How to choose between multiple funsubs groups

[complich8]

my method is .... if my group is subbing it, I'll usually watch my group's work -- partly so I can bitch at people if they don't meet my expectations (being a staff member, I actually get positive results from this, unlike the normal leech who would just get told to stfu and leave us alone).

If my group isn't subbing it, I'm usually not aware of it until I notice it on some other group's topic, or get a recommendation from someone. Behind my own group's, there's about a dozen that I hold in roughly equal regard. I don't want to name them because I'd forget someone, or piss someone off... but as a rule if only one of those groups is doing a project, I'll get theirs. If multiple are, I'll get whichever is easiest to find: a well seeded set of torrents, a friend's ftp, a good archive xdcc bot... whatever is the minimum effort to get. Most of the groups on my "favorites" list have either good torrent seeding or good bots and archives, or I know people from them who give me mad hookups ^_^. I try to stay group-consistent across series when possible, but if it's not possible then I'm not too averse to abandoning ship and watching a different group if one drops it or something ...

How do I pick my favorites? A combination of watching what they do and talking to them. Get to know your fansubbers... and explore a bit. There's no one "best" group, it's all a matter of your preferences, which take time to build.

[Kingpin]

I was just wondering since you guys follow many anime series at once, do you follow the series by a particular group? Or you d/l whichever episode comes out first even tho its by a different fansub group?

I was just wondering, as for me I'm a little specific and try and keep my anime series by one group. Haha, this is cos it keeps the series more neat and organised as it was subbed all by a group. But recently i found that some fansub groups tak quite some time to bring out eps to a series whilst another group doing the same series has released several new eps. This has led me to d/l from the new group rather than wait for the original group i d/l from to bring the new eps out.

[srb]

I watch different groups and read others opinions to decide which group I will follow. Mixing different groups is bad since they could very well translate certain things in different ways and it looks bad i fthe meaning jumps around all the time.

[Lord Raiden]

Well, I tend to try and follow one sub group as much as possible, but sometimes that's really, really hard. But for the most part I try to stick to just one group.

[Knuckles]

Originally Posted by Kingpin

I was just wondering since you guys follow many anime series at once, do you follow the series by a particular group? Or you d/l whichever episode comes out first even tho its by a different fansub group?

I was just wondering, as for me I'm a little specific and try and keep my anime series by one group. Haha, this is cos it keeps the series more neat and organised as it was subbed all by a group. But recently i found that some fansub groups tak quite some time to bring out eps to a series whilst another group doing the same series has released several new eps. This has led me to d/l from the new group rather than wait for the original group i d/l from to bring the new eps out.

I have already asked a similar question in a thread called
How to choose between multiple funsubs groups

But it's a realy old thread so...

[elniro]

not really, but if theres an anime im interested in, then i will always search AonE to see if they are fansubbing it, if not i'll just get it from wherever

[Sakaki-]

1) Group / translator's translation accuracy reputation (usually seen from screenshot comparison's like carl's and ultima)
2) Main ep typesetting (Can I read it? Dose it feel out of place or not?)
3) Karaoke timing/typeset (I always, always watch opening/ending)
4) Timing (do they scene-time or not?)
5) Encoding / File Size (Dose it look good on my monitor :O)
6) Editing (Any nasty obvious typos that even I can spot?)
7) Group's staff (If i know the staff for it care for the show its a bonus, cause sadly i know people who work on stuff they don't like alot.)
8) Their distro power (no. of bots / bt seeds)
9) Speed of releases (don't care about this much)

Basicly what Kirika said with little diffrence in procedure, i ussualy do a check of the groups releasing to to make sure i made the right choice.

Take Care
Sakaki-

[Ayanami9870]

This is the rubric I go by, and it's quite similar to Saki. You'll notice that experienced fansubbers in general consider things a little more.

In no particular order:

1) Group reputation (are they notorious/crapsubbing/incindiary)
2) Translator's translation accuracy (Peer reviewed with screenshots)
3) Editing (intelligible English, consistency, rewordings, idiomatics, # of mistakes)
4) Karaoke/SFX (blends in with genre/content, not distracting, innovative)
5) Timing (proper chain timing, scene-timed/no bleeding, mistimes, missing lines)
6) Typesetting (readable, font styles, passes 50% zoom test, good color use, offscreen lines, line wrapping)
7) Encoding (filesize, frame averages, rainbows, interlacing, passes full screen test)
8) Distro (reliability, coordination, # of bots/BT seeds)
9) Speed/Pace (doesn't matter so long as you don't take months for one ep, and then face licensing :nly to those affected:
10) Reliability (does the group quit/give up/skip episodes/change series too much/never finish what they start)

That's the basic run down for me, close to Kiri's and Saki's stuffage. Concerning 9), I know as a fansubber that animes usually get licensed during press releases at anime conventions. A good rule of thumb to remember is to keep an eye on when the next big anime convention pops up.

Laters,
-Ayanami9870

[Sakaki-]

Ayanami9870 yeah i skip groups who have alot of dropped projects and ussualy dont finish.

Take Care
Sakaki-

[Lina Inverse]

Usually 4 and 6. I see what others say about it and have a look at the forums here, or helpful pages like ultracarl's one
I also prefer bigger files for better quality.

Otherwise, it's pretty much as Ayanami9870 already pointed out:

Originally Posted by Ayanami9870

In no particular order:
1) Group reputation (are they notorious/crapsubbing/incindiary)
2) Translator's translation accuracy (Peer reviewed with screenshots)
3) Editing (intelligible English, consistency, rewordings, idiomatics, # of mistakes)
4) Karaoke/SFX (blends in with genre/content, not distracting, innovative)
5) Timing (proper chain timing, scene-timed/no bleeding, mistimes, missing lines)
6) Typesetting (readable, font styles, passes 50% zoom test, good color use, offscreen lines, line wrapping)
7) Encoding (filesize, frame averages, rainbows, interlacing, passes full screen test)
8) Distro (reliability, coordination, # of bots/BT seeds)
9) Speed/Pace (doesn't matter so long as you don't take months for one ep, and then face licensing :nly to those affected:
10) Reliability (does the group quit/give up/skip episodes/change series too much/never finish what they start)