PAL to NTSC glitch

[Rickles]

Hi folks, here's my problem ...

I have been using DVDSanta to convert DVD's from PAL to NTSC for my friends in the US.

"Commercial"/original (non-protected) video converts with no problem, but when I try to do the same with a DVD that I have created by recording from tape to DVD, I get picture but no sound.

To recap, I record to a standalone DVDR from my VCR, then use that disk to create a DVD+ or -R disk ... which works fine in the player (both stand alone and the PC).

When I run it through DVDSanta to obtain an NTSC version, the result is picture but no sound.

Any suggestions or help would be appreciated.

Cheers ... R.

[guns1inger]

My first suggestion would be to ditch DVD Santa. I would rank it along side WinAVI for low quality and low reliability. If you must use it, then my next suggestion would be to take this problem to DVD Santa support and see how far you get.

Personally, if I were doing this, I would use a variation on this guide : https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=300144

It is the most reliable, highest quality method for converting PAL to NTSC (or 23.976 NTSC to PAL). Why a variation ? I use slightly different tools in some steps, and over time some of the steps have been refined.

However, if DVD Santa is the love of your encoding life, try the following :

1. Make sure you actually have audio on your source disc
2. Use VOB2MPG to extract the video and audio from the DVD structure
3. Convert the mpeg file to NTSC DVD

[Rickles]

guns1inger,

Thanks for your reply, much appreciated. I'd certainly not die in a ditch for DVDSanta, but at the time it was the only single standalone program to hand, and as I said earlier it works perfectly on all other DVD's.

Sadly, one does not get any response from DVDSanta themselves ... not very good for people who take ones' money, eh?

R.

[guns1inger]

WinAVI support is the same - they even point people to this forum for support, apparently oblivious to the fact that the first thing most of us recommend is to stop using it.

While it does often take longer to do this type of thing by hand, the quality is generally much higher, you learn a lot about the process, and find you can then troubleshoot issues much better than if you just rely on a lesser product to hide all the details from you. And you can usually do it for a much lower cost - often only the bandwidth required to download the software.

[LadyLiete]

Dvdsanta is a good program I use it for alot of things, but when it has an error on something, you might as well try something else.

I recommend keeping Dvdsanta but using Winavi as a backup for when you face incompatiability issues with it.

[guns1inger]

WinAVI = Toilet Paper (well, almost - toilet paper has at least one use)

[Rickles]

Thanks guys, I appreciate your views.

Will WinAVI do a pal to ntsc convert?

What are the limits of the trial version?

[jman98]

Forum member FulciLives wrote a guide on using TMPGenc to do the conversion here at this very website. Look at:
https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=300144
None of the experienced people here have anything good to say about WinAVI or DVDSanta, so maybe you might want to consider another way, although personally I think that if it's for your own use, just buying a DVD player that can convert PAL DVDs to NTSC output is the way to go.

[guns1inger]

WinAVI will try, even ConvertxtoDVD will do the conversion. The question is what sort of quality do you want ? If you are happy with jerky pans and zooms, blended frames and other artifacts, use one of these simple converters. If you want the highest quality you can possibly maintain, use FulciLives' guide.

[Rickles]

Thanks, I have the picture now (terrible pun, I know).

R.

[jackauthor]

I have tried dvd santa and win avi ,all works well.
the win avi is much easy than dvd santa .but it is low picure quality ,and may cause the audio ahead of the video.
Tmpenc will do will but it is so slowly , that I can't accept.
if you have good skill with computer and linux you can try the ffmpeg ,it is free tools upder linux .
if you want to make DVD with one step and make DVD Menu ,mux srt subtitle files ,you can try the Super DVD Creator.

[guns1inger]

There is a version of ffmpeg for windows (commandline), and it is also the back-end encoder to a number of tools, including SUPER and Media Coder

[Rickles]

Folks,

WinAVI did the job perfectly, even "cleaned up" the original tape image a touch.

Cheers.

[mrswla]

why all the fuss?

pal dvd--->ntsc dvd
when i need to transfer pal dvds to ntsc dvds, all i do is use dvd decrypter (iso read) in brute force. then open up in dvd shrink and recode. i have done 6 pal dvds using this method and all have played fine on ntsc dvd players.

pal vhs--->ntsc dvd
my take on this would be: make your copy the same way(vcr to standalone dvd recorder) then use the same method as above.

[Rickles]

mrswla,

Thanks for comment, but where in dvd shrink can one select ntsc output format?

R.

[guns1inger]

You can't. He must have a player that handles both formats. Neither DVD Decrypter or DVD Shrink will change a disc from PAL to NTSC, or NTSC to PAL.

[Rickles]

guns1linger,

That's what I thought too ... I'd gone over both progs pretty thoroughly and couldn't find such settings.

Anyways, WinAVI did the job nicely.

R.

[mrswla]

I don't change any of the settings in either program. You can't as guns1inger says. Also, I have played these dvds in multiple dvd players from different manufactures. I can't be lucky enough to have 5 different players that will play both formats, can I? All I know is that it works for me. Try it and see if it works for you. If it doesn't, at least you know you can do it with WinAVI.

My theory is, that PAL and NTSC systems are analog systems. Since dvds are digital they don't fall in the same analog parameters. Once you remove the region coding (DVD Decryptor) and recode to a region free (DVD Shrink) dvd, you can play it in any dvd player. Don't Movie Studios use the same process for movie releases? They have one master and apply different region codes to the area they are releasing the movie to?

[manono]

Nice theory. Too bad it's not true. Open a vob from one of your "converted" DVDs in something that can read the resolution and framerate (ReStream, GSpot, DGindex, Bitrate Viewer, etc.). Then tell us if they're still PAL (720x576, 25fps), or have magically morphed into NTSC (720x480, 29.97fps).

Don't Movie Studios use the same process for movie releases? They have one master and apply different region codes to the area they are releasing the movie to?

No and no.

[mrswla]

Good point, manono. DGindex states that it is 720x576, 25fps PAL video. But, can you explain why it will play on my Toshiba sd-4900, Samsung dvd-p241, x-box 360 and a couple of my friends dvd players? I don't mind being wrong, I would just like to understand. Thanks.

[manono]

guns1inger said it before. You must be lucky in having access to a bunch of players that can play both formats.