Here’s something we though we’d never see – iTS opens to external users via invite applications. This elusive private torrent site that some might call a ‘secret’ tracker, is currently recruiting new members though their own recruitment forum probably for the first time since the launch three years ago. iTS’ a ratioless tracker that shares a lot of unique content such as AFR (Advanced Filesize Regulation - focuses more on optimal quality by preserving source transparency while keeping filesize as low as possible – explained in detail later) movie rips, lossless FLAC rips, a variety of classic collections and of course, other general content including a ton of exclusive uploads made available by the site’s internal encoders. Despite tight rules regarding publicity, iTS showing the world they can still recruit members while not opening public signups. With invite applications online, you will no longer have to beg for invites from random strangers – if you have at least some experience in the BitTorrent scene, then you have a good chance of getting accepted as an iTS member.
For those of you who haven’t heard about iTS before, it’s not a completely new tracker. In fact, they are celebrating the site’s 3rd birthday so staff and Sysops are quite experienced in what they do. From the start, iTS has been a private tracker that does not prefer publicity – there are a number of rules in place that prevent members from exposing full site name or URL in public. These rules and the lack of open signups and invites make iTS quite a hard torrent site to get into – however, that doesn't mean it’s a ghost town with only several hundred members either. iTS currently has ~1100 active members who do a great job of keeping the sites 4700+ torrents alive and well seeded.
Some of you might be wondering what sort of content iTS has to offer. Although it does not focus on a specific niche, this is not an average General/0Day tracker full of common scene releases either (only a handful scene releases are indexed). Most of the listed torrents are exclusive uploads by the site’s internal encoders. In addition to general releases, iTS has three types of unique content that you probably won’t find anywhere else; AFR Rips (both new and old movies), iTS Collections (mainly cinematic classics and award winning films) and Lossless Music. If you are wondering what AFR rips are, the following explanation should put you in the clear:
The term 'AFR' stands for Advanced Filesize Regulation; it's a set of criteria which can be employed to accomplish DVDR-sized rips. The big difference about AFRs when compared to normal movie rips is you get the highest resolution and bitrate for the smallest possible size. It's all about maintaining source transparency while keeping filesize as small as possible; image quality is retained to almost 100% and sound quality is identical to the original.
The specific AFR sizes employed at iTS are:
1/6 DVDR: 0.73 GB (0743 MB or up to 0747 MB with subs)
1/4 DVDR: 1.09 GB (1116 MB or up to 1120 MB with subs)
1/3 DVDR: 1.46 GB (1490 MB or up to 1494 MB with subs)
1/2 DVDR: 2.19 GB (2236 MB or up to 2241 MB with subs)
2/3 DVDR: 2.92 GB (2984 MB or up to 2988 MB with subs)
3/4 DVDR: 3.28 GB (3358 MB or up to 3362 MB with subs)
1/1 DVDR: 4.37 GB (4478 MB or up to 4482 MB with subs)
Going beyond a regular private tracker, iTS basically a ripping school where all members can learn how to do proper FLAC rips and x264 AFR encodes, for both DVDRips and BDRips.
As mentioned earlier, iTS is a ratioless private tracker. The site’s main ‘currency’ is a karma bonus points system – you can earn bonus points by seeding, downloading, uploading torrents or by filling requests. These points can then be exchanged for goodies in the iTS Marketplace. According to the site’s administrators, you don’t need to own a seedbox to survive on iTS – if you are an active member (not a collector) who can keep the torrents seeded, you will do just fine:
We are a no ratio site and have a karma bonus system, so it's a friendly environment for non-seedbox users and also users with slow connections. We favor long seeding periods over brief seedbox usage. We are only looking for active people who will actually use the site and who are specifically interested in the kind of content we offer (e.g. quality content over RARed scene crap).
Due to the tracker’s secretive nature and the number of rules in place to prevent public exposure, we can’t talk much about it here or attach any screenshots. However, we believe we have given enough information about iTS so that you now know what type of tracker it is before attempting to hunt for invites. If you are interested in applying for an invite, follow the steps below:
How to apply for an iTS invite
- Register on iTS recruitment forum located at http://its-apps.co.cc. Direct link to registration page is http://bit.ly/itsregister.
- Log in and read the invite applications guidelines at http://bit.ly/itsguidelines
- Create a new topic in the Applications forum, with the title ‘iTS Application’. The applications forum direct link is http://bit.ly/itsapplications. Make sure to include answers to all questions, as mentioned in the app guidelines page.
- Wait for staff approval – if you are selected, an invite will be sent to the E-mail address you specified. Good Luck!
Special thanks to the iTS staff for their support and humbleness.
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