The 720p x264 TV Releasing Standards 2011
Requirements: Notepad with terminal font or any other ascii viewer.
[ INTRO ]
This standard aims to produce consistent quality releases. If consistent
release size doesn't matter, but consistent quality does, this is for you.
[ RELEASE RULES ]
This document takes effect starting with shows airing from 2011-08-01.
Video:
- 1080i/p sources are to be cropped and resized using sharp resizers such
as Lanczos/Lanczos4, Spline36, or Blackman. Bicubic is banned.
- Video taken from the decoded HD output of a set-top box (e.g.
component, DVI, HDMI) may be used as a source; source must be tagged
in dirname as AHDTV. Releases taken from a natively recorded transport
stream shall be tagged as HDTV and do not dupe AHDTV releases. AHDTV
releases do dupe HDTV. AHDTV captures must be done at the native format
of the channel, i.e. 720p or 1080i.
- Improper methods of IVTC that result in loss of half the fields
(SeparateFields.SelectEven, YV12InterlacedSelectTopFields) are banned
- Improper IVTC methods that result in jerky playback, such as Force
Film, are banned
- 1080i video sources must be deinterlaced with a smart deinterlacer such
as Yadif. FieldDeinterlace is banned.
- Group watermarks of any kind on the video will not be tolerated
- Intros, outros, betweenos, or any other form of defacement of the
episode will not be tolerated
- Sources that sideconvert 1080i to 720p (such as Bell Expressvu) are
banned
- Upconverted sources must not be done as 720p.x264. See notes regarding
HR.PDTV.x264.
- "Native" refers to the standard in which the video was produced (e.g.
NTSC or PAL). NTSC produced video is native to NTSC, PAL produced video
is native to PAL. PAL produced video that is broadcast in NTSC is
converted. NTSC produced video that is broadcast in PAL is converted.
- Converted video that cannot be reversed to native must use CONVERT tag.
- Converts dupe natives. Natives do not dupe converts.
Audio:
- Must be original source audio, AC3 if available
- Re-encoding/transcoding audio or faking header is forbidden
- Dupes based on audio format are forbidden and must be tagged INTERNAL
- Multi-language audio tracks are not allowed.
- Severe audio drops resulting in a missing word or otherwise the
inability to understand material dialogue is considered to be
technically flawed and may be propered.
- Audio that is 120ms or more out of sync or drifts more than 120ms
between any two points (e.g. needing -80 at one and +40 at another) is
considered to be technically flawed and may be propered
Framerate:
- IVTC or deinterlacing must be applied as needed
- 50/60fps video such as live events may be kept at original fps, if it
was produced at such high rate (i.e. has unique frames)
- In rare cases, 25/50Hz sources should be IVTC'd to 24fps.
- In rare cases, 30/60Hz sources should be IVTC'd to 25fps.
Failure to IVTC is a technical flaw.
Codec/Container:
- Must be x264 (8-bit depth).
- Must use Matroska (.mkv) for container
- You will have 30 days from latest x264 rev date to update in order to
maintain all bug fixes and improvements in the x264 codec
- Stripping or falsifying encode information in the file header is banned
- Custom muxing tools are permitted; however, output must be compatible
with standard demuxers to the same extent that files created with
MKVToolnix are.
- Custom Matrices are allowed
- Encoded colourspace must be 4:2:0.
- Deblocking must be used; values are at the discretion of the group.
(default is enabled, 0:0 settings)
- Sample Aspect Ratio (--sar) must be square (1:1).
- No setting can go below what is specified by --preset slow.
- Keyframe interval (--keyint) must be at least 200 and at most 300. It
is recommended to be 10*framerate (film=240, PAL=250, NTSC=300).
- Constant Rate Factor (--crf) must be as follows:
Compressibility CRF General Examples
High 18-19 Scripted, Talk Shows, Snooker, Poker
Medium 20-21 Documentary, Reality, Variety
Low 22-23 Sports, Awards, Live Events, Competitive-
Reality
- x264 parameters shall not vary within a transcode.
- Zones (--zones) are forbidden.
- Any deviation in CRF from given examples must be specifically justified
in the NFO. Use discretion when deviating CRF by matching the
compressibility of the show to a corresponding CRF value.
- Allowed parameters for --tune (optional) are film/grain/animation
- Level 4.1 must be respected.
- Suggested command line should be:
x264.exe --crf ## --preset slow --level 4.1 -o out.mkv in.avs
Resolution:
- Crop to closest mod2 without under-cropping. Then, if width>1280 or
height>720, resize so that the frame fits within 1280x720 and either
width=1280 or height=720. Never upscale, never add borders.
- Crop out everything that was not in the original picture and caused by
the broadcaster. This includes but is not limited to: black borders,
and duplicate lines. Removing or retaining fading edges is at capper's
discretion and shall not be considered undercropped or overcropped.
- Cropping should be done to the most common frame size (e.g.
pitch/primary view in sports).
- Actual picture area may be over- or under-cropped by 1px maximum.
- Encoded Video resolution must be within 2% of the original aspect ratio
To calculate AR error (%): (Original AR - Release AR)/Original AR * 100
OAR = (SourceWidth-CropLeft-CropRight)/(SourceHeight-CropTop-CropBottom)
Release AR = EncodedWidth / EncodedHeight
- 720p sources shall never be scaled.
Subs:
- Optional, but encouraged
- Text based format is preferred (e.g. SubRip, SubStation Alpha, etc).
- Subtitles must be muxed into the MKV. "Subs" directories are forbidden.
- Burned subtitles will only be allowed when the source exhibits
such subtitles in the picture itself
- Multi-language subtitles cannot be used as a basis for a dupe
- Group watermarks in subtitles are strictly forbidden.
Packaging:
- Releases must be packed in RAR file format.
- Rars must be in multiples of 50 MB, no more than 99 files
1MB = 1,000,000 bytes
- Multi-episode releases with no clear delineation such as credits must
not be split
- RAR Compression must not be used
- Recovery and MD5 record are optional
- Encryption or password protection is forbidden
- Must have SFV and NFO
- RAR, SFV, and sample files must have unique, lowercase filenames with
the group tag.
Credits/Previously On:
- It is suggested that any previously on footage be included in the
release, but it is not required.
- Full end credits must be included if they contain show content or
outtakes/bloopers. End credits are optional if they are clean or
contain promotions for future episodes or other shows.
Samples:
- REQUIRED!
- 50-70 seconds in length and in a separate folder marked as Sample
- Must be taken from the episode, i.e.- not encoded separately
- Stream samples are recommended for any questionable issue with the
source, e.g. no IVTC possible, IVTC to 24.975fps, etc.
Propers:
- Propers are only permitted in the case of a technical flaw in the
original release (e.g. Bad IVTC, Interlacing, missing footage, resizing
720p source, bad crop, commercials, bad x264 settings used, bad source,
etc.)
- Scrolling messages added by a station (e.g. weather, Amber alerts) must
be at least 30 seconds in length in order to nuke/proper
- After exceptions, over- or under-cropping by > 1px is considered a
technical flaw.
- Proper reason must be clearly stated in nfo, including timecodes and
extent of the flaw when appropriate
- Sample of propered release is encouraged
- Qualitative propers are not allowed
- Flaws (such as drops) present in any optional content are not a flaw
and shall not be nuked or propered.
- Propers based upon the rules set forth here are allowed only on
releases that come after this document is made public
Internals:
- Internals are allowed to be pred for any reason, including releases
with technical flaws or those done with alternate codecs, containers,
or settings for experimental purposes.
- Any severe technical flaws or deviations must be mentioned in the NFO.
- With the exception of the following rule, internal releases may only be
nuked for severe technical flaws or deviations that are not mentioned
in the NFO.
- Using INTERNAL.DIRFIX as a cheap attempt at avoiding a nuke is
forbidden. If the release is technically flawed, it is still deemed
nukable both before and after an attempted INTERNAL.DIRFIX and the
DIRFIX shall be nuked for fix.for.nuke.
Directory Naming:
- Show.Name.SXXEXX.Episode.Title.720p.HDTV.x264-GROUP
Episode title is optional
Episode title is required on some shows that dont have SxxExx
- Show.Name.PartXX.720p.HDTV.x264-GROUP for miniseries
- Show.Name.YYYY-MM-DD.Guest.Name.720p.HDTV.x264-GROUP for daily shows
- Guest name is optional
Sport:
- League.YYYY.MM.DD.Event.EXTRA.TAGS.720p.HDTV.x264-GROUP
- Competition.YYYY-MM.Event.EXTRA.TAGS.720p.HDTV.x264-GROUP
Using just the year is only permitted if the event is once per year
(e.g. a WWE PPV). In the case of leagues which have seasons that span
multiple years, it is permissible to tag the release with just the years
of the season. Inclusion of MM and DD is mandatory for all constantly
running shows (e.g. WWE).
If there is no league, the sport needs to be used instead
The following are some examples of correct directory names:
- EPL.2010.01.01.Manchester.United.vs.Arsenal.720p.HDTV.x264-GROUP
- TNA.Impact.2010.03.02.720p.HDTV.x264-GROUP
- WWE.WrestleMania.2010.PPV.720p.HDTV.x264-GROUP
- Tennis.US.Open.2011.Final.Player1.vs.Player2.720p.HDTV.x264-GROUP
- ALL others are FORBIDDEN. (e.g 0x00 000 EXX.EP.TITLE)
- Different shows that have the same title in different countries (e.g.
Law & order) must have the ISO 3166-1 alpha 2 country code in the
directory name, except for UK shows (e.g. Law.and.Order.UK not
Law.and.Order.GB). ISO country code need not apply to the show's
country of origin (e.g. Law.and.Order.US is forbidden).
- Different shows with the same name and produced in different years
must have the year of the first season in the directory name,
e.g. Human.Target.2010 and Doctor.Who.2005. However, the initial
series does not need a year tag.
- Do not prefix release name with channel name on any series starting
after rules effective date. Mini-series and single-episode docus
may optionally be tagged with channel name.
- The use of audio format tags such as AAC, AC3, and AC3.x.x is FORBIDDEN
- READ.NFO is allowed; however, discretion is recommended
- PROPER.READ.NFO is NOT allowed. The NFO is REQUIRED to have a reason;
therefore, the tag is redundant.
- All repacks are to include detailed reason as to why its being repacked
in .nfo
- Other permitted tags are: PROPER, REPACK, RERIP, REAL, UNCUT, DUBBED,
SUBBED, INTERNAL, OAR, PPV, CONVERT
- Acceptable characters in naming a directory include (NO spaces or
double dots - single dots ONLY):
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789._-
Nukes:
Releases must be nuked for any of the following reasons:
- Any valid proper listed in the propers section
- Missing nfo, or missing Sample
- Invalid directory naming format
- Mislabeled directory that could prevent finding the release in a
dupecheck, including incorrect season/episode/date or incorrect title
- Dupe
Fixes:
- The following fixes are allowed: NFOFix, SampleFix, DirFix, SyncFix,
ProofFix.
- RAR and SFV fixes are not allowed. REPACK your entire release.
- DirFix requires NFO and NFO must state which release is being fixed.
- The original release shall be unnuked when a valid fix is released
- A proper may not be released for an issue that was fixed, unless the
fix does not completely correct the issue
[ NOTES TO THE RULES ]
HR.PDTV.x264:
- HR PDTV x264 encodes are allowed for non-HD shows airing fully
upscaled on HD channels
- Crop to closest mod2 without undercropping. Then, if width>960 or
height>540, downscale with 1:1 SAR to fit in 960x540. Never upscale,
never add borders.
- All other standard rules apply
The 720p x264 TV Releasing Standards 2011 (2011-08-01)
[ GROUPS ]
TVx2642k11 rules created by the following groups:
187HD 2HD aAF BAJSKORV BALLS BiA
C4TV CTU DAH DiCH DHD DIMENSION DiVERGE
FTP GNARLY IMMERSE KYR LMAO MiNDTHEGAP
MiRAGETV MOMENTUM NGCHD ORENJI RIVER SFM
SiTV SYS W4F WHEELS xD2V YesTV
Dedicated to Spatula (RIP 11/22/2010) who made the first ever scene TV-x264
release: The.Unit.S01E04.HD720p.x264-MiRAGETV.
Thanks to the x264+matroska developers for their
\ assistance in determining the best mix of encode settings. /