Content:Files

You have a file that's not listed...

First of all, you should clearly understand how AniDB works in respect to files. AniDB is kind of split into two parts: The public side where you add the files visible for everyone and the private side (your mylist) where you can keep track of the files you have. If you want to add a file to your mylist, you have to publicly add it to AniDB first. The reason for this is easy: The next person who has the same file and wants to add it to his/her list doesn't have to input all the info again, but simply selects the existing entry.
That's why we ask you to include as much info as possible when adding a new file, it's for all users' benefit.

Where can I add files?!

Go to the anime's page and locate the episode the file belongs to. Click on the -icon on the right (in the "Action" column). Then, you're on the "Add file" page for that episode. There's a lot of info you can input here.

Basic info you should include when adding a file

Ed2k-link

An ed2k-link consists of the filename, the file's size and a so-called hash, basically a fingerprint of the file.
This assures that no duplicates are added (since they'd have the same hash) and that the size-value is correctly entered. Also important functions on AniDB itself and in AoM rely on the ed2k-link being present.
Also see How to generate ed2k-links.

Group

Normally, the files are "tagged", meaning that the filename contains a string like "[AonE]" which you can look for in the according shortname dropdown-menu. Please note that not all groups on AniDB are listed under the tag they actually use as AniDB can only have one distinctive tag for each group, so make sure the group's full name matches aswell. If you are having a hard time finding the group via the tag, try locating it in the "name" dropdown-menu, the groups are listed alphabetically there.

However, some people remove the group-tags from filenames. If you have such a file, please watch the first seconds/minutes of it and look out for the group-name being displayed.

Please note that if a file is a joint release, meaning it was released by two or more groups (e.g. by "ANBU-AonE") that these usually have their own group entry in the dropdown-menu - AniDB treats those files like they are done by a seperate group.

If the group isn't listed, you have to add it first.

CRC

A CRC is a 8-digit checksum(/hash/fingerprint) like this one: "F017C5A4". Use a program like hashcalc or AOM to calculate the checksum of your file and put it in the according field.

CRC status

Groups often release files with the checksum of the correct file being published somewhere, for example in the IRC-channel's topic or directly in the filename. Now, only if the CRC you calculated from the file you have matches the CRC of the correct file, set the "CRC status" on AniDB to "crc matches official source". For older releases, especially for files you didn't directly get from the group, check pages like Envirosphere or Baka Updates.

filetype

In case you pasted a full ed2k link (including the filename) to the "ed2k-link" field, the filetype will be set automatically. Otherwise you have to manually choose the correct one from the dropdown menu.

file version

Sometimes, the group makes mistakes and wants to correct them by releasing a second (third, fourth...) version, usually called "v2" ("v3", "v4", ...). If there is no such tag in the filename, it's normally the "version 1".

Audio language

The default ("Japanese") should do it most of the time. The "Dual (X/Y)"-entries are meant to be used with files that contain multiple audio-tracks. If there's a third audio-language (which is currently not supported by AniDB), please add that info as a comment to the file.

If the right language isn't listed, please request the language to be added in the DB Change Request-forum.

subtitle language

Again, the default ("English") is right most of the time, but remember to choose the right one when adding a file with a different subtitle-language. If there are multiple subtitle-languages, please add that info to the file-comment. A request to add a missing language can be filed in the DB Change Request-forum.

file comment

Here you can put important (public) info on that particular file, like additional audio- or subtitle languages.

Optional Info

We'd like you to add this info sooner or later to the file since some other users will benefit from your work.

release date

The date the group published the file. Have a look at the group's homepage or other release info pages like envirosphere or "Baka Updates".

MD5 and SHA-1

Two more hashes. You can use programs like hashcalc or AniDB O'Matic to easily get these hashes in one step.

Hint: When you hash the file with AniDB O'Matic, these hashes will automatically be added to the file-entry within 24 hours.

file quality

unknown - You haven't watched the file yet or can't tell by your impression of previous files. Be sure to add the quality-rating once you've watched it! very high - No encoding artifacts, very good sound-quality, perfect timing, no grammar or translation-errors in the subs. high - The file is good, but there are minor issues with it, like a not-so-good source with few visible or audible encoding artifacts - maybe just in one particular scene - or slight translation/editing-misses. medium - One can clearly spot encoding issues in video or sound, or the translation is off sometimes. low - There's a permanent annoyance in video, audio or translation. very low - This is not quite what one would want to watch. The video, sound or translation are just disturbingly bad. corrupted - Used for files with clearly visible corruptions. eyecancer - Even recompressed to .rm, this couldn't look worse.

The quality rating should not be influenced by differences in the actual drawing or contents (like a cut TV-version or a censored hentai). Please also don't rate a file lower just because you don't like the fonts used.

source

Here you can tell the raw (unsubbed) source of the anime. If you don't know the source, leave it "unknown". If you find a tag like "(S)VHS" or "DVD" in the filename, choose the according option from the dropdown-menu. Sometimes, it's ok to make an educated guess: For animes that are released fansubbed shortly (within days/weeks) after they aired in Japan, you can safely assume "DTV" (Digital TV) as source. Another case for educated guessing is "HKDVD" (Hongkong-DVD) - the video-quality may be ok for them, but the translation is usually horrible, which is how you can spot them.

video- and audio-information

Use GSpot to easily determine the codecs and bitrates used in an avi-file (partially supports ogm, too). For mkv-files, you can use MediaInfo or the Matroska Shell Extension.

Note: Many XviD-encodes have a "DIVX" or "DX50"-4cc (for compatibility) and are thus often wrongly recognized as DivX4 or DivX5. In GSpot, you may find an additional 4cc displayed near the DivX one, for example "DIVX/xvid" or "DX50/xvid". In such cases, please always set the codec-info on AniDB to XviD.

Your version doesn't match the hashes (CRC) or is corrupted - what to do?

File-entries on AniDB are supposed to be useful for a larger group of users: One of them adds the entry and many others can use it (by adding it to their list).

Adding wide-spread corrupted files

An entry for a corrupted file may still be useful for others as long as it's likely that more people have the exact same corrupted file as you have. (For example if one source sent the corrupted version to many people.)

If - and only if - this is the case, you can add the file normally to AniDB, marking it as "CRC invalid" and/or "Quality: Corrupted" if there are visible/audible errors in the file.

Adding "personal" corrupted files

If your specific (corrupted) version of the file isn't listed on AniDB, for example because of some hard- or software-problem on your side or because you manually edited the files, in most cases you should not add them to AniDB, because they serve no purpose for other users.

Don't worry - you can still list such files properly in your mylist. For example: You have a corrupted version of group X's release. Navigate to the corresponding episode where the regular, uncorrupted of group X's release is listed and click on the "add file ()" icon. On the next page, you can select the "Type: corrupted version/invalid crc" so that your mylist-entries properly indicate which version you have.

If there's no crc-valid version of group X added for the release you have, consider adding the episodes' generic files to your list instead.