A lot of the transfers/ capturing I do get sent to the US, so I usually convert PAL > NTSC with TMPGEnc Plus 2.5, using de-interlace/double to get round jerkiness. I've been quite happy with the results, but there is obviously a noticeable softening of the image doing it this way.
Therefore I am thinking about investing in a hardware multi standards convertor to accomplish this, and would appreciate any input from folks who use this method.
So far the only ones I have really investigated are the ACE Standards Converter
http://www.standardsconverter.co.uk/featurec.htm
It seems to have all kinds of bells and whistles, along with full frame tbc and colour corrector. it's £300, but if it is really as good as it seems it would be a good investment.
And the TV One CDM-630T Standards Converter
http://www.holdan.co.uk/tvone/CDM-630T.htm
Seems to have most of the same features as the ACE, but not all.
However, on eBay there are always listings for convertors in the £100/$200 range, like these
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3319&item=7528218609&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3319&item=7529109564&rd=1
Are these units worth the money - will they deliver better quality conversions than my current sw method? Will the ACE?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.