Q: Hey, I downloaded a file and it didn't play or gave me a weird error!
A: You very, very likely don't have the right codec. You see, in order to reduce file size, a movie is encoded so that it is smaller yet doesn't lose that much quality. However, the trade-off here is that you have to have the codec (and the processing power to decode the video - but don't worry about this). Normally, most movies come with either DivX/XviD for video and LAME/AAC for audio. If you simply want to get your damn video to play, there are two codec packs that will make sure you will always be set no matter what video you find encoded with obscure codecs you've never heard of before. My personal favorite and the one that has never let me down is the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack, found here:
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| http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Mega_Codec_Pack.htm |
I've also tried recently, the Combined Community Codec Pack, which is pretty good, but lacking a few things (which most users won't miss) that I had with the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack. CCCP is available at:
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| http://www.cccp-project.net/ |
Q: What are all these weird abbreviations on the topic titles? I just want to watch the movie!
A: Well you see, people who put these movies on the internet have to get it from somewhere right? So, they've devised a system to tag each movie with the quality, based on the source (which is the main factor which affects the quality). You can't expect a DVD quality movie to come out as soon as the movie is out in theaters! There are various quality levels, ranging from CAM to HDRip. There also are encoding methods. The most popular of which is XviD. For high resolution movies, the standard is H264. You shouldn't really worry about the encoding quality, the guys who encoded the movie usually know what they're doing.
Q: OK, so what are the qualities?
A: Ranging from lowest to highest quality: Cam, TeleSync, TeleCine, Work Print (don't expect to see many of these), R5, DVD Screener, DVD Rip, DVD-R and HD Rip.
Usually, the day a movie comes out in theaters, you'll see a CAM version. CAMs have a very low quality and usually will have noise and heads from the audience. A couple of days later a TS will show up. TS's are the preference for people who can't wait to see the movie. Usually you can understand it just fine, but the image really lacks definition (it is still filmed from the projection booth or inside the theatre, but has better audio). Sometimes, a week or two after the movie appears in theatre, a TC will show up, which is basically the digitally encoded reel of the movie. Usually looks a little better than the TS. Weeks to months later, an R5 or DVDScr will appear. These have a far superior quality and in fact are usually perfect in sound and image, but may sometimes be missing footage such as the credits, or may have a copyright logo on the screen and/or go black and white for a few seconds every now and then. DVDRips are the perfect copies of the movie. They will usually only appear when the movie is ready for retail release (although sometimes obtained a few days/weeks earlier). DVD-R's are basically the same as DVDRips, except that they are not encoded and are in DVD file format, ready for burning. Finally, HDRips are rips from high quality media such as Blue-Ray or HD DVD.
There are also TV quality levels, which are basically just either Digital Signal Rips (DSR) or HD Rips.
Basically, you'll have to check samples and screen caps if provided to see for yourself.
Q: That was rather long. Teehee. Now, what about the file size? Why are they always the same?
A: Basically, there was a standard established long ago. Movies are always encoded with a target file size of 700 MB as that is what will fit on a regular CD. The idea was so that you could burn movies on CDs and play them on DivX compatible devices. However, as time progresses, things change. I've made a list of common file sizes:
Regular Movie: 700 MB
Movie with high quality/long runtime: 1.4 GB (2x 700 MB)
30 minute* TV episode or cartoon/anime: 175 MB
1 hour* TV episodes: 350 MB
DVD-R: 4.3 GB
HDRip: 6-12 GB
*Running time on TV. May be 5 to 15 minutes less of actual footage.
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