DVD PAL NTSC
September 17, 2005 4:20 AM Subscribe
I would like to use my PC to convert a PAL DVD to an NTSC DVD
in as few easy steps as possible. Is the a util?
Thanks
(1) Buy Philips 642 dvd deck.
(2) Hack to region-free with the remote.
(3) Put disc in.
I've looked into this before, and as near as I can tell it is an extreme hassle to do this by ripping and converting. The usual steps involve ripping, separating the video and audio, converting the video, modifying the speed of the audio, mushing them back together, and then burning. Several steps seem to involve non-free software.
If you read the article on the patch method, it's full of comments like "This doesn't work worth a damn" and "Doesn't work on most machines" and "I've never seen a machine that was able to play these back smoothly."
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:12 AM on September 17, 2005
(2) Hack to region-free with the remote.
(3) Put disc in.
I've looked into this before, and as near as I can tell it is an extreme hassle to do this by ripping and converting. The usual steps involve ripping, separating the video and audio, converting the video, modifying the speed of the audio, mushing them back together, and then burning. Several steps seem to involve non-free software.
If you read the article on the patch method, it's full of comments like "This doesn't work worth a damn" and "Doesn't work on most machines" and "I've never seen a machine that was able to play these back smoothly."
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:12 AM on September 17, 2005
I don't own one, but the next DVD player I buy is going to be the Philips 642. Note that it also plays MPEG, AVI etc files directly from the disc.
posted by omnidrew at 8:45 AM on September 17, 2005
posted by omnidrew at 8:45 AM on September 17, 2005
I have some friends who are professionals in a/v production, and they curse up a storm whenever they have to do this (very infrequently, but still) -- it takes far too long to get even close to exactly right, and that's with their super non-free tools.
more than a few times I've tried to do this myself, and it is frustrating as all hell. and never came out quite right.
ROU_Xenophobe's advice is pretty sound. in fact I plan to buy that particular dvd player when I move into my new apt next month.
posted by dorian at 8:49 AM on September 17, 2005
more than a few times I've tried to do this myself, and it is frustrating as all hell. and never came out quite right.
ROU_Xenophobe's advice is pretty sound. in fact I plan to buy that particular dvd player when I move into my new apt next month.
posted by dorian at 8:49 AM on September 17, 2005
You might want to see if your DVD player will already handle region-free PAL content (mine does). Use DVD-Decrypter (free) to take the region encoding off, then burn the dvd back to disc without re-encoding the video.
posted by Dipsomaniac at 9:02 AM on September 17, 2005
posted by Dipsomaniac at 9:02 AM on September 17, 2005
If you remove the region from your computer, you can play a PAL DVD fine on your computer.
PAL - phase alternating line - is european, runs 25 fps, and is a screen size of 720x576
NTSC is 30fps and 720x480
So, to take a PAL DVD you'd have to:
1) Rip it from MPEG-2 into an editable format (such as DV).
2) Transcode the PAL DV into NTSC - taking into account the frame rate difference and keeping everything in sync.
3) Finally, Transcode back to MPEG-2 and author into a DVD.
Which is a Royal PITA, and which is why it's far easier to play on your computer.
Step 2 is notoriously difficult. Apple has just released Compressor 2 which can do this Format Conversion. This takes *buckets* of time. Really.
(Yes, I'm a film/video editor and specialize in the technologies in the field.)
The Best way to do this is with a Terranex ($200k)
posted by filmgeek at 10:35 AM on September 17, 2005
PAL - phase alternating line - is european, runs 25 fps, and is a screen size of 720x576
NTSC is 30fps and 720x480
So, to take a PAL DVD you'd have to:
1) Rip it from MPEG-2 into an editable format (such as DV).
2) Transcode the PAL DV into NTSC - taking into account the frame rate difference and keeping everything in sync.
3) Finally, Transcode back to MPEG-2 and author into a DVD.
Which is a Royal PITA, and which is why it's far easier to play on your computer.
Step 2 is notoriously difficult. Apple has just released Compressor 2 which can do this Format Conversion. This takes *buckets* of time. Really.
(Yes, I'm a film/video editor and specialize in the technologies in the field.)
The Best way to do this is with a Terranex ($200k)
posted by filmgeek at 10:35 AM on September 17, 2005
If you can find DVD Shrink (It's been DMCA'ed, but you can find it if you look hard enough) it can turn off region encoding and convert PAL to NSTC.
Keep in mind that if you'll need a DVD-DL burner and DVD-DL discs if you don't want to lose any quality, if the source disc is larger than 4.6 gigs.
The Best way to do this is with a Terranex ($200k)
I'm gonna say that it isn't the best way, at least for the price. DVD Shrink is free, and it only takes about 3-4 hours to rip, convert and burn.
posted by SweetJesus at 1:00 PM on September 17, 2005
Keep in mind that if you'll need a DVD-DL burner and DVD-DL discs if you don't want to lose any quality, if the source disc is larger than 4.6 gigs.
The Best way to do this is with a Terranex ($200k)
I'm gonna say that it isn't the best way, at least for the price. DVD Shrink is free, and it only takes about 3-4 hours to rip, convert and burn.
posted by SweetJesus at 1:00 PM on September 17, 2005
SweetJesus the difference is that DVD Shrink will end up with nasty jitter and other weird problems (wacky interlacing, etc) but the Terranex will convert it in a way that is almost indistinguishable from the original.
That being said I bet the poster isn't going to care all that much... :-D
posted by shepd at 3:05 PM on September 17, 2005
That being said I bet the poster isn't going to care all that much... :-D
posted by shepd at 3:05 PM on September 17, 2005
Yeah, I understand. Just not many people have 200,000 grand lying around... ;-)
posted by SweetJesus at 6:37 PM on September 17, 2005
posted by SweetJesus at 6:37 PM on September 17, 2005
or 200 grand, even.
posted by SweetJesus at 6:37 PM on September 17, 2005
posted by SweetJesus at 6:37 PM on September 17, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Gortuk at 6:38 AM on September 17, 2005