1. ³
  2. ³ The SD TV x264 Releasing Standards 2016 a.k.a. sdtvx264 ³
  3. ³ The.SD.TV.x264.Releasing.Standards.2016-SDTVx264 ³
  4. ³ ³
  5. ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
  6. ³ ³
  7. ³ [ Intro ] ³
  8. ³ Since the last revision of this document in 2012, TV-X264-SD has grown ³
  9. ³ and become a major section that many people contribute to and depend on. ³
  10. ³ This new revision aims to update the standards from 2012 to standards ³
  11. ³ suitable for 2016 and the future. Adding clarity and patching loopholes ³
  12. ³ to once again allow for consistent and quality releases, which was the ³
  13. ³ aim of this standard back in 2012. ³
  14. ³ ³
  15. ³ Compliance with this document is optional as of its pre date, and ³
  16. ³ mandatory as of 2016-04-10 00:00:00 UTC (1460246400 Unix time). ³
  17. ³ ³
  18. ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
  19. ³ ³
  20. ³ [ Recommended ] ³
  21. ³ It is recommended to view the unformatted version of this ruleset ³
  22. ³ bundled within this release. ³
  23. ³ ³
  24. ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
  25. ³ ³
  26. ³ 1) [ HDTV Sources ] ³
  27. ³ 1.1) HDTV is considered as a high definition natively recorded transport ³
  28. ³ stream. ³
  29. ³ 1.2) HDTV sources must not be upscaled, see section 2. ³
  30. ³ 1.3) Providers which downscale 1080i to 720p (e.g. BellTV) are not ³
  31. ³ allowed. ³
  32. ³ ³
  33. ³ 2) [ PDTV & DSR Sources ] ³
  34. ³ 2.1) PDTV is considered as a 576i/576p natively recorded transport ³
  35. ³ stream. ³
  36. ³ 2.2) DSR is considered as a 480i/480p natively recorded transport ³
  37. ³ stream. ³
  38. ³ ³
  39. ³ 3) [ AHDTV & APDTV & ADSR Sources ] ³
  40. ³ 3.1) AHDTV, APDTV and ADSR are considered as captured streams from the ³
  41. ³ analog output (e.g. Component, DVI, HDMI) of a set-top box. ³
  42. ³ 3.2) Captures must be done at the native broadcast format of the source. ³
  43. ³ 3.2.1) Captures from devices which are unable to output a native format ³
  44. ³ must be restored to the original framerate. ³
  45. ³ 3.2.2) If captures cannot be completely restored to their native ³
  46. ³ framerate, such as a single dupe frame every 1000 or blended/ghost ³
  47. ³ frames due to mangling from the set-top box or capture device, ³
  48. ³ this is considered a technical flaw. ³
  49. ³ ³
  50. ³ 4) [ Codec ] ³
  51. ³ 4.1) Video must be H.264/MPEG-4 AVC encoded with x264 8-bit. ³
  52. ³ 4.1.1) Custom builds of x264 (e.g. x264-tMod, x264-kMod) are allowed and ³
  53. ³ must be based off the x264 codebase. ³
  54. ³ 4.2) x264 headers must remain intact and must not be modified or removed. ³
  55. ³ 4.3) x264 must be kept up to date, with a maximum allowance, or grace ³
  56. ³ period, of 60 days before groups are required to update to the latest ³
  57. ³ revision. ³
  58. ³ 4.3.1) The official x264 git repository is the only reference for ³
  59. ³ determining the current revision: ³
  60. ³ http://git.videolan.org/?p=x264.git;a=summary ³
  61. ³ 4.3.2) The 60 day grace period must only be applied at pre time, not the ³
  62. ³ tagged encoded date. ³
  63. ³ 4.3.3) The grace period is only applicable to the revision preceding the ³
  64. ³ latest update and does not reset active grace periods of preceding ³
  65. ³ revisions. ³
  66. ³ e.g. 2016-01-01: Revision A is used. ³
  67. ³ 2016-01-02: Revision B is committed, 60-day grace period ³
  68. ³ begins for revision A. ³
  69. ³ 2016-01-05: Revision C is committed, 60-day grace period ³
  70. ³ begins for revision B. ³
  71. ³ 2016-03-02: Revision A is no longer allowed, Revision B or ³
  72. ³ C may be used. ³
  73. ³ 2016-03-05: Revision B is no longer allowed, Revision C must ³
  74. ³ be used. ³
  75. ³ 4.4) Constant Rate Factor (--crf) must be used. ³
  76. ³ 4.4.1) CRF values below 19 and above 24 are never allowed. ³
  77. ³ 4.4.2) Justification must be listed in the NFO for the use of ³
  78. ³ non-standard CRF values. ³
  79. ³ 4.4.2.1) Groups are not required to follow non-standard CRF values used ³
  80. ³ by another group. ³
  81. ³ 4.4.2.2) It is suggested that if the average video bitrate exceeds ³
  82. ³ 1500kb/s, a higher CRF value should be chosen, when possible. ³
  83. ³ 4.5) Standard CRF values are as follows: ³
  84. ³ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³
  85. ³ ³ Compressibility ³ CRF ³ General Examples ³ ³
  86. ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³
  87. ³ ³ High ³ 19-20 ³ Scripted, Talk Shows, Animation, Stand-Up ³ ³
  88. ³ ³ Medium ³ 21-22 ³ Documentary, Reality, Variety, Poker ³ ³
  89. ³ ³ Low ³ 23-24 ³ Sports, Awards, Live Events ³ ³
  90. ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ³
  91. ³ 4.6) Settings cannot go below what is specified by preset (--preset) ³
  92. ³ 'slow'. ³
  93. ³ e.g. --subme 7 or --me hex are not allowed. ³
  94. ³ 4.7) Level (--level) must be '3.1'. ³
  95. ³ 4.8) Colour matrix (--colormatrix) must be set. ³
  96. ³ 4.8.1) 'bt709' must be used for encodes from HDTV or AHDTV sources. ³
  97. ³ 4.8.2) Source specification must be used for PDTV, APDTV, DSR, ADSR ³
  98. ³ sources. ³
  99. ³ 4.8.2.1) 'undef' must be used if not specified by the source. ³
  100. ³ 4.9) Colour space (--output-csp) must be 'i420' (4:2:0). ³
  101. ³ 4.10) Sample aspect ratio (--sar) must be '1:1' (square). ³
  102. ³ 4.11) Deblocking (--deblock) must be used. Values used are left to the ³
  103. ³ discretion of the group. ³
  104. ³ 4.12) Keyframe interval (--keyint) must be at least 200, and at most 300. ³
  105. ³ 4.12.1) It is recommended to let x264 decide which value to use, but ³
  106. ³ 10*framerate is a good guideline (e.g. Film=240, PAL=250, ³
  107. ³ NTSC=300). ³
  108. ³ 4.12.2) For 50 or 60 FPS content, the maximum keyframe interval must be ³
  109. ³ at least 200, and at most 600. ³
  110. ³ 4.13) Minimum GOP length (--minkeyint) must be 30 or less. ³
  111. ³ 4.13.1) It is recommended to let x264 decide which value to use, but ³
  112. ³ 1*framerate is a good guideline (e.g. Film=24, PAL=25, NTSC=30). ³
  113. ³ 4.13.2) For 50 or 60 FPS content, values of 60 or less must be used for ³
  114. ³ the minimum GOP length. ³
  115. ³ 4.14) Custom matrices are not allowed. ³
  116. ³ 4.15) Zones (--zones) are not allowed. ³
  117. ³ 4.16) x264 parameters must not vary within a release. ³
  118. ³ 4.17) Optional tuning (--tune) parameters allowed are: 'film', 'grain' ³
  119. ³ or 'animation'. ³
  120. ³ 4.18) Suggested command line: ³
  121. ³ x264 --crf ## --preset slow --level 3.1 --colormatrix ## --output ³
  122. ³ out.mkv in.avs ³
  123. ³ ³
  124. ³ 5) [ Video / Resolution ] ³
  125. ³ 5.1) Resolution must be mod 2. ³
  126. ³ 5.2) Upscaling is not allowed. ³
  127. ³ 5.3) Adding borders is not allowed. ³
  128. ³ 5.4) Multiple video tracks are not allowed. ³
  129. ³ 5.5) English spoken titles with foreign overlays, not intended by content ³
  130. ³ creators (e.g. locations, on-screen text shown in another language) ³
  131. ³ are not allowed, use INTERNAL. ³
  132. ³ 5.5.1) This does not apply to opening titles or credits, but to relevant ³
  133. ³ show content only. ³
  134. ³ 5.6) Non-English spoken titles with hardcoded English subtitles must be ³
  135. ³ tagged as SUBBED. ³
  136. ³ 5.6.1) English spoken titles with hardcoded English subtitles present ³
  137. ³ for English spoken scenes must be tagged as SUBBED. ³
  138. ³ 5.6.2) English spoken titles with hardcoded Non-English subtitles present ³
  139. ³ for English spoken scenes are not allowed, use INTERNAL. ³
  140. ³ 5.6.3) Hardcoded subtitles added by content creators are exempt (e.g. ³
  141. ³ Alien hardsubs, drunk talk hardsubs, hardsubs due to muffled ³
  142. ³ mic). ³
  143. ³ 5.7) Dupes based on resolution are not allowed. ³
  144. ³ 5.7.1) Except in situations of releases with a different aspect ratio. ³
  145. ³ The relevant tag must be used, and the reason mentioned in the ³
  146. ³ NFO. ³
  147. ³ 5.7.2) Releases which contain at least an additional 20 pixels worth of ³
  148. ³ video on any side are not considered dupes. These releases must ³
  149. ³ be tagged as WS or OM (open matte) and not proper, and the ³
  150. ³ original release must not be nuked. ³
  151. ³ 5.8) Black borders and anything (e.g. coloured borders, duplicate lines, ³
  152. ³ dirty pixels, full-time tickers) that is not part of the video must ³
  153. ³ be cropped. ³
  154. ³ 5.8.1) Retention or removal of faded edges is left to the discretion of ³
  155. ³ the group. Inclusion of faded edges is not a technical flaw, and ³
  156. ³ cannot be propered. ³
  157. ³ 5.8.1.1) Faded edges refer to a line of pixels which are of similar ³
  158. ³ appearance to pixels' parallel to the video frame. ³
  159. ³ 5.8.2) In the case of varying aspect ratios throughout the video, ³
  160. ³ cropping must be done to the most common frame size (e.g. primary ³
  161. ³ view of the pitch during sports, studio view during talk shows). ³
  162. ³ 5.8.3) Cropping of letterboxed sources with hardcoded subtitles ³
  163. ³ positioned within the black borders is left to the discretion of ³
  164. ³ the group. Video may be left uncropped or cropped evenly both ³
  165. ³ top and bottom to the widest frame without removing any subtitles. ³
  166. ³ 5.8.3.1) Cropping out hardcoded subtitles entirely is allowed, only ³
  167. ³ when they are not required, leaving any trace of subtitles or ³
  168. ³ over-cropping actual picture to remove subtitles is considered ³
  169. ³ to be a technical flaw. ³
  170. ³ 5.8.4) Video may be over or under cropped by a maximum of 1px per side. ³
  171. ³ Over or under cropping by more than 1px per side is considered a ³
  172. ³ technical flaw. ³
  173. ³ 5.9) HDTV and PDTV sources with a greater than 720px width after crop ³
  174. ³ must be resized to 720px width and a height which maintains a valid ³
  175. ³ AR. ³
  176. ³ 5.10) PDTV sources must be cropped and resized to fit within a maximum ³
  177. ³ resolution of: ³
  178. ³ 5.10.1) 720x for sources with a width between 720-705px (inclusive) ³
  179. ³ after crop, only the height may resized to maintain a valid AR. ³
  180. ³ e.g. 720x576 --> Crop(2,0,-2,-0) --> 716x576 (non-anamorphic) ³
  181. ³ --> 716x404 (anamorphic) ³
  182. ³ 5.10.2) 704x528 for sources with a width of 704px or less after crop. ³
  183. ³ e.g. 704x576 --> Crop(0,4,-0,-4) --> 704x568 (non-anamorphic) ³
  184. ³ --> 704x392 (anamorphic) ³
  185. ³ 544x576 --> Crop(4,0,-4,0) --> 536x576 (non-anamorphic) ³
  186. ³ --> 702x386 (anamorphic) ³
  187. ³ 5.11) DSR sources must be cropped and resized to fit within a maximum ³
  188. ³ resolution of: ³
  189. ³ 5.11.1) 720x for sources with a width greater than 720px after crop, ³
  190. ³ only the height may resized to maintain a valid AR. ³
  191. ³ e.g. 853x480 --> Crop(0,2,-0,-0) --> 853x478 --> 720x404 ³
  192. ³ 5.11.2) 640x for sources with a width between 720-641px (inclusive) ³
  193. ³ after crop, only the height may resized to maintain a valid AR. ³
  194. ³ e.g. 720x480 --> Crop(8,2,-16,-0) --> 696x478 (non-anamorphic) ³
  195. ³ --> 616x478 (anamorphic) ³
  196. ³ 5.11.3) 640x480 for sources with a width of 640x or less after crop. ³
  197. ³ e.g. 528x480 --> Crop(0,56,-0,-60) --> 528x364 (non-anamorphic) ³
  198. ³ --> 640x364 (anamorphic) ³
  199. ³ 5.12) Resized video must be within 0.5% of the original aspect ratio. ³
  200. ³ Original AR = (SourceWidth – [CropLeft + CropRight]) / ³
  201. ³ (SourceHeight – [CropTop + CropBottom]) ³
  202. ³ Release AR = EncodeWidth / EncodedHeight ³
  203. ³ AR Error % = [(Original AR – Release AR) / Original AR] * 100 ³
  204. ³ ³
  205. ³ Target resolution when resizing to maintain mod2 and reduce AR ³
  206. ³ error: ³
  207. ³ TargetHeight = TargetWidth / [(SourceWidth – ³
  208. ³ [CropLeft + CropRight]) / (SourceHeight – ³
  209. ³ [CropTop + CropBottom])] ³
  210. ³ The correct mod 2 value can also be calculated from the ceiling of ³
  211. ³ TargetHeight if the value is odd, and the floor of TargetHeight if ³
  212. ³ the value is even. ³
  213. ³ ³
  214. ³ 6) [ Filters ] ³
  215. ³ 6.1) IVTC or deinterlacing must be applied as required. ³
  216. ³ 6.2) Only smart deinterlacers, such as Yadif or QTGMC, must be used. ³
  217. ³ 6.2.1) FieldDeinterlace must not be used for deinterlacing. ³
  218. ³ 6.3) Only accurate field matching filters, such as TIVTC or Decomb, must ³
  219. ³ be used for inverse telecining (IVTC). ³
  220. ³ 6.3.1) Filters included in MEncoder, MJPEG tools, libav, libavcodec or ³
  221. ³ FFmpeg must not be used for IVTC. ³
  222. ³ 6.3.2) Deinterlacing filters must not be applied to telecined sources ³
  223. ³ as a method of inverse telecine. ³
  224. ³ 6.4) Only sharp resizers, such as Spline36Resize, BlackmanResize or ³
  225. ³ LanczosResize/Lanczos4Resize, must be used. ³
  226. ³ 6.4.1) Simple resizers, such as Bicubic, PointResize or Simple, are not ³
  227. ³ allowed. ³
  228. ³ ³
  229. ³ 7) [ Framerate ] ³
  230. ³ 7.1) Constant frame rate (CFR) must be used. ³
  231. ³ 7.1.1) Variable frame rate (VFR) methods are not allowed. ³
  232. ³ 7.2) True 50 / 60 FPS video must be released at 50 / 60 FPS. True 25 / ³
  233. ³ 30 FPS video released at 50 / 60 FPS is not allowed and considered a ³
  234. ³ technical flaw. ³
  235. ³ 7.2.1) Failure to apply a deinterlacer with bobbing enabled (e.g. QTGMC, ³
  236. ³ Yadif(mode=1)) to double framerate (bob) 25i / 30i video back to ³
  237. ³ true 50 / 60 FPS, is considered a technical flaw. ³
  238. ³ 7.2.2) In cases of varying framerates of 25 / 30 FPS and true 50 / 60 ³
  239. ³ FPS, the framerate of the main feature must be used (e.g. studio ³
  240. ³ for talk shows, game coverage for sports). ³
  241. ³ 7.2.3) In rare situations, 25 / 50 FPS sources must be restored to 24 or ³
  242. ³ 30 FPS. ³
  243. ³ 7.2.4) In rare situations, 30 / 60 FPS sources must be restored to 25 ³
  244. ³ FPS. ³
  245. ³ 7.3) Sources which contain footage at varying FPS throughout (hybrid ³
  246. ³ sources) and may or may not require IVTC is left to the discretion ³
  247. ³ of the group. The NFO must list a reason as to the final decision. ³
  248. ³ 7.3.1) It is assumed that the majority of a title contains enough unique ³
  249. ³ frames at 30,000/1,001 FPS to warrant a higher framerate. If it ³
  250. ³ can be proven IVTC/decimating does not result in any loss of ³
  251. ³ unique frames, this is considered a technical flaw. ³
  252. ³ 7.4) Native and converted framerates refers to the standard in which the ³
  253. ³ video was produced. ³
  254. ³ 7.4.1) NTSC produced video is native to NTSC. ³
  255. ³ 7.4.2) PAL produced video is native to PAL. ³
  256. ³ 7.4.3) NTSC produced video that is broadcast in PAL is considered as ³
  257. ³ converted video. ³
  258. ³ 7.4.4) PAL produced video that is broadcast in NTSC is considered as ³
  259. ³ converted video. ³
  260. ³ 7.5) Converted video that has significant abnormalities (e.g. blended ³
  261. ³ frames, jerky playback due to missing or duplicate frames) due to ³
  262. ³ the conversion and cannot be reversed to the native format must be ³
  263. ³ tagged as CONVERT. ³
  264. ³ 7.5.1) Converted video which does not have significant abnormalities do ³
  265. ³ not require the CONVERT tag and must not be nuked for the ³
  266. ³ conversion. ³
  267. ³ 7.6) Dupes based on framerate are not allowed, use INTERNAL. ³
  268. ³ ³
  269. ³ 8) [ Audio ] ³
  270. ³ 8.1) Segmented encoding is not allowed. ³
  271. ³ 8.2) VBR AAC LC (Low Complexity) must be used. ³
  272. ³ 8.2.1) Apple/QAAC, FDK-AAC or Nero must be used. ³
  273. ³ 8.2.1.1) Any other AAC encoders (e.g. FFmpeg, FAAC, MEncoder) are not ³
  274. ³ allowed. ³
  275. ³ 8.2.2) Quality based VBR encoding must be used, targeted or constrained ³
  276. ³ VBR must not be used. Only the following methods are allowed (in ³
  277. ³ order of preference): ³
  278. ³ 8.2.2.1) QAAC: --tvbr 82 --quality 2 ³
  279. ³ 8.2.2.2) FDK-AAC: --bitrate-mode 4 --profile 2 ³
  280. ³ 8.2.2.3) Nero: -q 0.4 ³
  281. ³ 8.2.3) AAC audio must be normalised to the maximum gain. Normalisation ³
  282. ³ must be a complete 2-pass method. No pre-defined values or ³
  283. ³ estimations of maximum gain is allowed. Only the following ³
  284. ³ normalisation methods are allowed (in order of preference): ³
  285. ³ 8.2.3.1) eac3to: –normalize ³
  286. ³ 8.2.3.2) sox: --norm ³
  287. ³ 8.2.3.3) QAAC: --normalize ³
  288. ³ 8.2.4) Any existing normalisation values such as dialnorm in AC3 files, ³
  289. ³ must be stripped prior to applying normalisation. ³
  290. ³ e.g. Decoding with eac3to: do not enable -keepDialnorm ³
  291. ³ Decoding with ffmpeg: enable -drc_scale 0 ³
  292. ³ 8.2.5) Audio with more than 2 channels must be down-mixed to stereo. ³
  293. ³ 8.2.6) Audio must not be resampled. Audio must be kept in the original ³
  294. ³ format as the source (e.g. 48KHz for 48KHz sources). ³
  295. ³ 8.2.7) Audio which is already presented as 2 channel VBR AAC LC by the ³
  296. ³ broadcaster (e.g. Freeview), may be left as obtained from the ³
  297. ³ source. ³
  298. ³ 8.2.7.1) Audio which is broadcasted as AAC LATM or LOAS must have the ³
  299. ³ headers converted to AAC ADTS without transcoding. ³
  300. ³ 8.2.8) Suggested command line: ³
  301. ³ eac3to in.ac3 stdout.wav -downStereo -normalize | qaac --tvbr 82 ³
  302. ³ --quality 2 --ignorelength - -o out.aac ³
  303. ³ 8.3) Multiple language audio tracks are allowed. ³
  304. ³ 8.3.1) The default audio track must be the language intended for release ³
  305. ³ (e.g. An English release containing English, German and Russian ³
  306. ³ audio tracks, must have the default flag set on the English ³
  307. ³ track). ³
  308. ³ 8.3.2) The correct ISO 639 language code supported by MKVToolnix must be ³
  309. ³ set for all secondary audio tracks, default may be left undefined. ³
  310. ³ 8.3.2.1) In situations where the language is not supported by ³
  311. ³ MKVToolnix, 'und' must be used. ³
  312. ³ 8.4) If the original language of a title is not English: ³
  313. ³ 8.4.1) An English dubbed track is allowed as a secondary audio track. ³
  314. ³ 8.4.2) Releases containing only a dubbed audio track must be tagged as ³
  315. ³ DUBBED. ³
  316. ³ 8.5) Dupes based on multiple audio tracks or audio format are not allowed, ³
  317. ³ use INTERNAL. ³
  318. ³ ³
  319. ³ 9) [ Glitches / Missing Footage ] ³
  320. ³ 9.1) Where audio or video issues are unavoidable due to a live-broadcast ³
  321. ³ or mastering issues, a release must not be nuked until a valid ³
  322. ³ proper, repack or rerip which does not exhibit the same flaw is ³
  323. ³ released. ³
  324. ³ 9.2) Scrolling or other alert messages added by the broadcasting station ³
  325. ³ (e.g. Weather or Amber alerts) appearing for a cumulative total of ³
  326. ³ at least 30 seconds throughout the entire release is considered a ³
  327. ³ technical flaw. ³
  328. ³ 9.3) Video frame abnormalities (e.g. Abnormal snipes/pop-ups, banner ³
  329. ³ advertisements that do not fade out entirely) as a result of broken ³
  330. ³ splicing originating from the broadcasting station is considered a ³
  331. ³ technical flaw. ³
  332. ³ 9.4) Missing or repeated video footage without any loss of dialogue must ³
  333. ³ be at least 2 seconds long at any one instance to be considered a ³
  334. ³ technical flaw. ³
  335. ³ 9.4.1) Except in situations where on-screen text is lost due to missing ³
  336. ³ footage. Loss of on-screen text is considered a technical flaw. ³
  337. ³ 9.4.2) Except in situations where minor missing or repeated video ³
  338. ³ footage flaws are present throughout the majority of the release. ³
  339. ³ Excessive flaws such as these are considered a technical flaw. ³
  340. ³ e.g. Video frame glitches occurring every 2 minutes throughout ³
  341. ³ the entire release but only in the amount of 1 second per ³
  342. ³ instance, is considered excessive and a technical flaw. ³
  343. ³ Repeated footage occurring every 5 minutes throughout the ³
  344. ³ entire release but only in the amount of 1.5 seconds per ³
  345. ³ instance, is considered excessive and a technical flaw. ³
  346. ³ Video frame glitches of 1 second per instance occurring 6 ³
  347. ³ times throughout the entire release is NOT considered ³
  348. ³ excessive or a technical flaw. ³
  349. ³ 9.5) Audio which drifts at least 120ms at a single point or a total of ³
  350. ³ at least 120ms between multiple points throughout the entire release ³
  351. ³ is considered a technical flaw. ³
  352. ³ e.g. Sync drifting +120ms after 10 minutes is considered a ³
  353. ³ technical flaw. ³
  354. ³ Sync drifting +80ms after 5 minutes, -40ms after 15 minutes, ³
  355. ³ for a total of 120ms, is considered a technical flaw. ³
  356. ³ 9.6) Glitches that occur in any audio channel present (e.g. L, R, C, SL, ³
  357. ³ SR) are considered a technical flaw. ³
  358. ³ 9.6.1) Glitches are defined as, but not limited to: missing dialogue, ³
  359. ³ repeated dialogue, inability to understand dialogue, bad channel ³
  360. ³ mix, large gaps within playback, persistent clicks/pops/muted/ ³
  361. ³ echoing/muffled audio. ³
  362. ³ ³
  363. ³ 10) [ Editing / Adjustments ] ³
  364. ³ 10.1) Minor adjustments to video or audio tracks (e.g. duplicating or ³
  365. ³ removing frames, channel count) in order to prevent issues with ³
  366. ³ playback or sync is allowed. ³
  367. ³ 10.2) Multi-episode releases with no clear delineation between episodes ³
  368. ³ (e.g. end credits) must not be split. ³
  369. ³ 10.3) Including previously-on footage is optional, but recommended. ³
  370. ³ 10.4) Including upcoming/teaser/scenes from the next episode footage ³
  371. ³ found at the conclusion of an episode is optional, but recommended. ³
  372. ³ 10.5) Credits must be included if they contain unique show content. ³
  373. ³ (e.g. bloopers, outtakes, dialogue, unique uninterrupted ³
  374. ³ soundtrack, in memory of message) ³
  375. ³ 10.5.1) End credits must only be considered optional if they do not ³
  376. ³ contain unique show content (e.g. regular plain credits with or ³
  377. ³ without promos), and may be removed at the discretion of the ³
  378. ³ group. ³
  379. ³ 10.5.2) A simulcast which does not contain unique content in the credits ³
  380. ³ cannot be propered from a primary broadcaster which contains ³
  381. ³ unique content, use EXTENDED. ³
  382. ³ 10.5.3) If a different broadcaster or re-broadcast of a show contains ³
  383. ³ unique content not present in the original broadcast, the first ³
  384. ³ release cannot not be propered, use EXTENDED. ³
  385. ³ 10.5.3.1) In situations where a unique uninterrupted soundtrack is the ³
  386. ³ only additional unique content included in the credits, use ³
  387. ³ of EXTENDED is not allowed, use INTERNAL. ³
  388. ³ 10.5.3.2) It is recommended, but not required, to include unique ³
  389. ³ content included in the credits that was omitted from the ³
  390. ³ original broadcast. ³
  391. ³ 10.6) Inclusion of bumper segments, 5-20 second segments containing ³
  392. ³ coming up/preview/backstage footage (e.g. SNL, Cops) is optional ³
  393. ³ and at the discretion of the group. ³
  394. ³ 10.6.1) In situations where bumper segments have been omitted in the ³
  395. ³ first release, a secondary release which includes all bumper ³
  396. ³ segments is allowed and must be tagged as UNCUT. ³
  397. ³ 10.6.2) In situations where bumpers are included: ³
  398. ³ 10.6.2.1) All bumper segments must be free of any technical flaws. ³
  399. ³ 10.6.2.2) All bumper segments must be included, missing any bumper ³
  400. ³ segment is considered a technical flaw. ³
  401. ³ 10.6.3) Small segments containing actual show content, not containing ³
  402. ³ coming up/preview/backstage footage, are not considered as ³
  403. ³ bumper segments (e.g. Talking Dead, Comic Book Men, Portlandia). ³
  404. ³ 10.7) Any unrelated video (e.g. commercials, rating cards, viewer/content ³
  405. ³ warnings), regardless of duration (e.g. 1 faded/half opacity frame ³
  406. ³ or 10 seconds) must be completely removed. ³
  407. ³ 10.7.1) Content warnings can be retained or removed at the discretion of ³
  408. ³ the group, except when they are intended by content creators ³
  409. ³ and must be retained (e.g. Tosh 0, Robot Chicken, South Park, ³
  410. ³ Law and Order SVU). ³
  411. ³ 10.7.1.1) This does not apply to scripted or animation content. Content ³
  412. ³ warnings not intended by content creators must always be ³
  413. ³ removed in these cases. ³
  414. ³ 10.7.1.2) Following the opening segment for non-scripted and ³
  415. ³ non-animation content, all content warnings which precede ³
  416. ³ each segment must be removed. ³
  417. ³ 10.7.2) Sponsorship advertisements which are integrated into show ³
  418. ³ content and cannot be removed (e.g. Jimmy Kimmel, Talking Dead, ³
  419. ³ Deadliest Catch) are exempt. ³
  420. ³ 10.7.3) Show transition cards appearing at the start or end of segments ³
  421. ³ on some broadcasters (e.g. Seven, Channel 4, ITV1) can be ³
  422. ³ retained or removed at the discretion of the group. ³
  423. ³ 10.7.4) Opening and closing interleaves (e.g. HBO opening animation, ³
  424. ³ ... presents, this has been a ... production, ... original ³
  425. ³ series) can be retained or removed at the discretion of the ³
  426. ³ group, except when they contain show content and must be ³
  427. ³ retained. ³
  428. ³ 10.8) Any unrelated audio (e.g. alerts, commercials), regardless of ³
  429. ³ duration (e.g. 100ms or 10 seconds) must be completely removed. ³
  430. ³ 10.8.1) Except when a broadcaster (e.g. ABC) splices unrelated audio ³
  431. ³ into the beginning of a segment, that does not result in sync ³
  432. ³ issues. ³
  433. ³ ³
  434. ³ 11) [ Subtitles ] ³
  435. ³ 11.1) Subtitles for English spoken titles without foreign dialogue are ³
  436. ³ optional, but encouraged. ³
  437. ³ 11.2) English spoken titles with foreign dialogue must include a separate ³
  438. ³ subtitle track for forced subtitles. ³
  439. ³ 11.2.1) Foreign dialogue subtitle tracks must be set as forced and it ³
  440. ³ is considered a technical flaw if not done correctly. ³
  441. ³ 11.2.2) In situations where the source video stream contains hardcoded ³
  442. ³ subtitles for English spoken titles with foreign dialogue, a ³
  443. ³ separate subtitle track for the forced subtitles is not ³
  444. ³ required. ³
  445. ³ 11.2.3) If a broadcaster which is primarily English spoken (e.g. FOX, ³
  446. ³ BBC) does not contain hardcoded subtitles for scenes with ³
  447. ³ foreign dialogue in the video stream, then forced subtitles are ³
  448. ³ not required but recommended. ³
  449. ³ 11.3) Non-English spoken titles without hardcoded subtitles must include ³
  450. ³ an English subtitle track set as forced before it is considered to ³
  451. ³ be an English release. ³
  452. ³ 11.4) Subtitles must be extracted from the original source. ³
  453. ³ 11.4.1) Fan-made or custom subtitles are not allowed. ³
  454. ³ 11.5) Adjustments and edits (e.g. adjusting timecodes, fixing grammar, ³
  455. ³ spelling, punctuation errors) may be made to subtitle tracks. ³
  456. ³ 11.6) Subtitles must be muxed into the final MKV in text based format, ³
  457. ³ i.e. SubRip (.srt) or SubStation Alpha (.ssa/.ass). ³
  458. ³ 11.6.1) Subtitles must not be set as default or forced unless otherwise ³
  459. ³ specified. ³
  460. ³ 11.6.2) The correct ISO 639 language code supported by MKVToolnix must ³
  461. ³ be set for all subtitle tracks. ³
  462. ³ 11.6.2.1) In situations where the language is not supported by ³
  463. ³ MKVToolnix, 'und' must be used. ³
  464. ³ 11.7) External subtitles located in 'Subs' directories are not allowed. ³
  465. ³ 11.8) Dupes based on subtitles are not allowed, use INTERNAL. ³
  466. ³ ³
  467. ³ 12) [ Container ] ³
  468. ³ 12.1) Container must be Matroska (.mkv). MKVToolnix is the recommended ³
  469. ³ muxer. ³
  470. ³ 12.1.1) Custom muxing tools are allowed. However, the output must adhere ³
  471. ³ to the Matroska specifications and must retain identical ³
  472. ³ compatibility with demuxers as files created with MKVToolnix. ³
  473. ³ 12.2) Support for file streaming and playback from RAR is mandatory. ³
  474. ³ 12.3) Matroska header compression must not be enabled. ³
  475. ³ 12.4) Chapters are allowed, and recommended for long events (e.g. long ³
  476. ³ poker games to mark each round). ³
  477. ³ 12.5) Watermarks, intros, outros or any other forms of defacement in any ³
  478. ³ track (e.g. video, audio, subtitles, chapters) are not allowed. ³
  479. ³ ³
  480. ³ 13) [ Packaging ] ³
  481. ³ 13.1) Must be packed with RAR files, broken into a maximum of 101 ³
  482. ³ volumes (.rar to .r99) ³
  483. ³ 13.2) RAR5/RARv5.0 is not allowed. RAR3/RARv2.0 or RAR4/v2.9 must be ³
  484. ³ used. ³
  485. ³ 13.2.1) Custom RAR tools are allowed. However, files must adhere to the ³
  486. ³ RAR4/RARv2.9 archive specifications and must retain identical ³
  487. ³ compatibility with extractors and demuxers as files created with ³
  488. ³ WinRAR/rar. ³
  489. ³ 13.3) Permitted RAR sizes are: ³
  490. ³ 13.3.1) 15,000,000 bytes or 20,000,000 bytes. Multiples of these values ³
  491. ³ are not allowed. ³
  492. ³ 13.3.2) Positive integer multiples of 50,000,000 bytes. ³
  493. ³ e.g. (50 * 10^6) * n bytes, where n > 0. ³
  494. ³ (50 * 10^6) * 4 bytes, 100,000,000 bytes, 400,000,000 ³
  495. ³ bytes, etc. ³
  496. ³ 13.3.3) Releases must have a minimum of 10 volumes before the next ³
  497. ³ multiple of 50,000,000 bytes is used. ³
  498. ³ e.g. 10 volumes at 50,000,000 bytes can be repackaged to 5 ³
  499. ³ volumes at 100,000,000 bytes. ³
  500. ³ 5 volumes at 100,000,000 bytes cannot be repacked to 4 ³
  501. ³ volumes at 150,000,000 bytes. ³
  502. ³ 13.4) SFV and NFO must be present. ³
  503. ³ 13.5) RAR, SFV and Sample files must have unique, lower-case filenames ³
  504. ³ with the group tag. ³
  505. ³ 13.5.1) Group tags must be unique to each group, and may be an ³
  506. ³ abbreviated variation of the group name. ³
  507. ³ 13.6) Missing RAR(s) or SFV on all sites is considered a technical flaw. ³
  508. ³ 13.7) Corrupt RAR(s) (errors upon extraction) is considered a technical ³
  509. ³ flaw. ³
  510. ³ 13.8) RAR compression and recovery records are not allowed. ³
  511. ³ 13.9) Encryption or password protection is not allowed. ³
  512. ³ 13.10) RARs must only contain a single mkv file, any other files (e.g. ³
  513. ³ multiple mkv files, txt files) are not allowed. ³
  514. ³ ³
  515. ³ 14) [ Samples / Source Samples ] ³
  516. ³ 14.1) Releases must include a single 50-70 second sample. ³
  517. ³ 14.2) Samples must have unique filenames and placed in a separate ³
  518. ³ directory named 'Sample' ³
  519. ³ 14.3) Samples must be cut from the final video, not encoded separately. ³
  520. ³ 14.4) If there is a question as to the validity of a source, encoding ³
  521. ³ methods or filters used, the release may be nuked within 24 hours ³
  522. ³ of pre requesting a source sample and must include the initial ³
  523. ³ suspicion or reason. ³
  524. ³ e.g. source.sample.requested_suspicion.of.invalid.decimation. ³
  525. ³ source.sample.requested_suspicion.of.analog.source.used. ³
  526. ³ 14.4.1) The group has 24 hours from the first nuke to pre a source ³
  527. ³ sample that is at least 10 seconds in length. ³
  528. ³ 14.4.2) Requests may be of a specific timecode to verify the sample ³
  529. ³ provided is the same source used for the encode in question ³
  530. ³ (e.g. include.banner.at.4m13s). ³
  531. ³ 14.4.3) Source sample(s) must be packed as per section 13, and use the ³
  532. ³ SOURCE.SAMPLE tag. ³
  533. ³ 14.4.4) Providing insufficient proof to disprove any claims, or a ³
  534. ³ failure to provide any source proof, and the release must remain ³
  535. ³ nuked and can be propered. ³
  536. ³ 14.4.5) If there are any questionable issues (e.g. mastering flaws) with ³
  537. ³ the source, it is recommended to include uniquely named source ³
  538. ³ sample(s) within the 'Sample' directory. ³
  539. ³ ³
  540. ³ 15) [ Tagging ] ³
  541. ³ 15.1) Only the following additional tags are allowed: ³
  542. ³ ALTERNATIVE.CUT, CONVERT, COLORIZED, DC, DIRFIX, DUBBED, EXTENDED, ³
  543. ³ FINAL, INTERNAL, NFOFIX, OAR, OM, PPV, PROPER, REAL, REMASTERED, ³
  544. ³ READNFO, REPACK, RERIP, SAMPLEFIX, SOURCE.SAMPLE, SUBBED, ³
  545. ³ UNCENSORED, UNRATED, UNCUT, WEST.FEED, and WS. ³
  546. ³ 15.1.1) WEST.FEED refers to an alternative version which airs ³
  547. ³ exclusively on the west coast, such as a live episode of ³
  548. ³ Undateable which has two separate performances of the same ³
  549. ³ episode for each coast, east and west. ³
  550. ³ 15.1.1.1) Releases must be tagged as WEST.FEED when they come from an ³
  551. ³ exclusive west coast airing, even if no east feed has been ³
  552. ³ released first. ³
  553. ³ 15.2) Variations of any additional tags are not allowed. ³
  554. ³ e.g. READ.NFO or RNFO is not allowed, READNFO must be used. ³
  555. ³ 15.3) READNFO should be used sparingly. Discretion is recommended. ³
  556. ³ 15.3.1) The READNFO tag must not be used with PROPER, REPACK or RERIP. ³
  557. ³ The NFO is required to contain a reason, therefore the tag is ³
  558. ³ redundant. ³
  559. ³ 15.4) Tags must only be used once, but the order is left to the ³
  560. ³ discretion of the group. ³
  561. ³ 15.4.1) Except in situations where the REAL tag is required to be ³
  562. ³ stacked to differentiate between multiple invalid releases. ³
  563. ³ e.g. A REAL.REAL.PROPER is required for a REAL.PROPER and ³
  564. ³ PROPER. ³
  565. ³ 15.5) Tags must be grouped together, period-delimited, and must follow the ³
  566. ³ mandatory directory format, see rule 16.4. ³
  567. ³ e.g. EXTENDED.RERIP, REMASTERED.REPACK. ³
  568. ³ ³
  569. ³ 16) [ Directory Naming ] ³
  570. ³ 16.1) Acceptable characters allowed for directories are: ³
  571. ³ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ³
  572. ³ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ³
  573. ³ 0123456789._- ³
  574. ³ 16.2) Single punctuation must be used. Consecutive punctuation is not ³
  575. allowed. ³
  576. ³ e.g. Show----Name.S01E01, Show.Name....S01E01 ³
  577. ³ 16.3) Typos or spelling mistakes in the directory are not allowed. ³
  578. ³ 16.4) Releases must follow the matching directory format: ³
  579. ³ 16.4.1) Single.Episode.Special.YYYY.<TAGS>.[LANGUAGE].<FORMAT>-GROUP ³
  580. ³ 16.4.2) Weekly.TV.Show.SXXEXX[Episode.Part].[Episode.Title]. ³
  581. ³ <TAGS>.[LANGUAGE].<FORMAT>.x264-GROUP ³
  582. ³ 16.4.3) Weekly.TV.Show.Special.SXXE00.Special.Title. ³
  583. ³ <TAGS>.[LANGUAGE].<FORMAT>-GROUP ³
  584. ³ 16.4.4) Multiple.Episode.TV.Show.SXXEXX-EXX[Episode.Part]. ³
  585. ³ [Episode.Title].<TAGS>.[LANGUAGE].<FORMAT>.x264-GROUP ³
  586. ³ 16.4.5) Miniseries.Show.Name.Part.X.[Episode.Title]. ³
  587. ³ <TAGS>.[LANGUAGE].<FORMAT>.x264-GROUP ³
  588. ³ 16.4.6) Daily.TV.Show.YYYY.MM.DD.[Guest.Name]. ³
  589. ³ <TAGS>.[LANGUAGE].<FORMAT>.x264-GROUP ³
  590. ³ 16.4.7) Daily.Sport.League.YYYY.MM.DD.Event. ³
  591. ³ <TAGS>.[LANGUAGE].<FORMAT>.x264-GROUP ³
  592. ³ 16.4.8) Monthly.Competition.YYYY.MM.Event. ³
  593. ³ <TAGS>.[LANGUAGE].<FORMAT>.x264-GROUP ³
  594. ³ 16.4.9) Yearly.Competition.YYYY.Event. ³
  595. ³ <TAGS>.[LANGUAGE].<FORMAT>.x264-GROUP ³
  596. ³ 16.4.10) Sports.Match.YYYY[-YY].Round.XX.Event.[Team.vs.Team]. ³
  597. ³ <TAGS>.[LANGUAGE].<FORMAT>.x264-GROUP ³
  598. ³ 16.4.11) Sport.Tournament.YYYY.Event.[Team/Person.vs.Team/Person]. ³
  599. ³ <TAGS>.[LANGUAGE].<FORMAT>.x264-GROUP ³
  600. ³ 16.4.12) Country.YYYY.Event.<BROADCASTER>.FEED. ³
  601. ³ <TAGS>.[LANGUAGE].<FORMAT>.x264-GROUP ³
  602. ³ 16.5) Named directory arguments formatted inside <> must be included. ³
  603. ³ Optional arguments formatted inside [] may be used in some cases. ³
  604. ³ 16.5.1) Mini-series parts must be at least 1 integer wide, and values ³
  605. ³ used may extend past 9. ³
  606. ³ e.g. Miniseries.Part.1, Miniseries.Part.10, etc. ³
  607. ³ 16.5.2) Episode and seasonal numbering must be at least 2 integers wide, ³
  608. ³ and values used may extend past 99. ³
  609. ³ e.g. S01E99, S01E100, S101E01, etc. ³
  610. ³ 16.5.3) Episode part refers to episodes, usually cartoons or animation, ³
  611. ³ which split episodes into stories by different directors. ³
  612. ³ Episodes parts must be alphanumeric (A-Z, a-z, 0-9). ³
  613. ³ e.g. The first episode from Season 2 of SpongeBob SquarePants ³
  614. ³ is split into S02E01A/B, etc. https://goo.gl/CVGXKu ³
  615. ³ 16.5.4) Season must be omitted if a series does not have seasons, and ³
  616. ³ is not a mini-series. ³
  617. ³ e.g. One Piece must be tagged as One.Piece.E01 ³
  618. ³ 16.5.5) Episode title and guest names are optional. ³
  619. ³ 16.5.6) Guest name(s) used must be in the order in which they appear on ³
  620. ³ the show to avoid any confusion. ³
  621. ³ 16.5.7) Non-English releases must include the language tag. English ³
  622. ³ releases must not include the language tag. ³
  623. ³ 16.5.7.1) Language tags must be the full name of the language. ³
  624. ³ Abbreviations or language codes are not allowed, unless they ³
  625. ³ are already established and widely adopted (e.g. EE, SI, PL). ³
  626. ³ e.g. FRENCH, RUSSIAN. ³
  627. ³ 16.5.8) Tags refers to all permitted tags only, see section 15. ³
  628. ³ 16.5.9) Format refers to the video source used, i.e. AHDTV, HDTV, ³
  629. ³ APDTV, PDTV, ADSR, DSR. ³
  630. ³ 16.6) Do not indicate source, ripping or encoding methods that were used. ³
  631. ³ Use the NFO for any technical details. ³
  632. ³ 16.7) All single-episode titles, (e.g. documentaries, specials, movies) ³
  633. ³ must include the production year. ³
  634. ³ 16.8) Inclusion of the channel name is not allowed. ³
  635. ³ e.g. National.Geographic, HBO.Documentary, History.Channel. ³
  636. ³ 16.9) Different shows with the same title produced in different countries ³
  637. ³ must have the ISO 3166-1 alpha 2 country code in the show name. ³
  638. ³ 16.9.1) Except for UK shows, which should use UK, not GB. ³
  639. ³ 16.9.2) This rule does not apply to an original show, only shows that ³
  640. ³ succeed the original. ³
  641. ³ e.g. The.Office.S01E01 and The.Office.US.S01E01. ³
  642. ³ 16.10) Different shows with the same title produced in the same country ³
  643. ³ which begin in different years must have the year of the first ³
  644. ³ season in the directory. ³
  645. ³ 16.10.1) The year is not required for the show broadcasted first. ³
  646. ³ e.g. Second.Chance.S01E01 and Second.Chance.2016.S01E01. ³
  647. ³ 16.11) Different shows with the same titles produced in the same country ³
  648. ³ which begin in different years must have the ISO-3166-1 alpha 2 ³
  649. ³ country code followed by the year of the first season in the ³
  650. ³ directory. ³
  651. ³ 16.11.1) See rules 16.9 and 16.10 for country code and year ³
  652. explanations. ³
  653. ³ e.g. Wanted.S01E01 (2005), Wanted.AU.S01E01 (2013), ³
  654. ³ Wanted.AU.2016.S01E01 (2016). ³
  655. ³ 16.12) Show names which are hyphenated or include punctuation must follow ³
  656. ³ the format shown in the title sequence or credits of the first ³
  657. ³ episode, limited to the list of acceptable characters. ³
  658. ³ 16.12.1) If no title card exists, see rule 16.14.1. ³
  659. ³ 16.12.2) Additional titles and names given to an individual season must ³
  660. ³ not be used. ³
  661. ³ e.g. Archer.Vice.S05, Strike.Back.Legacy.S05. ³
  662. ³ 16.12.3) Acronyms which show the ellipsis of letters with non-standard ³
  663. ³ characters must be replaced with a period. ³
  664. ³ e.g. M*A*S*H must be M.A.S.H. ³
  665. ³ 16.13) Directory nomenclature and numbering must remain consistent ³
  666. ³ across the lifetime of an individual show or event. ³
  667. ³ 16.13.1) Shows which contain acronyms or secondary titles must follow ³
  668. ³ the format used by the first release. ³
  669. ³ e.g. Law.and.Order.SVU.S01E01 is the standard format that must ³
  670. ³ be used for all following episodes, ³
  671. ³ Law.and.Order.Special.Victims.Unit.S01E02 is not allowed. ³
  672. ³ Shadowhunters.The.Mortal.Instruments.S01E01 is the ³
  673. ³ standard format, Shadowhunters.S01E02 is not allowed. ³
  674. ³ 16.13.2) Shows which air with extended content under modified names ³
  675. ³ must use the primary show name and numbering with the ³
  676. ³ EXTENDED tag. ³
  677. ³ e.g. QI.S06E01 and QI.XL.S01E01, must be tagged as QI.S06E01 ³
  678. ³ and QI.S06E01.EXTENDED respectively. ³
  679. ³ Room.101.S01E01 and Room.101.Extra.Storage.S01E01, must ³
  680. ³ be tagged as Room.101.S01E01 and Room.101.S01E01.EXTENDED ³
  681. ³ respectively. ³
  682. ³ 16.13.3) Groups cannot change the directory format of a show after a ³
  683. ³ second release or episode with the same format exists. ³
  684. ³ e.g. 2016-01-01: Law.and.Order.SVU.S01E01 sets the format. ³
  685. ³ 2016-01-08: Law.and.Order.SVU.S01E02 continues the ³
  686. format. ³
  687. ³ 2016-01-09: Law.and.Order.Special.Victims.Unit.S01E01. ³
  688. ³ DIRFIX is not valid as the second episode already exists ³
  689. ³ and continues with the previously defined format. ³
  690. ³ 16.13.4) Except in situations where the show has an official change in ³
  691. ³ its name, whereby all official references by the broadcaster ³
  692. ³ or studio is of the new name. This change must be mentioned in ³
  693. ³ the first NFO with the new name with relevant references. ³
  694. ³ e.g. Gold.Rush.Alaska.S01E01 changed to Gold.Rush.S02E01. ³
  695. ³ 16.13.5) Official name changes for a show does not include the renaming ³
  696. ³ of individual seasons. Seasonal name changes must be ignored. ³
  697. ³ e.g. Power.Rangers.S01 and Power.Rangers.S07 must be used. ³
  698. ³ Power.Rangers.Lost.Galaxy.S07 must not be used. ³
  699. ³ Strike.Back.S03, Strike.Back.S05 must be used. ³
  700. ³ Strike.Back.Vengeance.S03, Strike.Back.Legacy.S05 ³
  701. ³ must not be used. ³
  702. ³ 16.13.6) Any deviations or changes require sufficient evidence listed in ³
  703. ³ the NFO as to the reason for change. ³
  704. ³ 16.14) User contributed services such as TVRage, TVMaze or TheTVDB must ³
  705. ³ not be used as a reference when naming and numbering episodes. It ³
  706. ³ may be used as a general guide; however, official guides must be ³
  707. ³ used. ³
  708. ³ 16.14.1) The following order must be used as the primary source for ³
  709. ³ naming and numbering. ³
  710. ³ 16.14.1.1) Official website of the show. ³
  711. ³ 16.14.1.2) Order and format listed by the original broadcaster. ³
  712. ³ 16.14.1.3) Network guide. ³
  713. ³ 16.14.2) In situations where official sources have inconsistent ³
  714. listings, or offer none at all, previously established ³
  715. numbering must be used ³
  716. ³ e.g. Mythbusters, National Geographics Special Episodes. ³
  717. ³ ³
  718. ³ 17) [ Fixes ] ³
  719. ³ 17.1) The following fixes are allowed: DIRFIX, NFOFIX and SAMPLEFIX. Any ³
  720. ³ other form of fix is not allowed. ³
  721. ³ 17.2) All fixes require an NFO and must state which release is being ³
  722. ³ fixed. ³
  723. ³ 17.3) A proper cannot be released for an error that can be fixed with ³
  724. ³ the above methods. ³
  725. ³ 17.4) If multiple releases from a single season require a DIRFIX, a ³
  726. ³ single DIRFIX per season is allowed and is recommended. ³
  727. ³ 17.4.1) If a single DIRFIX is used, all relevant releases and ³
  728. ³ corresponding fixes must be listed in the NFO. ³
  729. ³ ³
  730. ³ 18) [ Dupes ] ³
  731. ³ 18.1) Same second releases, with a maximum acceptable variance of one ³
  732. ³ second (+/- 1 second) between timestamps reported by a majority of ³
  733. ³ pre bots, are not considered dupes and should not be nuked. ³
  734. ³ 18.1.1) Timestamps must be considered as whole integers and round half ³
  735. ³ towards zero. ³
  736. ³ 18.1.2) The earliest timestamp must be used when considering dupes. ³
  737. ³ e.g. Release A: 1451572201.427158 -> 1451572201 ³
  738. ³ Release B: 1451572202.626645 -> 1451572202 ³
  739. ³ Release C: 1451572203.137665 -> 1451572203 ³
  740. ³ Release B does not dupe Release A: 1451572202 – 1451572201 ³
  741. ³ = 1, i.e. maximum variance allowed. ³
  742. ³ Release C dupes Releases A and B: 1451572203 – 1451572201 ³
  743. ³ = 2, i.e. 2 > 1. ³
  744. ³ 18.1.3) In situations where a release is found to contain a technical ³
  745. ³ flaw, same second dupes which do not exhibit any technical flaws ³
  746. ³ must be considered the final release. Groups may release a ³
  747. ³ DIRFIX to PROPER for their original release, but it is not ³
  748. required. ³
  749. ³ e.g. Release A and Release B are released at the same time. ³
  750. ³ Release A is nuked as containing glitches, Release B then ³
  751. ³ becomes the de facto release and a DIRFIX to PROPER may ³
  752. ³ be released. ³
  753. ³ 18.2) AHDTV dupes HDTV. ³
  754. ³ 18.3) HDTV does not dupe AHDTV. ³
  755. ³ 18.4) PDTV and APDTV dupes HDTV and AHDTV. ³
  756. ³ 18.5) PDTV does not dupe APDTV. ³
  757. ³ 18.6) DSR and ADSR dupes HDTV, AHDTV, PDTV and APDTV. ³
  758. ³ 18.7) DSR does not dupe ADSR. ³
  759. ³ 18.8) AHDTV, HDTV, PDTV, APDTV, DSR and ADSR dupes an equivalent Retail ³
  760. ³ release. ³
  761. ³ 18.8.1) Except in situations where the aspect ratio of the release ³
  762. ³ exceeds that of its respective Retail release. ³
  763. ³ e.g. A 2.39:1 release will not dupe a 1.78:1 retail release ³
  764. ³ provided there is clearly more visible on-screen footage. ³
  765. ³ Proof demonstrating this difference is recommended, but ³
  766. ³ not mandatory. ³
  767. ³ 18.8.2) Except in situations where the release is a different version ³
  768. ³ (i.e ALTERNATIVE.CUT, COLORIZED, EXTENDED, OAR, OM, REMASTERED, ³
  769. ³ UNCENSORED, UNRATED, UNCUT, WEST.FEED, WS) of its respective ³
  770. ³ retail release, and is not censored after uncensored. ³
  771. ³ e.g. An UNCENSORED.HDTV.x264 release does not dupe a censored ³
  772. ³ BluRay.x264. ³
  773. ³ 18.9) Releases with hardcoded subtitles (i.e. SUBBED) dupe releases with ³
  774. ³ muxed-in subtitles. ³
  775. ³ 18.10) Releases with muxed-in subtitles do not dupe releases with ³
  776. ³ hardcoded subtitles. ³
  777. ³ 18.11) Native video streams do not dupe converted video streams. ³
  778. ³ 18.12) Converted video streams dupe native video streams. ³
  779. ³ 18.13) Different versions of releases (i.e ALTERNATIVE.CUT, COLORIZED, ³
  780. ³ EXTENDED, OAR, OM, REMASTERED, UNCENSORED, UNRATED, UNCUT, ³
  781. ³ WEST.FEED, WS) do not dupe their counterparts or vice versa, ³
  782. ³ except for censored after uncensored and FS after WS. ³
  783. ³ 18.14) Programs which have identical footage but have different narrators ³
  784. ³ in the same language (e.g. British narrator for BBC and American ³
  785. ³ narrator for Discovery) dupe each other, use INTERNAL. ³
  786. ³ 18.15) Different broadcasters which offer alternate commentary and ³
  787. ³ coverage in the same language (e.g. CTV for Canada, NBC for ³
  788. ³ America, BBC for England) for special worldwide events (e.g. The ³
  789. ³ Olympics), do not dupe each other. ³
  790. ³ ³
  791. ³ 19) [ Propers / Rerips / Repacks ] ³
  792. ³ 19.1) Detailed reasons must be included in the NFO for all repacks, ³
  793. ³ rerips and propers. ³
  794. ³ 19.1.1) Proper reasons must be clearly stated in the NFO, including ³
  795. ³ timestamps and specifics in regards to the flaw when ³
  796. ³ appropriate. A sample demonstrating the flaw in the original ³
  797. ³ release is encouraged, but not mandatory. ³
  798. ³ 19.2) Propers are only permitted in the case of a technical flaw in the ³
  799. ³ original release. ³
  800. ³ 19.2.1) Flaws present in optional content cannot be propered, use ³
  801. ³ INTERNAL. ³
  802. ³ 19.2.1.1) In situations where bumper segments have been included, see ³
  803. ³ rule 10.6.2. ³
  804. ³ 19.2.2) Time compressed sources (e.g. ABC, Freeform, NBC) that contain ³
  805. ³ blended and missing frames cannot be propered for bad IVTC, ³
  806. ³ which is the result of the time compression. ³
  807. ³ 19.2.3) Releases which exhibit minor IVTC flaws as a result of source ³
  808. ³ compression, video glitches, logos, ratings bugs, snipes or ³
  809. ³ banner advertisements, are not considered technically flawed and ³
  810. ³ cannot be propered. ³
  811. ³ 19.2.3.1) Except in situations where the same flaws result in excessive ³
  812. ³ frame abnormalities or issues throughout the majority of the ³
  813. ³ release. ³
  814. ³ 19.3) Qualitative propers are not allowed, use INTERNAL. ³
  815. ³ 19.3.1) Sources with different crops cannot be propered from a different ³
  816. ³ source which contains more valid pixels than the original ³
  817. ³ releases. ³
  818. ³ ³
  819. ³ 20) [ Internals ] ³
  820. ³ 20.1) Internals are allowed to be released for any reason (e.g. releases ³
  821. ³ containing technical flaws, use of alternate codecs, containers, ³
  822. ³ settings for experimental purposes). ³
  823. ³ 20.2) Any severe technical flaws must be mentioned in the NFO. ³
  824. ³ 20.3) Internal releases may only be nuked for technical flaws that are ³
  825. ³ not mentioned in the NFO. ³
  826. ³ 20.3.1) In situations where technical flaws are not mentioned in the ³
  827. ³ NFO, groups may provide an NFOFIX to avoid or reverse a nuke. ³
  828. ³ 20.4) Using DIRFIX.INTERNAL to avoid a nuke is not allowed, and must be ³
  829. ³ nuked fix.for.nuke. ³
  830. ³ ³
  831. ³ 21) [ Ruleset Specifics ] ³
  832. ³ 21.1) In the absence of a country specific ruleset, this ruleset must be ³
  833. ³ considered the ONLY official ruleset for TV-X264-SD. It supersedes ³
  834. ³ all previous revisions, rulesets and precedents. ³
  835. ³ 21.1.1) Releasing under former rulesets (e.g. TV-VCD 2002, TV-XVID 2007) ³
  836. ³ or codecs (e.g. VCD, XVID) is not allowed, and must be nuked ³
  837. ³ defunct.ruleset or defunct.codec. ³
  838. ³ 21.1.2) The naming standards listed in this document must only take ³
  839. ³ effect once a current running season has ended. Any existing ³
  840. ³ naming schemes must be used in the event of missing episode(s) ³
  841. ³ from older seasons being filled. ³
  842. ³ 21.2) When releasing with foreign language tags (e.g. SWEDISH, FRENCH, ³
  843. ³ POLISH), all occurrences of the word 'English' in sections 5, 8 ³
  844. ³ and 11 must be replaced with the tagged language. ³
  845. ³ e.g. POLISH, rule 5.6 becomes "Non-Polish spoken titles with ³
  846. ³ hardcoded Polish subtitles must be tagged as SUBBED.". ³
  847. ³ 21.2.1) Foreign language tags must represent the language intended for ³
  848. ³ release, the following rules apply to Non-English releases only. ³
  849. ³ 21.2.1.1) Already established and widely adopted compact tags for ³
  850. ³ subbed, dubbed and language, are allowed (e.g. PLDUB, SWESUB, ³
  851. ³ SUBFRENCH, NLSUBBED). ³
  852. ³ 21.2.1.2) The DUBBED tag may be omitted or included at the discretion ³
  853. ³ of the group. ³
  854. ³ e.g. French TV series airing in Sweden with French audio and ³
  855. ³ Swedish hardcoded subtitles must be tagged as ³
  856. ³ SWEDISH.SUBBED or SWESUB. ³
  857. ³ Danish TV series airing in Poland with Polish dubbed ³
  858. ³ audio and no hardcoded subtitles must be tagged as ³
  859. ³ POLISH, POLISH.DUBBED or PLDUB. ³
  860. ³ Greek TV series airing in Greece with Greek audio must ³
  861. ³ be tagged as GREEK. ³
  862. ³ 21.2.1.3) Soft-subbed releases are not allowed when the primary audio ³
  863. ³ track is not the language tagged as, use INTERNAL or SUBPACK. ³
  864. ³ e.g. Game.of.Thrones.S01E01.SWEDISH.HDTV with English audio ³
  865. ³ and Swedish soft-subs is not allowed, use INTERNAL or ³
  866. ³ SUBPACK. ³
  867. ³ Game.of.Thrones.S01E01.DANISH.SUBBED.HDTV with English ³
  868. ³ audio and Danish hard-subs is allowed. ³
  869. ³ French TV series Le Clan S01E01 airing in Denmark with ³
  870. ³ French audio and Danish soft subtitles must be tagged ³
  871. ³ as FRENCH, if no other release of the episode exists. ³
  872. ³ French TV series Le Clan is already released as ³
  873. ³ Le.Clan.S01E01.FRENCH.HDTV.x264, only an INTERNAL or ³
  874. ³ SUBPACK release is allowed for soft-subs in another ³
  875. ³ language. ³
  876. ³ 21.2.1.4) Hard-subbed releases dupe SUBPACK when the primary audio track ³
  877. ³ is not the language tagged as, use INTERNAL. ³
  878. ³ e.g. Game.of.Thrones.S01E01.TURKISH.SUBBED.HDTV with English ³
  879. ³ audio and Turkish hard-subs dupes ³
  880. ³ Game.of.Thrones.S01E01.TURKISH.SUBPACK. ³
  881. ³ 21.2.2) Releases with foreign language tags only dupe releases with the ³
  882. ³ same foreign language tags. ³
  883. ³ e.g. Game.of.Thrones.S01E01.SWEDISH.SUBBED.HDTV does not dupe ³
  884. ³ Game.of.Thrones.S01E01.POLISH.DUBBED.HDTV or vice versa. ³
  885. ³ Game.of.Thrones.S01E01.FINNISH.SUBBED.HDTV does not dupe ³
  886. ³ Game.of.Thrones.S01E01.HDTV or vice versa. ³
  887. ³ 21.3) The following definition of keywords throughout this ruleset are ³
  888. ³ as follows: ³
  889. ³ 21.3.1) Must: the rule is explicit in the definition and is compulsory. ³
  890. ³ 21.3.2) Should: implies the rule is a suggestion, and is non-compulsory. ³
  891. ³ 21.3.3) Can or may: implies the rule is optional, and is non-compulsory. ³
  892. ³ 21.3.4) e.g: refers to common examples, elements listed should not be ³
  893. ³ considered as all possibilities. ³
  894. ³ ³
  895. ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
  896. ³ ³
  897. ³ [ Signed - 54 Groups ] ³
  898. ³ aAF ALTEREGO AMB3R AMBIT AVS AZR BAJSKORV BARGE BATV C4TV CBFM CCCAM CREED ³
  899. ³ CROOKS D0NK DEADPOOL DKiDS DOCERE EMX FiHTV FQM FRiES FRiSPARK HYBRiS iDiB ³
  900. ³ iFH KILLERS KYR LOL MiNDTHEGAP MORiTZ NORiTE PANZeR ProPLTV QCF RCDiVX ³
  901. ³ REGRET RiVER SH0W SKANK SKGTV SORNY SQUEAK SRiZ TASTETV TLA TVBYEN ³
  902. ³ TViLLAGE TvNORGE UAV WaLMaRT WNN YesTV ZOMBiE ³
  903. ³ ³
  904. ³ [ Refused to Sign - 3 Groups ] ³
  905. ³ BRISK BWB FLEET ³
  906. ³ ³
  907. ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´
  908. ³ ³
  909. ³ [ Revisions ] ³
  910. ³ 2012-02-22 - First TV-X264-SD standards, with CRF based encoding. ³
  911. ³ 2012-04-01 - Updated with better rule coverage and more groups signing. ³
  912. ³ 2016-04-04 - Total rewrite, all known issues and loopholes have been ³
  913. ³ addressed, switched to number based marking of rules, MP4 has ³
  914. ³ been removed in support of Matroska, firmer wording on AAC ³
  915. ³ encoding rules. ³
  916. ³