An easy way from NTSC and Pal to DVD ???

[Dash1]

I'm a Newbie in need to edit some home video please help...
My sources are : Some NTSC and some PAL both DV's and old VHS.
My edited output will need to be on DVD's, sometimes
NTSC and sometimes Pal.
[I can use my DV cam passthrough to digitize the VHS's]

Do I need a convertor [Like procoder II ? or other?] at all
or can I do that through the editor [Premire elements] ???

[tphaggerty]

Elements will encode and burn. It is an "all in one" tool (capture, edit, encode, author, burn - these are the normal "steps" that have to be taken in order to get something to DVD). If you already have it, read the docs and give it a try. You will most likely want to change the encoding parameters - I am pretty certain that Elements uses a 1-pass CBR as the default. Unless you are encoding very short pieces, you will want to do 2-pass VBR.

There are tons of guides on the site, most are geared towards free tools, but the concepts are generally applicable across the board.

[Dash1]

thanks. Any other tips ?

[GeorgeW]

Is this for mass production, or for casual use to send to relatives and friends around the world?

What software are you planning to use for the DVD Authoring? Some packages will let you simply change the project setting between PAL to/from NTSC. This might be good enough for casual usage. For mass production, you could get better results with a dedicated standards conversion process (hardware and/or software).

Regards,
George

[victoriabears]

get a dvd player that converts-its less heartache and easier.

[Dash1]

I am going to use the edited items to send to relatives and friends around the world

Re the soft, I was thinking of Premire elements [?] to start with and I may move up
later to Premire pro CS3 [?]

Victor.. Did you mean a VHS to DVD recorder ?
Which Model?

[jagabo]

Ulead DVD Moviefactory will do PAL/NTSC conversions very easily. The results won't be the best possible though. It will simply duplicate or decimate frames to get the frame rate right.

[Dash1]

Isnt there a good tool that does it all simply with good enough Quality and easy conversion PAL and NTSC ???

[jagabo]

What does "good enough" mean? Many people won't even notice the slight to moderate jerkiness Ulead DVD Moviefactory creates. For example a 23.976 NTSC film source converted to 25 fps PAL will have one little jerk every second (24 frames are converted to 25 by duplicating one) and for the most part will only be visible on smooth, medium speed pans. On the the other hand some people (a lot of the people here) will scream about the poor conversion.

[oldandinthe way]

I've had good results with DVD>DVixConverter>ConvertXtoDVD

Of course I have used the intervening DVix File for other purposes.

[victoriabears]

If you really insist, tmpg products do the best job I've seen, but then I find buying the playing hardware a much better solution.

http://www.tmpg-inc.com/en/index.html

[Dash1]

" I find buying the playing hardware a much better solution." - Sorry I didnt get it ???

Will the TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress do a better job then Ulead or Premire elements ???

What are the steps that I have to take [and on what softs ] for converting ,
editing and then out to DVD's Pal and NTSC

Thank you so much guys

[jagabo]

Here's one guide for PAL/NTSC conversion using the smoothest technique (DgPulldown):

https://forum.videohelp.com/topic300144.html

Using AviSynth's LanczosResize() for resizing will give better results than using TMPGEnc's (bilinear) resizing filters. Other MPEG2 encoders can do just as well or better than TMPGEnc too. Like CCE, HCEnc, etc.

[guns1inger]

If I read your posts correctly, you seem to be saying you have a mixture of PAL and NTSC source material that you wish to edit into a single video, then output as PAL. Your source is all DV and VHS material.

If this is the case then most of the advice given, well intentioned as it is, will be useless to you as it all pertains to end viewing solutions, not intermediate conversion for editing.

The first big hurdle you face is that converting NTSC video source to PAL is very difficult through software. Unlike film source or progressive DVD source, NTSC video source runs at 29.970 frames per second, as opposed to NTSC film source, which runs at 23.976 frames per second. For NTSC film source, the pulldown method is a very effective fix for end viewing conversion (example - converting an NTSC DVD to PAL), as it tells the playback equipment to add the missing frame while playing. However for NTSC video source you are not adding a single frame every second, you are removing 1 frame in 6. This is a very different proposition. It can't be done through pulldown, and it can't be done smoothly through software.

The ideal solution would be to ignore the problem if possible. A stupid editor will only accept footage of like format, or re-align material on a frame rate basic. This will cause you audio sync problems. A good editor will let you edit pretty much independent of source format, then output everything at the chosen framerate, converting where necessary.

Can elements do this ? I don't know. You have a copy - try it and see what happens. It might work and be completely acceptable to you. It might refuse to accept different formats in the same project. It may do something silly with frame rates. Experiment with a few clips and see what you get. You can hurt anything, and it costs you nothing but a little time in which you learn a lot.

If it doesn't work, then you can look at Premiere CS3 or Vegas something else that is more pro-sumer oriented, instead of home consumer based.

[kush]

I can't really add much to the thread, I think you've been given a decent amount of suggestions already.. But I can echo what guns1inger said about just "try[ing] it". I know it's *very* daunting with all the info, various tools, guides and so forth, but IMO you're far better off just getting your hands dirty as it were. I am FAR form an expert a tthis whole encode/convert/burn/etc process, but in the years that I've been playing w/ it (been around long enough to know VH as vcdhelp.com), a few things have helped me along the way:

1) the various guides both here and in the past other places like doom9

2) the tools and their documentation (eg: avisynth has an EXTENSIVE wiki/list of it's various built-in plug-ins)

3) (and maybe most important!) just plain trying - and often making mistakes. I'd try, a video would come out all wonky, not work at all, out of synch, whatever... Through a process of elimination, I'd then find out I had installed a component wrong, messed up a setting somewhere, or a particular guide is wrong (at least for my application), etc... After a while it just becomes 2nd nature, and old mistakes become just that - mistakes of the past.

[edit] And have a good looking over of the guides. There's so many on a huge array of subject, there's bound to be one that will fit you just fine.

[Dash1]

Thank you all and sorry for the confusion.

OK, Let's say that I can saporate the Pal from NTSC source projects so I may have only NTSC:
DV and VHS source and for another project: Pal DV's and VHS source. I understand this makes it easier ?

I will still need to save the edited tape to DVD : both Pal and NTSC.

What will be the best steps to be taken and tools names [OR better off, maybe one-step hardwere ?]

[Dash1]

Should one go with All in one like Ulead or to specific saporate softs ?

[victoriabears]

I have found TMPG products to be the most reliable and have great filters, unless you want to learn Virtual dub etc.

There are automated "versions", like auto gk and avidemux but that is once you have them in avi format having captured them.

Why not use a dvd recorder, the Panasonic ES45V in the UK at least can be set to either pal or ntsc.

I imported one into Canada and it works great. It will not convert tough but would get your source onto a disc.