Proposed Scene Rules for Lossless Audio (Version 1.0 FINAL)
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Standards
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- FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) .FLAC extension only, no .OGG
- FLAC compression must be Level 8.
- Ripped with EAC (Exact Audio Copy) in secure test+copy mode. Must contain .LOG and .CUE files.
* .LOG files ensure ripping was done correctly. It contains offset information, CRC's, ASPI layer, Test and copy mode and other information.
* .CUE files ensure the pregaps, gaps, and everything are kept the same as the original album.
- Must be tagged properly. Tags must include Artist, album, tracknumbers, tracknames, genre, year. Release group should be in comment..
- At time of writing DBPoweramp is also capable of making secure rips however groups should keep these internal due to the diffent log files.
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EAC Rip Settings
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- Use File naming %N-%A-%T
- Make sure "Append Gaps To Previous Track (default)" is selected under Action.
- In EAC Options under EAC, go to the Extraction tab, and make sure the following are selected...
* Fill up missing offset samples with silence.
* Synchronize between tracks.
* Skip track extraction on read or sync errors.
* Error recovery quality is set to High.
- In EAC Options under EAC, go to the General tab, and make sure the following are selected...
* On unknown CDs automatically access online freedb database.
- In EAC Options under EAC, go to the Tools tab, and make sure the following are selected...
* Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation.
* Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction.
* Automatically write status report after extraction.
- In Drive Options under EAC, go to the Extraction Method tab, and make sure the following are selected...
* Secure mode with following drive features (recommended).
* Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature.
* Drive caches audio data.
- In Drive Options under EAC, go to the Drive tab, and make sure to click Autodetect read command now.
- In Drive Options under EAC, go to the Offset / Speed tab, and make sure you have the correct read sample offset correction for your drive.
* Also check Allow speed reduction during extraction.
- In Drive Options under EAC, go to the Gap Detection tab, and set Detection accuracy to Secure.
* Change the Gap/Index retrieval method until your drive is able to detect the gaps correctly.
- To create a proper CUE sheet...
* Put in a CD and EAC will detect it.
* CTRL+A to select all tracks.
* F4 to detect gaps.
* Under Action, select Create CUE Sheet, Multiple WAV Files With Gaps... (Noncompliant)
* F6 to Test & Copy Selected Tracks.
* Do not use C2 error information, it must be turned off
Ripping guide - www.calonet.org/eac-ripping-guide
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Nukes
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- Non-lossless formats, or anything that can be proven non-lossless with tools such as auCDtect or Tau Audio Analyzer.
- Faked releases, non original copies of a CD, or mislabled source.
- LOG file shows incorrect rip. C2 used, No test and copy, no offset, CRC mismatch are all nukeable
- Flacs with decode errors or corruptions
- Misnamed files, or files missing basic tags (Artist, Title, Track number, Year, Genre, Album).
- Missing FLAC/Vorbis tag, or using non standard tag like id3v1/v2 (do not use winamp < 5.5x to tag it only supports mp3 tags). Try www.mp3tag.de/en/
- Replaygain not allowed, or other banned tags
- Incorrect compression (FLAC below Level 8)
- Badly Ripped release (Bad offset, No test and copy mode)
- No .M3U file.
- No .LOG file.
- No .CUE file.
- No .SFV file.
- No .NFO file.
- Source other than CD, such as tape, MP3, or Vinyl not allowed unless it is the only way to obtain the source.
- Source that is poor quality such as an Advance CD with deleberate poor quality (pops and clicks etc.)
- Dupes of other releases.
- Broken Cue files(cuefix ok for unnuke)
- Mix CDs released as individual tracks
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Naming Conventions
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[Dirs]
Artist-Title-Format*-Year-LOSSLESS-Group
* Retail/CD/2CD/OST/CDS/Mix/Sampler/Advance/Live (optional)
[Files]
00-artist-title-format-year-lossless-group.nfo
00-artist-title-format-year-lossless-group.m3u
00-artist-title-format-year-lossless-group.log
00-artist-title-format-year-lossless-group.cue
00-artist-title-format-year-lossless-group.sfv
01-artist-title-group.flac
02-artist-title-group.flac
03-artist-title-group.flac
etc...all lower case
Groups are allowed to include the Catalogue number in the directory
name if present but this must be inside brackets eg. "-(123)-"
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Extras
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- Covers are optional but they must be of a good resolution.
- Mix CD's that are 300mb+ flac files must be Rar'ed
.:LOSSLESS:. WHY RAR Mix cd's?
Because the file is/can be too big to transfer through
ftp without getting a .sfv error. 200mb+ only, anything smaller can remain in .flac.
- IMPORTANT NOTICE: Mix cds do not need copy/test mode.
Having copy mode only in .log, wont nuke the release.
Copy/test is a "new" function in EAC for images. It is always
appreciated when groups include both modes.
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WEB Releases
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In 2007 web releases are now acceptable, they do not require a log or cue file, but must be from a webshop WAV/LOSSLESS source.
Releases must be complete and include sfv, nfo and m3u files. Any watermarks should be removed.
Web release nfos must contain the purchase webshop URL(a direct song url if possible). To encourage people to support the artists.
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Comments
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Finally after 3 years of the underground lossless releases we have reached 1.0 of the rules.
Thanks to all people who have made this possible past, present and future.
Tired of reading all the rules? Try Lossless-Releaser.v1.x-LF
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Signed
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QiE 2008, PEAK 2008, LF 2008, WAG 2008, MiNiMAL 2008, ......, ....., ...... (Members of the Lossless Council)
Rev -1.0- 02/2008
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