<![CDATA[Do re-encodes count as duplicates?]]>Especially for high-production or just high-quality scenes (4K scenes or longer movies), re-encoding to AV1 (and depending on the original audio codec and bitrate used, re-encoding the audio to a more efficient codec like Opus as well) can save a lot of storage space and make them easier to download and access for members. The same is true for large collections that can take up a lot of space, but if re-encoded, even if every individual file doesn't shrink by that much, the overall size shrink can be significant. So I wanted to ask if downloading existing torrents, re-encoding the video to save file size, and re-uploading them is considered uploading duplicates, or if the re-encoding is considered transformative enough to count as a unique torrent?

Cheers
pvtycyn

]]>https://community.gaytor.rent/topic/69011/do-re-encodes-count-as-duplicatesRSS for NodeSat, 23 May 2026 07:15:31 GMTSun, 10 May 2026 09:29:50 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Do re-encodes count as duplicates? on Sun, 10 May 2026 20:32:13 GMT]]>Re-Encodes generally do not count as duplicates, unless they are in the same format container and the size difference is less than 10%.

If the size difference is greater than 10% and/or the format container of the new upload is different from the original (even if a similar size), then it is NOT considered a duplicate.

So if the file exists in say AVI, and you upload in MP4 instead (or vice versa), then it is NOT a duplicate. It is only when the format container is the same AND the size difference is less than 10% that it is a duplicate.

The ONLY exception to this is if there is a notable difference between the two versions (such as subtitles built into the video file, or 1080p vs 720p). In these cases however, you need to be clear to label the torrent with its differences so that it does not get zapped as a dupe in error.

If the only difference is the subtitles .srt file, but the video is the same, then it is considered a duplicate.

]]>https://community.gaytor.rent/post/339534https://community.gaytor.rent/post/339534Sun, 10 May 2026 20:32:13 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do re-encodes count as duplicates? on Sun, 10 May 2026 18:25:28 GMT]]>@pvtycyn According to 'The Rules' (number 2): "DUPLICATE files are not allowed and will be removed. You are expected to run a search for duplicates prior to submitting a torrent. Duplicates may be accepted when part of a themed collection. A file is considered a duplicate if an existing torrent has the same format and similar size (<10% difference) and has at least one seeder."

From personal experience, I've had one torrent (or maybe two) adjudicated a duplicate even though it was a different format to an existing one (.mkv -v- .mp4) because it was of a similar size, so it seems a safer rule-of-thumb is to meet the size differential requirement, regardless of format.

]]>https://community.gaytor.rent/post/339524https://community.gaytor.rent/post/339524Sun, 10 May 2026 18:25:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Do re-encodes count as duplicates? on Sun, 10 May 2026 18:15:12 GMT]]>@pvtycyn
significant changes in size and/or changes in format generally don't count as duplicates.

]]>https://community.gaytor.rent/post/339523https://community.gaytor.rent/post/339523Sun, 10 May 2026 18:15:12 GMT