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  1. Member
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    Hi! I'm new to the forums, so I apologize in advanced if I am posting in the wrong forum.

    Anyway, I have ordered from eBay a rare DVD from the UK, and I know it's possible to convert it from PAL to NTSC. It's necessary for me to do this because I live in the US. I have thought of a way for me to do this, and I think I've come up with a solution. I don't have all the details on the DVD because I haven't gotten it in the mail yet, but here is my method:
    1. Use RipIt4Me and DVD Decrypter to remove any copy protections (I assume at most is Region Code, RCE, and CSS, because it's a 2000 release).
    2. Use D2MP as outlined at http://www.ehow.com/how_6754313_convert-pal-dvd-ntsc-menus.html to do the actual conversion of PAL to NTSC.
    3. If necessary, use DVD Shrink to shrink down the converted VIDEO_TS Folder to one that will fit on a 4.7 GB DVD-R. (I know DVD Shrink could probably do step 1 and 3 in one step, but I wish to do it this way only because I think DVD Decrypter does the better job at decrypting more easily.)
    4. Finally, use CDBurnerXP to burn the final VIDEO_TS Folder to a DVD-R.
    But, before I do that, I have a few questions. First, will the above method even work? Second, I know that the DVD has region code 2 because the eBay seller said Region 2. I don't wish to use two changes to the region code of the drive (from Region 1 to 2, and then again back to 1) unless it's absolutely necessary. Can DVD Decrypter remove the region code even if my DVD Drive has a different region set? Finally, how well will a DVD Player play it when converted using the above method? I assume it doesn't just "patch" the IFOs, but instead re-encodes the VOBs to NTSC. It's important for me that it does in fact re-encode because I have somewhat old DVD Players that may not play a DVD that is merely "patched" for NTSC. Does D2MP do that?

    Please help me ASAP. Thanks in advanced!
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  2. Member hech54's Avatar
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    Don't waste your time. Just copy the disc(which removes the region code automatically), watch it on your computer.....or buy a cheap DVD player that converts PAL to NTSC on the fly. They are getting hard to find but it's not impossible just yet.
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  3. Member Seeker47's Avatar
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    I'm not sure about this -- haven't really had a need to do this type of conversion -- but take a look at AVStoDVD (free) and ConvertXtoDVD (not free, though it does have a trial version), either or both of which might have some capability to do this. IF they both do, I think AVS yields much better results, in general.
    When in Las Vegas, don't miss the Pinball Hall of Fame Museum http://www.pinballmuseum.org/ -- with over 150 tables from 6+ decades of this quintessentially American art form.
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  4. Banned
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    As hech54 points out (but I'll rephrase it to be sure you understand), ripping with DVD Decrypter will produce a region free PAL DVD on your hard drive.

    You can convert to NTSC DVD if you must and we've got guides on how to do it here, but here's my feeling.
    1) If you're only going to need to do this conversion once or maybe twice, maybe it's just best to watch the DVD on your PC as the ripped version will play fine with any free player, such as VLC. Really, how many times are you going to watch this DVD in your life? Unless you really are going to see it over and over again, maybe it's just best to take the easy route and not worry about converting and just watch it on a PC.
    2) If you're going to need to do this kind of conversion more than 2 times then you need to buy a DVD player that can convert from PAL to NTSC. In the past various Pioneer and Philips models have been among the best for this. Sony and Samsung are among the worst for this. Toshiba is generally pretty bad too. Cheaper off brand Chinese made players like Insignia are rumored to be easily made region free.

    As far as the patch thing goes, you just have to try it and see if it works. If you have a DVD-RW or DVD+RW disc handy, you can just burn and test it, assuming that your source DVD is only single layer and doesn't have to be shrunk to single layer size, which is a whole other issue.

    Finally do understand that a true conversion and not just a patch from PAL to NTSC causes you to lose all menus and extras. You'll have to convert the extras too and the menus can't be converted. You'll have to use some program to reauthor a new DVD.
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  5. The easiest way to go is just buy a cheap DVD player that can be hacked region-free and automatically converts PAL to NTSC palyback at its outputs. You avoid having to make any conversions at all, you just play the original disc. If you must have an actual converted-to-NTSC duplicate disc, things get real complicated real quick.

    It can be a really involved project to do a digital PAL>NTSC conversion of a commercial DVD with all menus and features intact. By the time you finish with the steps you may wonder why you bothered, especially since the on-screen quality is rarely much better than simply hooking up a region-free converting player and making an analog copy to an NTSC recorder (or PC capture device). Unfortunately cheap BD players have now killed the market for the once-thriving cheap DVD players that automatically converted PAL discs to NTSC playback at their outputs (BD players are so clogged with half-assed copy protections they barely work for BD, forget DVD luxuries like "region free"). What you can do is stalk sales of cheap portable DVD players at chain stores like Wal*Mart, Target and Kmart. These are still popular for travel and babysitting so they're often put on sale for $49. Something like the Philips PET741/37 will do the trick, its a very basic crude player but has nice line-out playback and is easily hacked to ignore region codes and convert PAL to NTSC.

    There are other possibilities and considerations. DRM on PAL discs is not nearly as prevalent as on North American discs, so you may luck out and not have to deal with protection stripping at all (unless its a TV series, these tend to be heavily protected in the UK). If the original DVD is dual-layer and protected, you'll want to first make a "clean" PAL copy to a DL blank to avoid re-encoding (shrinking). That way you get the nicest analog conversion dub from player to recorder. Or, if you already have a black box video filter, you can just put the original disc in the hacked player and connect it to the recorder with the filter between them. Depends on what gear/software you already have on hand, the data capacity of the PAL dvd you want to convert, and how you like to work.

    A lot of us already have a region-free player, external filter box, and decryption software acquired over the last several years. We're more likely to go the analog conversion route because it doesn't cost us anything additional and its easier. But if you're starting from scratch with none of these tools on hand, doing a pure digital conversion on the PC becomes more attractive (assuming you can put together all the various software pieces and understand how they work together). Also depends on how many of these conversions you need to do: if its a one-shot deal, its a bigger headache than if you expect to do a dozen. Me, I keep the hacked portable handy for the times I want to watch my UK and Aussie TV series dvds: no muss, no fuss, no PQ loss due to copying.
    Last edited by orsetto; 5th Aug 2011 at 13:56.
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  6. Member
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    I just want to say thanks to you guys! I still don't have the DVD on hand, but I was searching some more options.

    I may try the patch method. Does anyone know the history behind it and/or why this works at all?

    I also came across the DGPulldown method. It sounds interesting. Can anybody give me a quick how-to for this method? I prefer using free software.

    Also, on the side note, if I did both the patch and DGPulldown method together, could it be possible that I could skip authoring, and just use the existing, modified, IFOs and BUPs?

    To me, a region-free player is not an option at this point. I have found that my portable Philips DCP750/37 DVD Player does have a region-free hack, but it still only plays NTSC content. All other DVD players are likely the same way, and are very picky. For example, if I burn a DVD with Windows DVD Maker or ImgBurn, it refuses to play it. My Panasonic DVD Recorder even says, "The disc is incompatible." when its a DVD-R that works in the recorder itself. Yet use the same exact kind of disc, but with CDBurnerXP or virtually any paid engine, like Nero or Roxio, and it plays like a charm!

    With that aside, I still would like to know the entire Region thing. Will DVD Decrypter still remove Region code on a Region 2 disc if the drive is set to Region 1, or will I have to waste two changes? Thanks in advanced!
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  7. Originally Posted by wizoomer95 View Post

    I also came across the DGPulldown method. It sounds interesting. Can anybody give me a quick how-to for this method? I prefer using free software.
    Encode for 720x480 and 25fps. After it's finished take the MPV and run it through DGPulldown set for 25->29.97. The audio can be used unchanged. Author like normal. You may have to disable any presets or wizards in your encoder to get it to allow an NTSC resolution with a PAL framerate, but that shouldn't be hard. You didn't mention which encoder you're using (did you?). For free there's HCEnc and it may warn you, but it'll go ahead with the encoding. You should feed it an AviSynth script file with the filtering (including the resize) done in the script.
    Also, on the side note, if I did both the patch and DGPulldown method together, could it be possible that I could skip authoring, and just use the existing, modified, IFOs and BUPs?
    Not a chance. The patch method is an abomination anyway, and not a true conversion.
    All other DVD players are likely the same way, and are very picky.
    Not true at all. Thousands of people play PAL DVDs on standalone NTSC DVD players.
    Will DVD Decrypter still remove Region code on a Region 2 disc if the drive is set to Region 1, or will I have to waste two changes?
    For decrypting you don't use up any of your changes. It's only for playing that the 5 changes apply. It doesn't actually make it region-free, but all-region.
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