NTSC DVD recording in the UK (PAL land)

[Maurice123]

I am based in the UK (PAL). I sometimes need to send DVD's produced locally to friends in the US. I am shortly visiting the US and thinking of buying an NTSC DVD recorder (preferably portable) but it must have switchable voltage and frequency capability so that I can record NTSC on it when in the UK.
Is this a possibility and if so would appreciate some model suggestions.

[hech54]

It most likely will NOT record in NTSC if you do find one anyway. There are some models that will record in BOTH formats via the cinch connections(like my old Philips) but I don't know of any that will convert PAL to NTSC on the fly while recording.
You are better of just getting a converting DVD player that will convert your PAL signal to NTSC...then record to your present DVD recorder. You'd be surprised...it might work...the only problem is that most manufacturers do not list this as a feature of their machines...and some do not even know that their machines can do this...

[bendixG15]

How about a "standard US machine" connected to a seperate voltage converter (UK --> US) do the trick ?

[Maurice123]

I am getting conflicting reports. I have actually sent some PAL DVD's to the US and they have played on $50.00 players there, albeit sometimes with the odd hiccup at the start but at best it is a lottery with different machines and different makes of disk

I am trying to level the odds a bit by at least sending an NTSC-coded disk. I can easily cope with the voltage difference but I am concerned whether the freqency difference (60 v 50 Hz) is an important factor.

I have a VHS standards converter but I now originate on DVCAM and I don't really want to down convert to VHS and then re-record back up to DVD because of all the quality losses that would entail.

[ntscuser]

Most UK-spec Panasonic DMRs will record NTSC from an NTSC source. I believe most Pioneer DVD recorders will as well. They will not record in NTSC from a PAL source.

[Maurice123]

It is interesting you say that because in all my searching so far I have not yet seen a spec over here for any DVD player that specifically says "this machine will record NTSC". They will say PAL/NTSC PLAYBACK but not record.

You say "most" and "I believe" but without confirmation It looks as if I might have to either find a standards converter that accepts and outputs firewire or else settle for lower quality.

[ntscuser]

It is interesting you say that because in all my searching so far I have not yet seen a spec over here for any DVD player that specifically says "this machine will record NTSC". They will say PAL/NTSC PLAYBACK but not record.

There's a very good reason for that. Manufacturers are very sensitive to accusations that their machines could be used to make copies of non-UK movie releases and so are deliberately cagey about the subject.

Another problem is that manufacturers are forever introducing new machines with different serial numbers which makes it hard to keep track of which machine does what.

My Panasonic DMR-E50 definitely records NTSC, I've done it. The latest incarnation is the DMR-EZ25 (with built-in Freeview tuner) which also records NTSC and as far as I know all the model numbers in between those two do as well.

A simple solution is to ask the dealer from who you purchase it whether a particular model will record in NTSC mode or not. If he says it does and it turns out it doesn't you are entitled to your money back.

[Maurice123]

I've just looked at the spec for the E50 and that too says "Video Formats PAL/NTSC/SECAM" without specifying 'record' however if you say you have done it successfully then it might be the way to go, though it apparently lacks Firewire. I assume you gave it an NTSC source to burn from. It would be too much to hope that it converted a PAL source?

Looks like a current price is around £100. How much did you pay? I am not really interested in the Freeview tuner. I already have HD cable.

I had thouyght of another possibility in that I have a non-linear vide editing programme that works in both NTSC and in PAL but whether I can feed it one format and export it to another is something I do not know . Even if it does, I still need a piece of hardware and I would rather avoid the hassle of arguing with a dealer after the event, however much I am legally within my rights.

[ntscuser]

I've just looked at the spec for the E50 and that too says "Video Formats PAL/NTSC/SECAM" without specifying 'record' however if you say you have done it successfully then it might be the way to go, though it apparently lacks Firewire. I assume you gave it an NTSC source to burn from. It would be too much to hope that it converted a PAL source?

The UK-spec Panasonic DMR records NTSC from a composite NTSC source only. It cannot record NTSC from S-video, RGB or any other source. Nor, as far as I can tell from reading the users manual, can a later model such as the EZ25.

Looks like a current price is around £100. How much did you pay?

Nothing! It was gift from a friend who upgraded to a more recent machine.

[Maurice123]

That was an exceptionally good price! Looks like it is now decision making time for me. Thank you for all your help.

[ntscuser]

You might want to consider this model:-

http://www.avland.co.uk/panasonic/dmres15/dmres15.htm

No Freeview but it has DV input. (The manual doesn't say whether it will record NTSC from DV or not). You might find the same model cheaper elsewhere but this particular dealer removes the region coding which you can't do easily yourself.