PAL to NTSC

[yearofthespider2k3]

Simple question here. Got some PAL dvds want to convert them to NTSC. Not sure if this is the right section or should be posted in the conversion section. At any rate, I have read the guides and they seem somewhat complicated and not to mention old. Is there any easy way to go about this conversion and if not, what method are you guys using/have used with the best results and quickness. (I understand quickness sometimes = lower quality)

[jman98]

"Some PAL dvds" = how many?

My rule is that if you have to do this more than twice, it's NOT worth the effort and you need to buy a converting DVD player. If you can find it (Best Buy no longer sells it but Amazon may) the Philips DBP3560 can still be made region free with the instructions we have under our DVD Players list. Best Buy also sells a refurbished Insignia BluRay player, the RF-NS-WBRDVD2, that can still be made region free with a firmware DOWNGRADE. You will have to find and install the old firmware yourself. Do your research BEFORE buying to find a player that can still be made region free. Most Philips DVD players, but not all, can be made region free. Essentially nothing made by Sony and Samsung can be made region free. And with very few exceptions, BluRay players usually cannot be made region free so look for DVD players.

Note that doing conversions from PAL -> NTSC will be for the movie ONLY and will lose all menus and extras. This is one of the reasons why this type of conversion is rarely worth the effort. Remember, your time may be worth something to you. If it is, then you need to buy a converting DVD player.

This is the simplest and fastest method to do it.
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/166266-PAL-NTSC-DVD-Conversion-%28patch-method%29
It is patching the video header to fake your player into playing PAL DVD and does NOT do any real conversion. Note that some players do not support this at all so if it doesn't work for you then you will have to do a true conversion.

[yoda313]

Fyi the xbox 360 can play ripped region free pal dvds a-ok. I have a season set that I bought on ebay a while ago that I didn't realize were pal. But I was able to rip them to region free, burn to new discs and then played just fine on the xbox 360. If I remember correctly the ps3 does not play region free pal dvds.

Just an fyi. Some might be able to do ripped pal dvds without any conversions. I'd search high and low for confirmation on that if you don't know for sure.

But since you already have the dvds just rip them and do a burn and test them on your target player. You MAY be able to play straight away without conversion. Though no promises of course.

[DB83]

Just because a guide is 'old' it does not mean that it no longer valid certainly not if the tools it discusses are is available.

There are 'quick' ways to convert a PAL mpeg to a NTSC mpeg - AVStoDVD can do that without breaking in to a sweat. But speed is not the real issue. ANY re-encoding of a mpeg source WILL result in a loss of quality.

You can minimise that by converting the mpeg to a lossless source but that will not be truly lossless as you have a lossy source to start with.

And as jman98 has already put, it all comes down to how you value your time. Time AND effort to do it properly could well exceed the cost of getting a converting player.

[yearofthespider2k3]

thanks Yoda. I have a PS3 though. I was afraid that the getting a new player thing was going to be the most voted for option. I guess really it does make more sense.

[jman98]

thanks Yoda. I have a PS3 though. I was afraid that the getting a new player thing was going to be the most voted for option. I guess really it does make more sense.

Did you even read my reply or did you decide since it had more than one sentence in it that it was too much for you to handle? I told you a very simple method that might work at no cost to fix your issue. I don't know why I even bother. I'm done here.

[yearofthespider2k3]

thanks Yoda. I have a PS3 though. I was afraid that the getting a new player thing was going to be the most voted for option. I guess really it does make more sense.

Did you even read my reply or did you decide since it had more than one sentence in it that it was too much for you to handle? I told you a very simple method that might work at no cost to fix your issue. I don't know why I even bother. I'm done here.

easy greasy. I never said I wouldn't give it a shot. How do you know I haven't tried it already? All I said was that I figured the response of getting a different player was going to come up often. I also noted how that may (in some eyes) make more sense than fooling with converting the video each and every time. No need to be hostile amigo. I look at everything everyone responds with. I am more than happy to have so many knowledgeable people who will give me advice and be so friendly. Just because I haven't completed the task that you set me out on doesn't mean I haven't tried it or am not considereing it.

[Calidore]

If you use a region-free player to play a PAL DVD, don't you also need a PAL-capable television?

[yoda313]

If you use a region-free player to play a PAL DVD, don't you also need a PAL-capable television?

At least you don't in the case of the xbox 360. I can't speak to other players since I don't have them.

[DB83]

If you use a region-free player to play a PAL DVD, don't you also need a PAL-capable television?

The players in question do more than make the disk region free. They convert the signal from PAL to NTSC plus progressive scan.

Well that is how I understand it. Over here, we only have to worry about region changes.

[hech54]

If you use a region-free player to play a PAL DVD, don't you also need a PAL-capable television?

Technically YES. Many people forget to mention that BUT....often times if a DVD player is hackable then it also has an "NTSC/PAL Output" option either in the menu or as an N/P button on the remote.