Movie Sources
Type - Cam
Label - "CAM"
Rarity -Very Common
A copy made in a cinema using a camcorder, possibly mounted on a tripod. The sound source is the camera microphone. Cam rips can quickly appear online after the first preview or première of the film. The quality ranges from terrible to very good, depending on the group of persons performing the recording and the resolution of the camera used. The main disadvantage of this is the sound quality. The microphone does not only record the sound from the movie, but also the background sound in the cinema. The camera can also record movements of the audience in the theater, like when someone stands up in front of the screen.
Type - Workprint
Label - "WP"("WORKPRINT")
Rarity - Very Rare
A copy made from an unfinished version of a film produced by the studio. Typically a workprint has missing effects and overlays, and may not be identical to its theatrical release. Some workprints have a time index marker running in a corner or on the top edge; some may also include a watermark. A workprint might be an uncut version, and missing some material that would appear in the final movie. Note that the index timer is below the frame in the image.
Type - Telesync
Label - "TS"("TELESYNC")
Rarity - Very Common
Contrary to popular belief, the video quality of a TS is not necessarily better than a cam. The term Telesync doesn't indicate better video quality but better audio quality. The CAM source is then synchronized with a secondary audio recording, either done with a professional microphone in an empty cinema (even though by Scene Rules this would be nuked since the audio is not direct, they are hard to tell the difference), fed directly from the cinema's sound system, or captured from an FM radio transmission intended for hearing-impaired customers. Often, a "Cam" is mislabeled as a telesync.
Type - R5
Label - "R5"
Rarity - Fairly commonplace, popularity currently increasing.
The R5 Line is a retail DVD from region 5. Region 5 consists of Eastern Europe (Former Soviet Union), Indian subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia. R5 releases differ from normal releases in that they are a direct Telecine transfer of the film without any of the image processing. They take the information from the DVD disc and sync it to an English version of the film, usually a previously released version.
Type - Screener
Label - "SCR"( SCREENER, DVDSCR, DVD-SCREENER,VHS-SCREENER )
Rarity - Fairly rare; more common before R5
These are early DVD or VHS releases of the theatrical version of a film, typically sent to movie reviewers, Academy members, and executives for review purposes. A screener normally has a message overlaid on its picture, with wording similar to: "The film you are watching is a promotional copy, if you purchased this film at a retail store please contact 1-800-NO-COPIES to report it." Apart from this, some movie studios release their screeners with a number of scenes of varying duration shown in black-and-white. Aside from this message, and the occasional B&W scenes, screeners are normally of only slightly lower quality than a retail DVD-Rip, due to the smaller investment in DVD mastering for the limited run.
Note: Screeners make a small exception here, since the content may differ from a retail version, it can be considered as lower quality than a DVD-Rip (even if the screener in question was sourced from a DVD).
Type - Telecine
Label - "TC" ( TELECINE )
Rarity - Fairly rare; losing popularity due to R5
A copy captured from a film print using a machine that transfers the movie from its analog reel to digital format. These were rare because telecine machines for making these prints were very costly and very large, however, recently they have become much more common. Telecine has basically the same quality as DVD, since the technique is same as digitizing the actual film to DVD. However, the result is inferior since the source material is usually a lower quality copy reel. Telecine machines usually cause a slight left-right jitter in the picture and have inferior color levels compared to DVD. Note the piece of lint in frame above; this is a common occurrence during digital film transfer, particularly when not done in a clean room environment.
Type - DVD Rip
Label - "DVD-Rip"
Rarity - Very Common
A final retail version of a film, typically released before it is available outside its originating region. Often after one "release group" releases a high-quality DVD-Rip, the "race" to release that film will stop. Because of their high quality, DVD-Rips generally replace any earlier copies that may already have been circulating.
Type - DVDR
Label - "DVDR image"
Rarity - Very Common
A final retail version of a film in DVD format. Usually a complete copy from the original DVD. If the original DVD is released in the DVD-9 format, extras might be removed and/or the video re-encoded to make the image fit the more common and less expensive (for burning) DVD-5 format. DVDR releases often follow DVD-Rips after a few hours.
Type - PDVD
Label - PDVD
Rarity - Fairly Common
PDVDs are usually sold by movie bootleggers. A PDVD is usually an asian silver or, telesync copy of a movie, that has been encoded to DVD. Quality varies of course. PDVDs are widely availible throughout some countries at an extremely low price.
Type - HDTV or DS Rip
Label - "TVRip" ( DSR, PDTV, HDTV )
Rarity - Extremely Common
TVRip is a capture source from an analog capture card (coaxial/composite/s-video connection)
Digital stream rip (DSR) is a rip that is captured from a non standard definition digital source like satellite. HDTV or PDTV rips often come from Over-the-Air transmissions. With an HDTV source, the quality can sometimes even surpass DVD. Movies in this format are starting to grow in popularity.
Analog, DSR, and PDTV sources are often re-encoded to 512x384 if fullscreen, 640x352 if widescreen. HDTV sources are re-encoded to multiple resolutions such as 640x352 (360p), 960x528 (540p), 1280x720 (720p) at various file sizes for pirated releases.
Type - Cam
Label - "CAM"
Rarity -Very Common
A copy made in a cinema using a camcorder, possibly mounted on a tripod. The sound source is the camera microphone. Cam rips can quickly appear online after the first preview or première of the film. The quality ranges from terrible to very good, depending on the group of persons performing the recording and the resolution of the camera used. The main disadvantage of this is the sound quality. The microphone does not only record the sound from the movie, but also the background sound in the cinema. The camera can also record movements of the audience in the theater, like when someone stands up in front of the screen.
Type - Workprint
Label - "WP"("WORKPRINT")
Rarity - Very Rare
A copy made from an unfinished version of a film produced by the studio. Typically a workprint has missing effects and overlays, and may not be identical to its theatrical release. Some workprints have a time index marker running in a corner or on the top edge; some may also include a watermark. A workprint might be an uncut version, and missing some material that would appear in the final movie. Note that the index timer is below the frame in the image.
Type - Telesync
Label - "TS"("TELESYNC")
Rarity - Very Common
Contrary to popular belief, the video quality of a TS is not necessarily better than a cam. The term Telesync doesn't indicate better video quality but better audio quality. The CAM source is then synchronized with a secondary audio recording, either done with a professional microphone in an empty cinema (even though by Scene Rules this would be nuked since the audio is not direct, they are hard to tell the difference), fed directly from the cinema's sound system, or captured from an FM radio transmission intended for hearing-impaired customers. Often, a "Cam" is mislabeled as a telesync.
Type - R5
Label - "R5"
Rarity - Fairly commonplace, popularity currently increasing.
The R5 Line is a retail DVD from region 5. Region 5 consists of Eastern Europe (Former Soviet Union), Indian subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia. R5 releases differ from normal releases in that they are a direct Telecine transfer of the film without any of the image processing. They take the information from the DVD disc and sync it to an English version of the film, usually a previously released version.
Type - Screener
Label - "SCR"( SCREENER, DVDSCR, DVD-SCREENER,VHS-SCREENER )
Rarity - Fairly rare; more common before R5
These are early DVD or VHS releases of the theatrical version of a film, typically sent to movie reviewers, Academy members, and executives for review purposes. A screener normally has a message overlaid on its picture, with wording similar to: "The film you are watching is a promotional copy, if you purchased this film at a retail store please contact 1-800-NO-COPIES to report it." Apart from this, some movie studios release their screeners with a number of scenes of varying duration shown in black-and-white. Aside from this message, and the occasional B&W scenes, screeners are normally of only slightly lower quality than a retail DVD-Rip, due to the smaller investment in DVD mastering for the limited run.
Note: Screeners make a small exception here, since the content may differ from a retail version, it can be considered as lower quality than a DVD-Rip (even if the screener in question was sourced from a DVD).
Type - Telecine
Label - "TC" ( TELECINE )
Rarity - Fairly rare; losing popularity due to R5
A copy captured from a film print using a machine that transfers the movie from its analog reel to digital format. These were rare because telecine machines for making these prints were very costly and very large, however, recently they have become much more common. Telecine has basically the same quality as DVD, since the technique is same as digitizing the actual film to DVD. However, the result is inferior since the source material is usually a lower quality copy reel. Telecine machines usually cause a slight left-right jitter in the picture and have inferior color levels compared to DVD. Note the piece of lint in frame above; this is a common occurrence during digital film transfer, particularly when not done in a clean room environment.
Type - DVD Rip
Label - "DVD-Rip"
Rarity - Very Common
A final retail version of a film, typically released before it is available outside its originating region. Often after one "release group" releases a high-quality DVD-Rip, the "race" to release that film will stop. Because of their high quality, DVD-Rips generally replace any earlier copies that may already have been circulating.
Type - DVDR
Label - "DVDR image"
Rarity - Very Common
A final retail version of a film in DVD format. Usually a complete copy from the original DVD. If the original DVD is released in the DVD-9 format, extras might be removed and/or the video re-encoded to make the image fit the more common and less expensive (for burning) DVD-5 format. DVDR releases often follow DVD-Rips after a few hours.
Type - PDVD
Label - PDVD
Rarity - Fairly Common
PDVDs are usually sold by movie bootleggers. A PDVD is usually an asian silver or, telesync copy of a movie, that has been encoded to DVD. Quality varies of course. PDVDs are widely availible throughout some countries at an extremely low price.
Type - HDTV or DS Rip
Label - "TVRip" ( DSR, PDTV, HDTV )
Rarity - Extremely Common
TVRip is a capture source from an analog capture card (coaxial/composite/s-video connection)
Digital stream rip (DSR) is a rip that is captured from a non standard definition digital source like satellite. HDTV or PDTV rips often come from Over-the-Air transmissions. With an HDTV source, the quality can sometimes even surpass DVD. Movies in this format are starting to grow in popularity.
Analog, DSR, and PDTV sources are often re-encoded to 512x384 if fullscreen, 640x352 if widescreen. HDTV sources are re-encoded to multiple resolutions such as 640x352 (360p), 960x528 (540p), 1280x720 (720p) at various file sizes for pirated releases.