Filename

Original.Title.YEAR.VHSRip.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Original.Title.AKA.English.Title.YEAR.TVRip.x264-HANDJOB.mkv (optional AKA for Non-English film)

Original.Title.YEAR.VHSRip.x264-HANDJOB -> Original.Title.E01.YEAR.VHSRip.x264-HANDJOB.mkv (Miniseries)

or -> Original.Title.E01.Episode.Title.YEAR.VHSRip.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Original.Title.YEAR.TVRip.FLAC.x264-HANDJOB.mkv (Encode with FLAC audio)

Anamorphic / Resolution

Off (non-anamorphic), no resizing

Ref Frames

9+

Bitrate

Typically between 1,500 Kbps and 2,500 Kbps (video)

Main Audio / English Dub

- You should generally use passthru

- For obscure audio codecs, convert to FLAC

- Label as 'English Dub' when applicable

Audio Commentaries

- Transcode to 96 Kbps or below (or '-V 63' with QAAC), AAC format

- Label as 'Commentary with/by Position Name Surname'

Framerate

- Generally 23.976 fps or 29.970 fps

- If 29.970 fps, you must check for duplicate frames (see FAQ)

Movie Title (metadata)

Original Title [YEAR] TVRip - HJ

Original Title AKA English Title [YEAR] VHSRip - HJ (optional AKA for Non-English film)

Original Title - E01 [YEAR] TVRip - HJ (Miniseries)

or -> Original Title - E01: Episode Title [YEAR] TVRip - HJ

Filename

Original.Title.YEAR.DVDRip.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Original.Title.AKA.English.Title.YEAR.DVDRip.x264-HANDJOB.mkv (optional AKA for Non-English film)

Original.Title.YEAR.DVDRip.x264-HANDJOB -> Original.Title.E01.YEAR.DVDRip.x264-HANDJOB.mkv (Miniseries)

or -> Original.Title.E01.Episode.Title.YEAR.DVDRip.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Original.Title.YEAR.DVDRip.FLAC.x264-HANDJOB.mkv (Concert or musical with FLAC audio)

Anamorphic / Resolution

Loose, no resizing

Ref Frames

9+

Bitrate

Typically between 1,500 Kbps and 2,500 Kbps (video)

Main Audio / English Dub

- For films use AC3 passthru

- For concerts or musicals, convert LPCM to FLAC (if available, else either passthru DTS, or as above)

- Label as 'English Dub' when applicable

Audio Commentaries

- Transcode to 96 Kbps or below (or '-V 63' with QAAC), AAC format

- Label as 'Commentary with/by Position Name Surname'

Framerate

- Generally 23.976 fps or 29.970 fps

- If 29.970 fps, you must check for duplicate frames (see FAQ)

Movie Title (metadata)

Original Title [YEAR] DVDRip - HJ

Original Title AKA English Title [YEAR] DVDRip - HJ (optional AKA for Non-English film)

Original Title - E01 [YEAR] DVDRip - HJ (Miniseries)

or -> Original Title - E01: Episode Title [YEAR] DVDRip - HJ

Filename

Original.Title.YEAR.DVDRip.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Original.Title.AKA.English.Title.YEAR.DVDRip.x264-HANDJOB.mkv (optional AKA for Non-English film)

Original.Title.YEAR.DVDRip.x264-HANDJOB -> Original.Title.E01.YEAR.DVDRip.x264-HANDJOB.mkv (Miniseries)

or -> Original.Title.E01.Episode.Title.YEAR.DVDRip.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Original.Title.YEAR.DVDRip.FLAC.x264-HANDJOB.mkv (Concert or musical with FLAC audio)

Anamorphic / Resolution

Loose, no resizing

Ref Frames

9+

Bitrate

Typically between 1,500 Kbps and 2,500 Kbps (video)

Main Audio / English Dub

- For films use AC3 passthru

- For concerts or musicals, convert LPCM to FLAC (if available, else either passthru DTS, or as above)

- Label as 'English Dub' when applicable

Audio Commentaries

- Transcode to 96 Kbps or below (or '-V 63' with QAAC), AAC format

- Label as 'Commentary with/by Position Name Surname'

Framerate

- Almost always 25 fps

Movie Title (metadata)

Original Title [YEAR] DVDRip - HJ

Original Title AKA English Title [YEAR] DVDRip - HJ (optional AKA for Non-English film)

Original Title - E01 [YEAR] DVDRip - HJ (Miniseries)

or -> Original Title - E01: Episode Title [YEAR] DVDRip - HJ

Filename

Original.Title.YEAR.480p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Original.Title.AKA.English.Title.YEAR.480p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv (optional AKA for Non-English film)

Original.Title.YEAR.480p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB (Miniseries)

-> Original.Title.E01.YEAR.480p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

or -> Original.Title.E01.Episode.Title.YEAR.480p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Original.Title.YEAR.480p.BluRay.FLAC.x264-HANDJOB.mkv (Concert or musical with FLAC audio)

Anamorphic / Resolution

- Anamorphic: none

- Maximum resolution of 854 x 480 (see FAQ)

Ref Frames

9+

Bitrate

Typically between 1,500 Kbps and 2,500 Kbps (video)

Main Audio / English Dub

- 5.1+ Surround films: create a 5.1 AC3 at 448 Kbps with eac3to from lossless audio (see FAQ)

- Stereo films: 224 Kbps 2.0 AAC (or '-V 127' with QAAC)

- Mono films: 192 Kbps 1.0 AAC (or '-V 127' with QAAC)

- If no lossless audio available, use passthru on lossy (see DVD rips)

- Label as 'English Dub' when applicable

- Concerts/Musicals: convert lossless audio (LPCM / DTS-HD / Dolby True-HD) to FLAC

- Concerts/Musicals: If no lossless available, passthru best lossy audio

Audio Commentaries

- Transcode to 96 Kbps or below (or '-V 63' with QAAC), AAC format

- Label as 'Commentary with/by Position Name Surname'

Framerate

- Could be 23.976 fps, 24 fps, 25 fps or 29.970 fps

- If 29.970 fps, you must check for duplicate frames (see FAQ)

Movie Title (metadata)

Original Title [YEAR] 480p BluRay - HJ

Original Title AKA English Title [YEAR] 480p BluRay - HJ (optional AKA for Non-English film)

Original Title - E01 [YEAR] 480p BluRay - HJ (Miniseries)

or -> Original Title - E01: Episode Title [YEAR] 480p BluRay - HJ

Filename

Original.Title.YEAR.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Original.Title.AKA.English.Title.YEAR.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv (optional AKA for Non-English film)

Original.Title.YEAR.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB (Miniseries)

-> Original.Title.E01.YEAR.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

or -> Original.Title.E01.Episode.Title.YEAR.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Original.Title.YEAR.576p.BluRay.FLAC.x264-HANDJOB.mkv (Concert or musical with FLAC audio)

Anamorphic / Resolution

- Anamorphic: none

- Maximum resolution of 1024 x 576 (see FAQ)

Ref Frames

- Minimum: 9

- Maximum: use formula '8388608 / (encode height * encode width)' and round down (see FAQ)

Bitrate

Typically between 2,000 Kbps and 4,000 Kbps (video)

Main Audio / English Dub

- 5.1+ Surround films: create a 5.1 AC3 at 448 Kbps with eac3to from lossless audio (see FAQ)[/align]

- Stereo films: 224 Kbps 2.0 AAC (or '-V 127' with QAAC)

- Mono films: 192 Kbps 1.0 AAC (or '-V 127' with QAAC)

- If no lossless audio available, use passthru on lossy (see DVD rips)

- Label as 'English Dub' when applicable

- Concerts/Musicals: convert lossless audio (LPCM / DTS-HD / Dolby True-HD) to FLAC

- Concerts/Musicals: If no lossless available, passthru best lossy audio

Audio Commentaries

- Transcode to 96 Kbps or below (or '-V 63' with QAAC), AAC format

- Label as 'Commentary with/by Position Name Surname'

Framerate

- Could be 23.976 fps, 24 fps, 25 fps or 29.970 fps

- If 29.970 fps, you must check for duplicate frames (see FAQ)

Movie Title (metadata)

Original Title [YEAR] 576p BluRay - HJ

Original Title AKA English Title [YEAR] 576p BluRay - HJ (optional AKA for Non-English film)

Original Title - E01 [YEAR] 576p BluRay - HJ (Miniseries)

or -> Original Title - E01: Episode Title [YEAR] 576p BluRay - HJ

Filename

Original.Title.YEAR.720p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Original.Title.AKA.English.Title.YEAR.720p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv (optional AKA for Non-English film)

Original.Title.YEAR.720p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB (Miniseries)

-> Original.Title.E01.YEAR.720p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

or -> Original.Title.E01.Episode.Title.YEAR.720p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Original.Title.YEAR.720p.BluRay.FLAC.x264-HANDJOB.mkv (Film or concert with FLAC audio)

Anamorphic / Resolution

- Anamorphic: none

- Maximum resolution of 1280 x 720 (see FAQ)

Ref Frames

- Minimum: 8

- Maximum: use formula '8388608 / (encode height * encode width)' and round down (see FAQ)

Bitrate

Typically between 5,000 Kbps and 7,000 Kbps (video)

Main Audio / English Dub

- 5.1+ Surround films: create a 5.1 AC3 at 640 Kbps with eac3to from lossless audio (see FAQ)[/align]

- Stereo films: 320 Kbps 2.0 AAC (or '-V 127' with QAAC)

- Mono films: 192 or 224 Kbps 1.0 AAC (or '-V 127' with QAAC)

- All films: You may also FLAC any lossless main audio if you wish

- If no lossless audio available, use passthru on lossy (see DVD rips)

- Label as 'English Dub' when applicable

- Concerts/Musicals: convert lossless audio (LPCM / DTS-HD / Dolby True-HD) to FLAC

- Concerts/Musicals: If no lossless available, passthru best lossy audio

Audio Commentaries

- Transcode to 96 Kbps or below (or '-V 63' with QAAC), AAC format

- Label as 'Commentary with/by Position Name Surname'

Framerate

- Could be 23.976 fps, 24 fps, 25 fps or 29.970 fps

- If 29.970 fps, you must check for duplicate frames (see FAQ)

Movie Title (metadata)

Original Title [YEAR] 720p BluRay - HJ

Original Title AKA English Title [YEAR] 720p BluRay - HJ (optional AKA for Non-English film)

Original Title - E01 [YEAR] 720p BluRay - HJ (Miniseries)

or -> Original Title - E01: Episode Title [YEAR] 720p BluRay - HJ

Filename

Original.Title.YEAR.1080p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Original.Title.AKA.English.Title.YEAR.1080p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv (optional AKA for Non-English film)

Original.Title.YEAR.1080p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB (Miniseries)

-> Original.Title.E01.YEAR.1080p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

or -> Original.Title.E01.Episode.Title.YEAR.1080p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Original.Title.YEAR.1080p.BluRay.FLAC.x264-HANDJOB.mkv (Film or concert with FLAC audio)

Anamorphic / Resolution

- Anamorphic: none

- Maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 (see FAQ)

Ref Frames

- Minimum: 3

- Maximum: use formula '8388608 / (encode height * encode width)' and round down (see FAQ)

Bitrate

Typically between 8,000 Kbps and 12 Mbps (video)

Main Audio / English Dub

- Lossless audio (option 1): convert to FLAC (preferred for mono/stereo)[/align]

- Lossless audio (option 2): use eac3to to extract the core (see FAQ)

- Lossless audio (option 3): use eac3to to create AC3 (5.1 surround) or AAC (stereo and mono)

5.1+ Surround films: 640 Kbps AC3 5.1

Stereo films: 320 Kbps 2.0 AAC (or '-V 127' with QAAC)

Mono films: 192 or 224 Kbps 1.0 AAC (or '-V 127' with QAAC)

- If no lossless audio available, use passthru on lossy

- Label as 'English Dub' when applicable

- Concerts/Musicals: convert lossless audio (LPCM / DTS-HD / Dolby True-HD) to FLAC

- Concerts/Musicals: If no lossless available, passthru best lossy audio

Audio Commentaries

- Transcode to 96 Kbps or below (or '-V 63' with QAAC), AAC format

- Label as 'Commentary with/by Position Name Surname'

Framerate

- Could be 23.976 fps, 24 fps, 25 fps or 29.970 fps

- If 29.970 fps, you must check for duplicate frames (see FAQ)

Movie Title (metadata)

Original Title [YEAR] 1080p BluRay - HJ

Original Title AKA English Title [YEAR] 1080p BluRay - HJ (optional AKA for Non-English film)

Original Title - E01 [YEAR] 1080p BluRay - HJ (Miniseries)

or -> Original Title - E01: Episode Title [YEAR] 1080p BluRay - HJ

Due to an issue with Handbrake's handling of 10-bit video, a moratorium has been placed on this resolution

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Filename

Original.Title.YEAR.2160p.UHD.BluRay.Atmos.x265-HANDJOB.mkv

Original.Title.AKA.English.Title.YEAR.2160p.UHD.BluRay.DTSX.x265-HANDJOB.mkv (optional AKA for Non-English film)

Original.Title.YEAR.2160p.UHD.BluRay.x265-HANDJOB (Miniseries)

-> Original.Title.E01.YEAR.2160p.UHD.BluRay.x265-HANDJOB.mkv

or -> Original.Title.E01.Episode.Title.YEAR.2160p.UHD.BluRay.x265-HANDJOB.mkv

Original.Title.YEAR.2160p.UHD.BluRay.FLAC.x265-HANDJOB.mkv (Film or concert with FLAC audio)

Anamorphic / Resolution

- Anamorphic: none

- Maximum resolution of 3840 × 2160 (see FAQ)

HDR: Must be encoded with HDR if the source is HDR.

10-Bit: Must be encoded as 10-bit if the source is 10-bit.

Bitrate

Circa 15 - 25 Mbps (TBC)

Main Audio / English Dub

- Passthru on the Dolby Atmos * or DTS:X audio.

* Since Atmos doesn't comprise a core/residual stream, you must include the second AC3 640 Kbps (passthru) present on the source. If none is present, you'll have to create one using eac3to.

- Label as 'English Dub' when applicable

Audio Commentaries

- AC3 commentaries can be used passthru.

- Or, transcode '-V 127' with QAAC.

- Label as 'Commentary with/by Position Name Surname'

Framerate

- Could be 23.976 fps, 24 fps, 25 fps or 29.970 fps

- If 29.970 fps, you must check for duplicate frames (see FAQ)

Movie Title (metadata)

Original Title [YEAR] 2160p UHD - HJ

Original Title AKA English Title [YEAR] 2160p UHD - HJ (optional AKA for Non-English film)

Original Title - E01 [YEAR] 2160p UHD - HJ (Miniseries)

or -> Original Title - E01: Episode Title [YEAR] 2160p UHD - HJ

Other

- For the time being, source/comparison sets must be included for all 2160p encodes.

- Do not include a secondary AC3 track with a DTS:X main audio, this will receive the trumpable tag (Redundant Audio Tracks) from PTP and is therefore ineligible as a HANDJOB.

- Ensure you set the --master-display tag when encoding HDR content. This will produce the 'Mastering Display' output statistics which are required by PTP.

4K: A display resolution used by the cinema industry to denote a 4096 × 2160 pixels (1.9:1 AR) sized frame. This nomenclature is also used erroneously by the commercial electronics industry in the sale of 3840 × 2160 displays. In the latter case, UHD, or 2160p is preferred.

Anamorphic: A method of storing video on a DVD at a crushed resolution (known as the Storage Aspect Ratio) before instructing a player to stretch out the image to another resolution (known as the Display Aspect Ratio). This enables DVDs to play videos wider, or taller than DVD specifications allow. Comparison: Show

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Storage Aspect Ratio (SAR)

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Display Aspect Ratio (DAR)

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Aspect Ratio (AR): A description of the shape of the video's frame. AR is measured by calculating the number of horizontal pixels which are used for a corresponding set of vertical pixels. For example, 16:9 means that for every 16 pixels across, there are 9 pixels down; 4:3 is 4 pixels across for every 3 down. Some Common Aspect Ratios: Show

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4:3

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16:9 (Full Frame)

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1.85:1

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2.35:1

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2.40:1

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Bitrate: The amount of data which is required to display video or produce audio. If this is too high, an encode will be 'bloated'; if it's too low, then detail will be lost and defects may occur in the picture or sound. See the intended resolution's quick reference guide above for further details.

Constant Rate Factor (CRF): A setting in encoding where you choose the desired level of quality and the encoder automatically adjusts the bitrate throughout to achieve this level. A higher number (such as CRF 22) results in more compression and a lower average bitrate, whereas a lower number (such as CRF 17) will give you less compression and a higher average bitrate. The necessary setting for this will vary depending on the source.

Core (audio): Lossless audio (such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD) contains 2 data streams combined. The first is the 'core' which is a lossy stream, the second is the 'residual' stream which contains the extra data added to the core to make it lossless. This allows players which don't, for example, support DTS-HD, to still be able to play the DTS lossy core.

Cropping: The removal of pixels from any of the four edges of a video's frame. Common reasons to crop include the removal of black bars and dirtypixel lines. Cropping should always be done in even numbers. PTP prefers a 1px overcrop to a 1px undercrop.

DAR (Display Aspect Ratio): See 'Anamorphic'.

Default (audio/subs): An audio track or subtitle track within a container file (such as an .mkv) which a player is instructed to use automatically. Only one audio, and one or no subtitles should be set as default. See the FAQ for further details.

Dirtypixel: A line of discoloured pixels running down or across the edge of a video frame. If these are present throughout all or most of a film, they will need to be removed via cropping. See Example: Show

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Dirtypixel Line on Left-hand Side of Frame

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Dual Audio: An encode of a non-English film which contains both the original language audio track as well as the English dub on a second track.

Dub: An audio track which features dialogue in a different language to a film's original language which is synchronised to match the actors. Only English dubs are allowed on PTP.

Duplicate Frames: Something which can occur in encodes with a framerate of 29.970 fps. Handbrake's 'Same as Source' framerate setting can sometimes incorrectly output at 29.970 when it should be 23.976. This results in a duplicate image frame being produced every 4 frames and will result in jerky playback. See the FAQ for information on how to detect and correct these.

DVD5: Often referred to as a single-layer disc. A DVD, or a rip of a disc which holds up to 4.7 GB of information. Scene groups will often release DVD9s as DVD5s by stripping away menus and extra features. They might also compress the video of the main feature. If they do the latter, these are not valid as a source for encoding (see 'Transcode').

DVD9: Often referred to as a dual-layer disc. A DVD, or a rip of a disc which holds up to 8.7 GB of information. These are usually valid sources for encoding.

Forced (Flag) Subtitles: These are subtitles which a player is instructed to display automatically in the event of a non-English scene or dialogue within an English language production. In some cases, it will be the director's decision to withhold this translation from the audience for artistic reasons. If forced flag subtitles are available, then these should be set to play with the 'default = yes' tag in an encode. See the FAQ for further details.

Framerate: The number of still images displayed (measured in 'fps' or 'frames per second') so as to create the illusion of movement. A film's framerate depends on country of production, the media it's stored on and the technology it was produced for. Common framerates are 23.976 fps and 29.970 fps (North America) and 25 fps (Europe).

Full Frame: Video with a 16:9 (1.77:1) aspect ratio which uses both the maximum width and the maximum height for its resolution.

Interlaced: A technique for doubling the perceived framerate of a video without needing any extra data. Common on TV and DVDs, but growing rarer on HD media/broadcasts. One frame will display half the image (all the even-numbered horizontal pixel lines) and the next frame will display the other half (all the odd-numbered lines). When encoding, we remove this technique (deinterlacing) to output a 'progressive' video. Handbrake's ability to deinterlace effectively is presently one of its biggest weaknesses.

Lossless (audio): Audio which has not been compressed. Common formats include: FLAC, LPCM, PCM, DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD.

Lossy (audio): Audio (or sometimes used in the context of video, see 'Transcode') which has already been compressed. Common formats for lossy audio include: AC3, DTS, AAC and Vorbis.

Minimum Settings: A list of specifications which PTP expects encoders to adhere to so as to ensure a reasonable level of quality and compatibility in their encodes. Copy and pasting the mediainfo log of an encode into either the upload description, or a forum post on PTP will allow the site to automatically tell you if you have met these settings. All new HANDJOB encodes must meet these minimum settings and be DXVA compatible. Illustration: Show

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DXVA Compatible / Minimum Settings Met

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Minimum Settings Not Met

* Hover mouse over 'Not Met' or 'Incompatible' to show error tooltip

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Mixdown (audio): The act of merging certain channels from a surround sound source. This should only be done when dealing with lossless audio sources which have 7.1 channels or above in order to create a 5.1 mixdown.

Muxing / Remuxing: Creating or editing a container file (such as an .mkv) in order to add or remove video, audio, subtitles and chapter listings. Information about each of these tracks, as well as directions for how they should be played can also be inputted or changed. Common tools for muxing or remuxing are MKVToolNix or MKVmerge. This process does not require the re-encoding of any tracks.

NTSC: A system for encoding video used in primarily in North America as well as some parts of South America. NTSC DVDs are able to store video at a resolution of 720 x 480 pixels, although this can be increased with anamorphic display. They generally play at either 23.976 fps or 29.970 fps.

OCR (Optical Character Recognition): The process of converting image-based subtitles (VOBSUB or PGS) found on a retail DVD or BD to a text-based format (.srt). This will result in a smaller file size, and allow the viewer to customise the position, size, font and colour of the subtitles. Presentation will also be improved. Show Comparison: Show

VOBSUB subtitles (images)

SRT subtitles (text)

Open Matte: The director of a film usually has a specific aspect ratio in mind when filming, but the camera often shoots far more information around the intended frame. An open matte release is when this extra visual information (most often above and below the intended framing) is included to fill the full frame (16:9). Original Aspect Ratio, Open Matte: Show comparison

PAL: A system for encoding video used in Europe, Australia and parts of Africa, Asia and South America. PAL DVDs are able to store video at a resolution of 720 x 576 pixels, although this can be increased with anamorphic display. They play at 25 fps.

Passthru (audio): Instructing your encoding software to create an exact copy of an audio source in your encode without applying any compression. Passthru must be used on already compressed (lossy) audio sources (see 'Transcode').

PL: Abbreviation for Permanent Link. Once you've uploaded a torrent to PTP, you'll notice a PL appear next to it on the torrent group page. PLs are needed for posting your encode to the HANDJOB thread or collection.

Remux: An .mkv file which contains the untouched data from the main video, audio, subtitle and chapter streams from a Blu-Ray source. Shorn of extras and menus, these files are often significantly smaller than the BD sources and, being untouched, are suitable for encoding from.

SAR (Storage Aspect Ratio): See 'Anamorphic'.

Source/Encode Screens: The creation and/or publishing of image sets which capture a frame from a video source (DVD, BD or Remux) and compares it within the same frame from the encoded video. This allows the encoder and others to verify the transparency of the encode.

Transcoding: Re-encoding audio or video which has already been compressed (lossy). Transcoded audio or video is trumpable on PTP and as such is not allowed within HANDJOB. The only exception is for audio commentaries.

Transparent: An encode which is visually indistinguishable from its source when compared at the same resolution.

Trumpable: A tag assigned by PTP's torrent checkers. This means that an encode has a serious defect, and any subsequent uploads can automatically replace (trump) it without providing any further proof of superiority (see common reasons). New HANDJOB encodes must never be marked as trumpable unless it is a problem with the source (e.g. 'No English Subtitles'). If your encode receives this tag (except in the case of the exception cited), you must immediately stop seeding it and use the 'Report' function to 'Request Delete' for the affected torrent.

Upscale: Converting video from one resolution (e.g. 720p) to a higher resolution (e.g. 1080p). Video scalers use different techniques ranging from simply stretching the image, to predicting detail. Upscaled films are trumpable on PTP and as such, not allowed within HANDJOB.

If you are working with a copy of a retail optical disc such as a DVD or a Blu-Ray, you will likely find it necessary to rip a copy of it to your computer's hard disk. Not only is this better for your optical disc drive, it also allows you to circumvent the encryption, copy protection and region protection on the disc which can prevent problems occurring during the encoding process.

If you haven't already, download AnyDVD from the software section and follow the install instructions. Then click on your application extensions tray and right-click the AnyDVD logo. Then select 'Rip Video Disc to Hard-Disk' (below illustration uses Windows 7, your GUI may vary).

You will then be given the chance to select a location for the creation of the local copy and the copying process will begin. This may take a while depending on the size of the disc, the speed of your optical disc drive and other hardware factors.

First of all, you'll need to verify and/or edit a few settings in Handbrake before proceeding. Hit 'Tools', then 'Preferences' and match the settings below:

There shouldn't be much to change above, but note that since the 'Advanced Tab' feature is now considered deprecated by Handbrake (marked for removal in a future update), unlike previous guides, we will no longer be using this functionality.

Now click on the 'Advanced' submenu.

The option highlighted above allows us to make smaller adjustments to the CRF value when encoding. This is the main way of controlling the quality/efficiency of our encodes and as such, a lighter touch is necessary.

Enabling the storing of log files in a specified directory is also recommended. This can help in the diagnosis of a problem with the encoding process should one arise.

Hit the 'Preview' icon and you should see the following screen:

You can use the 'Still Preview' screen if you wish, but this sometimes has issues display the output correctly (as evidenced by the squashed image here), so we're going to use 'Live Preview' instead. This will make a quick test encode and then export that to your designated video player (in our case: VLC).

The purpose of cropping is to remove from the final encode:

1.) Any black bars which may appear on the left- or right-hand side of the frame, or the top and bottom of the frame (see red circles below)

2.) Any lines of discoloured pixels on the edge of the frame

3.) Any other imperfections, such as the crimping line showed below (in the orange circle)

To rectify the severe issues (in red) and the moderate issues (in orange) above, we need to adjust our cropping settings. So we need to close VLC and Live Preview, return to the Picture tab in Handbrake and adjust our cropping settings until we have a nice crisp edge on all four sides of the frame (in this case, removing more pixels from the left, right, and top of the frame, as below:

It is important that you remove all imperfections from the final encode without cropping more than is absolutely necessary. Considering that we only ever crop in even numbers (i.e. 2 pixel lines at a time), in a case where only 1 pixel line is causing an issue, it is better to overcrop by 1px, than to leave the 1px undercrop.

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Dimensions

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At the time of writing, recent versions of Handbrake have some minor issues with how it handles resolution calculation. Therefore, we will need to exercise caution when setting up this tab. Keep the following three rules in mind to ensure an accurate encode:

1.) Anamorphic: Loose -> Modulus: 2

2.) The PAR value of the source must match the PAR value of the output (see red boxes)

3.) The values in the 'Size -> Width/Height' boxes must equal the 'Source' resolution minus the cropping values (see blue boxes/arrows)

Let's take another example. In the image below the calculation is incorrect. After applying the correct cropping settings (see section 'Cropping' below for further details), the source's PAR no longer matches the output's (changing from 64/45 to 65535/46118). The reason for this is that the source resolution is 720 x 576, the cropping settings which affect the width (left and right) are each removing 2px for a total subtraction of 4px, yet the width setting is still 720px.

Given that using 'anamorphic = loose' locks the height setting, we only need to focus on the width. With a source of 720px and cropping removing a total of 4px (Left and Right combined), our width size setting should be 716px. You may need to manually enter this number into the box. This should result in the correct PAR appearing.

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Filters

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On the 'Filters' tab, you should generally use the following settings. With them, Handbrake will automatically detect when each filter is needed and apply them accordingly. You should not use 'Denoise', 'Sharpen' or 'Deblock' here, unless advised to by an experienced member of the HANDJOB group.

– Detelecine: Default

– Deinterlace: Decomb -> Preset: Default -> Interlace Detection: Default

– Denoise: Off

– Sharpen: Off

– Deblock: Off

– Greyscale: Unticked (only use if dealing with an entirely black and white source)

– Rotate: 0 -> Flip: Unticked

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Video

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With the deprecation of the advanced options panel, we need to fine tune our settings somewhere else, and the Video tab is now the place to do it. It is also where we set the CRF of the encode. This stands for 'Constant Rate Factor' and dictates how much compression is applied to the encode. CRF 17 is a good place to start, although you may end up with anything from CRF 22 -> CRF 15 after testing. The higher the number, the more compression is applied and the lower the resulting filesize. So CRF 22 will give you a far smaller output file size than CRF 15, but CRF 15 will be higher quality. We use testing (dealt with later) to find a good balance between file size and quality.

On this tab, set the following options:

– Video Codec: x264

– Framerate: Same as Source -> Constant Framerate

– Quality: Constant Quality (CRF 17 recommended as initial setting)

– Encoder Preset: Placebo

– Encoder Tune: None -> Fast Decode: Unticked

– Encoder Profile: High

– Encoder Level: 4.1

– Extra Options: Copy and Paste the settings below.

subme=10:deblock=-3,-3:me=umh:merange=32:mbtree=0:dct-decimate=0:fast-pskip=0:aq-mode=2:aq-strength=1.0:qcomp=0.60:psy-rd=1.0,0.00

Note: If you're encoding an NTSC DVD, please go through the next step-by-step guide, entitled Checking for Duplicate Frames on a DVDRip.

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Audio

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All DVDs should contain an AC3 track as the main audio. Since this has already been compressed, you should not apply any more compression. Instead, use 'AC3 Passthru' to pass through the audio to the final encode without any alteration.

Main Audio

– Codec: AC3 Passthru

There may be occasions, such as when encoding a music concert DVD, when the main audio carries the option of a PCM or LPCM stream. For concerts only, you may convert this (L)PCM stream to FLAC (16 bit) or use the AC3 version as above. Do not include both.

Main Concert Audio

– Codec: FLAC (16 bit)

or

– Codec: AC3 Passthru

If there is an audio commentary present on your source DVD, this should also be included. However, since this is secondary audio, we can apply further compression to this track to optimise our file size further. Select:

Secondary Audio

– Codec: AAC

– Bitrate: Either 80 or 96 Kbps (or '-V 63' with QAAC)

– Track Name: Commentary with [Job Title] [First Name] [Surname]

You can leave 'Mixdown', 'Sample Rate', 'DRC' and 'Gain' unchanged from their default settings. If you're not sure who's participating on a commentary track, please consult either the rear artwork, or listen to the introduction of the audio track. Spelling of names can then be verified at the film's respective IMDb page. You may also be able to find this information at DVD Compare.

If you're encoding a non-English language film, then the original language is the main audio. If an English dub is also present, this may also be included using the same settings as the main audio (Dual Audio encode). The original language audio track should remain in top position on the audio list with the English dub following in second. Dubs in any other languages should not be included in any circumstances.

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Subtitles

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At this point you need to decide which subtitle tracks you are going to convert from image-based (as stored on the DVD) to text-based (as an .srt stream within your encode's .mkv container) via the process of Optical Character Recognition. We recommend OCR-ing at least the English subtitle track, especially when encoding a non-English language film. We do not recommend OCR-ing non-Latin based languages (e.g. Cyrillic-based language, Arabic, or other script languages) unless you are very familiar with their writing systems.

If you plan to OCR a subtitle stream, then you do not need to include it with Handbrake (we will do so during the OCR-ing guide). If you do not plan to OCR a subtitle stream, then include it as below:

The 'Foreign Audio Scan' option will attempt to scan the source to see if there are any 'Forced Flag' subtitles, i.e. English subtitles which translate a non-English scene or scenes in an otherwise English-language production. You can include this scan if you wish, but no matter what you include at this stage, no subtitles should have the 'Burn In' or 'Forced Only' boxes ticked. The single instance where 'Default' should be ticked is if you're including a non-OCR'd English subtitle track in a non-English film.

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Chapters

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There are a few places you can look to find chapter names for your encode:

1.) On the DVD itself in the Scene Selection/Chapters submenu.

2.) By searching at Chapter DB

3.) By checking with certain online retailers such as Barnes & Noble under the item's Scene Index tab.

If you are unable to find any chapter names using the above methods, then you should include generically named ones as below:

NTSC format, the one used in North American territories (amongst others) can sometimes give us 'duplicate frames'. So if you're encoding a PAL DVD – which runs at 25fps – (Europe et al.), this does not apply. You should always do a test encode of a minute or two before encoding the whole film, so load your test encode up in Mediainfo, and see what your framerate is...

If it says your framerate is like above (29.970 fps) then we need to test for duplicate frames. If it says your framerate is something else, run this test anyway, just in case something else is wrong. So load your test encode (not the source) into VLC, find a scene with visible motion in, and pause the film. Then, we can use the 'e' key to move forward one frame at a time. We need to make sure that every time we press 'e' (or the right arrow key in MPC), we get a new frame (something moves or changes). Check at least 20-30 consecutive frames to be sure there are no duplicates. On occasion though, you might get the pattern below (Click 'show comparison' and move your mouse from left to right to simulate a frame-by-frame advance)...

Frame1, Frame2, Frame3, Frame4, Frame5, Frame6: Show comparison

Did you notice how frame 4 and 5 were identical? If – and only if – you get the same pattern as above, then we need to change something for this source. So move back to Handbrake and select the 'Video' tab. Then you need to change the FPS from 'Same as Source' to '23.976' as shown below. 'Constant Framerate' should always be used.

If you get duplicate frames in a different pattern than the one outlined above, seek advice before going any further.

If you haven't already, download SubRip (see Software) and install it to your computer. Now follow the 3 clicks below:

When you get to the file list, it will vary from DVD to DVD which file you need to choose. First, make sure they're ordered by name, then select 'All supported files'. What we're looking for is the largest group of .VOB files. Here, you can see there are 6 grouped in a row. When you've found that largest group, select the nearest .ifo file above them.

When the screen above has loaded, select a language stream (start with English), make sure that the time code (bottom-right) is at 0 (otherwise hit the 'Reset' button next to it). If the 'Clear Text File' button is not greyed out, click that too (this makes sure you have a clean SRT file to work with, 1 for each language). Then, hit 'Start'.

Now, what you're doing here is teaching the program to recognise each individual letter. It will highlight what it wants to know (the letter 'K' is the above image), and your job is to enter the 'K' into the text box. Pay attention to whether it's upper or lower case. If the letter is in italics, then make sure to tick the italics box too. Sometimes you'll get more than one letter at a time, if this happens, enter them all into the text box. As you enter more letters, the program will get better at recognising the letters itself.

When the entire film has finished OCR-ing, select 'Corrections', then 'Post-OCR Corrections'. Tick all the options above (if you're running a non-English track that's listed – French, German, Czech, Italian, Polish, Spanish – select it, if not, try it on English). Hit 'Correct'. When it's done, select 'File' on your output window, then 'Save As' to save your OCRed SRT file. Make sure to note which language it is in the title.

Repeat the process by hitting the VOB icon and choosing the next language stream, making sure to reset the time-code and clear the text file. The program will remember all the letters from your English track, so you'll only have to enter in the letters not present in the English alphabet. Fortunately SubRip has character sets for each language allowing you to easily find and select them, as illustrated above.

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Picture

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At the time of writing, recent versions of Handbrake have some minor issues with how it handles resolution calculation. Therefore, we will need to exercise caution when setting up this tab. First of all, set the following settings, applicable for all resolution encodes:

– Anamorphic: none

– Modulus: 2

– Keep Aspect Ratio: ticked

Keep the following rules in mind to ensure an accurate encode:

1.) The PAR (Pixel Aspect Ratio) for Blu-Ray encodes will generally be 1:1 (see red boxes)

2.) For 1080p encodes, the output display size should equal the source minus cropping (see blue boxes)

3.) For 480p, 576p and 720p encodes, at least one of your output width or height should equal the maximum for your resolution

4.) For 480p, 576p, and 720p encodes, neither the output width or height should be over the maximum for your resolution

Maximum Resolutions

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– 480p: 854 x 480

– 576p: 1024 x 576

– 720p: 1280 x 720

– 1080p: 1920 x 1080

Example 1

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Error: Width is over the maximum for 720p!

In the example above, the encoder is seemingly aiming to encode a 720p encode, as evidenced by their chosen height. However, the rule is that neither the width, nor the height can be over the maximum for their chosen resolution (which for 720p is a maximum width of 1280 pixels and a maximum height of 720 pixels). In this case, the width should be dropped to the maximum and the height will then be recalculated by Handbrake to maintain the aspect ratio of the source.

Example 2

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Error: Neither measurement equals the maximum!

This time the encoder looks to be aiming for a 576p. However, they have not ensured that at least one of the output height or width is equal to the maximum for that resolution (1024 x 576) with the width being 2px under the maximum. The correct output resolution would be:

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Filters

---

On the 'Filters' tab, you should generally use the following settings. With them, Handbrake will automatically detect when each filter is needed and apply them accordingly. You should not use 'Denoise', 'Sharpen' or 'Deblock' here, unless advised to by an experienced member of the HANDJOB group.

– Detelecine: Default

– Deinterlace: Decomb -> Preset: Default -> Interlace Detection: Default

– Denoise: Off

– Sharpen: Off

– Deblock: Off

– Greyscale: unticked (only use if dealing with an entirely black and white source)

– Rotate: 0 -> Flip: Unticked

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Video

---

With the deprecation of the advanced options panel, we need to fine tune our settings somewhere else, and the Video tab is now the place to do it. It is also where we set the CRF of the encode. This stands for 'Constant Rate Factor' and dictates how much compression is applied to the encode. CRF 17 is a good place to start, although you may end up with anything from CRF 22 -> CRF 15 after testing. The higher the number, the more compression is applied and the lower the resulting filesize. So CRF 22 will give you a far smaller output file size than CRF 15, but CRF 15 will be higher quality. We use testing (dealt with later) to find a good balance between file size and quality.

On this tab, set the following options:

– Video Codec: x264

– Framerate: Same as Source -> Constant Framerate

– Quality: Constant Quality (CRF 17 recommended as initial setting)

– Encoder Preset: Placebo

– Encoder Tune: None -> Fast Decode: Unticked

– Encoder Profile: High

– Encoder Level: 4.1

– Extra Options: Copy and Paste the settings below.

subme=10:deblock=-3,-3:me=umh:merange=32:mbtree=0:dct-decimate=0:fast-pskip=0:aq-mode=2:aq-strength=1.0:qcomp=0.60:psy-rd=1.0,0.00

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Audio

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The vast majority of Blu-Rays contain lossless high-definition audio such as DTS-HD and True-HD. Unfortunately, Handbrake is not capable of handling these correctly at present and so we must use alternative software to encode our audio. Please see the step-by-step guide entitled 'Encoding HD Audio with eac3to'.

If there is an audio commentary present on your source Blu-Ray, this should also be included. Since this is secondary audio, we can apply further compression to this track to optimise our file size further. Select:

Secondary Audio

– Codec: AAC

– Bitrate: Either 80 or 96 Kbps (or '-V 63' with QAAC)

– Track Name: Commentary with [Job Title] [First Name] [Surname]

You can leave 'Mixdown', 'Sample Rate', 'DRC' and 'Gain' unchanged from their default settings. If you're not sure who's participating on a commentary track, please consult either the rear artwork, or listen to the introduction of the audio track. Spelling of names can then be verified at the film's respective IMDb page. You may also be able to find this information at DVD Compare.

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Subtitles

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There is only one instance in which it is appropriate to use Handbrake to include subtitle streams for a Blu-Ray encode:

1.) You are encoding at 1080p

and

2.) You do not intend to OCR the tracks

If both of these are true, then you may add the streams to your encode. Be sure to leave all boxes unticked unless it is an English subtitle stream for a non-English language film, then you should tick 'Default'.

If you plan to OCR a subtitle stream, or if you are encoding at 480p, 576p or 720p, then you do not need to include it with Handbrake. Instead, please follow the 'Subtitles' step-by-step guide.

The 'Foreign Audio Scan' option will attempt to scan the source to see if there are any 'Forced Flag' subtitles, i.e. English subtitles which translate a non-English scene or scenes in an otherwise English-language production. You can include this scan if you wish.

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Chapters

---

There are a few places you can look to find chapter names for your encode:

1.) On the Blu-Ray itself in the Scene Selection/Chapters submenu.

2.) By searching at Chapter DB

3.) By checking with certain online retailers such as Barnes & Noble under the item's Scene Index tab.

If you are unable to find any chapter names using the above methods, then you should include generically named ones as below:

First of all, you need to download eac3to which can be found in the Software section of this guide. If you're going to be encoding AAC, then you'll need QAAC and AppleApplicationSupport from the same section too. Eac3to is run via Command Prompt. You can launch Command Prompt in Windows 10 by typing 'cmd' into the File Explorer address bar.

Once it's opened, you need to navigate to the folder where you installed eac3to (which should be the folder where you dropped QAAC as well). We use the 'cd' function to navigate in Command Prompt (CMD). You can return to your root folder by typing 'cd /.' and then navigate to your eac3to folder, as below:

Navigating the Playlists

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Now type 'eac3to ' and drag and drop your Blu-Ray folder onto the CMD window. This will insert the file path into your command. Once it appears, hit Enter and a playlist should appear.

If your Blu-Ray folder gives you more than one playlist, then you can usually select the correct one by choosing the one with the longest running time. To select the playlist, simply repeat the previous command, and add the playlist number, followed by a closing bracket. To retrieve previously entered commands in CMD, simply press the 'Up' cursor key.

Encoding AC3 Audio

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If your track is 5.1 channels, then you'll need to encode it to AC3. For 480p and 576p this will be with a bitrate of 448 Kbps; for 720p and 1080p encodes, use 640 Kbps.

Repeat the command from above, then type the number of the audio track you wish to encode (usually labelled 'Master Audio' or similar) followed by a colon. Make sure you choose the original language audio (or an English dub if you're encoding a Dual Audio encode). After the colon, choose where to write the new file and type the extension '.ac3'. Finally, select the bitrate by typing '-448' or '-640' depending on needed bitrate.

So to recap, the code structure is as follows:

eac3to C:\Path\to\BluRay_folder x) y:C:\Path\to\output_file.ac3 -z

where x = playlist number; y = audio track number and z = bitrate. Press Enter to execute your command and eac3to will create your new audio track which can then be muxed in to your final encode.

Encoding AAC Audio

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Creating AAC audio – necessary if you're working with a stereo or mono track, or if you have an audio commentary to include (although you can also use Handbrake for these since they are secondary audio) – is a slightly different process since we need to use two programs simultaneously to create a track. One to decode (eac3to) and one to encode (QAAC). We do this by means of a 'pipe' which feeds the output of one program to the next program. First follow the steps above in 'Navigating Your Playlist' until you have a list of audio tracks. Then copy and paste the following command (using your own file locations):

eac3to C:\Path\to\BluRay_folder x) y:stdout.wav | qaac -V 127 -i --no-delay -o C:\Path\to\output_file.m4a -

where x = playlist number; y = audio track number. Pay attention to the QAAC commands, ensuring you use the correct case in the commands, the correct number of hyphens, and the final trailing hyphen also.

If you're encoding a commentary track, swap '-V 127' for '-V 63'. Run the command and your AAC stream will be created, ready for muxing into your final encode.

Encoding FLAC Audio

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In the case of concerts, or for some 1080p encodes, you may wish to convert the main audio to FLAC format. This is a highly efficient, yet still lossless, audio codec. The process is fairly simple and just requires using .flac as the extension of the target file in eac3to.

In this example, we have also used the command -resampleTo48000. This is due to the main audio having a sample depth of 96,000Hz, which is unnecessary for our purposes. This command will not be needed in most cases.

eac3to C:\Path\to\BluRay_folder x) y:C:\Path\to\output_file.flac

where x = playlist number and y = audio track number

You may also find Wiki > Audio bit-depth reduction and sample rate conversion useful for further improving file size when working with 24 bit audio streams.

Before we can OCR using SupRip, we need to extract the subtitle file using eac3to. Follow the step-by-step guide for 'Encoding HD audio with eac3to until you get the stream list for your chosen playlist. Then use the command:

eac3to C:\Path\to\BluRay_folder x) y:C:\Path\to\subtitle.sup

where x = playlist number and y = the ID of your subtitle stream. Below we're extracting the English subtitle track from a Blu-Ray folder.

Now load SupRip, which you can find in the Software section. When the main screen loads, click 'Open' and load the .sup file that you extracted with eac3to, as shown above.

This will load the .sup file and display the first subtitle image. Click 'OCR' and wait for the program to prompt you with a letter it doesn't recognise. Enter the letter in the text box (clicking 'Italic' if appropriate) and then hit 'OK'.

Here you're teaching the program to recognise letters from the images. As you enter more, the program will become better at recognising the correct letters itself. Keep doing this until SupRip finishes the entire subtitle track. When you've finished, click the 'SRT' tab as shown below.

Next, you'll need to check the options shown below and click 'Save'.

Finally, name your .srt track. Try to be as descriptive as possible in the filename, since this can get confusing if you're dealing with a lot of subtitle tracks.

Your first subtitle track is now complete. Repeat this process for as many of the languages available in which you feel comfortable. If you've previously installed SubRip, you might want to load your .srt file with that and run the post-OCR corrections as shown below.

The final step is to run a spell-checker on your .srt file.

Having installed and launched SubtitleEdit, click on 'File' and select the appropriate command for the subtitle stream you wish to OCR. For this example, we're going to import the same .sup file we extracted using eac3to during the previous step-by-step guide ('OCR-ing Subtitles: Blu-Ray with SupRip').

Select 'OCR via Image Compare' from the menu and disable the options for auto-correction and spell-checking. We'll be doing all that later on. When you're set up as below, click 'Start OCR'.

This part can take a while, but should get faster the more letters you enter, and then, the more films you OCR. SE will scan the images and ask you to input which letter(s) they are. Don't forget to tick the 'Italic' box if the text is written in italics.

After you've complete the OCR-ing part of the process you'll need to correct the numerous errors that inevitably appear as part of the process, so click on 'Fix Common Errors' from the Tools menu.

You'll then be given a checklist of processes to run on your subtitles. While a few of these come down to personal choice, below is a good place to start. Be sure that the correct language code is selected for your subtitle file.

Subtitle Edit will now search your subtitle track and present you with a list of proposed fixes according to the options you selected on the checklist. You can untick any which you don't wish to fix. Click 'Apply Selected Fixes' when you're happy with the changes to be made.

Now simply save your file.

The final step will be to open your .srt file in your preferred text editor and run a spell-check on it. This should pick up any straggling errors missed previously. When that's done, your file will be ready for muxing into the final encode.

If you haven't downloaded it already, you will need to get the Java Runtime Environment to use BDSup2Sub. If you haven't extracted your .sup files yet, you'll need to use eac3to via Command Prompt to do so.

The command we've used above is:

eac3to C:\Path\to\BluRay_Folder x) y:C:\Path\to\output.sup

where x = playlist number and y = track/stream ID.

Once you've launched the app, you'll need to load your .sup file.

When your .sup file is loaded, you'll be automatically presented with a screen where you can choose the conversion settings for your final output file.

Check that your output setting is 'SUP (BD)' before starting the export process. See the red box below for where to change this.

Now your resized subtitles are ready to export. Select this from the file menu as above and choose a location to save the resized file. Remember to use a descriptive filename since this will make your job easier when it comes to muxing them all together.

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Assembling Files

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By this point, you've likely got a folder of various video, audio and subtitle files all waiting to be combined into one encode, much like in our folder above. To combine all of these, we're going to be using MKVToolNix (see software). Once installed, launch MKVToolNix and drag your Handbrake encode, your main audio (and English Dub if applicable), and all available subtitles (either in .srt, or .sup format) onto the MKVToolNix file window.

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Audio

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Drag your main audio track into second position on the stream window (as below), and set it as 'Default = Yes' and the appropriate language tag.

Our example film includes a commentary track, so we're going to give this a descriptive title (Commentary with [job title] [Name] [Surname]). Since we don't want this audio track to play automatically, we'll also set 'Default = No'.

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Subtitles and Muxing

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Next, we want to uncheck 'Global Tags' and highlight the subtitle track. We need to set title, language, and default settings for each subtitle track we've included. Since this is an English language film, we don't need English subtitles to appear automatically, so we can set 'Default = No'. If you're in doubt about which audio/subtitles to set as default, consult the chart in the 'Post-Credits' section of this guide ('Have I got my audio and subtitles set up correctly?').

For our final step, we need to navigate to the 'Output' tab on MKVToolNix. In this tab, we need to do two things: (1) Set our filename; and (2) Set our metatitle. We'll discuss the rules behind naming in the next section ('Giving it a name'), but for the time time being, illustrated below is where this information goes: the metatitle under 'General -> File Title' and the filename under 'Destination File'. Once you've correctly set both, you can 'Start Multiplexing' (commonly abbreviated to 'muxing' by encoders).

See the Quick Reference section of this post for specifics pertaining to each resolution's filename. Here are a few reminders:

• Usually the title as it appears on the PTP torrent page is correct

• Capitalise the first letter of every word except for conjunctions, prepositions and (in)definite articles (unless they're the first word of either the title, the subtitle, or a proper noun)

• Capitalisation does not apply to all languages.

• Remove all non-alphanumeric characters (e.g. apostrophes, question marks, exclamation marks)

• If it's a non-English film, you may choose to include the English title as well as the original title (see below)

• If you've used FLAC, DTS or AAC for the main audio, then note this in the filename before the .x264-HANDJOB tag

• Use an additional subtitle if this is how the film is predominantly known (Star Wars, Police Academy, Lord of the Rings) or if it links a series of films (The Twilight Saga)

• When naming a version of the film which is markedly different from the most widely available version, include this information after the year in the filename. Examples include: Open.Matte; Directors.Cut; Criterion; 4K.Remaster; Extended etc.

• If your encode is a miniseries, then place the episodes inside an appropriately named folder (see below)

Some examples

English DVD rip:

Donnie.Darko.2001.DVDRip.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Non-English DVD rip:

Lat.den.ratte.komma.in.AKA.Let.the.Right.One.In.2008.DVDRip.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

or

Lat.den.ratte.komma.in.2008.DVDRip.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

576p BD rip with subtitle:

The.Lord.of.the.Rings.The.Return.of.the.King.2003.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

720p concert BluRay with FLAC audio:

Within.Temptation.and.The.Metropole.Orchestra.Black.Symphony.2008.720p.BluRay.FLAC.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

1080p with Edition Information:

JFK.1991.Directors.Cut.1080p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Miniseries with six episodes (episode titles optional):

FLCL.2000.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB (Folder)

->FLCL.E01.Fooly.Cooly.2000.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

-> FLCL.E02.Firestarter.2000.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

-> FLCL.E03.Marquis.de.Carabas.2000.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

-> FLCL.E04.Full.Swing.2000.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

-> FLCL.E05.Brittle.Bullet.2000.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

-> FLCL.E06.FLCLimax.2000.576p.BluRay.x264-HANDJOB.mkv

Your metadata title is the one which is generally displayed to the viewer when they play your encode, therefore it is important that it's as informative and professional-looking as possible. It is also not subject to the limitations placed upon filename titling (using only alphanumeric characters). For example:

Titling Convention:

The titling convention used by HANDJOB is:

Original Title [Year] Resolution Source - HJ

Some working examples might include:

Standard DVD encode:

Tarzan's Fight for Life [1958] DVDRip - HJ

Non-English 576p Encode:

Toute une vie AKA And Now My Love [1974] 576p BluRay - HJ

Episode of 720p Miniseries:

FLCL - E03: Marquis de Carabas [2000] 720p BluRay - HJ

1080p Encode with Edition Information:

J.F.K. [1991] Director's Cut 1080p BluRay - HJ

[/align]

There are two main ways to title your encode using MKVToolNix:

Method 1: Muxing

After opening your encode in MKVToolNix, navigate to the 'Output' tab. Here you can write your title into the 'File Title' box under 'General' (see below).

After making that change, you should then hit 'Start Muxing' at the bottom of the application. This method is recommended if you have other changes to make at the same time such as adding subtitles or audio tracks since it is the more time-consuming.

Method 2: Header Editor

In MKVToolNix, select the 'Edit Headers' tab from the sidebar and you should see this window:

Either browse for, or drag and drop your encode here. The screen below will load and you will need to navigate to (and expand) 'Segment Information', then 'Title', before adding your title into the 'Current Value' box. If your encode has no existing title, you will need to select 'Add Element' and use the 'New Value' box instead.

Once that's done, select 'Header Editor' from the toolbar and select 'Save'. Your changes will then be written to the file. This method is the quicker of the two since it does not require muxing.

Older Versions of MKVToolNix

This is where you can input the movie title using method 1 on the old GUI of MKVToolNix. Use the box labelled 'File/segment Title':

If you've never encoded for HANDJOB before, or have the rank of 'Associate', then you will need to get your encodes approved in the HANDJOB thread (i.e. this one) before you upload it to PTP. After you've checked it yourself in accordance with the 'Final Checklist' below, you can run it by the team. You will need to use Mediainfo and VLC if you haven't got them both already.

Screenshots:

You will need at least 3 of these taken from different scenes of the film you're encoding. So load up VLC and check that your screenshot preferences are set to capture in .png format (as below).

Now play your encode and find an appropriate place to pause. Try to avoid using screenshots that could spoil plot details of the film for those who haven't seen it, especially if you intend to use these same screens when uploading to PTP. Once you've paused on a scene, right-click (or ctrl-click on MacOS) and the menu below should appear. Select 'Snapshot' and a screenshot will be saved to the folder designated in your VLC preferences. Repeat this until you have at least 3 different screenshots.

Mediainfo:

The next step is to get the Mediainfo log for your encode, so load up Mediainfo and open, or drag and drop your encode file. From the 'View' menu, select 'Text' (as below) and then 'Select All' and 'Copy' the entire log.

It's important that you do not change anything in this log (with the exception of any personally identifying information such as the file path which can be truncated to just the filename).

Forum Post:

Once you've got that copied, go to the new post section in the HANDJOB thread and prepare your post. You might find the following template helpful here:

---

Requesting approval for encode of [link to source or torrent group page]

[mediainfo][/mediainfo]

[hide=Encode Screenshots]

[img]screenshot1.png[/img]

[img]screenshot2.png[/img]

[img]screenshot3.png[/img][/hide]

---

Paste your Mediainfo log between the [mediainfo][/mediainfo] tags. You must also include a link to your source as well as the PTP torrent group page if your source is not from PTP.

Note: The hide tag should only be used on the HANDJOB thread. Do not put your screenshots inside a hide tag when filling out PTP's torrent description on the upload page.

You'll need a place to upload your screenshots to online. For this, we recommend Ptpimg.me. You need to register/link your account to PTP. After you've registered and uploaded your images, copy the URLs for them all. Place each url between the [img][/img] tags as shown above.

Your approval post should now be ready. If you hit the 'Preview' button on the forum page, it should look something like this:

And when you click the 'Show' link:

If it all looks correct, you can go ahead and post the message. Someone (with the rank of 'Soldato' or above) will shortly be able to tell you if your encode is approved to be uploaded as a HANDJOB. If you are given further instructions, please follow them carefully and ask if you're not sure about something. We're all here to help. There's no question too small.