What programs convert a DVD from/to PAL/NTSC?

[Des]

Presently I am using ConvertX to simply convert an entire DVD to PAL or NTSC. I use FAVC for avi files and I like it's output a little better. Unfortunately FAVC won't take a DVD (ripped or otherwise) and convert it. So, is ConvertX it or is there anything else free or in it's price range of around $40 that can do this with sopme increase in quality?

I know there are better ways to do this stuff but this is for those times when I need to do quick cenversions for families to send video overseas and what not. I'm not looking for 'Hollywood' I'm just looking for 'pretty darn good.'

--dES

[guns1inger]

ConvertXtoDVD is probably the best option short of doing it properly. Nothing is going to make the quality better than the source, and you are always going to take a hit going from PAL to NTSC regardless.

[lordsmurf]

Most USA DVD players now play PAL just fine. You can thank Chinese manufacturing for that one.

[Des]

Thanks Gunslinger, I figured ConvertX was about my only choice for the quick jobs, but I figured it never hurts to ask once in a while.

Lord Smurf, I use a lite-on that plays PAL pretty well, but most of my customers are sending stuff over seas and aren't sure what their relatives/friends have. For the ones bringing stuff into the US most of them still can't understand the difference between a CD and a DVD so asking them if their at home player does PAL is like teaching a pig to dance (you know the rest

That's why I want a good looking but fast conversion so I can keep the charges as low as possible and still offer them some quality.

Cheers!

--dES

[lordsmurf]

USA, Canada and Japan have NTSC. Everybody else has PAL.
All PAL players can play NTSC.

[MOVIEGEEK]

Most USA DVD players now play PAL just fine. You can thank Chinese manufacturing for that one.

I wouldn't say most,only two I know for sure:Philips and Oppo.

[lordsmurf]

JVC, LiteOn, Toshiba, JVC, Philips, cheapo's .... I've not seen an NTSC-only player in a few years now (or somebody with a years-old player). Pre-2003, before China joined DVD player production.

[Des]

Actually my Toshiba recorder which is about 3 years old won't play PAL. The JVC at the shop (combo unit made by LG) had to be 'hacked' in order to play PAL.

I was almost feeling guilty for charging people for something they may not need, but I guess it still works on the side of caution.

--dES

[jman98]

Lord Smurf, I use a lite-on that plays PAL pretty well, but most of my customers are sending stuff over seas and aren't sure what their relatives/friends have. For the ones bringing stuff into the US most of them still can't understand the difference between a CD and a DVD so asking them if their at home player does PAL is like teaching a pig to dance (you know the rest

That's why I want a good looking but fast conversion so I can keep the charges as low as possible and still offer them some quality.

I find these comments to be troubling. Perhaps your business is converting home movies to DVD. If so, no problem. But if you are getting money off converting movies between formats, I have to warn you that such conversions are quite possibly illegal to do for money in the USA. If you happen to be converting Hollywood movies between formats for cash, that might be illegal under US law. It would be a completely different thing to convert a film yourself for your own personal use that you bought on DVD in some other country. Under "Fair Use" that kind of thing would probably be legal, but Hollywood would certainly argue that you would need to buy another copy in the USA rather than convert. However, if you are converting movies for pay, you potentially could be in violation of the DMCA in doing so. I'm not saying that the feds are going to come knocking at your door, but you do need to be aware of the risks. All it would take is one guy with a grudge to tell the MPAA about you and their willingness to "make an example of you" and you might find yourself in a legal quagmire you will deeply regret. Again, you may not be converting movies for money, but your statement doesn't explicitly state what you are doing.

[Des]

jman98, I appreciate your concern. I run a camera shop and am quite respectful of copyrights. I have too many professional photographers coming in to do anything to lose their trust. They can be a fickle lot and rightfuly so.

All of the conversions and copies that I do are from personal films and videos all taken by the camera owners themselves. Actually some are professional videographers but not often.

I've seen an awful lot of Christmas and birthday parties :P

The recent video I converted to PAL was a highschool kids performing at a battle of the bands t send to their family in Poland. Could be a good band if each member kept the same beat

--dES

[solarfox]

USA, Canada and Japan have NTSC. Everybody else has PAL.

Not quite.

NTSC is used in the USA, Canada, Mexico, most of Central America and the Caribbean, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, the Union of Myanmar (Burma), plus U.S. Territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands) and some other Pacific Island nations such as Micronesia and Palau.