<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> <head> <title>2016_FLAC.nfo</title> <style type="text/css"> @font-face { font-family: nfo; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; src: url(nfo.eot); } .nfo { padding: 12px; font-family: nfo, courier new; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1em; } </style> </head> <body> <pre class="nfo"> --------------------------------- ----==== Official.FLAC.Standard.Rules v3.0 ====---- --------------------------------- +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | INTRODUCTION | | After 4 years of enjoying the FLAC scene and with ruleset wording | | misinterpretations, it is time to revise and add/update some rules. | | | | NOTE: The definitions of these keywords are to be interpreted as follows: | | MUST=obligatory (release not allowed if rule not followed) | | SHOULD=suggested (release allowed if not followed) | | CAN+MAY=optional (release allowed if not followed) | | | | Unless clearly stated in a specific rule or note, capitalization in | | this ruleset is considered as informative. | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | GENERAL | | 1.1 A release MUST contain an SFV, NFO, and JPG proof. | | .1 A release MAY contain other relevant JPG files. | | .2 A release MAY contain CUE and LOG files if it is from a CD source. | | .3 Valid filetypes are: .cue, .flac, .jpg, .log, .m3u, .nfo and .sfv. | | 1.2 Valid media sources are: BLURAY, CD, DVD(A), HDDVD and VINYL. | | .1 A release MUST not mix sources. | | 1.3 Trackfixes are not allowed, bad quality rips require a complete repack | | and MUST include the ADDITIONAL type tag: -REPACK- (rule 4.6). | | 1.4 The following are reasons for a bad quality rip: | | .1 One or more tracks from the release are incomplete or contain skips. | | .2 The tracks are distorted and constantly clipping (eg. vinyl rips). | | .3 The tracks contain a constant hiss which was avoidable (eg. vinyl | | rips). | | .4 Low sound, mono rips (from stereo sources) and other factors easily | | heard by the human ear. | | 1.5 The maximum directory and filename length is 128 characters. Directories | | and filenames MUST only contain valid characters: a-z A-Z 0-9 _ . - () | | 1.6 All physical mediums (including mixed CD(s) / e.g. DJ-Mixes) MUST be | | ripped as separate tracks according to the TOC (Table Of Contents) | | on the medium. The only occasion where the physical medium is released | | as one single track is when there is only one track on the medium. | | NOTE: Lossless data compression excludes the possibility of the introduction | | of padding, all lossless audio file formats are inherently gapless. | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | DUPES | | 2.1 A release MUST include all audio tracks. Releasing just the bonus tracks | | or some other subset of tracks is not allowed. Similarly, a BONUS DISC | | cannot be released by itself, but MUST be released as a complete release.| | 2.2 A release MUST not be identical to a previous release, except | | ADVANCE/PROMO releases (Rule 7.2). | | 2.3 A release is not identical to a previous release if: | | .1 The previous version has a different mastering. | | .2 The previous version has a different tracklist. | | .3 The previous version has a different version of a track. | | 2.4 A release MUST not be a collection of discs that have already all been | | individually released. For example, releasing a 2CD that combines a | | CD and EP after they have both been indivually released is not allowed. | | Boxsets of COMPLETE Discographies or REMASTERED Album Series are | | excluded from this rule. | | 2.5 A release MUST not have all its tracks included in one previous release. | | Examples: a CDS cannot be released after a CDM that includes all the | | tracks on the CDS. An album cannot be released after a boxset that | | includes all the tracks from that same album. A CDM or CDEP cannot be | | released after a release has been reissued with all tracks. | | 2.6 All sources MUST follow the above dupe rules as well as the following | | source specific rules: | | .1 BLURAY cannot dupe any other source, except HDDVD. | | .2 HDDVD cannot dupe any other source, except BLURAY. | | .3 CD cannot dupe any other source, except BLURAY and HDDVD. | | .4 DVD cannot dupe any other source. | | .5 VINYL cannot dupe any other source. | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | ENCODING | | 3.1 A release MUST be encoded using FLAC 1.3.1 (no alphas and betas allowed) | | .1 A release MUST be encoded using the --compression-level-8 option. | | .2 A release SHOULD be encoded using the --verify option. | | .3 A release MUST NOT be encoded using --replay-gain or any kind of | | option that changes the audio source quality. | | 3.2 Encoding quality must be: | | 44.100 Hz / 16 bit LPCM (2.0) for CD. | | 96.000 Hz / 24 bit LPCM (2.0) for VINYL sources. | | 3.3 DVD(A) encoding quality: | | .1 Only LPCM uncompressed audio source is allowed. | | .2 Channels, Bits per Sample and Sample Frequency, MUST be kept. | | .3 A DVD release MUST contain all music tracks. Additional tracks (clips,| | interviews etc.) are optional. If those extra tracks are not included | | then a PROPER (with ALL tracks) or an additional release (extra tracks| | only) is not allowed. | | .4 The .nfo file MUST contain the following source information: | | - Codec (LPCM) | | - Bitrate (640kbps, 768kbps, 1536kbps...) | | - Number of channels (Stereo, 5.1, ...) | | 3.4 HDDVD/BLURAY encoding: | | .1 The highest audio source MUST be used. | | .2 Channels, Bits per Sample and Sample Frequency MUST be kept. | | .3 Audio source choice priority starting from highest bitrate is: | | - DTS-HD Master Audio | | - Dolby TrueHD | | - LPCM | | .4 HDDVD/BLURAY video clip releases should be ripped as multiple tracks, | | (eg: like any regular compilation CD release). | | .5 HDDVD/BLURAY releases with multiple files, but all belonging to the | | same playlist index MUST be encoded together in the same order as | | the playlist index file indicates. | | .6 HDDVD/BLURAY releases MUST contain all music tracks. Additional tracks| | (clips, interviews etc.) are optional. If those extra tracks are not | | included then a PROPER (with ALL tracks) or an additional release | | (extra tracks only) is NOT allowed. | | .7 The .nfo file MUST contain the following source information: | | - Codec (DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD, LPCM) | | - Bitrate (640kbps, 768kbps, 1536kbps...) | | - Number of channels (Stereo, 5.1, 7.1) | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | RELEASE NAME | | 4.1 The tag -FLAC- MUST be in uppercase in the release name and always | | before -YEAR- and -GROUP tags. | | 4.2 Release name MUST contain at least: Artist, Title, Source, Year, Group. | | .1 ARTIST tag means performer, band, musician. MUST be a unique name. | | (ie. no OST in place of artist). | | If not possible to identify, the word "Unknown" can be used. | | Compilations (eg: Soundtracks, Samplers) with various artists MUST use| | the word "VA" at ARTIST field. Various Artists is considered 4 or more| | different artists with single songs. | | .2 TITLE tag means the title of album. It MUST be a unique name. | | (ie. no Self-titled). If not possible to identify, the word "Unknown" | | can be used. (Self name artist title MUST not be considered an unknown| | title). | | 4.3 Using CATALOGUE number in a release name is optional but recommended. | | 4.4 Valid SOURCE tags: (Uppercase letters MUST be used) | | .1 BLURAY (eg. 2BLURAY, 3BLURAY, etc.) | | .2 HDDVD (eg. 2HDDVD, 3HDDVD, etc.) | | .3 CD, CDS, CDM, CDEP, MCD, CDR, CDRS, CDREP | | (eg. 2CD, 3CDS, 4CDREP, 84x3INCH_CDS etc.) | | .4 DVD(A) (eg. 2DVD, 3DVD, etc.) | | .5 VINYL, VLS, LP, MLP, EP, INCH_VINYL, FLEXI | | (eg. 2VINYL, 3LP, 4INCH_VINYL, 3X5INCH_VINYL, 10x12INCH_VINYL etc.) | | 4.5 TYPE describes the difference in tracks, tracklist or year of this | | release compared to another version. Difference in tracks usually is: | | length, mixing, mastering, recording, number of channels. Difference in | | tracklist usually occurs with specific presses, in different countries, | | with different artists or different/more tracks for the same release | | title. Different year reports to reissue releases (refer to rule 4.10). | | Some releases need to be identified from the normal ones due to their | | source nature. (eg: soundtrack compilation, magazine bonus CD, etc). | | Therefore valid allowed TYPE tags are: | | - Advance, Promo, Retail, Bonus, Mag, Split, OST, Digipak, | | - Audiobook, Bootleg, Demo, Sampler, Whitelabel, Reissue, Remastered. | | - <country> (eg: JP_Retail, US_Reissue) | | - Ltd, Limited, Limited_Edition, Ltd_Edition, Tour_Edition, | | - Deluxe_Edition, Special_Edition, Digipa(c)k, Digipa(c)k_Edition | | - Clean, Explicit, Expanded_Edition, Collectors_Edition, Boxset | | .1 TYPE can be a combination of the keywords featured in rule 4.5 using | | the _ (underscore) space replacement. (eg. -Reissue_Limited_Edition-). | | .2 When using EXPLICIT as TYPE it MUST show in the proofpic. | | 4.6 Valid ADDITIONAL tags: (Uppercase MUST be used) | | - DIRFIX, NFOFIX, READNFO, PROPER, REAL_PROPER, REPACK, REAL_REPACK. | | .1 If an ADDITIONAL tag is used, the nfo MUST mention the release name | | that it is replacing or updating. | | .2 DIRFIX and NFOFIX are exempt from Rule 1.1. | | .3 A DIRFIX can only be used to fix parts of the release name that do | | not affect Vorbis tag contents. (i.e CATALOGUE and TYPE) | | 4.7 LANGUAGE (LANG) MUST follow the ccTLD identifiers (2-chars): | | (Capitalized letters MUST be used) | | http://www.lingoes.net/en/translator/langcode.htm | | 4.8 Mandatory release name formats: | | - Artist-Title-SOURCE-FLAC-YEAR-GROUP | | - Artist-Title-LANG-SOURCE-FLAC-YEAR-GROUP | | - Artist-Title-LANG-TYPE-SOURCE-FLAC-YEAR-GROUP | | - Artist-Title-(CATALOGUE)-LANG-ADDITIONAL-SOURCE-FLAC-YEAR-GROUP | | - Artist-Title-(CATALOGUE)-LANG-TYPE-SOURCE-FLAC-YEAR-GROUP | | - Artist-Title-(CATALOGUE)-LANG-ADDITIONAL-TYPE-SOURCE-FLAC-YEAR-GROUP | | .1 Any spaces in ARTIST and TITLE should be replaced with _ (underscore).| | If ARTIST or TITLE has . (dots) or - (dash), it SHOULD be | | kept as close as they appear on the cover/booklet/physical medium, | | but they do not have to be nuked if not. | | .2 Brackets () in TITLE are only allowed if it is used in the album | | title. The proof picture MUST clearly show this. | | 4.9.1 Internal releases MUST be tagged GRP_iNT or GRP_INT. | | .2 Internal releases MUST follow FLAC ruleset. | | .3 Internal releases MUST not dupe an existing one that is 732 days old | | or newer. | | 4.10 YEAR tag MUST be the year when the record company/artist published it. | | For non-original presses, the additional TYPE tag MUST be applied. | | (example: release originally released in 1990, but rip is from 2000 | | reissue, correct year would be 2000, with additional TYPE tagging). | | NOTE: IF a YEAR can not be found on medium and/or cover it's allowed | | to use 198x 199x 200x but it MUST be mentioned in the .nfo | | 4.11 LANGUAGE tag is HIGHLY recommended for non-English releases. | | If the vocals are non-English and the majority of them are best | | described using one TLD country code abbreviation, then the most | | appropriate TLD SHOULD be chosen and MAY be used as a tag in the | | release name. | | 4.12 Typos in releases (TITLE, ARTIST, YEAR etc.) leaving an invalid VORBIS | | tag ARE NOT TOLERATED and require a complete REPACK. | | .1 ARTIST and/or TITLE must not be translated to English from their | | native language. English alphabet characters must be used to reflect | | artist and/or title names (ref to rule 1.5). | | NOTE: CATALOGUE and TYPE are optional tags (except for rule 4.10). | | When they are used, they MUST be placed in the correct order. | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | FILENAME | | 5.1 Filename MUST at least contain: Track number, Track artist, Track title. | | 5.2 All filenames (including SFV, NFO, JPG) MUST be lowercase. | | 5.3 Track titles MUST be exactly the same as written on the backcover. | | Tracklist containing all additional infos like featured artists or | | remixers, if they are present, as long it does not exceed the maximum | | filename length (see rule 1.5). | | If additional information can be found printed on the covers and/or | | booklet, it is encouraged to write them aswell. | | .1 Releases with differences in tracklist because of different pressings | | are not subjected to nukes or PROPERs. (i.e an Asian release tracklist| | might miss description of featured artist(s) while a US release has | | that description.) | | .2 If the tracklist is written in more than two languages, the ripper is | | free to write them both or just a single language. If one of the | | languages is English then the English tracklist MUST be used. | | NOTE: If the tracklist has changes, due to pressing errors for example, | | it is encouraged to correct and explain them in the .nfo. | | 5.4 Recommended filename formats: | | - nr-artist-title.flac | | - nr-artist-title_(remixer_or_featured_artist).flac | | - a1-artist-title.flac | | - b2-artist-title.flac | | 5.5 Including -groupname in the filenames is allowed but not recommended. | | 5.6 REPACKed releases MUST include a -repack suffix on each .flac file. | | PROPER releases MUST include a -proper suffix on each .flac file | | NOTE: -repack and -proper MUST be placed at the end of each .flac file. | | 5.7 In VA releases the actual artist name MUST be before song title. VA | | (Various Artists) is not a valid artist (01-va-song_title is | | unacceptable). | | .1 Excludes single audio track releases if it's a compilation of several | | tunes produced/mixed/remixed by a single artist/producer. | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | VORBIS TAGS | | 6.1 FLAC files MUST contain Vorbis comments. Vorbis comment field names | | MUST be unique. Multiple comment fields are NOT allowed even though | | the specification supports this. | | 6.2 All FLAC files MUST have the following Vorbis comment field names and | | corresponding field contents: TRACKNUMBER, ARTIST, TITLE, ALBUM, GENRE, | | and DATE (format: YYYY). | | .1 All FLAC files SHOULD also have the following Vorbis comment field | | names and corresponding field contents: TOTALTRACKS, DISCNUMBER and | | TOTALDISCS. | | .2 The "vendor_string" field of the VORBIS_COMMENT metadata block MUST | | be present indicating the correct lib FLAC version. Be aware that some| | software removes this field by default. | | .3 For VA releases the ARTIST field contents MUST have the corresponding | | artist name not "VA". (Exempts rule 5.7.1) | | .4 Adding SOURCE (CD/CDM/CDS/Vinyl/DVD) or TYPE to the ALBUM field | | is NOT allowed. | | 6.3 The FLAC picture block (METADATA_BLOCK_PICTURE) MUST be empty. Any cover | | or booklet scans MUST follow Rule 9.5 | | 6.4 Vorbis comment field contents use UTF-8 character encoding to allow easy | | representation of any language. It is recommended to use UTF-8 in field | | contents to ensure accurate tagging. Filenames MUST follow Rule 1.5. | | 6.5 The GENRE field content MUST be the same for all the files in a release | | and it MUST be one of the genres listed: | | A Cappella, Acid, Acid Jazz, Acid Punk, Acoustic, AlternRock, | | Alternative, Ambient, Anime, Avantgarde, Ballad, Bass, Beat, Bebop, | | Big Band, Black Metal, Bluegrass, Blues, Booty Bass, BritPop, Cabaret, | | Celtic, Chamber Music, Chanson, Chorus, Christian Gangsta Rap, | | Christian Rap, Christian Rock, Classic Rock, Classical, Club, Club-House,| | Comedy, Contemporary Christian, Country, Crossover, Cult, Dance, Dance | | Hall, Darkwave, Death Metal, Disco, Dream, Drum & Bass, Drum Solo, Duet, | | Easy Listening, Electronic, Ethnic, Euro-House, Euro-Techno, Eurodance, | | Fast Fusion, Folk, Folk-Rock, Folklore, Freestyle, Funk, Fusion, Game, | | Gangsta Rap, Goa, Gospel, Gothic, Gothic Rock, Grunge, Hard Rock, | | Hardcore, Heavy Metal, Hip-Hop, House, Humour, Indie, Industrial, | | Instrumental, Instrumental Pop, Instrumental Rock, Jazz, Jazz+Funk, | | JPop, Jungle, Latin, Lo-Fi, Meditative, Merengue, Metal, Musical, | | National Folk, Native American, Negerpunk, New Age, New Wave, Noise, | | Oldies, Opera, Other, Polka, Polsk Punk, Pop, Pop-Folk, Pop/Funk, | | Porn Groove, Power Ballad, Pranks, Primus, Progressive Rock, Psychedelic,| | Psychedelic Rock, Punk, Punk Rock, R&B, Rap, Rave, Reggae, Retro, | | Revival, Rhythmic Soul, Rock, Rock & Roll, Salsa, Samba, Satire, | | Showtunes, Ska, Slow Jam, Slow Rock, Sonata, Soul, Sound Clip, | | Soundtrack, Southern Rock, Space, Speech, Swing, Symphonic Rock, | | Symphony, Synthpop, Tango, Techno, Techno-Industrial, Terror, | | Thrash Metal, Top 40, Trailer, Trance, Tribal, Trip-Hop, Vocal, Unknown. | | NOTE: Both Psychedelic and Psychadelic are correct and may not be nuked | | if used. | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | ADVANCE/PROMO | | 7.1 An ADVANCE or PROMO is not available at retail and is usually labelled | | with some variation of the words Advance and/or Promotional. Having a | | release before its retail date does not automatically make it an ADVANCE.| | 7.2 ADVANCE and PROMO releases can always be duped by any retail release even| | if the tracks on both releases are identical. | | 7.3 ADVANCE and PROMO releases with voice overs, silence, or cuts on tracks | | are not allowed. | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | BOOTLEG | | 8.1 A bootleg is a release or recording that was not officially released by | | the artist or record company (unofficial / unlicensed recordings). | | 8.2 Conditions for bootleg releases are: | | - There are no signs that the record company really released it. | | - The artist or record company did not confirm the release as valid. | | - The record company has no connection to the artist on the release. | | - The record company does not exist and the release is not self-released.| | - The release is not available at at least three retail stores. | | NOTE: Currently valid retail stores (alphabetic order): | | - www.amazon.com | | - www.boomkat.com | | - www.bestbuy.com | | - www.cduniverse.com | | - www.decks.de | | - www.deejay.de | | - www.hmv.com | | - www.juno.co.uk | | - www.sonymusicstore.com | | - www.virgin.com | | - www.ukdancerecords.com | | - www.walmart.com | | The shop itself must sell the record, not private sellers. | | 8.3 Due to their unofficial nature, bootlegs might carry audio defects | | (eg. skips, glitches, etc). If these audio defects are identified in the | | nfo then a release cannot be considered invalid until there is a | | valid one (eg. PROPER release clean of audio defects). | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | PROOF | | 9.1 Releases MUST always contain a proof CAMERA picture in JPEG format. | | 9.2 Proof camera pictures MUST contain both, medium(s) and cover together. | | If there is no cover, a booklet or promo sheet or anything valid MUST be | | included to prove that the ripper has the release. If the medium/cover/ | | booklet contains anything that may expose your identity, then that | | part of image can be blurred or blackened. | | 9.3 The proof picture MUST include a small piece of paper over the medium(s) | | and/or the cover with GROUP name. | | Artist, title and any other relevant info that proves release, must not | | be hidden behind the piece of paper. | | 9.4 GROUP tag must be photographed in the proof picture, software-edited | | tags are considered invalid proof. Camera picture proof must not be | | changed except to hide anything that might expose ripper (read Rule 9.2).| | 9.5 Additional scans may be added but DO NOT count as proof. | | 9.6 The resolution of the proof camera picture MUST be at least 640 width | | and 480 height in JPEG format. | | Artist and/or album/single title MUST be clearly readable. | | 9.7 Proof fixes are NOT allowed, missing proof picture or bad resolution | | requires a complete repack. | | NOTE: EXIF metadata should be removed from JPEG files! Uniquely identifying | | information such as the camera serial number and GPS coordinates can | | pose a security threat if not removed, so this is very ESSENTIAL! | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | CHANGELOG: | | | | 2011-10-03 first version (v1.0) | | 2011-10-10 rule 1.10 with NOTE added to forbid single file+cue unless | | source is single track with index. | | 2011-10-10 rule 3.5.1 added (explanation for TYPE tag). | | 2011-10-10 rule 3.8.1 added (explanation for ARTIST and TITLE tags). | | 2011-10-10 rule 5.1 adjusted | | 2011-10-10 rule 5.5 adjusted | | 2011-10-10 rule 5.5.1 added | | 2012-05-15 GENERAL section 1.0 splitted. | | 2012-05-15 rule 1.3 adjusted | | 2012-05-15 rule 1.4 adjusted and NOTES removed. | | 2012-05-15 DUPES section created 2.0 | | 2012-05-15 rule 3.1 adjusted | | 2012-05-15 rule 3.2 encoding setting changed. | | 2012-05-15 rule 3.3 DVD encoding audio settings. | | 2012-05-15 rule 3.4 HDDVD/BLURAY encoding audio settings. | | 2012-05-15 rule 4.1 adjusted | | 2012-05-15 rule 4.2 adjusted | | 2012-05-15 rule 4.4 adjusted | | 2012-05-15 rule 4.5 adjusted | | 2012-05-15 rule 4.6 adjusted | | 2012-05-15 rule 4.7 adjusted | | 2012-05-15 rule 4.10 adjusted | | 2012-05-15 rule 4.12 adjusted | | 2012-05-15 rule 5.3 adjusted | | 2012-05-15 rule 5.4 adjusted | | 2012-05-15 rule 5.6 created | | 2012-05-15 rule 5.7 created | | 2012-05-15 rule 6.1 adjusted | | 2012-05-15 rule 6.2 adjusted | | 2012-05-15 rule 6.4 adjusted | | 2012-05-15 rule 6.5 adjusted | | 2012-05-15 PROMO/BOOTLEG section splitted. | | 2012-05-15 rule 8.4 created | | 2012-05-15 ADVANCE/PROMO created. | | 2016-06-15 rule 2.4 adjusted | | 2016-06-15 rule 3.1 adjusted | | 2016-06-15 rule 4.5 adjusted | | 2016-06-15 rule 4.5.2 added | | 2016-06-15 rule 4.6 adjusted | | 2016-06-15 rule 4.6.3 added | | 2016-06-15 rule 4.7 adjusted | | 2016-06-15 rule 4.8.2 added | | 2016-06-15 rule 4.10 NOTE added | | 2016-06-15 rule 4.11 adjusted | | 2016-06-15 rule 4.12 adjusted | | 2016-06-15 rule 5.3 NOTE adjusted | | 2016-06-15 rule 5.3.1 added | | 2016-06-15 rule 5.3.2 added | | 2016-06-15 rule 5.6 adjusted | | 2016-06-15 rule 5.6 NOTE added | | 2016-06-15 rule 5.7.1 added | | 2016-06-15 rule 6.1 adjusted | | 2016-06-15 rule.6.2.4 added | | 2016-06-15 rule 6.5 adjusted | | 2016-06-15 rule 6.5 NOTE adjusted | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | Rules signed by: 2Eleven 86D ATMO BCC BriBerY c05 CMC CUSTODES dh dL | | EMP FATHEAD FiH FrB FWYH GRAVEWISH HBFD JLM k4 LiTF LoKET | | MAHOU Mrflac mwnd NBFLAC PERFECT psyCZ SCF SCORN SMASH | | SPL TiLLMYDEATH VOLDiES WRE YARD | | | | FLAC rules V3.0 apply from 2016-06-15 00:00:00 CET (Central European Time). | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------------+</pre> </body> </html>