ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ ³ ³ The SD TV x264 Releasing Standards 2016 a.k.a. sdtvx264 ³ ³ The.SD.TV.x264.Releasing.Standards.2016-SDTVx264 ³ ³ ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³ ³ ³ [ Intro ] ³ ³ Since the last revision of this document in 2012, TV-X264-SD has grown ³ ³ and become a major section that many people contribute to and depend on. ³ ³ This new revision aims to update the standards from 2012 to standards ³ ³ suitable for 2016 and the future. Adding clarity and patching loopholes ³ ³ to once again allow for consistent and quality releases, which was the ³ ³ aim of this standard back in 2012. ³ ³ ³ ³ Compliance with this document is optional as of its pre date, and ³ ³ mandatory as of 2016-04-10 00:00:00 UTC (1460246400 Unix time). ³ ³ ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³ ³ ³ [ Recommended ] ³ ³ It is recommended to view the unformatted version of this ruleset ³ ³ bundled within this release. ³ ³ ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³ ³ ³ 1) [ HDTV Sources ] ³ ³ 1.1) HDTV is considered as a high definition natively recorded transport ³ ³ stream. ³ ³ 1.2) HDTV sources must not be upscaled, see section 2. ³ ³ 1.3) Providers which downscale 1080i to 720p (e.g. BellTV) are not ³ ³ allowed. ³ ³ ³ ³ 2) [ PDTV & DSR Sources ] ³ ³ 2.1) PDTV is considered as a 576i/576p natively recorded transport ³ ³ stream. ³ ³ 2.2) DSR is considered as a 480i/480p natively recorded transport ³ ³ stream. ³ ³ ³ ³ 3) [ AHDTV & APDTV & ADSR Sources ] ³ ³ 3.1) AHDTV, APDTV and ADSR are considered as captured streams from the ³ ³ analog output (e.g. Component, DVI, HDMI) of a set-top box. ³ ³ 3.2) Captures must be done at the native broadcast format of the source. ³ ³ 3.2.1) Captures from devices which are unable to output a native format ³ ³ must be restored to the original framerate. ³ ³ 3.2.2) If captures cannot be completely restored to their native ³ ³ framerate, such as a single dupe frame every 1000 or blended/ghost ³ ³ frames due to mangling from the set-top box or capture device, ³ ³ this is considered a technical flaw. ³ ³ ³ ³ 4) [ Codec ] ³ ³ 4.1) Video must be H.264/MPEG-4 AVC encoded with x264 8-bit. ³ ³ 4.1.1) Custom builds of x264 (e.g. x264-tMod, x264-kMod) are allowed and ³ ³ must be based off the x264 codebase. ³ ³ 4.2) x264 headers must remain intact and must not be modified or removed. ³ ³ 4.3) x264 must be kept up to date, with a maximum allowance, or grace ³ ³ period, of 60 days before groups are required to update to the latest ³ ³ revision. ³ ³ 4.3.1) The official x264 git repository is the only reference for ³ ³ determining the current revision: ³ ³ http://git.videolan.org/?p=x264.git;a=summary ³ ³ 4.3.2) The 60 day grace period must only be applied at pre time, not the ³ ³ tagged encoded date. ³ ³ 4.3.3) The grace period is only applicable to the revision preceding the ³ ³ latest update and does not reset active grace periods of preceding ³ ³ revisions. ³ ³ e.g. 2016-01-01: Revision A is used. ³ ³ 2016-01-02: Revision B is committed, 60-day grace period ³ ³ begins for revision A. ³ ³ 2016-01-05: Revision C is committed, 60-day grace period ³ ³ begins for revision B. ³ ³ 2016-03-02: Revision A is no longer allowed, Revision B or ³ ³ C may be used. ³ ³ 2016-03-05: Revision B is no longer allowed, Revision C must ³ ³ be used. ³ ³ 4.4) Constant Rate Factor (--crf) must be used. ³ ³ 4.4.1) CRF values below 19 and above 24 are never allowed. ³ ³ 4.4.2) Justification must be listed in the NFO for the use of ³ ³ non-standard CRF values. ³ ³ 4.4.2.1) Groups are not required to follow non-standard CRF values used ³ ³ by another group. ³ ³ 4.4.2.2) It is suggested that if the average video bitrate exceeds ³ ³ 1500kb/s, a higher CRF value should be chosen, when possible. ³ ³ 4.5) Standard CRF values are as follows: ³ ³ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ ³ ³ Compressibility ³ CRF ³ General Examples ³ ³ ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÅÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³ ³ ³ High ³ 19-20 ³ Scripted, Talk Shows, Animation, Stand-Up ³ ³ ³ ³ Medium ³ 21-22 ³ Documentary, Reality, Variety, Poker ³ ³ ³ ³ Low ³ 23-24 ³ Sports, Awards, Live Events ³ ³ ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÁÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ³ ³ 4.6) Settings cannot go below what is specified by preset (--preset) ³ ³ 'slow'. ³ ³ e.g. --subme 7 or --me hex are not allowed. ³ ³ 4.7) Level (--level) must be '3.1'. ³ ³ 4.8) Colour matrix (--colormatrix) must be set. ³ ³ 4.8.1) 'bt709' must be used for encodes from HDTV or AHDTV sources. ³ ³ 4.8.2) Source specification must be used for PDTV, APDTV, DSR, ADSR ³ ³ sources. ³ ³ 4.8.2.1) 'undef' must be used if not specified by the source. ³ ³ 4.9) Colour space (--output-csp) must be 'i420' (4:2:0). ³ ³ 4.10) Sample aspect ratio (--sar) must be '1:1' (square). ³ ³ 4.11) Deblocking (--deblock) must be used. Values used are left to the ³ ³ discretion of the group. ³ ³ 4.12) Keyframe interval (--keyint) must be at least 200, and at most 300. ³ ³ 4.12.1) It is recommended to let x264 decide which value to use, but ³ ³ 10*framerate is a good guideline (e.g. Film=240, PAL=250, ³ ³ NTSC=300). ³ ³ 4.12.2) For 50 or 60 FPS content, the maximum keyframe interval must be ³ ³ at least 200, and at most 600. ³ ³ 4.13) Minimum GOP length (--minkeyint) must be 30 or less. ³ ³ 4.13.1) It is recommended to let x264 decide which value to use, but ³ ³ 1*framerate is a good guideline (e.g. Film=24, PAL=25, NTSC=30). ³ ³ 4.13.2) For 50 or 60 FPS content, values of 60 or less must be used for ³ ³ the minimum GOP length. ³ ³ 4.14) Custom matrices are not allowed. ³ ³ 4.15) Zones (--zones) are not allowed. ³ ³ 4.16) x264 parameters must not vary within a release. ³ ³ 4.17) Optional tuning (--tune) parameters allowed are: 'film', 'grain' ³ ³ or 'animation'. ³ ³ 4.18) Suggested command line: ³ ³ x264 --crf ## --preset slow --level 3.1 --colormatrix ## --output ³ ³ out.mkv in.avs ³ ³ ³ ³ 5) [ Video / Resolution ] ³ ³ 5.1) Resolution must be mod 2. ³ ³ 5.2) Upscaling is not allowed. ³ ³ 5.3) Adding borders is not allowed. ³ ³ 5.4) Multiple video tracks are not allowed. ³ ³ 5.5) English spoken titles with foreign overlays, not intended by content ³ ³ creators (e.g. locations, on-screen text shown in another language) ³ ³ are not allowed, use INTERNAL. ³ ³ 5.5.1) This does not apply to opening titles or credits, but to relevant ³ ³ show content only. ³ ³ 5.6) Non-English spoken titles with hardcoded English subtitles must be ³ ³ tagged as SUBBED. ³ ³ 5.6.1) English spoken titles with hardcoded English subtitles present ³ ³ for English spoken scenes must be tagged as SUBBED. ³ ³ 5.6.2) English spoken titles with hardcoded Non-English subtitles present ³ ³ for English spoken scenes are not allowed, use INTERNAL. ³ ³ 5.6.3) Hardcoded subtitles added by content creators are exempt (e.g. ³ ³ Alien hardsubs, drunk talk hardsubs, hardsubs due to muffled ³ ³ mic). ³ ³ 5.7) Dupes based on resolution are not allowed. ³ ³ 5.7.1) Except in situations of releases with a different aspect ratio. ³ ³ The relevant tag must be used, and the reason mentioned in the ³ ³ NFO. ³ ³ 5.7.2) Releases which contain at least an additional 20 pixels worth of ³ ³ video on any side are not considered dupes. These releases must ³ ³ be tagged as WS or OM (open matte) and not proper, and the ³ ³ original release must not be nuked. ³ ³ 5.8) Black borders and anything (e.g. coloured borders, duplicate lines, ³ ³ dirty pixels, full-time tickers) that is not part of the video must ³ ³ be cropped. ³ ³ 5.8.1) Retention or removal of faded edges is left to the discretion of ³ ³ the group. Inclusion of faded edges is not a technical flaw, and ³ ³ cannot be propered. ³ ³ 5.8.1.1) Faded edges refer to a line of pixels which are of similar ³ ³ appearance to pixels' parallel to the video frame. ³ ³ 5.8.2) In the case of varying aspect ratios throughout the video, ³ ³ cropping must be done to the most common frame size (e.g. primary ³ ³ view of the pitch during sports, studio view during talk shows). ³ ³ 5.8.3) Cropping of letterboxed sources with hardcoded subtitles ³ ³ positioned within the black borders is left to the discretion of ³ ³ the group. Video may be left uncropped or cropped evenly both ³ ³ top and bottom to the widest frame without removing any subtitles. ³ ³ 5.8.3.1) Cropping out hardcoded subtitles entirely is allowed, only ³ ³ when they are not required, leaving any trace of subtitles or ³ ³ over-cropping actual picture to remove subtitles is considered ³ ³ to be a technical flaw. ³ ³ 5.8.4) Video may be over or under cropped by a maximum of 1px per side. ³ ³ Over or under cropping by more than 1px per side is considered a ³ ³ technical flaw. ³ ³ 5.9) HDTV and PDTV sources with a greater than 720px width after crop ³ ³ must be resized to 720px width and a height which maintains a valid ³ ³ AR. ³ ³ 5.10) PDTV sources must be cropped and resized to fit within a maximum ³ ³ resolution of: ³ ³ 5.10.1) 720x for sources with a width between 720-705px (inclusive) ³ ³ after crop, only the height may resized to maintain a valid AR. ³ ³ e.g. 720x576 --> Crop(2,0,-2,-0) --> 716x576 (non-anamorphic) ³ ³ --> 716x404 (anamorphic) ³ ³ 5.10.2) 704x528 for sources with a width of 704px or less after crop. ³ ³ e.g. 704x576 --> Crop(0,4,-0,-4) --> 704x568 (non-anamorphic) ³ ³ --> 704x392 (anamorphic) ³ ³ 544x576 --> Crop(4,0,-4,0) --> 536x576 (non-anamorphic) ³ ³ --> 702x386 (anamorphic) ³ ³ 5.11) DSR sources must be cropped and resized to fit within a maximum ³ ³ resolution of: ³ ³ 5.11.1) 720x for sources with a width greater than 720px after crop, ³ ³ only the height may resized to maintain a valid AR. ³ ³ e.g. 853x480 --> Crop(0,2,-0,-0) --> 853x478 --> 720x404 ³ ³ 5.11.2) 640x for sources with a width between 720-641px (inclusive) ³ ³ after crop, only the height may resized to maintain a valid AR. ³ ³ e.g. 720x480 --> Crop(8,2,-16,-0) --> 696x478 (non-anamorphic) ³ ³ --> 616x478 (anamorphic) ³ ³ 5.11.3) 640x480 for sources with a width of 640x or less after crop. ³ ³ e.g. 528x480 --> Crop(0,56,-0,-60) --> 528x364 (non-anamorphic) ³ ³ --> 640x364 (anamorphic) ³ ³ 5.12) Resized video must be within 0.5% of the original aspect ratio. ³ ³ Original AR = (SourceWidth – [CropLeft + CropRight]) / ³ ³ (SourceHeight – [CropTop + CropBottom]) ³ ³ Release AR = EncodeWidth / EncodedHeight ³ ³ AR Error % = [(Original AR – Release AR) / Original AR] * 100 ³ ³ ³ ³ Target resolution when resizing to maintain mod2 and reduce AR ³ ³ error: ³ ³ TargetHeight = TargetWidth / [(SourceWidth – ³ ³ [CropLeft + CropRight]) / (SourceHeight – ³ ³ [CropTop + CropBottom])] ³ ³ The correct mod 2 value can also be calculated from the ceiling of ³ ³ TargetHeight if the value is odd, and the floor of TargetHeight if ³ ³ the value is even. ³ ³ ³ ³ 6) [ Filters ] ³ ³ 6.1) IVTC or deinterlacing must be applied as required. ³ ³ 6.2) Only smart deinterlacers, such as Yadif or QTGMC, must be used. ³ ³ 6.2.1) FieldDeinterlace must not be used for deinterlacing. ³ ³ 6.3) Only accurate field matching filters, such as TIVTC or Decomb, must ³ ³ be used for inverse telecining (IVTC). ³ ³ 6.3.1) Filters included in MEncoder, MJPEG tools, libav, libavcodec or ³ ³ FFmpeg must not be used for IVTC. ³ ³ 6.3.2) Deinterlacing filters must not be applied to telecined sources ³ ³ as a method of inverse telecine. ³ ³ 6.4) Only sharp resizers, such as Spline36Resize, BlackmanResize or ³ ³ LanczosResize/Lanczos4Resize, must be used. ³ ³ 6.4.1) Simple resizers, such as Bicubic, PointResize or Simple, are not ³ ³ allowed. ³ ³ ³ ³ 7) [ Framerate ] ³ ³ 7.1) Constant frame rate (CFR) must be used. ³ ³ 7.1.1) Variable frame rate (VFR) methods are not allowed. ³ ³ 7.2) True 50 / 60 FPS video must be released at 50 / 60 FPS. True 25 / ³ ³ 30 FPS video released at 50 / 60 FPS is not allowed and considered a ³ ³ technical flaw. ³ ³ 7.2.1) Failure to apply a deinterlacer with bobbing enabled (e.g. QTGMC, ³ ³ Yadif(mode=1)) to double framerate (bob) 25i / 30i video back to ³ ³ true 50 / 60 FPS, is considered a technical flaw. ³ ³ 7.2.2) In cases of varying framerates of 25 / 30 FPS and true 50 / 60 ³ ³ FPS, the framerate of the main feature must be used (e.g. studio ³ ³ for talk shows, game coverage for sports). ³ ³ 7.2.3) In rare situations, 25 / 50 FPS sources must be restored to 24 or ³ ³ 30 FPS. ³ ³ 7.2.4) In rare situations, 30 / 60 FPS sources must be restored to 25 ³ ³ FPS. ³ ³ 7.3) Sources which contain footage at varying FPS throughout (hybrid ³ ³ sources) and may or may not require IVTC is left to the discretion ³ ³ of the group. The NFO must list a reason as to the final decision. ³ ³ 7.3.1) It is assumed that the majority of a title contains enough unique ³ ³ frames at 30,000/1,001 FPS to warrant a higher framerate. If it ³ ³ can be proven IVTC/decimating does not result in any loss of ³ ³ unique frames, this is considered a technical flaw. ³ ³ 7.4) Native and converted framerates refers to the standard in which the ³ ³ video was produced. ³ ³ 7.4.1) NTSC produced video is native to NTSC. ³ ³ 7.4.2) PAL produced video is native to PAL. ³ ³ 7.4.3) NTSC produced video that is broadcast in PAL is considered as ³ ³ converted video. ³ ³ 7.4.4) PAL produced video that is broadcast in NTSC is considered as ³ ³ converted video. ³ ³ 7.5) Converted video that has significant abnormalities (e.g. blended ³ ³ frames, jerky playback due to missing or duplicate frames) due to ³ ³ the conversion and cannot be reversed to the native format must be ³ ³ tagged as CONVERT. ³ ³ 7.5.1) Converted video which does not have significant abnormalities do ³ ³ not require the CONVERT tag and must not be nuked for the ³ ³ conversion. ³ ³ 7.6) Dupes based on framerate are not allowed, use INTERNAL. ³ ³ ³ ³ 8) [ Audio ] ³ ³ 8.1) Segmented encoding is not allowed. ³ ³ 8.2) VBR AAC LC (Low Complexity) must be used. ³ ³ 8.2.1) Apple/QAAC, FDK-AAC or Nero must be used. ³ ³ 8.2.1.1) Any other AAC encoders (e.g. FFmpeg, FAAC, MEncoder) are not ³ ³ allowed. ³ ³ 8.2.2) Quality based VBR encoding must be used, targeted or constrained ³ ³ VBR must not be used. Only the following methods are allowed (in ³ ³ order of preference): ³ ³ 8.2.2.1) QAAC: --tvbr 82 --quality 2 ³ ³ 8.2.2.2) FDK-AAC: --bitrate-mode 4 --profile 2 ³ ³ 8.2.2.3) Nero: -q 0.4 ³ ³ 8.2.3) AAC audio must be normalised to the maximum gain. Normalisation ³ ³ must be a complete 2-pass method. No pre-defined values or ³ ³ estimations of maximum gain is allowed. Only the following ³ ³ normalisation methods are allowed (in order of preference): ³ ³ 8.2.3.1) eac3to: –normalize ³ ³ 8.2.3.2) sox: --norm ³ ³ 8.2.3.3) QAAC: --normalize ³ ³ 8.2.4) Any existing normalisation values such as dialnorm in AC3 files, ³ ³ must be stripped prior to applying normalisation. ³ ³ e.g. Decoding with eac3to: do not enable -keepDialnorm ³ ³ Decoding with ffmpeg: enable -drc_scale 0 ³ ³ 8.2.5) Audio with more than 2 channels must be down-mixed to stereo. ³ ³ 8.2.6) Audio must not be resampled. Audio must be kept in the original ³ ³ format as the source (e.g. 48KHz for 48KHz sources). ³ ³ 8.2.7) Audio which is already presented as 2 channel VBR AAC LC by the ³ ³ broadcaster (e.g. Freeview), may be left as obtained from the ³ ³ source. ³ ³ 8.2.7.1) Audio which is broadcasted as AAC LATM or LOAS must have the ³ ³ headers converted to AAC ADTS without transcoding. ³ ³ 8.2.8) Suggested command line: ³ ³ eac3to in.ac3 stdout.wav -downStereo -normalize | qaac --tvbr 82 ³ ³ --quality 2 --ignorelength - -o out.aac ³ ³ 8.3) Multiple language audio tracks are allowed. ³ ³ 8.3.1) The default audio track must be the language intended for release ³ ³ (e.g. An English release containing English, German and Russian ³ ³ audio tracks, must have the default flag set on the English ³ ³ track). ³ ³ 8.3.2) The correct ISO 639 language code supported by MKVToolnix must be ³ ³ set for all secondary audio tracks, default may be left undefined. ³ ³ 8.3.2.1) In situations where the language is not supported by ³ ³ MKVToolnix, 'und' must be used. ³ ³ 8.4) If the original language of a title is not English: ³ ³ 8.4.1) An English dubbed track is allowed as a secondary audio track. ³ ³ 8.4.2) Releases containing only a dubbed audio track must be tagged as ³ ³ DUBBED. ³ ³ 8.5) Dupes based on multiple audio tracks or audio format are not allowed, ³ ³ use INTERNAL. ³ ³ ³ ³ 9) [ Glitches / Missing Footage ] ³ ³ 9.1) Where audio or video issues are unavoidable due to a live-broadcast ³ ³ or mastering issues, a release must not be nuked until a valid ³ ³ proper, repack or rerip which does not exhibit the same flaw is ³ ³ released. ³ ³ 9.2) Scrolling or other alert messages added by the broadcasting station ³ ³ (e.g. Weather or Amber alerts) appearing for a cumulative total of ³ ³ at least 30 seconds throughout the entire release is considered a ³ ³ technical flaw. ³ ³ 9.3) Video frame abnormalities (e.g. Abnormal snipes/pop-ups, banner ³ ³ advertisements that do not fade out entirely) as a result of broken ³ ³ splicing originating from the broadcasting station is considered a ³ ³ technical flaw. ³ ³ 9.4) Missing or repeated video footage without any loss of dialogue must ³ ³ be at least 2 seconds long at any one instance to be considered a ³ ³ technical flaw. ³ ³ 9.4.1) Except in situations where on-screen text is lost due to missing ³ ³ footage. Loss of on-screen text is considered a technical flaw. ³ ³ 9.4.2) Except in situations where minor missing or repeated video ³ ³ footage flaws are present throughout the majority of the release. ³ ³ Excessive flaws such as these are considered a technical flaw. ³ ³ e.g. Video frame glitches occurring every 2 minutes throughout ³ ³ the entire release but only in the amount of 1 second per ³ ³ instance, is considered excessive and a technical flaw. ³ ³ Repeated footage occurring every 5 minutes throughout the ³ ³ entire release but only in the amount of 1.5 seconds per ³ ³ instance, is considered excessive and a technical flaw. ³ ³ Video frame glitches of 1 second per instance occurring 6 ³ ³ times throughout the entire release is NOT considered ³ ³ excessive or a technical flaw. ³ ³ 9.5) Audio which drifts at least 120ms at a single point or a total of ³ ³ at least 120ms between multiple points throughout the entire release ³ ³ is considered a technical flaw. ³ ³ e.g. Sync drifting +120ms after 10 minutes is considered a ³ ³ technical flaw. ³ ³ Sync drifting +80ms after 5 minutes, -40ms after 15 minutes, ³ ³ for a total of 120ms, is considered a technical flaw. ³ ³ 9.6) Glitches that occur in any audio channel present (e.g. L, R, C, SL, ³ ³ SR) are considered a technical flaw. ³ ³ 9.6.1) Glitches are defined as, but not limited to: missing dialogue, ³ ³ repeated dialogue, inability to understand dialogue, bad channel ³ ³ mix, large gaps within playback, persistent clicks/pops/muted/ ³ ³ echoing/muffled audio. ³ ³ ³ ³ 10) [ Editing / Adjustments ] ³ ³ 10.1) Minor adjustments to video or audio tracks (e.g. duplicating or ³ ³ removing frames, channel count) in order to prevent issues with ³ ³ playback or sync is allowed. ³ ³ 10.2) Multi-episode releases with no clear delineation between episodes ³ ³ (e.g. end credits) must not be split. ³ ³ 10.3) Including previously-on footage is optional, but recommended. ³ ³ 10.4) Including upcoming/teaser/scenes from the next episode footage ³ ³ found at the conclusion of an episode is optional, but recommended. ³ ³ 10.5) Credits must be included if they contain unique show content. ³ ³ (e.g. bloopers, outtakes, dialogue, unique uninterrupted ³ ³ soundtrack, in memory of message) ³ ³ 10.5.1) End credits must only be considered optional if they do not ³ ³ contain unique show content (e.g. regular plain credits with or ³ ³ without promos), and may be removed at the discretion of the ³ ³ group. ³ ³ 10.5.2) A simulcast which does not contain unique content in the credits ³ ³ cannot be propered from a primary broadcaster which contains ³ ³ unique content, use EXTENDED. ³ ³ 10.5.3) If a different broadcaster or re-broadcast of a show contains ³ ³ unique content not present in the original broadcast, the first ³ ³ release cannot not be propered, use EXTENDED. ³ ³ 10.5.3.1) In situations where a unique uninterrupted soundtrack is the ³ ³ only additional unique content included in the credits, use ³ ³ of EXTENDED is not allowed, use INTERNAL. ³ ³ 10.5.3.2) It is recommended, but not required, to include unique ³ ³ content included in the credits that was omitted from the ³ ³ original broadcast. ³ ³ 10.6) Inclusion of bumper segments, 5-20 second segments containing ³ ³ coming up/preview/backstage footage (e.g. SNL, Cops) is optional ³ ³ and at the discretion of the group. ³ ³ 10.6.1) In situations where bumper segments have been omitted in the ³ ³ first release, a secondary release which includes all bumper ³ ³ segments is allowed and must be tagged as UNCUT. ³ ³ 10.6.2) In situations where bumpers are included: ³ ³ 10.6.2.1) All bumper segments must be free of any technical flaws. ³ ³ 10.6.2.2) All bumper segments must be included, missing any bumper ³ ³ segment is considered a technical flaw. ³ ³ 10.6.3) Small segments containing actual show content, not containing ³ ³ coming up/preview/backstage footage, are not considered as ³ ³ bumper segments (e.g. Talking Dead, Comic Book Men, Portlandia). ³ ³ 10.7) Any unrelated video (e.g. commercials, rating cards, viewer/content ³ ³ warnings), regardless of duration (e.g. 1 faded/half opacity frame ³ ³ or 10 seconds) must be completely removed. ³ ³ 10.7.1) Content warnings can be retained or removed at the discretion of ³ ³ the group, except when they are intended by content creators ³ ³ and must be retained (e.g. Tosh 0, Robot Chicken, South Park, ³ ³ Law and Order SVU). ³ ³ 10.7.1.1) This does not apply to scripted or animation content. Content ³ ³ warnings not intended by content creators must always be ³ ³ removed in these cases. ³ ³ 10.7.1.2) Following the opening segment for non-scripted and ³ ³ non-animation content, all content warnings which precede ³ ³ each segment must be removed. ³ ³ 10.7.2) Sponsorship advertisements which are integrated into show ³ ³ content and cannot be removed (e.g. Jimmy Kimmel, Talking Dead, ³ ³ Deadliest Catch) are exempt. ³ ³ 10.7.3) Show transition cards appearing at the start or end of segments ³ ³ on some broadcasters (e.g. Seven, Channel 4, ITV1) can be ³ ³ retained or removed at the discretion of the group. ³ ³ 10.7.4) Opening and closing interleaves (e.g. HBO opening animation, ³ ³ ... presents, this has been a ... production, ... original ³ ³ series) can be retained or removed at the discretion of the ³ ³ group, except when they contain show content and must be ³ ³ retained. ³ ³ 10.8) Any unrelated audio (e.g. alerts, commercials), regardless of ³ ³ duration (e.g. 100ms or 10 seconds) must be completely removed. ³ ³ 10.8.1) Except when a broadcaster (e.g. ABC) splices unrelated audio ³ ³ into the beginning of a segment, that does not result in sync ³ ³ issues. ³ ³ ³ ³ 11) [ Subtitles ] ³ ³ 11.1) Subtitles for English spoken titles without foreign dialogue are ³ ³ optional, but encouraged. ³ ³ 11.2) English spoken titles with foreign dialogue must include a separate ³ ³ subtitle track for forced subtitles. ³ ³ 11.2.1) Foreign dialogue subtitle tracks must be set as forced and it ³ ³ is considered a technical flaw if not done correctly. ³ ³ 11.2.2) In situations where the source video stream contains hardcoded ³ ³ subtitles for English spoken titles with foreign dialogue, a ³ ³ separate subtitle track for the forced subtitles is not ³ ³ required. ³ ³ 11.2.3) If a broadcaster which is primarily English spoken (e.g. FOX, ³ ³ BBC) does not contain hardcoded subtitles for scenes with ³ ³ foreign dialogue in the video stream, then forced subtitles are ³ ³ not required but recommended. ³ ³ 11.3) Non-English spoken titles without hardcoded subtitles must include ³ ³ an English subtitle track set as forced before it is considered to ³ ³ be an English release. ³ ³ 11.4) Subtitles must be extracted from the original source. ³ ³ 11.4.1) Fan-made or custom subtitles are not allowed. ³ ³ 11.5) Adjustments and edits (e.g. adjusting timecodes, fixing grammar, ³ ³ spelling, punctuation errors) may be made to subtitle tracks. ³ ³ 11.6) Subtitles must be muxed into the final MKV in text based format, ³ ³ i.e. SubRip (.srt) or SubStation Alpha (.ssa/.ass). ³ ³ 11.6.1) Subtitles must not be set as default or forced unless otherwise ³ ³ specified. ³ ³ 11.6.2) The correct ISO 639 language code supported by MKVToolnix must ³ ³ be set for all subtitle tracks. ³ ³ 11.6.2.1) In situations where the language is not supported by ³ ³ MKVToolnix, 'und' must be used. ³ ³ 11.7) External subtitles located in 'Subs' directories are not allowed. ³ ³ 11.8) Dupes based on subtitles are not allowed, use INTERNAL. ³ ³ ³ ³ 12) [ Container ] ³ ³ 12.1) Container must be Matroska (.mkv). MKVToolnix is the recommended ³ ³ muxer. ³ ³ 12.1.1) Custom muxing tools are allowed. However, the output must adhere ³ ³ to the Matroska specifications and must retain identical ³ ³ compatibility with demuxers as files created with MKVToolnix. ³ ³ 12.2) Support for file streaming and playback from RAR is mandatory. ³ ³ 12.3) Matroska header compression must not be enabled. ³ ³ 12.4) Chapters are allowed, and recommended for long events (e.g. long ³ ³ poker games to mark each round). ³ ³ 12.5) Watermarks, intros, outros or any other forms of defacement in any ³ ³ track (e.g. video, audio, subtitles, chapters) are not allowed. ³ ³ ³ ³ 13) [ Packaging ] ³ ³ 13.1) Must be packed with RAR files, broken into a maximum of 101 ³ ³ volumes (.rar to .r99) ³ ³ 13.2) RAR5/RARv5.0 is not allowed. RAR3/RARv2.0 or RAR4/v2.9 must be ³ ³ used. ³ ³ 13.2.1) Custom RAR tools are allowed. However, files must adhere to the ³ ³ RAR4/RARv2.9 archive specifications and must retain identical ³ ³ compatibility with extractors and demuxers as files created with ³ ³ WinRAR/rar. ³ ³ 13.3) Permitted RAR sizes are: ³ ³ 13.3.1) 15,000,000 bytes or 20,000,000 bytes. Multiples of these values ³ ³ are not allowed. ³ ³ 13.3.2) Positive integer multiples of 50,000,000 bytes. ³ ³ e.g. (50 * 10^6) * n bytes, where n > 0. ³ ³ (50 * 10^6) * 4 bytes, 100,000,000 bytes, 400,000,000 ³ ³ bytes, etc. ³ ³ 13.3.3) Releases must have a minimum of 10 volumes before the next ³ ³ multiple of 50,000,000 bytes is used. ³ ³ e.g. 10 volumes at 50,000,000 bytes can be repackaged to 5 ³ ³ volumes at 100,000,000 bytes. ³ ³ 5 volumes at 100,000,000 bytes cannot be repacked to 4 ³ ³ volumes at 150,000,000 bytes. ³ ³ 13.4) SFV and NFO must be present. ³ ³ 13.5) RAR, SFV and Sample files must have unique, lower-case filenames ³ ³ with the group tag. ³ ³ 13.5.1) Group tags must be unique to each group, and may be an ³ ³ abbreviated variation of the group name. ³ ³ 13.6) Missing RAR(s) or SFV on all sites is considered a technical flaw. ³ ³ 13.7) Corrupt RAR(s) (errors upon extraction) is considered a technical ³ ³ flaw. ³ ³ 13.8) RAR compression and recovery records are not allowed. ³ ³ 13.9) Encryption or password protection is not allowed. ³ ³ 13.10) RARs must only contain a single mkv file, any other files (e.g. ³ ³ multiple mkv files, txt files) are not allowed. ³ ³ ³ ³ 14) [ Samples / Source Samples ] ³ ³ 14.1) Releases must include a single 50-70 second sample. ³ ³ 14.2) Samples must have unique filenames and placed in a separate ³ ³ directory named 'Sample' ³ ³ 14.3) Samples must be cut from the final video, not encoded separately. ³ ³ 14.4) If there is a question as to the validity of a source, encoding ³ ³ methods or filters used, the release may be nuked within 24 hours ³ ³ of pre requesting a source sample and must include the initial ³ ³ suspicion or reason. ³ ³ e.g. source.sample.requested_suspicion.of.invalid.decimation. ³ ³ source.sample.requested_suspicion.of.analog.source.used. ³ ³ 14.4.1) The group has 24 hours from the first nuke to pre a source ³ ³ sample that is at least 10 seconds in length. ³ ³ 14.4.2) Requests may be of a specific timecode to verify the sample ³ ³ provided is the same source used for the encode in question ³ ³ (e.g. include.banner.at.4m13s). ³ ³ 14.4.3) Source sample(s) must be packed as per section 13, and use the ³ ³ SOURCE.SAMPLE tag. ³ ³ 14.4.4) Providing insufficient proof to disprove any claims, or a ³ ³ failure to provide any source proof, and the release must remain ³ ³ nuked and can be propered. ³ ³ 14.4.5) If there are any questionable issues (e.g. mastering flaws) with ³ ³ the source, it is recommended to include uniquely named source ³ ³ sample(s) within the 'Sample' directory. ³ ³ ³ ³ 15) [ Tagging ] ³ ³ 15.1) Only the following additional tags are allowed: ³ ³ ALTERNATIVE.CUT, CONVERT, COLORIZED, DC, DIRFIX, DUBBED, EXTENDED, ³ ³ FINAL, INTERNAL, NFOFIX, OAR, OM, PPV, PROPER, REAL, REMASTERED, ³ ³ READNFO, REPACK, RERIP, SAMPLEFIX, SOURCE.SAMPLE, SUBBED, ³ ³ UNCENSORED, UNRATED, UNCUT, WEST.FEED, and WS. ³ ³ 15.1.1) WEST.FEED refers to an alternative version which airs ³ ³ exclusively on the west coast, such as a live episode of ³ ³ Undateable which has two separate performances of the same ³ ³ episode for each coast, east and west. ³ ³ 15.1.1.1) Releases must be tagged as WEST.FEED when they come from an ³ ³ exclusive west coast airing, even if no east feed has been ³ ³ released first. ³ ³ 15.2) Variations of any additional tags are not allowed. ³ ³ e.g. READ.NFO or RNFO is not allowed, READNFO must be used. ³ ³ 15.3) READNFO should be used sparingly. Discretion is recommended. ³ ³ 15.3.1) The READNFO tag must not be used with PROPER, REPACK or RERIP. ³ ³ The NFO is required to contain a reason, therefore the tag is ³ ³ redundant. ³ ³ 15.4) Tags must only be used once, but the order is left to the ³ ³ discretion of the group. ³ ³ 15.4.1) Except in situations where the REAL tag is required to be ³ ³ stacked to differentiate between multiple invalid releases. ³ ³ e.g. A REAL.REAL.PROPER is required for a REAL.PROPER and ³ ³ PROPER. ³ ³ 15.5) Tags must be grouped together, period-delimited, and must follow the ³ ³ mandatory directory format, see rule 16.4. ³ ³ e.g. EXTENDED.RERIP, REMASTERED.REPACK. ³ ³ ³ ³ 16) [ Directory Naming ] ³ ³ 16.1) Acceptable characters allowed for directories are: ³ ³ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ³ ³ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ³ ³ 0123456789._- ³ ³ 16.2) Single punctuation must be used. Consecutive punctuation is not ³ allowed. ³ ³ e.g. Show----Name.S01E01, Show.Name....S01E01 ³ ³ 16.3) Typos or spelling mistakes in the directory are not allowed. ³ ³ 16.4) Releases must follow the matching directory format: ³ ³ 16.4.1) Single.Episode.Special.YYYY..[LANGUAGE].-GROUP ³ ³ 16.4.2) Weekly.TV.Show.SXXEXX[Episode.Part].[Episode.Title]. ³ ³ .[LANGUAGE]..x264-GROUP ³ ³ 16.4.3) Weekly.TV.Show.Special.SXXE00.Special.Title. ³ ³ .[LANGUAGE].-GROUP ³ ³ 16.4.4) Multiple.Episode.TV.Show.SXXEXX-EXX[Episode.Part]. ³ ³ [Episode.Title]..[LANGUAGE]..x264-GROUP ³ ³ 16.4.5) Miniseries.Show.Name.Part.X.[Episode.Title]. ³ ³ .[LANGUAGE]..x264-GROUP ³ ³ 16.4.6) Daily.TV.Show.YYYY.MM.DD.[Guest.Name]. ³ ³ .[LANGUAGE]..x264-GROUP ³ ³ 16.4.7) Daily.Sport.League.YYYY.MM.DD.Event. ³ ³ .[LANGUAGE]..x264-GROUP ³ ³ 16.4.8) Monthly.Competition.YYYY.MM.Event. ³ ³ .[LANGUAGE]..x264-GROUP ³ ³ 16.4.9) Yearly.Competition.YYYY.Event. ³ ³ .[LANGUAGE]..x264-GROUP ³ ³ 16.4.10) Sports.Match.YYYY[-YY].Round.XX.Event.[Team.vs.Team]. ³ ³ .[LANGUAGE]..x264-GROUP ³ ³ 16.4.11) Sport.Tournament.YYYY.Event.[Team/Person.vs.Team/Person]. ³ ³ .[LANGUAGE]..x264-GROUP ³ ³ 16.4.12) Country.YYYY.Event..FEED. ³ ³ .[LANGUAGE]..x264-GROUP ³ ³ 16.5) Named directory arguments formatted inside <> must be included. ³ ³ Optional arguments formatted inside [] may be used in some cases. ³ ³ 16.5.1) Mini-series parts must be at least 1 integer wide, and values ³ ³ used may extend past 9. ³ ³ e.g. Miniseries.Part.1, Miniseries.Part.10, etc. ³ ³ 16.5.2) Episode and seasonal numbering must be at least 2 integers wide, ³ ³ and values used may extend past 99. ³ ³ e.g. S01E99, S01E100, S101E01, etc. ³ ³ 16.5.3) Episode part refers to episodes, usually cartoons or animation, ³ ³ which split episodes into stories by different directors. ³ ³ Episodes parts must be alphanumeric (A-Z, a-z, 0-9). ³ ³ e.g. The first episode from Season 2 of SpongeBob SquarePants ³ ³ is split into S02E01A/B, etc. https://goo.gl/CVGXKu ³ ³ 16.5.4) Season must be omitted if a series does not have seasons, and ³ ³ is not a mini-series. ³ ³ e.g. One Piece must be tagged as One.Piece.E01 ³ ³ 16.5.5) Episode title and guest names are optional. ³ ³ 16.5.6) Guest name(s) used must be in the order in which they appear on ³ ³ the show to avoid any confusion. ³ ³ 16.5.7) Non-English releases must include the language tag. English ³ ³ releases must not include the language tag. ³ ³ 16.5.7.1) Language tags must be the full name of the language. ³ ³ Abbreviations or language codes are not allowed, unless they ³ ³ are already established and widely adopted (e.g. EE, SI, PL). ³ ³ e.g. FRENCH, RUSSIAN. ³ ³ 16.5.8) Tags refers to all permitted tags only, see section 15. ³ ³ 16.5.9) Format refers to the video source used, i.e. AHDTV, HDTV, ³ ³ APDTV, PDTV, ADSR, DSR. ³ ³ 16.6) Do not indicate source, ripping or encoding methods that were used. ³ ³ Use the NFO for any technical details. ³ ³ 16.7) All single-episode titles, (e.g. documentaries, specials, movies) ³ ³ must include the production year. ³ ³ 16.8) Inclusion of the channel name is not allowed. ³ ³ e.g. National.Geographic, HBO.Documentary, History.Channel. ³ ³ 16.9) Different shows with the same title produced in different countries ³ ³ must have the ISO 3166-1 alpha 2 country code in the show name. ³ ³ 16.9.1) Except for UK shows, which should use UK, not GB. ³ ³ 16.9.2) This rule does not apply to an original show, only shows that ³ ³ succeed the original. ³ ³ e.g. The.Office.S01E01 and The.Office.US.S01E01. ³ ³ 16.10) Different shows with the same title produced in the same country ³ ³ which begin in different years must have the year of the first ³ ³ season in the directory. ³ ³ 16.10.1) The year is not required for the show broadcasted first. ³ ³ e.g. Second.Chance.S01E01 and Second.Chance.2016.S01E01. ³ ³ 16.11) Different shows with the same titles produced in the same country ³ ³ which begin in different years must have the ISO-3166-1 alpha 2 ³ ³ country code followed by the year of the first season in the ³ ³ directory. ³ ³ 16.11.1) See rules 16.9 and 16.10 for country code and year ³ explanations. ³ ³ e.g. Wanted.S01E01 (2005), Wanted.AU.S01E01 (2013), ³ ³ Wanted.AU.2016.S01E01 (2016). ³ ³ 16.12) Show names which are hyphenated or include punctuation must follow ³ ³ the format shown in the title sequence or credits of the first ³ ³ episode, limited to the list of acceptable characters. ³ ³ 16.12.1) If no title card exists, see rule 16.14.1. ³ ³ 16.12.2) Additional titles and names given to an individual season must ³ ³ not be used. ³ ³ e.g. Archer.Vice.S05, Strike.Back.Legacy.S05. ³ ³ 16.12.3) Acronyms which show the ellipsis of letters with non-standard ³ ³ characters must be replaced with a period. ³ ³ e.g. M*A*S*H must be M.A.S.H. ³ ³ 16.13) Directory nomenclature and numbering must remain consistent ³ ³ across the lifetime of an individual show or event. ³ ³ 16.13.1) Shows which contain acronyms or secondary titles must follow ³ ³ the format used by the first release. ³ ³ e.g. Law.and.Order.SVU.S01E01 is the standard format that must ³ ³ be used for all following episodes, ³ ³ Law.and.Order.Special.Victims.Unit.S01E02 is not allowed. ³ ³ Shadowhunters.The.Mortal.Instruments.S01E01 is the ³ ³ standard format, Shadowhunters.S01E02 is not allowed. ³ ³ 16.13.2) Shows which air with extended content under modified names ³ ³ must use the primary show name and numbering with the ³ ³ EXTENDED tag. ³ ³ e.g. QI.S06E01 and QI.XL.S01E01, must be tagged as QI.S06E01 ³ ³ and QI.S06E01.EXTENDED respectively. ³ ³ Room.101.S01E01 and Room.101.Extra.Storage.S01E01, must ³ ³ be tagged as Room.101.S01E01 and Room.101.S01E01.EXTENDED ³ ³ respectively. ³ ³ 16.13.3) Groups cannot change the directory format of a show after a ³ ³ second release or episode with the same format exists. ³ ³ e.g. 2016-01-01: Law.and.Order.SVU.S01E01 sets the format. ³ ³ 2016-01-08: Law.and.Order.SVU.S01E02 continues the ³ format. ³ ³ 2016-01-09: Law.and.Order.Special.Victims.Unit.S01E01. ³ ³ DIRFIX is not valid as the second episode already exists ³ ³ and continues with the previously defined format. ³ ³ 16.13.4) Except in situations where the show has an official change in ³ ³ its name, whereby all official references by the broadcaster ³ ³ or studio is of the new name. This change must be mentioned in ³ ³ the first NFO with the new name with relevant references. ³ ³ e.g. Gold.Rush.Alaska.S01E01 changed to Gold.Rush.S02E01. ³ ³ 16.13.5) Official name changes for a show does not include the renaming ³ ³ of individual seasons. Seasonal name changes must be ignored. ³ ³ e.g. Power.Rangers.S01 and Power.Rangers.S07 must be used. ³ ³ Power.Rangers.Lost.Galaxy.S07 must not be used. ³ ³ Strike.Back.S03, Strike.Back.S05 must be used. ³ ³ Strike.Back.Vengeance.S03, Strike.Back.Legacy.S05 ³ ³ must not be used. ³ ³ 16.13.6) Any deviations or changes require sufficient evidence listed in ³ ³ the NFO as to the reason for change. ³ ³ 16.14) User contributed services such as TVRage, TVMaze or TheTVDB must ³ ³ not be used as a reference when naming and numbering episodes. It ³ ³ may be used as a general guide; however, official guides must be ³ ³ used. ³ ³ 16.14.1) The following order must be used as the primary source for ³ ³ naming and numbering. ³ ³ 16.14.1.1) Official website of the show. ³ ³ 16.14.1.2) Order and format listed by the original broadcaster. ³ ³ 16.14.1.3) Network guide. ³ ³ 16.14.2) In situations where official sources have inconsistent ³ listings, or offer none at all, previously established ³ numbering must be used ³ ³ e.g. Mythbusters, National Geographics Special Episodes. ³ ³ ³ ³ 17) [ Fixes ] ³ ³ 17.1) The following fixes are allowed: DIRFIX, NFOFIX and SAMPLEFIX. Any ³ ³ other form of fix is not allowed. ³ ³ 17.2) All fixes require an NFO and must state which release is being ³ ³ fixed. ³ ³ 17.3) A proper cannot be released for an error that can be fixed with ³ ³ the above methods. ³ ³ 17.4) If multiple releases from a single season require a DIRFIX, a ³ ³ single DIRFIX per season is allowed and is recommended. ³ ³ 17.4.1) If a single DIRFIX is used, all relevant releases and ³ ³ corresponding fixes must be listed in the NFO. ³ ³ ³ ³ 18) [ Dupes ] ³ ³ 18.1) Same second releases, with a maximum acceptable variance of one ³ ³ second (+/- 1 second) between timestamps reported by a majority of ³ ³ pre bots, are not considered dupes and should not be nuked. ³ ³ 18.1.1) Timestamps must be considered as whole integers and round half ³ ³ towards zero. ³ ³ 18.1.2) The earliest timestamp must be used when considering dupes. ³ ³ e.g. Release A: 1451572201.427158 -> 1451572201 ³ ³ Release B: 1451572202.626645 -> 1451572202 ³ ³ Release C: 1451572203.137665 -> 1451572203 ³ ³ Release B does not dupe Release A: 1451572202 – 1451572201 ³ ³ = 1, i.e. maximum variance allowed. ³ ³ Release C dupes Releases A and B: 1451572203 – 1451572201 ³ ³ = 2, i.e. 2 > 1. ³ ³ 18.1.3) In situations where a release is found to contain a technical ³ ³ flaw, same second dupes which do not exhibit any technical flaws ³ ³ must be considered the final release. Groups may release a ³ ³ DIRFIX to PROPER for their original release, but it is not ³ required. ³ ³ e.g. Release A and Release B are released at the same time. ³ ³ Release A is nuked as containing glitches, Release B then ³ ³ becomes the de facto release and a DIRFIX to PROPER may ³ ³ be released. ³ ³ 18.2) AHDTV dupes HDTV. ³ ³ 18.3) HDTV does not dupe AHDTV. ³ ³ 18.4) PDTV and APDTV dupes HDTV and AHDTV. ³ ³ 18.5) PDTV does not dupe APDTV. ³ ³ 18.6) DSR and ADSR dupes HDTV, AHDTV, PDTV and APDTV. ³ ³ 18.7) DSR does not dupe ADSR. ³ ³ 18.8) AHDTV, HDTV, PDTV, APDTV, DSR and ADSR dupes an equivalent Retail ³ ³ release. ³ ³ 18.8.1) Except in situations where the aspect ratio of the release ³ ³ exceeds that of its respective Retail release. ³ ³ e.g. A 2.39:1 release will not dupe a 1.78:1 retail release ³ ³ provided there is clearly more visible on-screen footage. ³ ³ Proof demonstrating this difference is recommended, but ³ ³ not mandatory. ³ ³ 18.8.2) Except in situations where the release is a different version ³ ³ (i.e ALTERNATIVE.CUT, COLORIZED, EXTENDED, OAR, OM, REMASTERED, ³ ³ UNCENSORED, UNRATED, UNCUT, WEST.FEED, WS) of its respective ³ ³ retail release, and is not censored after uncensored. ³ ³ e.g. An UNCENSORED.HDTV.x264 release does not dupe a censored ³ ³ BluRay.x264. ³ ³ 18.9) Releases with hardcoded subtitles (i.e. SUBBED) dupe releases with ³ ³ muxed-in subtitles. ³ ³ 18.10) Releases with muxed-in subtitles do not dupe releases with ³ ³ hardcoded subtitles. ³ ³ 18.11) Native video streams do not dupe converted video streams. ³ ³ 18.12) Converted video streams dupe native video streams. ³ ³ 18.13) Different versions of releases (i.e ALTERNATIVE.CUT, COLORIZED, ³ ³ EXTENDED, OAR, OM, REMASTERED, UNCENSORED, UNRATED, UNCUT, ³ ³ WEST.FEED, WS) do not dupe their counterparts or vice versa, ³ ³ except for censored after uncensored and FS after WS. ³ ³ 18.14) Programs which have identical footage but have different narrators ³ ³ in the same language (e.g. British narrator for BBC and American ³ ³ narrator for Discovery) dupe each other, use INTERNAL. ³ ³ 18.15) Different broadcasters which offer alternate commentary and ³ ³ coverage in the same language (e.g. CTV for Canada, NBC for ³ ³ America, BBC for England) for special worldwide events (e.g. The ³ ³ Olympics), do not dupe each other. ³ ³ ³ ³ 19) [ Propers / Rerips / Repacks ] ³ ³ 19.1) Detailed reasons must be included in the NFO for all repacks, ³ ³ rerips and propers. ³ ³ 19.1.1) Proper reasons must be clearly stated in the NFO, including ³ ³ timestamps and specifics in regards to the flaw when ³ ³ appropriate. A sample demonstrating the flaw in the original ³ ³ release is encouraged, but not mandatory. ³ ³ 19.2) Propers are only permitted in the case of a technical flaw in the ³ ³ original release. ³ ³ 19.2.1) Flaws present in optional content cannot be propered, use ³ ³ INTERNAL. ³ ³ 19.2.1.1) In situations where bumper segments have been included, see ³ ³ rule 10.6.2. ³ ³ 19.2.2) Time compressed sources (e.g. ABC, Freeform, NBC) that contain ³ ³ blended and missing frames cannot be propered for bad IVTC, ³ ³ which is the result of the time compression. ³ ³ 19.2.3) Releases which exhibit minor IVTC flaws as a result of source ³ ³ compression, video glitches, logos, ratings bugs, snipes or ³ ³ banner advertisements, are not considered technically flawed and ³ ³ cannot be propered. ³ ³ 19.2.3.1) Except in situations where the same flaws result in excessive ³ ³ frame abnormalities or issues throughout the majority of the ³ ³ release. ³ ³ 19.3) Qualitative propers are not allowed, use INTERNAL. ³ ³ 19.3.1) Sources with different crops cannot be propered from a different ³ ³ source which contains more valid pixels than the original ³ ³ releases. ³ ³ ³ ³ 20) [ Internals ] ³ ³ 20.1) Internals are allowed to be released for any reason (e.g. releases ³ ³ containing technical flaws, use of alternate codecs, containers, ³ ³ settings for experimental purposes). ³ ³ 20.2) Any severe technical flaws must be mentioned in the NFO. ³ ³ 20.3) Internal releases may only be nuked for technical flaws that are ³ ³ not mentioned in the NFO. ³ ³ 20.3.1) In situations where technical flaws are not mentioned in the ³ ³ NFO, groups may provide an NFOFIX to avoid or reverse a nuke. ³ ³ 20.4) Using DIRFIX.INTERNAL to avoid a nuke is not allowed, and must be ³ ³ nuked fix.for.nuke. ³ ³ ³ ³ 21) [ Ruleset Specifics ] ³ ³ 21.1) In the absence of a country specific ruleset, this ruleset must be ³ ³ considered the ONLY official ruleset for TV-X264-SD. It supersedes ³ ³ all previous revisions, rulesets and precedents. ³ ³ 21.1.1) Releasing under former rulesets (e.g. TV-VCD 2002, TV-XVID 2007) ³ ³ or codecs (e.g. VCD, XVID) is not allowed, and must be nuked ³ ³ defunct.ruleset or defunct.codec. ³ ³ 21.1.2) The naming standards listed in this document must only take ³ ³ effect once a current running season has ended. Any existing ³ ³ naming schemes must be used in the event of missing episode(s) ³ ³ from older seasons being filled. ³ ³ 21.2) When releasing with foreign language tags (e.g. SWEDISH, FRENCH, ³ ³ POLISH), all occurrences of the word 'English' in sections 5, 8 ³ ³ and 11 must be replaced with the tagged language. ³ ³ e.g. POLISH, rule 5.6 becomes "Non-Polish spoken titles with ³ ³ hardcoded Polish subtitles must be tagged as SUBBED.". ³ ³ 21.2.1) Foreign language tags must represent the language intended for ³ ³ release, the following rules apply to Non-English releases only. ³ ³ 21.2.1.1) Already established and widely adopted compact tags for ³ ³ subbed, dubbed and language, are allowed (e.g. PLDUB, SWESUB, ³ ³ SUBFRENCH, NLSUBBED). ³ ³ 21.2.1.2) The DUBBED tag may be omitted or included at the discretion ³ ³ of the group. ³ ³ e.g. French TV series airing in Sweden with French audio and ³ ³ Swedish hardcoded subtitles must be tagged as ³ ³ SWEDISH.SUBBED or SWESUB. ³ ³ Danish TV series airing in Poland with Polish dubbed ³ ³ audio and no hardcoded subtitles must be tagged as ³ ³ POLISH, POLISH.DUBBED or PLDUB. ³ ³ Greek TV series airing in Greece with Greek audio must ³ ³ be tagged as GREEK. ³ ³ 21.2.1.3) Soft-subbed releases are not allowed when the primary audio ³ ³ track is not the language tagged as, use INTERNAL or SUBPACK. ³ ³ e.g. Game.of.Thrones.S01E01.SWEDISH.HDTV with English audio ³ ³ and Swedish soft-subs is not allowed, use INTERNAL or ³ ³ SUBPACK. ³ ³ Game.of.Thrones.S01E01.DANISH.SUBBED.HDTV with English ³ ³ audio and Danish hard-subs is allowed. ³ ³ French TV series Le Clan S01E01 airing in Denmark with ³ ³ French audio and Danish soft subtitles must be tagged ³ ³ as FRENCH, if no other release of the episode exists. ³ ³ French TV series Le Clan is already released as ³ ³ Le.Clan.S01E01.FRENCH.HDTV.x264, only an INTERNAL or ³ ³ SUBPACK release is allowed for soft-subs in another ³ ³ language. ³ ³ 21.2.1.4) Hard-subbed releases dupe SUBPACK when the primary audio track ³ ³ is not the language tagged as, use INTERNAL. ³ ³ e.g. Game.of.Thrones.S01E01.TURKISH.SUBBED.HDTV with English ³ ³ audio and Turkish hard-subs dupes ³ ³ Game.of.Thrones.S01E01.TURKISH.SUBPACK. ³ ³ 21.2.2) Releases with foreign language tags only dupe releases with the ³ ³ same foreign language tags. ³ ³ e.g. Game.of.Thrones.S01E01.SWEDISH.SUBBED.HDTV does not dupe ³ ³ Game.of.Thrones.S01E01.POLISH.DUBBED.HDTV or vice versa. ³ ³ Game.of.Thrones.S01E01.FINNISH.SUBBED.HDTV does not dupe ³ ³ Game.of.Thrones.S01E01.HDTV or vice versa. ³ ³ 21.3) The following definition of keywords throughout this ruleset are ³ ³ as follows: ³ ³ 21.3.1) Must: the rule is explicit in the definition and is compulsory. ³ ³ 21.3.2) Should: implies the rule is a suggestion, and is non-compulsory. ³ ³ 21.3.3) Can or may: implies the rule is optional, and is non-compulsory. ³ ³ 21.3.4) e.g: refers to common examples, elements listed should not be ³ ³ considered as all possibilities. ³ ³ ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³ ³ ³ [ Signed - 54 Groups ] ³ ³ aAF ALTEREGO AMB3R AMBIT AVS AZR BAJSKORV BARGE BATV C4TV CBFM CCCAM CREED ³ ³ CROOKS D0NK DEADPOOL DKiDS DOCERE EMX FiHTV FQM FRiES FRiSPARK HYBRiS iDiB ³ ³ iFH KILLERS KYR LOL MiNDTHEGAP MORiTZ NORiTE PANZeR ProPLTV QCF RCDiVX ³ ³ REGRET RiVER SH0W SKANK SKGTV SORNY SQUEAK SRiZ TASTETV TLA TVBYEN ³ ³ TViLLAGE TvNORGE UAV WaLMaRT WNN YesTV ZOMBiE ³ ³ ³ ³ [ Refused to Sign - 3 Groups ] ³ ³ BRISK BWB FLEET ³ ³ ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ´ ³ ³ ³ [ Revisions ] ³ ³ 2012-02-22 - First TV-X264-SD standards, with CRF based encoding. ³ ³ 2012-04-01 - Updated with better rule coverage and more groups signing. ³ ³ 2016-04-04 - Total rewrite, all known issues and loopholes have been ³ ³ addressed, switched to number based marking of rules, MP4 has ³ ³ been removed in support of Matroska, firmer wording on AAC ³ ³ encoding rules. ³ ³ ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ