, see the .bin and .cue section if you're having
problems with these files.
Other Files
.txt .doc
These are text files. .txt files can be opened with notepad or whatever you
default text editor happens to be, and .doc are opened with Microsoft Word.
.nfo
These contain information about the file you just downloaded, and it's HIGHLY
recommended that you read these! They are plain text files, often with ascii-art.
You can open them with Notepad, Wordpad, DAMN NFO Viewer or UltraEdit.
.pdf
Opened with Adobe Acrobat Reader.
.jpg .gif .tga .psd
Basic image files. These files generally contain pictures, and can be opened
with Adobe Photoshop or whatever your default image viewer is.
.sfv
Checks to make sure that your multi-volume archives are complete. This just lets
you know if you've downloaded something complete or not. (This is not really an
issue when DL:ing via torrent.) You can open/activate these files with
SFVChecker (Trial version) or hkSFV for example.
.par
This is a parity file, and is often used when downloading from newsgroups. These
files can fill in gaps when you're downloading a multi-volume archive and get
corrupted or missing parts. Open them with QuickPar.
HOW DO I MAKE DVDS FROM A MOVIE FILE?
You will need to extract your multi-media files from the vcd/svcd iso's or
bins then convert em to Mpeg2 files of the right frame size and format (PAL) and
the correct frame rate (25fps) and then use an authoring progam to "make" the
DVD.
Sounds daunting don't it, and it is unless you know what you are doing.
There is a bit too much to explain here except that nearly all the programs
that claim to convert files to DVD (ie WINAVI ) are crap for one reason or
another. There is only one true god when it comes down to it and that is TMPGENC
and its direct relations. Nothing else comes even close, but TMPGENC had one
major drawback in that it won't directly do AVI files. But a couple of weeks ago
I personally (after many hours of frustration) discovered an easy method using a
frame server called AVISYNTH. So if you wanna know how just ask!
OK so youre on a torrent site and you want to down load a film, but don't
know what CAM/TS/TC/SCR means? Read This.....
CAM -
A cam is a theater rip usually done with a digital video camera. A mini tripod
is sometimes used, but a lot of the time this wont be possible, so the camera
make shake. Also seating placement isn't always idle, and it might be filmed
from an angle. If cropped properly, this is hard to tell unless there's text on
the screen, but a lot of times these are left with triangular borders on the top
and bottom of the screen. Sound is taken from the onboard microphone of the
camera, and especially in comedies, laughter can often be heard during the film,
plus the fact you might see some fat bastard getting up to go the bog. Due to these factors picture and sound quality are usually quite poor, but
sometimes we're lucky, and the theater will be' fairly empty and a fairly clear
signal will be heard.
TELESYNC (TS) -
A telesync is the same spec as a CAM except it uses an external audio source
(most likely an audio jack in the chair for hard of hearing people). A direct
audio source does not ensure a good quality audio source, as a lot of background
noise can interfere. A lot of the times a telesync is filmed in an empty cinema
or from the projection booth with a professional camera, giving a better picture
quality. Quality ranges drastically, check the sample before downloading the
full release. A high percentage of Telesyncs are CAMs that have been mislabeled.
TELECINE (TC) -
A telecine machine copies the film digitally from the reels. Sound and picture
should be very good, but due to the equipment involved and cost telecines are
fairly uncommon. Generally the film will be in correct aspect ratio, although
4:3 telecines have existed. A great example is the JURASSIC PARK 3 TC done last
year. TC should not be confused with TimeCode , which is a visible counter on
screen throughout the film.
SCREENER (SCR) -
A pre VHS tape, sent to rental stores, and various other 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 the bottom of the screen, with the
copyright and anti-copy telephone number). Also, if the tape contains any serial
numbers, or any other markings that could lead to the source of the tape, these
will have to be blocked, usually with a black mark over the section. This is
sometimes only for a few seconds, but unfortunately on some copies this will
last for the entire film, and some can be quite big. Depending on the 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 looking better than others.
DVD-SCREENER (DVDscr) -
Same premise as a screener, but transferred off a DVD. Usually letterbox , but
without the extras that a DVD retail would contain. The ticker is not usually in
the black bars, and will disrupt the viewing. If the ripper has any skill, a
DVDscr should be very good. Usually transferred to SVCD or DivX/XviD.
DVDRip -
A copy of the 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 skating/sports videos and XXX releases.
TVRip -
TV episode that is either from Network (capped using digital cable/satellite
boxes are preferable) or PRE-AIR from satellite feeds sending the 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 the
"dark matches" and camera/commentary tests are included on the rips. PDTV is
capped from a digital TV PCI card, generally giving the best results, and groups
tend to release in SVCD for these. VCD/SVCD/DivX/XviD rips are all supported by
the TV scene.
WORKPRINT (WP) -
A workprint is a copy of the film that has not been finished. It can be missing
scenes, music, and quality can range from excellent to very poor. Some WPs are
very different from the final print (Men In Black is missing all the aliens, and
has actors in their places) and others can contain extra scenes (Jay and Silent
Bob) . WPs can be nice additions to the 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, these
are usually labeled something like Film.Name.Group(1of2) etc. Common groups are
SMR and TND. These aren't really worth downloading, 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 these are tagged by
the people responsible. Usually with a letter/initials or a little logo,
generally in one of the corners. Most famous are the "Z" "A" and "Globe"
watermarks.
Asian Silvers / PDVD -
These are films put out by eastern bootleggers, and these are usually bought by
some groups to put out as their own. Silvers are very cheap and easily available
in a lot of countries, and its easy to put out a release, which is why there are
so many in the scene at the moment, mainly from smaller groups who don't last
more than a few releases. PDVDs are the same thing pressed onto a DVD. They have
removable subtitles, and the quality is usually better than the silvers. These
are ripped like a normal DVD, but usually released as VCD.
Scene Tags...
PROPER -
Due to scene rules, whoever releases the first Telesync has won that race (for
example). But if the quality of that release is fairly poor, if another group
has another telesync (or the same source in higher quality) then the tag PROPER
is added to the folder to avoid being duped. PROPER is the most subjective tag
in the scene, and a lot of people will generally argue whether the PROPER is
better than the original release. A lot of groups release PROPERS just out of
desperation due to losing the race. A reason for the PROPER should always be
included in the NFO.
LIMITED -
A limited movie means it has had a limited theater run, generally opening in
less than 250 theaters, 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 they wont be dupe'd on it. Also lower quality theater rips
are done INTERNAL so not to lower the reputation of the group, or due to the
amount of rips done already. An INTERNAL release is available as normal on the
groups affiliate sites, but they can't be traded to other sites without request
from the site ops. Some INTERNAL releases still trickle down to IRC/Newsgroups,
it usually depends on the title and the popularity. Earlier in the year people
referred to Centropy going "internal". This meant the group were only releasing
the movies to their members and site ops. This is in a different context to the
usual definition.
STV -
Straight To Video. Was never released in theaters, and therefore a lot of sites
do not allow these.
ASPECT RATIO TAGS -
These are *WS* for widescreen (letterbox) and *FS* for Fullscreen.
REPACK -
If a group releases a bad rip, they will release a Repack which will fix the
problems.
NUKED -
A film can be nuked for various reasons. Individual sites will nuke for breaking
their rules (such as "No Telesyncs") but if the film has something extremely
wrong with it (no soundtrack for 20mins, CD2 is incorrect film/game etc) then a
global nuke will occur, and people trading it across sites will lose their
credits. Nuked films can still reach other sources such as p2p/usenet, but its a
good idea to check why it was nuked first in case. If a group realise there is
something wrong, they 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 converting framerates was incorrect.
INTERLACED = black lines on movement as the field order is incorrect.
DUPE -
Dupe is quite simply, if something exists already, then theres no reason for it
to exist again without proper reason.
