ISO: a complete image of a cd. Basically every single bit of information on a cd copied exactly into one giant file. When you get an iso, you can burn it to cd, or use a program like daemon tools to extract the data. Isos come in a few different file types: .bin/.cue, .iso, and .ccd. : almost all 'warez' releases of entire cd's are in bin/cue format. the *.bin file is the cd image, and the *.cue file supplies track information to the burning app. bin/cue files are best burned with CDRWin or Fireburner. the most common problem with bin/cue files is when your burning app (or daemon tools) tells you that it 'cannot open specified bin file' or 'image file specified could not be found'. if this happens, open the cue file in notepad, and on the first line where it says: IMAGE "drive:\and\path\info.filename.bin" BINARY, if there is a path listed in between the quotation marks (like "c:\vcds\new\super.troopers.vcd-TFE\cd1\tfe-st1.bin"), then take out everything inside the quotes except for the actual filename itself (so in the above example, edit to just say "tfe-st1.bin" (be sure to leave the quotation marks in)). 99% of the time, that will solve the problem.

Rips: a rip is a released game with a lot taken out to make it small. When you download a rip, it will need a little bit more work to get it running (generally uncompressing twice and running some other apps, including adding registry keys). The movies and music are almost always “ripped” out to make the release smaller. Rips are great for those poor souls on 56ks, or those who are too impatient to wait for a whole iso to download.

.NFO: a file included in all releases. Open it with a text viewer (such as notepad). It contains all the info about the release including any needed installation instructions. If you can’t find a serial, it’s in the .nfo : use terminal font when viewing nfo files in notepad. also, there are downloadable freeware 'nfo viewers' such as DAMN nfo viewer, which you can get from http://www.damn.to/nfoviewer.html (i recommend d/l the beta, esp if you use win2k).

Daemon Tools: a program used to extract files from an iso. It creates a virtual cdrom on your harddrive for using the iso. : daemon tools does not so much extract the files (like isobuster or vcdgear does), it "mounts" the bin/cue as though it were already burned & in a cd player. good for watching vcd's if you're not sure whether you want to keep them or not yet, and don't want to waste a cd. also good for installing app isos that are small in size, and not worth wasting a whole cd burning.

FTP: File Transfer Protocol. Basically it’s a set of instructions for transferring files. There are two parts to any ftp transaction: the client and the server. Users use clients such as flashfxp, leechftp, and cuteftp to download files from a server.

FXP: A revamp of FTP. This allows for file transfer between 2 servers, as opposed to a server and a client. Used by FXP teams to fill pubs quickly and easily. The user’s bandwidth restrictions don’t limit the speed of transfer (ie – someone on a 56k can transfer server to server at 500k given the right servers).

Pubs: a pub is short for public ftp server. Basically a pub is an ftp server with anonymous access allowed (no username and password needed). These are used on the scene to distribute releases by anonymously uploading and filling the server’s harddrive and then posting the ip and path for users to gain access to the files and download them.

Leeching: taking and not giving back. Generally used in reference to pubs, given the fact that people “suck the resources dry”. In other words, lechers are people who don’t participate in the scene, merely take files off of pubs.

Deleters: One who deletes releases off of a pub. Lots of different types of people do this, too many to be categorized. You’ll notice this has happened when there are multiple files missing on a pub, or they are all gone with nasty messages left in their place. Files can also be “sys-opped”, which is a form of deleting, only where the system administrator of the server deletes the files off the machine. : for anyone considering taking up deleting as a hobby, you should know that there are various ways of 'catching' deleters, and if you are found to be doing this, your nick, ip, and any other info that can be gathered about you will be added to a 'blacklist', and you'll be banned from every reputable fxp board around.

Pubstro: a “hacked” pub. A computer on the internet (generally one with a very good connection) is hacked into and a ftp server is installed on it remotely. A login and password are created and it is filled with releases. These have legal implications, considering that hacking in very much illegal. Some see these as a great risk, others as a necessity.

PASV: passive mode for ftp transfers. Originally created to get around firewalls. Not much to mention here except that sometimes servers don’t support them and won’t work if you don’t have PASV disabled in your client. : or vice versa. if flashfxp gives you a 'socket error', or hangs right after the 'PASV' command shows in the status window, then it probably means that you need to enable or disable pasv. this can be done via a check box in flashfxp in options>preferences>proxy/firewall/ident>enable pasv mode for file transfers.

.RAR: a type of compression, used by most of the release groups. A rar compression generates files with extensions such as .rar, .r00, .r01 . . . To uncompress these files, use a program called WinRAR or WinACE and merely uncompress the .rar file (all the other files will be uncompressed with it) : if you get an error when trying to unrar files that says 'unknown method in (whatever)", try downloading the latest version of winrar. sometimes winrar updates their compression methods, and then files compressed in newer versions can't be extracted by older ones.

.ACE: a type of compression much like rars, albeit less commonly used. It is uncompressed in the same fashion, using winace to uncompress the .ace file only.

CRC errors: To avoid technical details – you occasionally get these when you’re download a file and something goes wrong. You’ll be notified of this when you’re uncompressing the files. There’s not really much you can do to prevent them, and not much you can do to correct them. The easiest method is just to redownload the corrupt file. To detect which file has a crc error, you can either use winrar (which tells you about half the time) or use the .sfv file included in most releases. You need to download a sfv checker (I use pdsfv – don’t remember where I got it, but they can’t be too hard to find). You load up the sfv file and it will tell you if any files have crc errors. Repairing crc files would take a whole tutorial, so there’s no point in discussing it atm. Just redownload the file. : one drawback to pdSFV is that it cannot do a crc check of files on cd-r (i think because it writes a temp file to the dir where the .sfv file and files to be checked are located, which of course it cannot do if they're on a cd-r). switched to flashsfv myself, just for that reason, but there are many different ones from which to choose, and i've only tried a few of them.

DIVX: divx is a compression method for movies – one of the best around. : actually, divx sux // In order to play the movies, you need to install the divx codec (easily found through easy google searches). Not much to say about it. : divx movies have file extension *.avi (or, in extremely rare cases, *.divx). there are various divx codecs, sometimes you'll find a vid encoded with one codec, and you can't play it with the divx codec that you have installed. this can be a nightmare; some possible issues are: 1. some movies only playable with 'angelpotion' codec; 2. some movies encoded in divx 4 or 5 not playable in 3.11a; 3. some movies encoded in 3.11a will play with video but no sound (or vice versa) in divx 4 or 5 (solution for this is to uninstall the higher version, reinstall 3.11a, then reinstall higher version, and this time when it asks you if you want to use divx 4 or 5 to play all divx 3.x files, say no) 4. avi files that are incomplete will give an error when trying to watch them, even if you're only missing 1 second off the end of the movie... this can usually be fixed with a small utility called 'divfix', just open the file in divfix & choose 'strip header'.

Screener: a divx movie that is made from a screening of the movie. Generally it is someone stuck a camera next to the tape reel and recorded the movie. Usually they are fairly poor in quality. : gotta disagree here. screeners come from "for screening purposes only" tapes (and, more recently, even dvd's) that were sent to reviewers, award committees, etc., and subsequently captured to vcd-compliant format with a video capture card (in the case of vhs screeners) or ripped from dvd (in the case of dvd screeners). they are generally of better quality than any other movie release type that didn't come from dvd source (tho they contain periodic text overlays with anti-piracy warnings).

Cam: a divx movie, much a like a screener, only instead of being nicely positioned by the tape reel, the camera can be anywhere – even handheld. The worst quality of divx movies. : a cam is a movie captured from theatre seating, with sound captured via microphone. they are almost always released as vcds, not divx.

Telesync (TS): another type of divx movie. Made like a screener, only the sound (and sometimes the video) is synced together from semi-original sources (ie – the tape reel, etc.) : TS releases are cams that are usually shot from within the theatre projection booth, with direct (not miked) sound input. almost always released in vcd format, not divx.

Telecine (TC): less seen than TS, telecine releases were captured from film using a machine that sits directly in front of the movie projector and records the movie right from the projection lens. not common, as it requires both the (fairly expensive) telecine machine, and also because the process blocks the projection from being shown on screen, and therefore must be done in a 'private screening'. should be of better quality than TS. sometimes good-quality TS releases are labelled TC to avoid being called "dupes' (duplicates) of another TS of the same movie released earlier.


DVDrip: ripped straight off the dvd. Very good quality. Almost like watching the dvd itself. : almost always released as either divx (sometimes called DVDiVX in this case) or SVCD.

VCD: a format, much like divx that allows for video discs. VCDs play in most dvd players (you’ll have to check for your own compatability) : there is a dvd player compatability list at www.vcdhelp.com // and can also be played on the computer. The end result is roughly the quality of a vhs tape, only on a cd. Drawbacks include the fact that almost always movies span more than one disc. When you download a vcd, it will be an iso – burn it like a normal cd. To play these on your computer, get a program called VCDgear (or one like it). : the easiest way to watch a VCD in bin/cue format, without having to burn it, is with daemon tools (i think the website is www.daemontools.com )

SVCD (Super Video CD): very high quality vcd (usually a dvdrip) based on MPEG-2. Downside is large size; smallest are usually 2 FULL 80-min cd's, and often they take 3 cd's for one movie (or, rarely, even 4). pros are that the quality is superb, and that they can be played in most standalone dvd players that will play vcd's burned on cd-r. also, svcd's can be 'chaptered', which allows one to skip forward or back, and use your numerical keypad on dvd remote to skip to particular sections (not all dvd players will support svcd chaptering). debates continue to rage over SVCD vs DiVX... i'm in the svcd camp myself, but admit that if size is a consideration, the quality/size ratio of well-done divx is hard to beat.

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