An idea for the guy who needs to convert PAL to NTSC:

Thanks so much to Sadsac.
I have an old PAL only TV, but my DVD player plays both NTSC and Pal.
My NTSC discs played in black and white and jumped around alot.
Just used VOB Blanker and the instructions given here and it has worked perfectly.
Saves me buying a new TV!
I had 8 tv episodes on 1 disc and Nero would only covert 2 to fit on a disc but this method copied all 8 to 1 standard DVD disc.

Really grateful to Sadsac for posting this solution with easy to follow instructions

 

I haven’t read all the way through this thread (yet) but I have to post a big HUGE THANK YOU to SadSac. You are the bomb! And if you were here in person I’d kiss ya!

Your VOB Blanker instructions worked for me! Wooohooo! I had to click on "Execute" under "File" (instead of clicking on "Process") in order for the conversion to start, but that was the only deviation from your instructions. The only noticeable difference in quality of the converted DVD was with the warning/copy right at the very beginning – a little quivering/wavy – and to that I say, “Who the f#$%k cares?!” Most of us delete that out anyway. The rest of the DVD was perfect. The sound, the menus, everything! I can *finally* enjoy my Contender (region 2 PAL) Farscape DVDs on my plain ‘ol TV-top (region 1 NTSC) DVD player and TV. I can’t thank you enough, really.

I’ve been searching on and off for I don’t know how long trying to find a “quick and dirty” way to change PAL DVDs to NTSC DVDs to no avail. Everything was either waaaaay too complicated or waaaaay too expensive – or both! I kept thinking, “Come on! There has got to be something that employs the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) rule with this.” Finally!!! Halleluiah!

I have checked this site many times when I was having some sort of computer “issue” looking for advice and help. (Sometimes I’ve found the answer and sometimes not.) But this is the first time I have *ever* posted. I had to. I just had to thank you. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Many blessing upon your home. Wooohoooo! (And "Thank You" to whomever created VOB Blanker and made it free. You rock too!!)

Oh yeah! Just in case it's helpful to any one, or people are just curious about the combo of applications I used, I used VOB Blanker with AnyDVD (to decrypt), DVD Shrink (to compress the files), and CopytoDVD (to burn the converted files to DVD). I have a HP Pavilion Desk Top computer that I bought about a year ago. The whole conversion process only took about 15-20 minutes and most of that was from the burning time of the finished product.

 

I am looking for a way to do this as well, although it will be a while before I get around to it. In the meantime, there is a Genesis film that was meticulously transferred from film into PAL (since the original 16mm film was 25fps). The guy that did it also converted it to NTSC. Here's what he says he did:
***************
NTSC
Because many people cannot use PAL DVDs, I thought it would be best to create an NTSC version too. This will have slightly lower quality at 720x480 and a converted frame rate of about 30 frames per second, but using the source video transfer will get the best possible result, much better than converting the PAL DVD later and ompressing twice.

Converting from 25 to 30 frames per second is not easy. Most ardware and software that simply duplicate frames make very stuttery video. So for the PAL -> NTSC transfer I used Canopus ProCoder. This is a highly respected transfer program that converts the frame rate, blends frames when necessary, and creates very smooth running film.

However, my personal opinion is that the MPEG-2 tools in ProCoder alter the source too much so I again sent the lossless result from ProCoder over to TMPGEnc for DVD compression at 8000 MBPS.
**************
Here's the full details of the film transfer if you're interested:
http://64.81.142.243/audio/SETLISTS/Shepperton.txt

And here's the webpage for ProCoder:
http://www.canopus.com/products/ProCoderSW/index.php

It appears that the Pro version is the one that will do the conversion, and you can't buy it from them online. The Express version is only $60, so hopefully the Pro isn't that much more expensive. There is a free trial, though.

If/when I get around to this I'll let you know how it works, but you can see from the info on transferring the Genesis film that this guy is pretty meticulous.

Randy

 

Yikes! $470. At least at the first dealer I checked.

Randy

 

Why not to try NERO7 Ultra? At least it is cheaper (around S59 Canadian on sale)? I have never used it to convert PAL-DVD to NTSC-DVD. I am sure it is simpe. But I have never had a problem with converting PAL-avi to NTSC-DVD. Good and reliable result.

Roma

 

VSO DIVXtoDVD..Is even cheaper then Nero and it does a very reliable job

 

Are you sure it is still available? Not on the VSO official web site.

Roma

 

I've tried Nero 7 too and it does a great job of converting NTSC to PAL.
Only downside is that it does it in real time.
2 hour long movie takes 2 hours to convert.
But that would be its only fault.

 

Jollycat..Thats not a fault,it's a plus.Anything in real time is very good..remember their is a lot going on with a program,in the background that U don't see.Try useing one of the better programs,it can take upwards of 4 to 5 hrs

 

I guess "fault" was the wrong word to use.
I meant that it was stink when you are desperatly wanting to watch something and you have to wait 2 hours for it to convert.
(think new episodes of 24 or Lost)

Converting it in Vob Blanker took less than 10 minutes.
But the quality of the Nero conversion is fantastic.

 

I agree with Rick. I am after quality. NERO does a good job. If I do not have time to do a good job, I simply watch it on my PC screen. I leave all lenthy conversions for night hours or when I am away.

Roma

 

Jollycat..I'VE got a Divx DVD Player they are not expensive 50-60 bucks..this is the fastest way to watch weekly series..Series like Lost,Surface,The Shield,Rome,PrisonBreak,etc..ea episode is about 350megs,about 42mins.I wait till I've got them all.Then I put them on 1 DVD,Cook some popcorn,get 5 candy bars,fill my cooler with enough soft drinks for 8 hrs,disconnect the phone,put the do not disturb sign on the door,sit back & enjoy..caution hit pause if U gotta take a leak..but I'm one helluva couch potatoe..I rarely watch weekly TV anymore..my DVD Player is on at least 18 hrs everyday

http://www.tvtorrents.com/

 

Actually the best way to watch series recorded from a TV source is by using a plain DVD recorder/player. You can get one almost as cheaply as the DIVX player. My recorder cost $100.00 I have found them for $70.00. You can record up to 6 hours on a standard DVD+R disk even at different times and days. You can watch while recording but you do not have to. At any time, you can rewatch a program you just finished recording. When 6 hours of prgrams are recorded, you can go back and watch what has been recorded. You can erase what you don't like and record again. Once you have recorded as many different shows as you wish on the 6 hour mode (other time modes are possible), you chose the finalize method and now you can take the disk to a simple DVD player and watch what was recorded. There will even be a menu to choose which program to watch if you recorded programs at different times. The format will be in the DVD format we are all used to.

 

Rick 5446 - perhaps we were seperated at birth?
I get all set up like that when I sit down to have a DVD marathon!

I have a JVC 5 disc home theatre and a JVC DVD Player, and a plain Dick Smith el cheapo DVD player, plus my computer.
Only my computer will play DIVX but I prefer the luxury of sitting on a comfy sofa rather than an office chair when I watch programs.

I wanted to buy the DIVX DVD player but Dick Smiths had discontinued them so I just have a standard one.

I'm from New Zealand so we don't get a lot of the brands that countries like the USA would get.

 

Jollycat..not to sure about New Zealand..but it seems in European countries Divx [Xvid] is more popular then U.S.& they have a better selection of Divx Players..Prices seem a little higher though.Keep truckin their pal you'll get one eventually
YOU could hook-up your computer to your TV with a video card..That my next step..going to buy one of those ATI all in wonder cards,with remote control

 

Nosredneh..Sound nice..but 6hrs just is'nt enough for me..like I said I'm a real couch potato..my DVD Player is even only arms reach away,so I don't have to get up to change discs

 

Sitting in one spot for 6 hours? Well! I was considering the portability of the DVD. I use a remote and can set the timer to record programs at my option and sleep through it all. Afterward. I can take my disk to any player. But as you say 6 hours real time is not enough. Actually, I don't watch any network TV series except for "Monk." I am kind of a "don't like all that serious sounding stuff" person. I love oddity and most new stuff is predictable.

 

Thanks for the suggestions for Nero. I'll try that as well, although I seem to remember some folks saying that didn't always work.

As a side note, and I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but has anybody tried converting PAL to NTSC in Nero. All of the responses above seem to be in the other direction (NTSC to PAL). I think the problems that people seem to have may be due to the fact that converting NTSC (29.97 fps) to PAL (25 fps) is relatively easy by just dropping a frame every once and a while, but the conversion in the other direction results in occasional jittery playback. Is this a side effect of duplicating frames every once in a while to reach the desired frame rate?

I did start the process of converting in Procoder 2.0, I just haven't completed the DVD yet to see if it works in my home DVD player yet. I'll let you know when I do.

Randy

 

I have tried PAL DVD to NTSC DVD conversion using NERO. I have not been able to get any noticeable results. What most of the repondants don't know is that some DVD players find anything remotely PAL is unacceptable. These players will not be decieved in believing slightly altered PAL is NTSC. Some DVD players will accept PAL doped to act like NTSC but I had 2 players that defied VOB BLANKER and IFOedit as well as many others including NERO. I still have one of those players but the addition of a of a third player now allows me to play PAL DVD's so I am giving up the battle. About NERO, I have not found a way to make a complete PAL DVD change to a complete NTSC DVD without converting to AVI first.

 

Nosredneh ,,,Mainconcept works extremely well in converting.Although it does take a while,in some cases 4hrs.ProCoder2 another very good program,but again time consumeing.Total Video Converter another very good program,again time consumeing.
VSO Divx to DVD,Very good,very free,very fast.Quality trade of if any,not noticeable.
My personel opinion!If I'm interested in true quality,I'll wait for it to come out on DVD.BUT ALAS..I'm a now kind of guy..U really have to admit some of the stuff on the net is real crap.None of the stuff is real QUALITY.But I'm very content with it all