Warez Definition

[Admin]

0-Day - Latest software releases.

0-Sec - Same as above, although the period of time between ripping a
game or application and it appearing on a warez site is even shorter.

Ace File - The first file in a series of compressed archives (the one
you double click on to decompress all the files at once).

Active List - Similar to a mailing list, but uses ICQ to send instant
messages to subscribers.

Alpha - Software receives this label when it is in the very early
stages of development. Usually full of bugs, so don't touch it with a
barge pole.

Anti-Leech - A system which uses cgi scripts to prevent people
stealing links and then taking the credit for uploading the files.

Appz - Short for applications. For example Flash 5 or GoLie 5.5.

ASF File - The worst quality movie file format (still pretty good
though), much smaller in size than dat or mpg.

Banner Site - Password and username restricted FTP site. To get the
correct login details you must click on several banners.

Beta - Refers to an almost finished piece of software that is released
to the public for bug testing.

BSA - An acronym for Business Software Alliance, an organisation who
are responsible for enforcing anti-piracy litigation. Similar groups
in charge of controlling software "theft" include the SIIA, SPA and
ELSPA.

BSOD - Many people read about BSODs on bulletin boards and think that
they're being insulted, but there is no need to get paranoid. It is
actually an acronym for "Blue Screen Of Death". These can occur for a
multitude of reasons (old Bill likes to keep us guessing!) and are the
bane of PC user's lives.

Bulletin Board - A virtual meeting place on the web similar to a chat
room except that it isn't in real time. One person leaves a message
then others come along, read it and add a reply. Each new discussion
is called a new topic or thread and has it's own link. Whenever a new
topic is created the older topics are pushed one place downwards in
the list. When someone replies to an older topic it is brought back to
the top of the list.

C?? File - File extension that indicates that a file is part of an
..ace or .rar series of compressed files.

Cgi Scripts - These are referrers which are used in url's. When
you
click on a link with a ?cgi reference you are directed to a
sponsor's
website or an anti-leech protected file.

Cookie - A tiny text file (usually less than 1kb), which is stored on
your hard drive when you visit a web site. These are used to remember
who you are so that you can access members only areas on the site
without having to type in a password every time or to retain your
personalised settings so that they are available the next time you
visit.

Courier - Someone who is involved in the logistics of delivering new
releases directly from the release groups themselves to FTP sites.

Crack - A tiny executable file that is used to transform a shareware
program into the full version. Also used to remove any copy protection
from the main executable of games (this will already have been done in
"ripped" warez games).

CRC Error - These can occur when you try to decompress a file that has
become corrupt during the downloading process, usually as a result of
too much resuming.

Credits - The amount of data you are permitted to download from a
ratio site. The more credits you have the more software you are
allowed to download.

DAP - A quick way of referring to "Download Accelerator Plus", a free
download manager that claims to speed up file transfers by up to three
hundred per cent. It works by making multiple connections to the same
file and is paid for by revolving advertising banners.Also supports
resume.

DAT File - File format used for movies, identical in quality and size
to mpg as far as I can tell.

DC - The lazy way of referring to the Dreamcast, Sega's latest console
incarnation.

Decompression - Unpacking many files that have been stored in a single
archive.

Distro - A concise means of referring to a distribution FTP site.
These are huge storage areas which act as a springboard for the
transfer of new releases. Their whereabouts are never public disclosed
to aid their survival rate. You can think of them as the initial
source from which warez emanates.

Direct Downloads - Links to actual files rather than other warez sites
or pages. These are usually gathered together from many different
sites and put on one page for your convenience.

DivX - Movies ripped from a DVD using the DivX video codecs. Can be
played back using Media Player.

DIZ File - Short for description. Very brief text file found in warez
archives stating the title of the software, the number of files that
makes up the set and the group who released it.

Download (or DL) - Copying files from a web server or FTP site to your
computer using a modem.

Emulator - An application that simulates another computer system or
console using your PC.

FAQ - Stands for Frequently Asked Questions.

FAW - Abbreviation for "Files Anywhere", a popular, free web storage
service.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - The method used to transfer files from
one computer to another using a modem.

Filler - Refers to a person who uploads stuff to pub for others to
download.

Flaming - A general net term for "verbally" attacking someone. This
can be done via email, bulletin board, chat room or any medium which
involves communication across the web.

Freedrive - Virtual hard drive storage area on the web. Free to join
and anything and everything can be uploaded or downloaded.

Freeware - Unrestricted software that is downloaded from the net and
is completely free to use. Often paid for using advertising.

FTP Client / Browser - A program used to access, upload and download
data from FTP sites.

FXP - File eXchange Protocol - This refers to server to server
transfer. You can transfer files from one pub to another using very
little of your own bandwidth. This is by far the best means for
distributing large files, only problem is that a very limited number
of FXP capable pubs exist.

Gamez - Pretty self-explanatory this one.

Getright - One of the best download managers available.

[Admin]

Gold - A piece of software is said to have gone gold when the final
version is complete and it is ready to ship to the public.

Gozilla - Another excellent download manager.

Hacking - Gaining access to a remote computer without the
authorisation to do so. Usually for the purposes of stealing
confidential information or the malicious destruction of data.

Hammering - Repeatedly trying to access an FTP site using an FTP
client or download manager.

HTTP - Stands for "Hypertext Transfer Protocol". The method you use to
view a web page. Always comes before the address of a website in your
Url bar.

ICQ - Derives from the term "I Seek You" and is used for real time
chat and transferring files over the internet.

IP - 32 bit binary number identifying the position of a computer on
the Internet[- similar to the URL. The URL is usually easier to
remember as it is alpha based rather than numerical.

IP Range - usually referred to when talking about scanning a
particular range of ip addresses. They can be broken down into A, B,
and C ranges - AAA.BBB.CCC.xxx. Usually an entire B range will be
scanned at a time.

IRC - Stands for "Instant Relay Chat". Used for real time chat and
transferring files over the Internet.

ISO - An exact copy of an original CD, all the multimedia bits and
pieces are uncut and therefore they are extremely large and awkward to
download.

Java - Html scripts used to add functionality to or bring web pages
alive. These include animation (such as the title graphic on my main
page), menus, chat rooms, buttons, pop ups and so on.

KBps - Kilobytes per second - This is what most transfer speed are
referring to. One Byte is comprised of 8 Bits.

Kbps - Kilobits per second - This is what most modem speeds are
referring to. Why? Probably to make them look faster. Divide by 8 to
get KBps.

Key Generator - A tiny executable program that is capable of creating
a serial number from a specified username. These are specific to
particular applications or utilities, so a serial number created with
one key generator will only work for the program for which the key
generator was developed.

Lamer - An annoying and overused general derogatory term used to
insult/put down anyone and everything.

Leeching - Downloading files without giving anything back in return or
copying other people's links.

Mirror - An exact copy of a web site that is stored on a different
server. Using multiple locations for warez sites allows the site to be
accessed using a different address if the main site is deleted.

Modchip - Very common website sponsor found on warez sites. They
don't
mind their banners being used on illegal software sites because their
products are one of the "grey areas" of the law. Modchips are
small
pieces of electronic circuitry which allow copied games to be played
on your Playstation. If a Playstation has been fitted with a Modchip
it is said to have been "chipped".

MP3 File - Compressed music file format. Average track size is between
3 and 4 meg compared to 40-ish meg in wav format.

MPEG File - The best quality and largest movie file format.

Multi Web Space Faker - A tool used to create lots of free web space
accounts simultaneously.

Name Zero - An organisation that offers free website domain names. The
main drawbacks are that you have to put up with a very bulky banner
residing at the bottom of your page and the fact that you never
actually own your chosen address.

NFO File - Short for info or information. Basic text file containing
all the important details relating to a particular release, such as
number of files, release date, copy protection system, installation
instructions etc.

Nuked - A release is said to be nuked if it is completely unplayable.
Usually when this happens another group re-releases the particular
game, although fixes do sometimes follow on to rescue the game from
trash can.

OEM - An acronym for Original Equipment Manufacturer. OEM software
products are repackaged versions of the full retail product. They are
often re-branded to suit the needs of the particular vender and are
much more reasonable priced because they lack excessive packaging and
a hard copy of the manual.

OST - Not strictly a warez term this one, but one that you are likely
to come across while searching for MP3 music. It stands for original
soundtrack (movie music).

Patch - We all know games and applications aren't perfect. When they
are released we would hope that they have been thoroughly tested for
bugs and incompatibility problems, but you can guarantee that many of
these will still slip through the quality control net. Once the
program is released to the general public, the bug reports start to
flood in. A patch is a downloadable executive file which takes these
reports into account and attempts to incorporate all the fixes for
these known problems. A patch can resolve incompatibility problems,
prevent crashes or improve the performance of a piece of software.

Piracy - The replication and distribution of videos or computer
software.

Pop-ups - Irritating browser windows that open automatically when you
visit a warez site. Usually contain voting portals or porn sites.

Port - A port is a term used when referring to FTP sites and is an
essential extension of the address used to access them. If the port
number of an FTP site isn't specified the default setting of 21 will
automatically be used.

Pron - A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away someone posted a
request for porn on a bulletin board, only, because of a typing error
what he ended up asking for was "pron". Since then this has become a
bit of a running joke and so it is now deliberately miss pelt.

Proxy - A third party server which acts as an anonymous go between
whenever you request a web page or contact a remote server. The
message from your computer is first sent through the proxy server
before being relayed to the final destination so that it appears as
though the request has come from the IP address of the proxy server
rather than you. Used when you wish to maintain your privacy on the
net or speed up your connection (much more detailed info on this
subject in the "more tips" section).

Psx - A quick way of referring to the Sony Playstation.

Pub - A free for all FTP site where anonymous access is permitted.
They are usually used for transferring large files to many people
because of their high speeds.

Pub Scanner - Someone who scours the net for anonymous access FTP
sites which permit the creation and deletion of files. These are then
exploited by uploading software for others to share.

Pub Stealer - Someone who posts the IP address of a public FTP site
which they themselves have not built. Some pub stealers justify this
by claiming that the elitism of private FXP groups discriminates
against those people who do not have access, yet others simply post
other people's work to try to claim the credit for themselves. Either
way though, pub stealers are despised by the FXP groups and praised by
those who would otherwise not have access to them.

Rar File - The first file in a series of compressed archives (the one
you double click on to decompress all the files at once). Usually
decompressed using a program called Winrar.

Release Groups - A group of people who are involved in cracking and /
or ripping software and then repackaging it into easily downloadable
segments.

Ratio - Two numbers separated by a semi-colon. Indicates how much data
you must upload to an FTP site before you are permitted to download
anything.

Reg File - Tiny file that adds essential configuration details into
the registry.

Resume - The ability to stop and start downloading / uploading a file
whenever you choose without having to start from the beginning again.

Rip - Software that has had all the non-essential gubbins removed to
reduce its size. Videos and music are always the first casualties.

Raped - A release is branded with this term if it has been damaged
beyond repair during the ripping process.

RM File - Shorthand for Real Media, a file format used to encode video
sequences, which can only be played back using the "Real Player".
Video clips produced using this format are not of the highest quality,
but do have the advantage of a small file size.

ROM - Games which are designed for other platforms, but are played on
the PC using an emulator.

Serial - A valid username and password that is saved as a basic text
file and is used to register a shareware program and therefore remove
all the restrictions.

Shareware - Try before you buy software downloaded from the net.

Spam - Unsolicited junk e-mail. Supposedly stands for "Stupid Person's
Annoying Message".

Sponsor - To make some money webmasters can place adverts on their
sites. Each time you click on these adverts or banners they get paid a
few cents for bringing potential customers to the sponsors website.

[Admin]

Surfer Friendly (SF) - Surfer friendly sites supposedly have no blind
links, pop-ups or porn banners. Don't be fooled by this label though
as some sites will tell you fibs to get you to visit them.

Sys Op - The person who has the responsibility for running the
computer from which an FTP site has been established. When warez is
uploaded to public FTP sites and then suddenly goes "Missing In
Action" you can often lay the blame at the door of the Sys Op who has
an obligation to make sure his/her server stays within the boundaries
of the law (i.e. warez free).


Tag / Tagged - This generally refers to the tagging of a pub. A FXP
group uses a directory structure to claim it as their own. A general
rule is that if a tag is 2 weeks old and not in use it has been
abandoned.

Top List - Chart which lists in rank order the best warez sites.
Worked out on the basis of votes.

Trading - Swapping warez, file for file via FTP, ICQ etc. Not usually
approved of by the real warez community who believe that warez should
be freely distributed. To put it simply, it is not the "warez way".

Trainer - A small, executable program which sits in your taskbar while
you play a game. Hotkeys are associated with cheat commands so that
when they are pressed you are given extra ammo, weapons, lives or the
ability to toggle between invincible/mortal modes etc etc.

Trojans - Nasty virus like attachments which can be merged with
executable files. These are tiny so are unlikely to arouse suspicion.
When run they allow a hacker to access your computer and wreak havoc.
Can occasionally be found in warez files.

UBB - Shorthand for Ultimate Bulletin Board, currently the most
popular script used for creating warez bulletin boards.

UBB Hacks - This term falsely gives the impression that something
destructive or malicious is involved, but when you hear people talking
about a hack in the context of bulletin boards they are simply
referring to code which helps to improve the functionality of a board.
For example a "thread hack" would effect the way in which individual
threads look and operate.

Undeletable Pub - An anonymous access, public FTP site where the
permission attributes are set to allow uploads and downloads, but do
not permit deletion.


Unzip - Unpacking or decompressing many files that have been stored in
a single archive. Technically only used when talking about zip files.

Upload - Copying files from your computer to a web server or FTP site
using a modem.

URL - Stands for "Uniform Resource Locator". The web site address you
type into your browser.

VCD - Stands for Video Compact Disc. Basically these are huge movie
files which can be viewed with the latest version of Media Player.

Voting - Members of the warez scene are very keen to reach the number
one slot of top lists such as Voodoo, Top 60 etc. and will therefore
encourage you to vote for their site to improve their position and get
the credit they deserve (or not as the case may be!).

Warez - "Pirated" Full version software that is uploaded to the
internet and is available for free download.

Warez Board - Bulletin board used by the warez community to share
links and discuss anything related to warez.

Winace - Another utility used for decompressing all the common archive
formats. Not great in my opinion. See below for a better one.

Wingate - Similar to a proxy in that they are used to hide your
identity, except all information actually passes through the Wingate,
if you have a slow Wingate you get slow download/upload speeds.
Wingates are also used to force FXP transfer on pubs that do not
normally accept FXP, again all data passes through the Wingate so you
need one that is fast for it to be useful.

Winrar - Utility used for decompressing .rar files and much more.

Winzip - An essential tool used to decompress warez files.

[Admin]

1.What is a RAR file

RAR is the native format of WinRAR archiver. Like other archives, RAR files are data containers, they store one or several files in the compressed form. After you downloaded RAR file from Internet, you need to unpack its contents in order to use it.

2.How to handle RAR files

WinRAR provides the complete support for RAR files, so you may both create and unpack them. If you installed WinRAR on your computer and downloaded RAR file from Internet, you may double click on RAR file icon to open it in WinRAR, select all files, press "Extract To" button, enter a destination path and press "OK". Another way is to click on the RAR file in Explorer using the right mouse button. If you enabled "Shell integration" option when installing WinRAR, the file context menu will contain "Extract to ..." item.

Some RAR files can be parts of multi-volume sequences. In WinRAR you can split a huge archive to a few smaller files, which are called volumes. They may have extensions .rar (the first volume), .r00, .r01, ..., or .part1.rar (the first volume), .part2.rar, ..., etc. If you need to unpack volumes, place all them to the same folder and start extraction from the first volume.



3.What is a ZIP file

A file format that compresses data to a small fraction of its original size in bytes. This makes transfer across a network or the Internet much faster. A single ZIP file can contain many individual files that will be reconsituted after the data is uncompressed. The ZIP format is used by many file compression programs. In order to use a file that has been compressed into a ZIP file, you must have a compression/uncompression software program ie WINZIP OR WINRAR.

4.What is a FTP (File Transfer Protocol)Site

An FTP site is like a large filing cabinet. With a traditional filing cabinet, the person who does the filing has the option to label and organize the files how ever they see fit. They also decide which files to keep locked and which remain public. It is the same with an FTP site.

The virtual 'key' to get into an FTP site is the UserID and Password. If the creator of the FTP site is willing to give everyone access to the files, the UserID is 'anonymous' and the Password is your e-mail address (e.g. name@domain.com). If the FTP site is not public, there will be a unique UserID and Password for each person who is granted access.

When connecting to an FTP site that allows anonymous logins, you're frequently not prompted for a name and password. Hence, when downloading from the Internet, you most likely are using an anonymous FTP login and you don't even know it.

To make an FTP connection you can use a standard Web browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, etc.) or a dedicated FTP software program(flashFXP), referred to as an FTP 'Client'.

5.what is a ISO

ISO files are actually images of complete CDs compiles as one whole image.ISO images can be loaded into several different CD recording software packages to create CDs ie.ALCOHOL 120% or NERO.


6.what is a BIN & CUE file

So you have downloaded two files, one with a .bin extension and one with a .cue extension. "What do I do with these?" you ask. There are a number of options.

BURN TO CD

You will need either NERO or ALCOHOL 120%.
To burn with NERO:
Start NERO, choose FILE, choose BURN IMAGE, locate the .cue file you have and double click it. A dialog box will come up, for anything other than music make sure you choose DISC-AT-ONCE (DAO). You can also turn off the simulation burn if you so choose.
Then burn away.
To burn with ALCOHOL 120%
Start ALCOHOL 120%,choose image burning wizard,locate the .cue file you have and double click it.

.CUE ERRORS

The most common error you will get with a .cue file is when it points to an incorrect path. This is easily fixed. Find the .bin file, copy the exact title including the .bin extension. Now find the .cue file, open the .cue file using notepad. It should look similar to this:

FILE "name of file.bin" BINARY
TRACK 01 MODE2/2352
INDEX 01 00:00:00
TRACK 02 MODE2/2352
INDEX 00 00:04:00
INDEX 01 00:06:00

Delete everything in the quotes, in this case we would
delete name of file.bin. Now place the title you copied
in between the quotes. Save the changes and close out.
Thats it, your .cue file should work now.

OTHER WAYS TO USE .BIN & .CUE FILES


VCDGear:
This program will allow you to extract MPEG streams from CD images, convert VCD files to MPEG, correct MPEG errors, and more.

Daemon Tools:
This program creates a virtual drive on your PC which will allow you to "mount" the .cue file and use whatever is in the .bin file without having to burn it to a cd.

ISOBuster:
This program will allow you to "bust" open the .bin file and extract the files within the .bin

open the .bin file with vlc media player

7.What is a MP3 file

Moving Picture Experts Group Audio Layer 3 File. MP3 files are highly compressed audio tracks, and are very popular on the Internet.

8.What is a OGG VORBIS file

Ogg Vorbis is a new audio compression format. It is roughly comparable to other formats used to store and play digital music, such as MP3, VQF, AAC, and other digital audio formats. It is different from these other formats because it is completely free, open, and unpatented.

9.What is a MPEG file

MPEG-1(.mpg, .dat) is the predecessor to MPEG-2 used for DVDs. MPG files are a lower quality/bitrate format usually at half of the resolution of DVD VOB files. They encompass CD quality 2 channel audio, as opposed to the 5.1 channels found in some DVD VOB files. Quality depends on the encoder used, and can be quite good if done properly.

10What is a AVI file

An AVI is a container format that will hold audio and video. Windows Media Player does support playback of AVI files, but in the past few years their have been many new codec's developed to compress the audio and the video that is inside the AVI file ie DivX, XviD, 3ivX.



11What is a WMV file

WMV is a generic name of Microsoft's video encoding solutions and doesn't necessarily define the technology what it uses -- since version 7 (WMV7) Microsoft has used its own flavour of MPEG-4 video encoding technology (not very surprising, it's not compatible with other MPEG-4 technologies..)

12 What is a rmvb file

this is a file specifically made to be played with Realplayer,the files can be smaller than standard mpeg files

13 What is a MKV file

The Matroska Multimedia Container is an open standard free Container format, a file format that can hold an unlimited number of video, audio, picture or subtitle tracks inside a single file.
[1] It is intended to serve as a universal format for storing common multimedia content, like movies or TV shows. Matroska is similar in conception to other containers like AVI, MP4 or ASF, but is completely open source. Matroska file types are .MKV for video (and audio) and .MKA for audio-only files.

14a.what is x264

x264 is a free software library for encoding H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video streams.

14b.What is H.264

H.264 is a standard for video compression, and is equivalent to MPEG-4 Part 10, or MPEG-4 AVC (for Advanced Video Coding). As of 2008[update], it is the latest block-oriented motion-compensation-based codec standard developed by the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) together with the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), and it was the product of a partnership effort known as the Joint Video Team (JVT). The ITU-T H.264 standard and the ISO/IEC MPEG-4 Part 10 standard (formally, ISO/IEC 14496-10) are jointly maintained so that they have identical technical content.


15.what does PDF stand for

Portable Document Format It is a file format created by Adobe Systems in 1993 for document exchange. PDF is used for representing two-dimensional documents in a manner independent of the application software, hardware, and operating system.[1]
Each PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a fixed-layout 2-D document (and, with Acrobat 3-D, embedded 3-D documents) that includes the text, fonts, images, and 2-D vector graphics which compose the documents.
Formerly a proprietary format, PDF was officially released as an open standard on July 1, 2008.


hope this guide will help all the n00bs out there.
please feel free to add anything that you feel is relevant to a n00b

[Admin]

AM -
A cam is a theater rip usually done with a digital video camera. A mini tripod is sometimes used, but a lot of the time this wont be possible, so the camera make shake. Also seating placement isn't always idle, and it might be filmed from an angle. If cropped properly, this is hard to tell unless there's text on the screen, but a lot of times these are left with triangular borders on the top and bottom of the screen. Sound is taken from the onboard microphone of the camera, and especially in comedies, laughter can often be heard during the film. Due to these factors picture and sound quality are usually quite poor, but sometimes we're lucky, and the theater will be fairly empty and a fairly clear signal will be heard.



TELESYNC (TS) - A telesync is the same spec as a CAM except it uses an external audio source (most likely an audio jack in the chair for hard of hearing people). A direct audio source does not ensure a good quality audio source, as a lot of background noise can interfere. A lot of the times a telesync is filmed in an empty cinema or from the projection booth with a professional camera, giving a better picture quality. Quality ranges drastically, check the sample before downloading the full release. A high percentage of Telesyncs are CAMs that have been mislabeled.



TELECINE (TC) -
A telecine machine copies the film digitally from the reels. Sound and picture should be very good, but due to the equipment involved and cost telecines are fairly uncommon. Generally the film will be in correct aspect ratio, although 4:3 telecines have existed. A great example is the JURASSIC PARK 3 TC done last year. TC should not be confused with TimeCode , which is a visible counter on screen throughout the film.



SCREENER (SCR) -
A pre VHS tape, sent to rental stores, and various other places for promotional use. A screener is supplied on a VHS tape, and is usually in a 4:3 (full screen) a/r, although letterboxed screeners are sometimes found. The main draw back is a "ticker" (a message that scrolls past at the bottom of the screen, with the copyright and anti-copy telephone number). Also, if the tape contains any serial numbers, or any other markings that could lead to the source of the tape, these will have to be blocked, usually with a black mark over the section. This is sometimes only for a few seconds, but unfortunately on some copies this will last for the entire film, and some can be quite big. Depending on the equipment used, screener quality can range from excellent if done from a MASTER copy, to very poor if done on an old VHS recorder thru poor capture equipment on a copied tape. Most screeners are transferred to VCD, but a few attempts at SVCD have occurred, some looking better than others.



DVD-SCREENER (DVDscr) -Same premise as a screener, but transferred off a DVD. Usually letterbox , but without the extras that a DVD retail would contain. The ticker is not usually in the black bars, and will disrupt the viewing. If the ripper has any skill, a DVDscr should be very good. Usually transferred to SVCD or DivX/XviD.



DVDRip - A copy of the final released DVD. If possible this is released PRE retail (for example, Star Wars episode 2) again, should be excellent quality. DVDrips are released in SVCD and DivX/XviD.



VHSRip -Transferred off a retail VHS, mainly skating/sports videos and XXX releases.



TVRip -TV episode that is either from Network (capped using digital cable/satellite boxes are preferable) or PRE-AIR from satellite feeds sending the program around to networks a few days earlier (do not contain "dogs" but sometimes have flickers etc) Some programs such as WWF Raw Is War contain extra parts, and the "dark matches" and camera/commentary tests are included on the rips. PDTV is capped from a digital TV PCI card, generally giving the best results, and groups tend to release in SVCD for these. VCD/SVCD/DivX/XviD rips are all supported by the TV scene.



WORKPRINT (WP) -A workprint is a copy of the film that has not been finished. It can be missing scenes, music, and quality can range from excellent to very poor. Some WPs are very different from the final print (Men In Black is missing all the aliens, and has actors in their places) and others can contain extra scenes (Jay and Silent Bob) . WPs can be nice additions to the collection once a good quality final has been obtained.



DivX Re-Enc -A DivX re-enc is a film that has been taken from its original VCD source, and re-encoded into a small DivX file. Most commonly found on file sharers, these are usually labeled something like Film.Name.Group(1of2) etc. Common groups are SMR and TND. These aren't really worth downloading, unless you're that unsure about a film u only want a 200mb copy of it. Generally avoid.



Watermarks -
A lot of films come from Asian Silvers/PDVD (see below) and these are tagged by the people responsible. Usually with a letter/initials or a little logo, generally in one of the corners. Most famous are the "Z" "A" and "Globe" watermarks.



Asian Silvers / PDVD -
These are films put out by eastern bootleggers, and these are usually bought by some groups to put out as their own. Silvers are very cheap and easily available in a lot of countries, and its easy to put out a release, which is why there are so many in the scene at the moment, mainly from smaller groups who don't last more than a few releases. PDVDs are the same thing pressed onto a DVD. They have removable subtitles, and the quality is usually better than the silvers. These are ripped like a normal DVD, but usually released as VCD.

Formats

VCD -
VCD is an mpeg1 based format, with a constant bitrate of 1150kbit at a resolution of 352x240 (NTCS). VCDs are generally used for lower quality transfers (CAM/TS/TC/Screener(VHS)/TVrip(analogue) in order to make smaller file sizes, and fit as much on a single disc as possible. Both VCDs and SVCDs are timed in minutes, rather than MB, so when looking at an mpeg, it may appear larger than the disc capacity, and in reality u can fit 74min on a CDR74.



SVCD -
SVCD is an mpeg2 based (same as DVD) which allows variable bit-rates of up to 2500kbits at a resolution of 480x480 (NTSC) which is then decompressed into a 4:3 aspect ratio when played back. Due to the variable bit-rate, the length you can fit on a single CDR is not fixed, but generally between 35-60 Mins are the most common. To get a better SVCD encode using variable bit-rates, it is important to use multiple "passes". this takes a lot longer, but the results are far clearer.



XVCD/XSVCD -
These are basically VCD/SVCD that don't obey the "rules". They are both capable of much higher resolutions and bit-rates, but it all depends on the player to whether the disc can be played. X(S)VCD are total non-standards, and are usually for home-ripping by people who don't intend to release them.



KVCD Thanks for lardo4life for the info
KVCD is a modification to the standard MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 GOP structure and Quantization Matrix. It enables you to create over 120 minutes of near DVD quality video, depending on your material, on a single 80 minute CD-R/CD-RW. We have published these specifications as KVCDx3, our official resolution, which produce 528x480 (NTSC) and 528x576 (PAL) MPEG-1 variable bit rate video, from 64Kbps to 3,000Kbps. Using a resolution of 352x240 (NTSC) or 352x288 (PAL), it's possible to encode video up to ~360 minutes of near VCD quality on a single 80 minute CD-R. The mpeg files created will play back in most modern standalone DVD players. You must burn the KVCD MPEG files as non-standard VCD or non-standard SVCD (depends on your player) with Nero or VCDEasy.



DivX / XviD -
DivX is a format designed for multimedia platforms. It uses two codecs, one low motion, one high motion. most older films were encoded in low motion only, and they have problems with high motion too. A method known as SBC (Smart Bit-rate Control) was developed which switches codecs at the encoding stage, making a much better print. The format is Ana orphic and the bit-rate/resolution are interchangeable. Due to the higher processing power required, and the different codecs for playback, its unlikely we'll see a DVD player capable of play DivX for quite a while, if at all. There have been players in development which are supposedly capable, but nothing has ever arisen. The majority of PROPER DivX rips (not Re-Encs) are taken from DVDs, and generally up to 2hours in good quality is possible per disc. Various codecs exist, most popular being the original Divx3.11a and the new XviD codecs.



CVD -
CVD is a combination of VCD and SVCD formats, and is generally supported by a majority of DVD players. It supports MPEG2 bit-rates of SVCD, but uses a resolution of 352x480(ntsc) as the horizontal resolution is generally less important. Currently no groups release in CVD.



DVD-R -
Is the recordable DVD solution that seems to be the most popular (out of DVD-RAM, DVD-R and DVD+R). it holds 4.7gb of data per side, and double sided discs are available, so discs can hold nearly 10gb in some circumstances. SVCD mpeg2 images must be converted before they can be burnt to DVD-R and played successfully. DVD>DVDR copies are possible, but sometimes extras/languages have to be removed to stick within the available 4.7gb.



MiniDVD -
MiniDVD/cDVD is the same format as DVD but on a standard CDR/CDRW. Because of the high resolution/bit-rates, its only possible to fit about 18-21 mins of footage per disc, and the format is only compatible with a few players.



Misc Info

Regional Coding -
This was designed to stop people buying American DVDs and watching them earlier in other countries, or for older films where world distribution is handled by different companies. A lot of players can either be hacked with a chip, or via a remote to disable this.



RCE -
RCE (Regional Coding Enhancement) was designed to overcome "Multiregion" players, but it had a lot of faults and was overcome. Very few titles are RCE encoded now, and it was very unpopular.



Macrovision -
Macrovision is the copy protection employed on most commercial DVDs. Its a system that will display lines and darken the images of copies that are made by sending the VHS signals it can't understand. Certain DVD players (for example the Dansai 852 from Tescos) have a secret menu where you can disable the macrovision, or a "video stabaliser" costs about 30UKP from Maplin

NTSC/PAL -
NTSC and PAL are the two main standards used across the world. NTSC has a higher frame rate than pal (29fps compared to 25fps) but PAL has an increased resolution, and gives off a generally sharper picture. Playing NTSC discs on PAL systems seems a lot easier than vice-versa, which is good news for the Brits An RGB enabled scart lead will play an NTSC picture in full colour on most modern tv sets, but to record this to a VHS tape, you will need to convert it to PAL50 (not PAL60 as the majority of DVD players do.) This is either achieved by an expensive converter box (in the regions of £200+) an onboard converter (such as the Dansai 852 / certain Daewoos / Samsung 709 ) or using a World Standards VCR which can record in any format.



About Release Files

RARset -
The movies are all supplied in RAR form, whether its v2 (rar>.rxx) or v3 (part01.rar > partxx.rar) form.



BIN/CUE -
VCD and SVCD films will extract to give a BIN/CUE. Load the .CUE into notepad and make sure the first line contains only a filename, and no path information. Then load the cue into Nero/CDRWin etc and this will burn the VCD/SVCD correctly. TV rips are released as MPEG. DivX files are just the plain DivX - .AVI



NFO -
An NFO file is supplied with each movie to promote the group, and give general iNFOrmation about the release, such as format, source, size, and any notes that may be of use. They are also used to recruit members and acquire hardware for the group.

SFV -
Also supplied for each disc is an SFV file. These are mainly used on site level to check each file has been uploaded correctly, but are also handy for people downloading to check they have all the files, and the CRC is correct. A program such as pdSFV or hkSFV is required to use these files.

Usenet Information

Access -
To get onto newsgroups, you will need a news server. Most ISPs supply one, but this is usually of poor retention (the amount of time the files are on server for) and poor completition (the amount of files that make it there). For the best service, a premium news server should be paid for, and these will often have bandwidth restrictions in place.



Software -
You will need a newsreader to access the files in the binary newsgroups. There are many different readers, and its usually down to personal opinion which is best. Xnews / Forte Agent / BNR 1 / BNR 2 are amongst the popular choices. Outlook has the ability to read newsgroups, but its recommended to not use that.



Format -
Usenet posts are often the same as those listed on VCDQUALiTY (i.e., untouched group releases) but you have to check the filenames and the description to make sure you get what you think you are getting. Generally releases should come down in .RAR sets. Posts will usually take more than one day to be uploaded, and can be spread out as far as a week.



PAR files -
As well as the .rxx files, you will also see files listed as .pxx/.par . These are PARITY files. Parity files are common in usenet posts, as a lot of times, there will be at least one or two damaged files on some servers. A parity file can be used to replace ANY ONE file that is missing from the rar set. The more PAR files you have, the more files you can replace. You will need a program called SMARTPAR for this.






Scene Tags

PROPER -
Due to scene rules, whoever releases the first Telesync has won that race (for example). But if the quality of that release is fairly poor, if another group has another telesync (or the same source in higher quality) then the tag PROPER is added to the folder to avoid being duped. PROPER is the most subjective tag in the scene, and a lot of people will generally argue whether the PROPER is better than the original release. A lot of groups release PROPERS just out of desperation due to losing the race. A reason for the PROPER should always be included in the NFO.



SUBBED -
In the case of a VCD, if a release is subbed, it usually means it has hard encoded subtitles burnt throughout the movie. These are generally in malaysian/chinese/thai etc, and sometimes there are two different languages, which can take up quite a large amount of the screen. SVCD supports switch able subtitles, so some DVDRips are released with switch able subs. This will be mentioned in the NFO file if included.



UNSUBBED -
When a film has had a subbed release in the past, an Unsubbed release may be released

LIMITED -
A limited movie means it has had a limited theater run, generally opening in less than 250 theaters, generally smaller films (such as art house films) are released as limited.



INTERNAL -
An internal release is done for several reasons. Classic DVD groups do a lot of .INTERNAL. releases, as they wont be dupe'd on it. Also lower quality theater rips are done INTERNAL so not to lower the reputation of the group, or due to the amount of rips done already. An INTERNAL release is available as normal on the groups affiliate sites, but they can't be traded to other sites without request from the site ops. Some INTERNAL releases still trickle down to IRC/Newsgroups, it usually depends on the title and the popularity. Earlier in the year people referred to Centropy going "internal". This meant the group were only releasing the movies to their members and site ops. This is in a different context to the usual definition.



STV -
Straight To Video. Was never released in theaters, and therefore a lot of sites do not allow these.



OTHER TAGS -

*WS* for widescreen (letterbox)
*FS* for Fullscreen.



RECODE -
A recode is a previously released version, usually filtered through TMPGenc to remove subtitles, fix color etc. Whilst they can look better, its not looked upon highly as groups are expected to obtain their own sources.



REPACK -
If a group releases a bad rip, they will release a Repack which will fix the problems.

[Admin]

NFO/Diz Files

So you have this NFO and Diz file... well what are they for? Normally NFO files are associated with the Microsoft Info Viewer. If you double click a warez NFO if will tell you it's corrupted. Actually the file is just a txt file with a different extension and usually some ASCII art. The NFO has all the info about the app/game in it, including burn/install instructions and a serial number if needed. The Diz file is just like a file tag, usually just with the application name and the release groups name. If you right click and open it in notepad you can see the text and read about the program, but to see the full beauty of a NFO you need a special font that displays the ASCII properly. The best way is to just use a special application which is just like notepad but will use this special font, that way you don't have to switch your notepad font around. So, if you haven't already, download and install GetDiz. It doesn't really take any setting up, just let it associate with NFO and Diz when it installs. You should now be able to double click a NFO file and see all the ASCII art the way its meant to be seen.

SFV Files

Well I have found that many people do not even use SFV files, let alone know what they are for. Their purpose is to verify the integrity of all the files using a CRC check. Since split RAR files cannot be modified once created (without corrupting them) this is very usefull on this type of file. Any modification in size or structure to the file, usually when your modem messes the data up, will cause the CRC check to fail.

You can easily verify your downloaded files using a special program and the SFV file. The best one I have found is QuickSFV, so download that and install it. Let it associate with at least SFV and whatever else you want. Now all you need to do is double click the SFV and it starts checking the files, simple as that.

RAR Files

Many people are confused by RAR files and do not know how they truly work. They are quite simple and very similar to the common zip file. The big difference is the compression method they use, usually a file can be compressed smaller using RAR than if ZIP was used. Also when creating RAR files it is easy to make them into multiple sections. The purpose of this is to make downloading easier, and if you get a corrupt file you only have to download a small chunk and not a huge 500+ MB file. Standard split RAR files start out with the .rar extension then go to numbers starting with .r00, .r01, etc. The main file is the .rar and is where the whole archive begins. You do not even need all of the files to extract smaller files in the archive. If you have each piece with the information for a file you can extract it. With big releases the case usually is that there is only 2 files and you need both so you must acquire all the pieces of the RAR file. Sometime certain groups will not use the standard naming scheme for the files, but instead use the extensions .001, .002, .etc. Here the main file is .001 and everything is pretty much the same, but with different file extensions. This is probably done to conceal what the files really are.

If you are having problems seeing all the file extensions you may have file extension hiding turned on in windows. To disable this annoying option in WindowsXP open up Windows Explorer (WindowsKey + E) go to Tools -> Folder Options and switch to the "View" tab and uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types". For any other version of windows it should be almost the same, just look in the folder options and you should find it.

Ok now that you know a little about RAR files its time to install WinRAR. Just run the installer and let it do its thing. All the default settings should be good for now, you can play with them later. WinRAR should automatically install shell extensions which make it easy to extract the .rar files. If you have a full set of RAR files with the normal file extensions you can now right click on the .rar file and select WinRAR -> "Extract to <filename>\". This will extract the contents of the whole set of RARs into a subfolder named after the file. If you have a set of RARs without the standard file extensions the shell menu will not appear. To extract these you need to open WinRAR and use its built in file browser to browse to the folder with the files. Select the first file in the set (usually .001) and click the "Extract To" Button. It will come up with a dialog box showing the folder it will extract to and some other options. It automatically generates a subfolder to extract to based on the filename so you can just press ok to extract it there.

*NOTE: If you have checked all the files with a SFV and they are fine but WinRAR is giving CRC errors, make sure you have the newest version of WinRAR. Sometimes with a new version they will update the compression method, and the older versions wont be able to handle it.

That's it, you should now have your files extracted and ready to use. If you end up with a BIN and CUE file you need to burn it or virtually mount it to use it.

[pauldexter]

Very great!
I learned much.

[orbofdarkness]

Great Work Bro.... Put in lot of hard work.. This will really help...