Music Video Council 5.0
=============================
EFFECTIVE DATE: Jan. 01, 2009
This rule set has been approved by the following music video groups:
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###### DEFINITIONS / TERMS ###################################################
- "source" references the actual source material (ie: dvd, dvb stream, etc.)
- "replacement" references material used to REPLACE something from the source
- "IVTC" is an abbreviation for Inverse Telecine
- "EXTENDED" refers to videos containing additional intro/outro/intermediate footage.
- "Live performance" refers to any performance that is not part of a music video.
- "Concerts" are simply live performances regardless if it's at a stadium, festival,
concert hall, club, etc.
- "Native" refers to the standard in which the video was produced, eg. NTSC or PAL.
NTSC produced video is native to NTSC, PAL produced video is native to PAL.
Videos may be either IVTC'able or progressive.
PAL produced video that is broadcast in NTSC is converted.
NTSC produced video that is broadcast in PAL is converted. These converts cannot
be reversed to progressive and must be deinterlaced.
- "Mod16" refers to a multiple of 16.
- Any release pre'd in the MVID section is expected to follow this ruleset.
###### CONTAINERS ###########################################################
1.1) Allowed containers are: MKV
1.2) MKV container:
1.2.1) mkvmerge MUST BE USED to mux.
1.2.2) Including soft-sub lyrics is allowed but not required.
1.2.3) Hard subbed lyrics are not allowed.
###### AUDIO #################################################################
2.1) Allowed audio formats are: MP2, MP3, AC3, and DTS (allowed from BluRay sources only).
2.2) All audio must have a minimum sample rate of 44.1kHz.
2.3) Audio MUST BE FULLY SYNCED.
2.4) When no lip-sync is present in the video, you must use audio which matches the source.
If you're unsure about this, put an alternative version as a 2nd track.
2.5) Retail CD audio, if available, must be used as a replacement for TV and DVD audio. If
proper replacement audio * DOES NOT EXIST * then you may use the best quality alternative
available (by this we dont condone p2p/torrent/etc use).
NOTE: Audio used for bootlegs, mixtapes, promos, etc. are commonly NOT the final mastered
retail audio. Releases using audio from these sources MAY BE PROPERED if/when
final retail audio becomes available UNLESS the audio is of nearly the same quality.
EXCEPTION: You may use the source audio only if mixing source sfx and replacement audio
produces too much difference in quality during playback.
2.6) MP3's must be encoded as VBR using the V2 profile with LAME.
2.7) PCM audio must be encoded to MP3.
2.8) Audio from a vinyl source is not allowed under any circumstances.
2.9) If part of the source audio is only available from the source itself, it must be inserted
into the replacement audio. This includes all sound effects.
2.10) MP2/AC3/DTS is allowed only when source audio is not being replaced. Re-encoding these to MP3
will NOT increase quality in ANY way so "untouched" also means NO RE-ENCODING!
2.11) If no editing is required, the replacement MP3 must be directly inserted with no re-encoding.
2.12) If AC3 5.1 audio is available from the source, it may be included as an extra audio track.
2.13) Multiple audio streams are allowed at the rippers discretion. For example,
including both censored and uncensored audio.
###### VIDEO #################################################################
3.1) Allowed codecs: x264
3.2) Video source MUST BE digital and may NOT be passed thru any analog
equipment (svideo output, analog capture card, etc).
3.3) Releasing raw source is NOT allowed!
3.4) FPS must match that of the source except in the case of IVTC.
* Half-framerate is allowed on 50+ FPS sources when every other frame is a dupe.
3.5) Dupe frames must be removed unless needed to maintain sync.
3.6) Encodes must be within 5% of the original aspect ratio. To calculate
the AR % error use: (Release - Original AR)/Original AR x 100
3.7) Upscaling is not allowed.
3.8) Telecined video MUST have IVTC applied using:
2:2 pulldown NTSC/PAL (10 pattern)
3:2 pulldown NTSC (10010 pattern)
* If IVTC is not possible, the reason must be stated in your nfo.
3.9) For non-telecined interlaced video, a deinterlacer must be applied before
encoding.
* It's STRONGLY RECOMMENDED you DO NOT use the following deinterlacers/filters
due to poor quality output: fielddeinterlace, dgbob, decomb/telecide
3.10) Interlace of any kind is not allowed.
3.11) Vfapi creates unnecessary colorspace conversions resulting in degraded color quality
and is not recommended.
To avoid this if using TMPGEnc for manual IVTC, use "tprivtc" to import your
.tpr project file into avisynth.
3.12) Videos containing mixed-fps/vfr (variable frame rate) must be IVTC'ed to preserve the vfr
if IVTC'ing them normally causes jumpy/choppy playback.
3.13) Deinterlacing the entire video is not permitted on IVTC'able sources.
3.14) Bootleg's shall be defined as any self-made or live-filmed works that are not a product
of the artists record label and are not intended for network broadcast or commercial sales.
3.15) Extended videos shall be considered different versions from that of non-extended versions.
Using an extended version to proper a non-extended version is not allowed. Refer to 8.1 for
how to name extended versions.
3.16) Adding an intro/outro, or watermark is NOT allowed.
###### CROPPING ##############################################################
4.1) Cropping the picture must be avoided if possible.
* Stretched/duplicate lines caused by the provider are not considered part of the
video and must be cropped out!
4.2) Black letterboxing/borders must be removed.
4.3) Both horizontal and vertical resolution must be cropped so the resulting resolutions are mod16.
4.4) Cropping may be done in the MKV container. When doing this, define the correct AR
when muxing with mkvmerge. The encoded source must be uncropped, and the mod16 requirement in
4.3 is also unnecessary.
* This is not recommended until it works correctly in more player/codec combinations.
###### x264 ##################################################################
* Please use the newest x264.exe available from: http://x264.nl (rev. 1046 or greater REQUIRED!)
5.1) Codecs supporting VFW are NOT permitted!
5.2) Rips must use one of the following: main profile (level 3.0) for non-HD
high profile (level 4.1) for HD
5.3) CABAC encoding must be used.
5.4) In-loop filtering may be used at the rippers discretion.
5.5) Average quantizer must be lower than 28 for SD, and 30 for HD. Recommended is 24 or less.
* If a higher quantizer is needed then the reason must be stated in the nfo.
5.6) When using a non-square pixel shape, you MUST encode using the "--sar x:y" option and
mux with "--engage keep_bitstream_ar_info".
5.7) minimum REQUIRED encoder settings:
5.7.1) --aq-mode must be enabled.
5.7.2) --bframes 3 (or higher).
5.7.3) --subme 8 (or higher).
5.7.4) --ref 4 (if vertical res is greater than 864) otherwise --ref 5
5.7.5) --me umh (or higher).
5.7.6) --trellis 1 (or higher).
###### SD (Standard Definition) ##############################################
6.1) Maximum allowed average bitrate is 5000 kbps.
6.2) Maximum allowed resolution is 720x576.
###### HD (High Definition) ##################################################
7.1) Source vertical resolution must be greater than or equal to 720.
7.2) For converts, same rules apply as for Standard Definition.
7.3) Upscaled sources are NOT true High Definiton and are not allowed for
HD releases. These must be ripped according to Standard Definition.
7.4) Maximum allowed average bitrates are as follows:
7.4.1) 720p is 10000 kbps.
7.4.2) 1080p is 14000 kbps.
7.5) 1080i sources must be scaled to 720p.
###### DIRECTORY/FILE NAMING, TAGGING, PACKAGING #############################
8.1) The directory naming scheme is now REQUIRED and enforced to maintain consistancy
in the scene.
The following are examples of the REQUIRED naming scheme:
Artist-Song_Title-FORMAT-YEAR-GROUP
Artist-Song_Title-HDTV-FORMAT-YEAR-GROUP
Artist-Song_Title-DVDRIP-FORMAT-YEAR-GROUP
Artist-Song_Title-BluRay-FORMAT-YEAR-GROUP
Artist-Song_Title_(Extended)-FORMAT-YEAR-GROUP
Artist-Song_Title_(Tonight_Show_01-31-07)-FORMAT-YEAR-GROUP
Artist-Song_Title_(49th_Annual_Grammys)-FORMAT-YEAR-GROUP
Artist-Song_Title_(2007_MTV_Music_Awards)-FORMAT-YEAR-GROUP
Artist-Song_Title-PROPER-FORMAT-YEAR-GROUP
Artist-Song_Title-BOOTLEG-FORMAT-YEAR-GROUP
8.2) SFV and NFO are required.
8.3) Live performances must include the show name and original air date.
8.4) Award shows must include the show name and year OR the edition/series number.
8.5) The appropriate tags must be used when applicable.
8.6) Valid tags are: BOOTLEG, CONVERT, DVDRip, HDTV, PROPER, 720p, 1080p, BluRay
* Rips containing a majority of a non-English language must be tagged with it's corresponding
ISO 639-1 language code. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ISO_639-1_codes)
8.7) RAR'ing is at the rippers discretion but recommended for large releases (>300MB).
Packaging: 15mb, 20mb or 50mb rars, and a 1 minute sample.
* RAR'ing single file releases <300MB is not allowed.
###### CONCERTS, LIVE PERFORMANCES, FREESTYLES, ETC. #########################
9.1) If ripped in their entirety (introductions & breaks included), you have to
encode at the closest DVD/x size: 373MB, 559MB, 746MB, 1119MB, 1493MB, 2239MB,
4479MB, 6717MB and 8140MB. If you need more
than dvd9, add multiples of 2239MB.
9.1.1) Multi-pass vbr encoding must be used for these. You may also split into
separate tracks (NOT separate releases).
9.1.2) An undersize of 10MB is acceptable. Oversized rips are not allowed.
9.2) Two or more songs from the same performance/event ripped to individual files
must be packaged in ONE release, similar to an MP3 album:
Artist-concert_title-x264-2007-group/00-artist-concert_title.nfo
Artist-concert_title-x264-2007-group/00-artist-concert_title.sfv
Artist-concert_title-x264-2007-group/01-artist-introduction.mkv
Artist-concert_title-x264-2007-group/02-artist-song1.mkv
Artist-concert_title-x264-2007-group/03-artist-song2.mkv
...
* Award show and morning/late night tv performances are an exception and must be
packaged as single-song releases with any intermediate footage (interviews,
presentations, etc.) removed.
9.3) Live performances (including pre-recorded) must be tagged with the
ORIGINAL BROADCAST DATE. If the performance wasn't broadcast (such as
concerts released to dvd), use the date of the performance.
9.4) Annual shows/events such as the Grammy's or Rock Am Ring must be tagged
with the YEAR only.
9.5) Third party videos (commercials, karaoke, etc) are not allowed.
###### NFO FILE ##############################################################
10.1) NFO's MUST contain:
- artist name and song title
- format (x264)
- resolution and aspect ratio
- video source (DVD, DVB, DVB 1080i, DVB 720p, etc)
- audio source (CD, MP3, etc)
- deinterlace/IVTC method used
- genre
- year of video release
- repack reason (if applicable)
- proper reason and name of release you're propering (if applicable)
* Broadcasted live performances MUST include the show it aired on and original air date.
Other recommended (but not required) information to include:
- filesize
- video playtime (min:sec)
- audio/video bitrate
- album name (if available)
- (release)name of MP3 used
###### DUPES #################################################################
11.1) mkv/x264 dupe all releases prior to the date of this ruleset.
11.2) Fullscreen dupes widescreen. Widescreen does NOT dupe fullscreen.
11.3) 720p/1080p do not dupe each other.
11.4) The following dupe priority shall be used (from highest to lowest):
NATIVE BluRay/HDDVD/DVD rip
NATIVE HDTV rip
NATIVE SDTV rip
CONVERT DVD rip
CONVERT SDTV rip
11.4.1) Native HDTV rips do NOT dupe DVD rips.
* NOTE: We want to allow users the choice of both fullscreen/widescreen rips, not force one or
the other simply because it was released first. That is why native HDTV rips are
allowed after SD dvdrips, as long as a native BluRay/HDDVD doesn't exist.
###### PROPERS/NUKES #########################################################
PROPER/NUKE reasons are as follows:
12.1) out-of-sync audio
12.2) incomplete or missing audio/video
* NOTE widescreen may not be propered by fullscreen with this reason!
12.3) improper or no IVTC when applicable
12.4) 1 or more frames containing interlace
12.5) incorrect aspect ratio
12.6) out-of-spec encodes
12.7) very bad audio/video quality (including low bitrate on high motion videos)
12.8) improper audio replacement (excluding concerts/live performances)
12.9) lip-sync or audio sync to source is broken
12.10) missing 1 or more sound effects (profanity is NOT a sound effect!)
* NOTE if the video is available with and without sound effects, each is
considered different versions.
12.11) bad cropping
12.12) one-click tool (such as GordianKnot) was used for encoding
12.13) disabled CABAC for x264 encodes
12.14) improper naming/tagging
12.15) unnecessarily re-encoded audio
12.16) stream errors
12.17) missing/incorrect/false .nfo
################################################################################
* NOTE TO NUKERS:
If you don't know how to determine things like progressive ghosting vs. a bad ivtc, or a
bad ivtc in general, please ask! We'll be more than happy to explain anything regarding
our rules to eliminate any confusion!
**** ANY RELEASES NOT FOLLOWING THESE RULES MUST BE KEPT INTERNAL OR RISK NUKE/PROPER! ****
