Definitions

Download Protocols

• Usenet - (USEr NETwork) A public access network on the Internet that provides group discussions and group email. It is a giant, dispersed bulletin board that is maintained by volunteers who provide news and mail feeds to other nodes. All Usenet content is "NetNews," and a running collection of messages about a subject is a "newsgroup."

Note: This is typically a paid service with a direct connection to the servers containing the data you're wishing to acquire. The connections can be quite fast and typically can saturate any home download connection.
For more information about Usenet and discussions about them we'd recommend you look at r/usenet

• Torrents - In the BitTorrent file distribution system, a torrent file or meta-info file is a computer file that contains metadata about files and folders to be distributed, and usually also a list of the network locations of trackers, which are computers that help participants in the system find each other and form efficient distribution groups called swarms. A torrent file acts like a table of contents (index) that allows computers to find information through the use of a Bittorrent client. A torrent file gives addresses identifying computers that can send parts of the requested file.

Note: Torrents in of them selves are completely innocuous and is simply a file sharing system. To share a file between two people is free. However, the service for finding the files (Trackers) and the computers that are hosting them can lead to a cost however there are may Trackers that are completely free to use. Torrent speeds are limited to the amount of seeders in a swarm.
For more information about Torrents and discussions about them we'd recommend you look at r/torrents

Indexers/Trackers

Usenet

• Indexers - Usenet indexing sites allow you to search Usenet for specific posts. Some display the newsgroup and full subjects of each post matching the search criteria. Others allow you to download an NZB file which contains information about each post that your download client can use to automatically download the files. Indexes typically have a fee (usually to help cover server costs)that is typically paid yearly (some have an unlimited membership).
  For more information about Indexers and discussions about them we'd recommend you look at r/indexers

Torrents

• Trackers - Torrent trackers are servers that keep track of the peers who are available at the moment to offer you the requested files. These are a special type of servers that help in better communication between torrent clients and peers to speed up downloads.
  • Seeders - Seeders are people who have a complete copy of the file. Seeders are only uploading because they already have the file finished, so there's no reason to download it.
  • Leechers - Leechers are people with an incomplete copy of the file. Due to the nature of torrents, you are always sharing the part of the file that you have downloaded. So you are always uploading to others while you download the file yourself.
  • Ratio - The ratio of what you have uploaded versus downloaded. Calculated as uploaded quantity / downloaded quantity.

Common File Containers

• MKV - An MKV file is a video file saved in the Matroska multimedia container format. It supports several types of audio and video codecs and may include .SRT, .SSA, .USF (Universal Subtitle Format), or VobSub subtitles. MKV files are typically used for storing short video clips, TV shows, and movies.

• MP4 - An MP4 file is a multimedia file commonly used to store a movie or video clip. It may also contain subtitles or images. MP4 is short for MPEG-4 Part 14, which is a container format based on the QuickTime File Format (QTFF) used by .MOV and .QT files

• MP3 - An MP3 file is an audio file saved in a compressed audio format developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) that uses "Layer 3" audio compression (MP3). It is most commonly used to store music, but may also contain other types of audio content, such as a lecture, sermon, audiobook, or podcast.

• AAC - Compressed audio file similar to an .MP3 file, but offers several performance improvements; examples include a higher coding efficiency for both stationary and transient signals, a simpler filterbank, and better handling of frequencies above 16 kHz; maintains quality nearly indistinguishable from the original audio source.

• OGG - An OGG file is a compressed audio file that uses free, unpatented Ogg Vorbis audio compression. It is similar to an .MP3 file, but sounds better than an MP3 file of equal size, and may include song metadata, such as artist information and track data. OGG files are supported by many software music players and some portable music players.

• FLAC - A FLAC file is an audio file compressed in the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) format, which is an open source lossless audio compression format. It is similar to an .MP3 file, but is compressed without any loss in quality or loss of any original audio data.

For a list of different video containers and its capabilities click HERE

For a list of different audio containers and its capabilities click HERE

Bitrates

Bitrate, as the name implies, describes the rate at which bits are transferred from one location to another. In other words, it measures how much data is transmitted in a given amount of time. Bitrate is commonly measured in bits per second (bps), kilobits per second (Kbps), or megabits per second (Mbps). For example, a DSL connection may be able to download data at 768 kbps, while a Firewire 800 connection can transfer data up to 800 Mbps.

Bitrate can also describe the quality of an audio or video file. For example, an MP3 audio file that is compressed at 192 Kbps will have a greater dynamic range and may sound slightly more clear than the same audio file compressed at 128 Kbps. This is because more bits are used to represent the audio data for each second of playback. Similarly, a video file that is compressed at 3000 Kbps will look better than the same file compressed at 1000 Kbps. Just like the quality of an image is measured in resolution, the quality of an audio or video file is measured by the bitrate.

Scene Naming

• PROPER - means there was a problem with the previous release. Downloads tagged as PROPER shows that the problems have been fixed in that release. This is done by a Group that did not release the original.
• REPACK - means there was a problem with the previous release and is corrected by the original Group. Downloads tagged as REPACK shows that the problems have been fixed in that release. This is done by a Group that did release the original.

Qualities

Video Qualities

• Unknown - Self Explanatory

• WORKPRINT - A workprint of a film generally contains timecode and usually has watermarks from the studio involved in the production of the film. These "proxy" copies of a film often go between the editorial and visual effects departments of the film crew. A workprint may be of any resolution, but are generally lower quality versions of the film used to show progress on the editorial or post-production process. Therefore, these may not be at all the same as a theatrical version of the film, and may be missing many of the visual effects or audio that end up making it to the theatrical release.

• CAM - is a theater rip usually done with a digital video camera. A mini tripod is sometimes used, but a lot of the time this won't be feasible, so the camera may shake. Seating placement isn't always ideal, and it might be filmed from an awkward angle. If cropped properly, this is hard to tell unless there's text on the screen, but a lot of times these are left with triangular borders on the top and bottom of the screen. Sound is taken from the onboard microphone of the camera, and especially in comedies, laughter can often be heard during the film. Due to these factors picture and sound quality are usually quite poor, but sometimes we're lucky, and the theater will be fairly empty and a fairly clear signal will be heard.

• TELESYNC - is the same spec as a CAM except it uses an external audio source (most likely an audio jack in the chair for the disabled). A direct audio source does not guarantee good quality audio, as a lot of background noise can interfere. Sometimes a telesync is filmed in an empty cinema or from the projection booth with a professional camera, giving better picture quality. Quality ranges drastically. A high percentage of telesyncs are CAMs that have been mislabeled.

• TELECINE - A telecine machine copies the film digitally from the reels. Sound and picture should be very good, but due to the equipment and cost involved telecines are fairly uncommon. Generally, the film will be in correct aspect ratio, although 4:3 telecines have existed. TC should not be confused with TimeCode, which is a visible counter on screen throughout the film.

• REGIONAL - <--------------------- Needs definition

• DVDSCR - A pre-release DVD often sent to awards judges and various other places for promotional use. A screener is supplied on a DVD or other large enough media. The main draw back is a “ticker” (a message that scrolls past at the bottom of the screen, with the copyright and anti-copy telephone number). Also, if the screener contains any serial numbers, or any other markings that could lead to the source of the tape, these will have to be blocked, usually with a black mark over the section. This is sometimes only for a few seconds, but unfortunately on some copies this will last for the entire film, and some can be quite big. Depending on the equipment used, screener quality can range from excellent to very poor. Usually transferred to SVCD, DivX/XviD, or MP4.

• SDTV - Post air rips from an analog source (usually cable television or OTA standard definition). The image quality is generally good (for the resolution) and they are usually encoded in DivX/XviD or MP4.

• DVD - A re-encode of the final released DVD9. If possible this is released PRE retail. It should be excellent quality (for the resolution). DVDrips are usually released in DivX/XviD or MP4.

• DVD-R - Same as DVD, but re-compressed to fit a single-layer DVD (generally reduces the original source bitrate by half, so the source material may have already been compressed from the original DVD copy and has been compressed a third time by the ripper).

• WEBDL-480p - WEB-DL (P2P) refers to a file losslessly ripped from a streaming service, such as Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu, Crunchyroll, Discovery GO, BBC iPlayer, etc., or downloaded via an online distribution website such as iTunes. The quality is quite good, since they are not reencoded. The video (H.264 or H.265) and audio (AC3/AAC) streams are usually extracted from the iTunes or Amazon Video and remuxed into a MKV container without sacrificing quality. An advantage with these releases is that, like BD/DVDRips, they usually have no onscreen network logos. These are nearly as good as a Blu-ray source but can suffer from audio lag or visual artifacts from the adaptive bitrate of streaming services. If a ripper's internet connection drops to a point where the bitrate lowers, the source bitrate could change dynamically, causing variations in picture quality. Most releases that suffer from an extreme amount of visual artifacts are NUKED and a PROPER is generally released to fix any wild variations in adaptive bitrate. This will be in 480p (SD) quality.

• WEBRip-480p - In a WEB-Rip (P2P), the file is often extracted using the HLS or RTMP/E protocols and remuxed from a TS, MP4 or FLV container to MKV. This will be in 480p (SD) quality.

• Bluray-480p - A re-encode of the final released Blu-ray, downscaled to 480p resolution (720x480 @ 16:9, any other Aspect Ratio may be a different resolution). If possible this is released PRE retail. It should be excellent quality for the resolution. Bitrates may vary, but these are generally encoded to DivX, XviD, or AVC and offer the tradeoff of a small perceived quality reduction over the original source while drastically reducing filesize. These are generally MKV or MP4, but some DivX/XviD are around as well which use AVI.

• Bluray-576p - Same as Bluray-480p, but in 576p (720x576). 576p is the standard PAL resolution for SDTV (although some manufacturers represent HDTV as anything above 480p, 576p offers barely any perceived quality increase over 480p). Bitrates may vary, but these are generally encoded to AVC or HEVC and offer the tradeoff of a small perceived quality reduction over the original source while drastically reducing filesize. These are generally MKV or MP4 container.

• HDTV-720p - A re-encode of the final released Blu-ray, but broadcast over HD cable or satellite (1280x720 @ 16:9, any other aspect ratio may be a different resolution). It may be modified for runtime or content depending on the network it came from. This is released usually several months after a retail release, but sometimes upscaled versions of a Standard Definition film are released on cable channels such as STARZ or HBO, and they would be the only HD copies of that specific film available. These are generally MKV or MP4.

• WEBDL-720p - WEB-DL (P2P) refers to a file losslessly ripped from a streaming service, such as Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu, Crunchyroll, Discovery GO, BBC iPlayer, etc., or downloaded via an online distribution website such as iTunes. The quality is quite good, since they are not reencoded. The video (H.264 or H.265) and audio (AC3/AAC) streams are usually extracted from the iTunes or Amazon Video and remuxed into a MKV container without sacrificing quality. An advantage with these releases is that, like BD/DVDRips, they usually have no onscreen network logos. These are nearly as good as a Blu-ray source but can suffer from audio lag or visual artifacts from the adaptive bitrate of streaming services. If a ripper's internet connection drops to a point where the bitrate lowers, the source bitrate could change dynamically, causing variations in picture quality. Most releases that suffer from an extreme amount of visual artifacts are NUKED and a PROPER is generally released to fix any wild variations in adaptive bitrate. This will be in 720p quality.

• WEBRip-720p - In a WEB-Rip (P2P), the file is often extracted using the HLS or RTMP/E protocols and remuxed from a TS, MP4 or FLV container to MKV. This will be in 720p quality.

• Bluray-720p - A re-encode of the final released Blu-ray, downscaled to 720p resolution (1280x720 @ 16:9, any other aspect ratio may be a different resolution). If possible this is released PRE retail. It should be excellent quality for the resolution. Bitrates may vary, but these are generally encoded to AVC or HEVC and offer the tradeoff of a small perceived quality reduction over the original source while drastically reducing filesize. These are generally MKV or MP4 container.

• HDTV-1080p - A re-encode of the final released Blu-ray, but broadcast over HD cable or satellite (1920x1080 @ 16:9, any other aspect ratio may be a different resolution). It may be modified for runtime or content depending on the network it came from. This is released usually several months after a retail release, but sometimes upscaled versions of a Standard Definition film are released on cable channels such as STARZ or HBO, and they would be the only HD copies of that specific film available. These are generally MKV or MP4 container.

• WEBDL-1080p - WEB-DL (P2P) refers to a file losslessly ripped from a streaming service, such as Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu, Crunchyroll, Discovery GO, BBC iPlayer, etc., or downloaded via an online distribution website such as iTunes. The quality is quite good, since they are not reencoded. The video (H.264 or H.265) and audio (AC3/AAC) streams are usually extracted from the iTunes or Amazon Video and remuxed into a MKV container without sacrificing quality. An advantage with these releases is that, like BD/DVDRips, they usually have no onscreen network logos. These are nearly as good as a Blu-ray source but can suffer from audio lag or visual artifacts from the adaptive bitrate of streaming services. If a ripper's internet connection drops to a point where the bitrate lowers, the source bitrate could change dynamically, causing variations in picture quality. Most releases that suffer from an extreme amount of visual artifacts are NUKED and a PROPER is generally released to fix any wild variations in adaptive bitrate. This will be in 1080p quality.

• WEBRip-1080p - In a WEB-Rip (P2P), the file is often extracted using the HLS or RTMP/E protocols and remuxed from a TS, MP4 or FLV container to MKV. This will be in 1080p quality.

• Bluray-1080p - A re-encode of the final released Blu-ray, at its native 1080p resolution (1920x1080 @ 16:9, any other aspect ratio may be a different resolution). If possible this is released PRE retail. It should be excellent quality and the same resolution as the source. Bitrates may vary, but these are generally encoded to AVC or HEVC and offer the tradeoff of a small perceived quality reduction over the original source while slightly reducing filesize. These are generally MKV or MP4 container.

• Remux-1080p - A remux is a rip of a Blu-ray or HD DVD disc to another container format or just stripping the disc of menus and bonus material while keeping the contents of its audio and video streams intact (also keeping the current codecs), guaranteeing the exact 1:1 movie quality as on original disc. This is at 1080p quality.

• HDTV-2160p - TVRip is a capture source from an capture card. HDTV stands for captured source from HD television. With an HDTV source, the quality can sometimes even surpass DVD. Movies in this format are starting to grow in popularity. Some advertisement and commercial banner can be seen on some releases during playback. This is at 2160p (4K) quality.

• WEBDL-2160p - WEB-DL (P2P) refers to a file losslessly ripped from a streaming service, such as Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu, Crunchyroll, Discovery GO, BBC iPlayer, etc., or downloaded via an online distribution website such as iTunes. The quality is quite good, since they are not reencoded. The video (H.264 or H.265) and audio (AC3/AAC) streams are usually extracted from the iTunes or Amazon Video and remuxed into a MKV container without sacrificing quality. An advantage with these releases is that, like BD/DVDRips, they usually have no onscreen network logos. These are nearly as good as a Blu-ray source but can suffer from audio lag or visual artifacts from the adaptive bitrate of streaming services. If a ripper's internet connection drops to a point where the bitrate lowers, the source bitrate could change dynamically, causing variations in picture quality. Most releases that suffer from an extreme amount of visual artifacts are NUKED and a PROPER is generally released to fix any wild variations in adaptive bitrate. This will be in 2160p (4K) quality.

• WEBRip-2160p - In a WEB-Rip (P2P), the file is often extracted using the HLS or RTMP/E protocols and remuxed from a TS, MP4 or FLV container to MKV. This will be in 2160p (4k) quality.

• Bluray-2160p - A re-encode of the final released Blu-ray, at its native 2160p resolution (3840x2160 @ 16:9, any other aspect ratio may be a different resolution). 4K versions of films that are released in generally HEVC codec and could be either 8-bit or 10-bit color reproduction or from an HDR source. slightly reducing filesize. These are generally MKV or MP4 container.

• Remux-2160p - A remux is a rip of a Blu-ray or HD DVD disc to another container format or just stripping the disc of menus and bonus material while keeping the contents of its audio and video streams intact (also keeping the current codecs), guaranteeing the exact 1:1 movie quality as on original disc. This is at 2160p (4K) quality.

• BR-DISK - The original Blu-ray disc, with it's AVC/HEVC folder structure and no change in container format. Some media players are unable to deal with these, but they are generally used for archival purposes. The original Blu-ray disc content is unmodified. Most of the time, these have been run through an HDCP decryption process already via the ripper. Sometimes they are still encrypted.

Audio Qualities

• AAC-192 - An AAC file with a 192 kbps bitrate
• AAC-256 - An AAC file with a 256 kbps bitrate
• AAC-320 - An AAC file with a 320 kbps bitrate
• AAC-VBR - An AAC file with a variable bitrate
• ALAC - Audio file created with the Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC); used for storing digital music losslessly without losing any sound quality from the original audio data; differs from lossy audio codecs such as AAC.
• APE - Audio file compressed using Monkey's Audio lossless compression algorithm; includes error detection and support for tags that store information about audio files; sometimes created with .CUE files to comprise an audio CD image.
• FLAC - A FLAC file is an audio file compressed in the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) format, which is an open source lossless audio compression format. It is similar to a .MP3 file, but is compressed without any loss in quality or loss of any original audio data.
• FLAC 24bit - A FLAC file with 24-bit encoding, allowing a much wider dynamic range than CD, and sampling rates all the way up to 192kHz
• MP3-8 - A MP3 file with a 8 kbps bitrate
• MP3-16 - A MP3 file with a 16 kbps bitrate
• MP3-24 - A MP3 file with a 24 kbps bitrate
• MP3-32 - A MP3 file with a 32 kbps bitrate
• MP3-40 - A MP3 file with a 40 kbps bitrate
• MP3-48 - A MP3 file with a 48 kbps bitrate
• MP3-56 - A MP3 file with a 56 kbps bitrate
• MP3-64 - A MP3 file with a 64 kbps bitrate
• MP3-80 - A MP3 file with a 80 kbps bitrate
• MP3-96 - A MP3 file with a 96 kbps bitrate
• MP3-112 - A MP3 file with a 112 kbps bitrate
• MP3-128 - A MP3 file with a 128 kbps bitrate
• MP3-160 - A MP3 file with a 160 kbps bitrate
• MP3-192 - A MP3 file with a 192 kbps bitrate
• MP3-224 - A MP3 file with a 224 kbps bitrate
• MP3-256 - A MP3 file with a 256 kbps bitrate
• MP3-320 - An MP3 file with a 320 kbps bitrate
• MP3-VBR-V0 - An MP3 file with a variable bitrate (version 0)
• MP3-VBR-V2 - An MP3 file with a variable bitrate (version 2)
• OGG Vorbis Q5 - An OOG file with an 160 kbps bitrate
• OGG Vorbis Q6 - An OOG file with a 192 kbps bitrate
• OGG Vorbis Q7 - An OOG file with a 224 kbps bitrate
• OGG Vorbis Q8 - An OOG file with a 256 kbps bitrate
• OGG Vorbis Q9 - An OOG file with a 320 kbps bitrate
• OGG Vorbis Q10 - An OOG file with a 500 kbps bitrate
• Unknown - Self Explanatory
• WavPack - WavPack compresses high-quality audio to between thirty and seventy percent and supports both mono and stereo audio ranging from 8 to 32 bits. Typically these are audio files in an .WV container
• WAV - A WAV file is an audio file saved in the WAVE format, which is a standard digital audio file format utilized for storing waveform data. WAV files may contain audio recordings with different sampling rates and bitrates but are often saved in a 44.1 KHz, 16-bit, stereo format, which is the standard format used for CD audio.
• WMA - A WMA file is an audio file saved in the Advanced Systems Format (ASF) proprietary format developed by Microsoft. It contains Windows Media Audio and metadata objects such as the title, artist, album, and genre of the track. WMA files are similar to .MP3 files and primarily used for streaming music from the web.

eBook Qualities

• Unknown - Self Explanatory
• PDF - A PDF file is a multi-platform document created by Adobe Acrobat or another PDF application. The PDF format is commonly used for saving documents and publications in a standard format that can be viewed on multiple platforms. In many cases, PDF files are created from existing documents instead of from scratch. With that being said PDF isn't a book format it is originally designed as a printing format so a lot of features you'll find with other formats will not be available.
• MOBI - A MOBI file is an eBook saved in the MOBI format, a format originally used by the Mobipocket Reader but now supported by several different readers. It contains an eBook and may incorporate DRM copyright protection to prevent copying or unauthorized viewing. MOBI files are supported by various eReaders, tablets, PDAs, and desktop computer applications.
• EPUB - An EPUB file is a digital ebook saved in the EPUB format, an open XML-based format for digital books and publications. It provides a standard digital publication format for publishers and consumers. EPUB files can be viewed with supporting software programs and hardware devices, such as the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble NOOK.
• AZW3 - An AZW3 file is an eBook created in the Kindle Format 8 (KF8), Amazon's successor to the .AZW format. It supports newer features such as HTML5 and CSS3 support as well as many other formatting capabilities. AZW3 files often include DRM protection and are used as the download format for many Amazon eBooks.

Indexer Flags

Torrent Indexers sometimes have torrents that, while they contain the same video, have other attributes that differentiate them. In Radarr, these are called Indexer Flags and you can do some cool stuff with them. See the table below, for a list of available flags and what they signify.

Uses

Indexer Flags can be used for multiple things in Radarr. Under Settings -> Indexers, you can e.g. specify that all releases with any indexer flag is preferred. This is useful, if you occasionally want to download a golden popcorn release over a normal encode.

If you want more control over indexer flags, there are two other options:

1. Required Flags

In your indexer settings, you can specify, what exact flags are required, for a release to be downloaded for this indexer. This allows you to have a strict indexer only download freeleech torrents as an example. To require an indexer flag, look at the table below, take the flag name and put it in the corresponding field in your indexer’s settings.

2. Custom Formats

(Radarr Only) Indexer Flags can be used as Format Tags in a Custom Format. Check out the Custom Formats section for more information.

Supported Flags

Flag Name	Symbol	Description
G_Freeleech	⬇⬇	Sometimes, torrent sites set a torrent to be freeleech. This means, that the download of this torrent will not count towards your download quota or ratio. This is really useful, if you do not have the best ratio yet.
G_Halfleech	⇩⇩	Similar to G_Freeleech, G_Halfleech signifies that only half of the size of this torrent will count towards your download quota or ratio.
G_DoubleUpload	⬆	Similar to G_Freeleech, G_DoubleUpload signifies that any amount of data you upload via seeding is counted twice towards your upload quota and ratio. This is very useful, if you want to build up a ratio buffer.
PTP_Golden	🌟	On PassThePopcorn, some torrents are given the Golden tag, when they meet certain encoding standards. These are usually the best encodes, with almost no perceptible quality loss. You can learn more on their wiki page.
PTP_Approved	✔	On PassThePopcorn, some torrents are approved, when they meet the minimum standards for encoding (e.g. no low bitrates). See their wiki for more information.
HDB_Internal	🚪	Releases on HDBits receive this tag, when the release was uploaded by one of the release groups of HDBits themselves.
G_Scene	☠	This flag is applied to releases that are reported to be from a scene release group by your indexer.
G_Freeleech75	⇩⬇	Similar to G_Freeleech, G_Freeleech75 signifies that only 25% of the size of this torrent will count towards your download quota or ratio.
G_Freeleech25	⇩	Similar to G_Freeleech, G_Freeleech25 signifies that only 75% of the size of this torrent will count towards your download quota or ratio.