almost newbie authoring pal dvd - ntsc vcd

[xtrawidth]

i've read lots of info regarding the process of this but i can't seem to find the right answer.

i am trying to convert a PAL dvd of buffyTVS to a NTSC vcd. i tried using the standard NTSC vcd template included with TMPGEnc using a 29.97 fps, but the end result was a bit jerky when i played it back in my dvd player. is this because of the jump from PAL's 25 fps? should i use 23.976 fps perhaps?

help!

Andy

[Capt_Diode]

Check the following link.

http://www.vcdhelp.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?topic=53417&forum=3

Captain Diode

[xtrawidth]

thanks for that. it seems to be the answer i am looking for. HOWEVER one or two further questions regarding your method.

during step 4, you suggest loading one of the supplied tmpgenc templates. in my case it would be the vcd ntsc one, but in its settings it has a framerate of 29.x ghosted out. should i use the ntsc film which has the 23.x fps? also, you suggest NOT preserving the pitch here. how do i specify that in tmpgenc? i cannot find any kind of option for this!

thanks for your help this far!

Andy

[Capt_Diode]

Andy,

Use the template NTSC Film. By converting Pal to NTSC Film you will add about three minutes to the video. If you were to use NTSC 29.97 you would shorten the video. This process is mearely changing how long each frame is displayed. I recommended against changing the pitch to simplify the process. I doubt anyone will notice the change but feel fre to try it. I successfully converted a series of 1 hour videos using this process with exelent results. No skipping or jumping and the audio was perfectly in sync.

Good Luck!
Captain Diode

[Capt_Diode]

Sorry, I just realized I answered your second question incorrectly. The pitch settings for the audio are found in Cool Edit.

Captain Diode

[xtrawidth]

got you! so it's the 'vcd cool edit resample (does not preserve pitch or tempo)' bit you're talking about?



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: xtrawidth on 2001-08-29 09:08:57 ]</font>

[Capt_Diode]

Correct!

Good Luck,
Captain Diode

[xtrawidth]

hi!

so i tried your method and the vcd looks great. i encoded at 23.x fps in the end, and burnt the cd off. however, when i play it back in my dvd player, when the scene is panning or zooming, i get a judder what seems like once a second. is this cos it's 23.x fps? or is it due to the 'motion search' option in tmpgenc (i chose the slowest/ best method)? do i have to re-encode at 29.x fps with 3:2 pulldown? how do i do that whilst retaining the quality of my original? hope someone can help!

[Capt_Diode]

Andy,

I had the same problem until I used the following, In DVD2AVI Click video Field Operation and select none Then in TMPGEnc advanced tab (Do not frame rate conversion) and deinterlace to none. If you still have this problem you may have to convert to 29.97. I have read that 3:2 pulldown will do this. I don't know what impact it will have on the length of the video. If it changes the length then you will have to experiment with Cool Edit to change the length of the audio. More frames per second will yield smoother transitions during panning but may not resolve your problem. I only know of one other thing that could cause this. In NTSC there are two fields for every frame. In other words as each frame is drawn on the screen it skips the next line 1 3 5 etc. The next frame is drawn 2 4 6 etc. If these fields were reversed it could cause a jitter on the screen. Some of the posts talk about this.

I would love to be able to help you further but I am not very familiar with the rippers and encoders. It took me three solid weeks to get this far with the procedure. I'm sure it could be improved or there could be better methods of doing this I just didn't have the time to pursue it. This is a fairly advanced topic and in reading the posts there is not a lot of solid information on it, which is why I shared what I had learned so far. I spend a great deal of time reading these posts in an effort to learn more. Maybe one of the more advanced users could assist in helping you find a solution. I would welcome any advice.

Good Luck,
Captain Diode

[xtrawidth]

thanks very much once again! i do regard myself as very much a beginner (but one that is far from stupid) which is why these forums are so helpful. i appreciate these things are not meant to be easy!

i will try the dvd2avi tweak you mentioned.

thanks,

Andy