Here is another post for those curious about release standards of ‘The Warez Scene’. Official scene rules related to Windows Media Video (WMV) Blu-Ray/HDDVD releases have changed and the revised rule set was pre’d earlier today. Note that these rules do not apply to x264 encoded BD5 or BD9 releases – they only apply to WMV based HD video encodes (WMV-HD). Not familiar with the format? WMV-HD releases are often pre’d by groups such as INSECTS, SMeG, IGUANA, NOVO, etc – search for releases by these groups and you’ll stumble across some. The NFO file with revised rule begins with an introduction highlighting the importance of WMV-HD encoding:
WMV is equal in quality to x264. Many people feel as if WMV-HD is redundant because of the x264 scene. This simply is not true because of the compatibility of WMV-HD. It can be played on the X360 and HTPC's; x264 is restricted to HTPC's. The only reason many people are against WMV-HD is because it's Microsoft. Fact is, many movie studios utilize the VC-1 codec for their retail BD-ROMs.
After the intro, the complete set of rules follows. These are categorized into 5 different sections; Video encoding, audio encoding, subtitles, packaging and nukes. Since the NFO is kinda long, we won’t post is here itself. However you can read it in full using the link below:
[Click Here] to view Windows Media Video Releasing Standards v4.0 NFO on PasteBin
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