What does CAM mean? Whats a SCREENER?
Different releases have definitions attached, these articles explain what they mean so you know what you are getting.
CAM
CAM is short for camera. Basically someone sat in a cinema with a video camera and recorded the movie.
If a tripod is used, the camera can be stable but a lot of the time someone is holding it so the camera may shake.
You may see black silhouettes of people walking in and out of the cinema, at funny scenes you may hear people laughing.
TELESYNC or TS
TS or TELESYNC is the same a CAM except it uses a different audio source (like an audio jack in the chair for hard of hearing people). This does not always mean there will be a better quality audio track as there can be other interferences such as background noise. Quite often a telesync is filmed in an empty cinema or from the projection booth with a professional camera, giving a better picture quality. Quality can range drastically, it is best to check the sample video, if available, before downloading the full video. Quite often telesyncs are cams that are mislabeled.
TELECINE or TC
A Telecine machine copies the film digitally from the movie reels. Sound and picture should be very good, but due to the equipment involved and cost telecines are fairly uncommon. Generally the film will be in correct aspect ratio, although 4:3 telecines have existed.
SCREENER or SCR
A screener is a video or disk that was sent to a rental store. These are usually good quality, however quite often a "ticker" is present. This is a message that scrolls past at the bottom of the screen, with the copyright and anti-copy telephone number. Sometimes the movie will have blurred or black marks from where there may be a serial number.These are often good quality, but not always.
DVDRip
DVDRip is a normal DVD found in a store that has been ripped.
VHSRip
VHSRip is a normal VHS found that has been ripped. These days they are rare, usually sports and XXX movies.
TVRip
TVRip is a video ripped from TV. Often it is a recording from a live TV broadcast, bt sometimes can be PRE-AIR, from satellite feeds sending the program to various networks a few days earlier.
PDTV
PDTV is a TVRip that has been recorded from a digital TV PCI card, this generally gives the best results for TV recording.
WORKPRINT or WP
Workprint is a leaked copy of the film that has not been completed. Usually in the final editing stages. It can be missing scenes or music and quality can range from excellent to very poor. Some WPs are very different from the final print, possibly containing extra scenes. (Men In Black WP was missing the aliens, and had actors in standing in their places).
DivX Re-Enc
DivX re-enc is a film that has been taken from its original VCD source and re-encoded into a small DivX file. They are usually labeled like: "Film.Name.Group(1of2)". Not worth downloading unless you only want a 200mb copy of it. Generally avoid.
Watermarks
Often films are watermarked by the bootleggers. Usually with a letter, initials or a little logo, generally in one of the corners. Most famous are the "Z" "A" and "Globe" watermarks.
Asian Silvers / PDVD
These are films put out by eastern bootleggers, They are usually bought by some groups to put out as their own. PDVDs are the same thing pressed onto a DVD. They have removable subtitles, and the quality is usually better than the silvers. These are ripped like a normal DVD, but usually released as VCD.
See Also:
Movie Release Jargon: Video Formats
Movie Release Jargon: Scene Tags
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