Best Method Convert PAL VOBs to NTSC

[ehmjay]

So I know this has been posted about a hundred times but this case is a little different from before, and I've yet to really find the definitive answer so I figured I'd ask again and hopefully get a response to some of the questions I've had.

I have a video of a concert broadcast on TV in europe that a friend recorded for me. He sent me the DVD and of course its in PAL. I need to convert it to NTSC.

The video is 224 MPEG-2, 704x576. 4:3, 25 fps, 1.55 mbps, upperfield first.

I want to convert this to NTSC so I can then re-author a new DVD to watch.

I asked around on a few sites and was given an answer which seemed great and came from these forums:

1. Extract DVD via MacTheRipper to the HD.

2. Launch MPEG Streamclip for individual streams. Fix Timecode breaks. Use presets settings.

3. Recompress to DVD via Compressor

4. Launch DVDSP 2.0 and recompose menu. Correct LBX aspect ratio here via each video stream.

The use presets settings is where i get thrown off... I have no presets!

Should I be exporting to "quicktime movie" with a DV codec, and then if so which settings do I use? Should I be using the DV Stream and if so what do I use there? Is it going to be an issue that my video size is originally 704x576? I'd like to not "upscale" too much...

is Mpegstreamclip even the way to go? Is there a better solution?

this is such a pain haha. any help would be greatly, GREATLY appreciated.

[pixel zombie]

i've used mpeg2works and visualhub to convert from PAL to NTSC

[guns1inger]

The best, low pain solution is to buy a cheap, generic, imported DVD player that supports both formats, and never have to convert formats again. There are very few software methods that will do this with minimal artifacts, and most produce abysmal output. The only software based solution I have seen that truly works requires at least one windows only application - DGPulldown - for which I have see no equivalent on any other platform.

[ehmjay]

i've used mpeg2works and visualhub to convert from PAL to NTSC

any suggestions on workflow/settings?

The best, low pain solution is to buy a cheap, generic, imported DVD player that supports both formats, and never have to convert formats again. There are very few software methods that will do this with minimal artifacts, and most produce abysmal output. The only software based solution I have seen that truly works requires at least one windows only application - DGPulldown - for which I have see no equivalent on any other platform.

well that's obviously A option but not the ideal one for me... but I've heard good things about MPEG streamclip (on this board even) but those who like it dont seem to respond :P

i did go ahead and do a conversion with MPEG streamclip and it did a great job. only thing is the video is interlacey (has the lines) but I think those can be removed with the de-interlace option.

[guns1inger]

You should not see them on your DVD player/TV. If you do then you have done something wrong in the conversion.

[pixel zombie]

i tend to use yade X to extract the whole movie as 1 file and i simply drop into visualhub and convert to ntsc using the default settings...

[ehmjay]

i tend to use yade X to extract the whole movie as 1 file and i simply drop into visualhub and convert to ntsc using the default settings...

okay i could try that too. what format are you going out to? DV?

[victoriabears]

I loathe this subject, I am in victoria BC, if you want to send me acopy of the disc I'll convert it for free, else go to London Drugs and buy a coby, if you want any more help=let me know.

[ehmjay]

else go to London Drugs and buy a coby, if you want any more help=let me know.

whats a coby? haha. I really do appreciate the offer, its very kind of you but there is a part of me that really would like to LEARN how to do it so I know in future (i know just before I left my one job last year we were tasked with doing a conversion which in the end I threw into toast cause it didn't matter that much, it was just some homevideos that people wanted to watch - chapters and menus and all that jazz wasn't important).

but again thank you for the offer. I did some tests with MPEG Streamclip which im going to check tonight and hopefully they went smoothly.

[victoriabears]

I use TMPG encode when I have to do it, dunno if its MAC though.

[lordsmurf]

else go to London Drugs and buy a coby, if you want any more help=let me know.

whats a coby? haha. I really do appreciate the offer, its very kind of you but there is a part of me that really would like to LEARN how to do it so I know in future (i know just before I left my one job last year we were tasked with doing a conversion which in the end I threw into toast cause it didn't matter that much, it was just some homevideos that people wanted to watch - chapters and menus and all that jazz wasn't important).
but again thank you for the offer. I did some tests with MPEG Streamclip which im going to check tonight and hopefully they went smoothly.

You need Snell & Willcox hardware to do a proper conversion, and to my knowledge, that gear is in the $5,000+ range.

Your butcher job in Toast is going to look dreadful by any quality standard. I guess quality-blind consumers with low expectations mind find that passable or acceptable, but it's not going to be even business-grade (much less professional) quality work. There will be excessive judder, and in most cases, harmful deinterlace that leaves jaggies on screen. Most low-end conversion method seriously abuse the image geometry.

At best, you can perform some multi-step conversions (similar to the PAL>NTSC method found at http://www.digitalfaq.com/guides/video/convert-pal-ntsc.htm) that work to minimize further damage. But no method, especially not some one-click freeware method, will yield a quality product. Mac is also a very limited platform for video work, and there is nothing available to you for such conversion work. At best, you can install VMWare Fusion or Parallels, and run Windows XP inside of it, to use software required for a quality conversion.

The best conversion method is indeed to not convert at all. Play the video native to its format, and allow your viewing hardware to work for you. In most cases, this will be far better than anything you could do on your own.

Coby is a brand of electronics -- they're sold in the North America, too -- and they have a number of DVD player models. Like most other low-cost Chinese-made machines, these will play PAL, as they've been manufactured for worldwide use -- only the power plug is different from country to country.

[victoriabears]

http://www.londondrugs.com/Cultures/en-US/Product+Detail/Electronics.htm?BreadCrumbs=E...5&ProductTab=3

sorry to be obtuse in my replies, but I am so so baffled why anyone wants to learn all this hard work stuff, indeed you can use one of these dvd players and use the output to capture on your computer or dvd recorder, all so so simple.

Granted of you have non standard film or telecine problems then these machines do not help, but I have never suffered jerky video or anything , either using a dvd player or TMPG products.

[ehmjay]

thanks for the suggestions guys. its a real shame this is such an issue (stupid 40 year old technology lol).

seriously though things would be so much easier if they just released these effing concerts on DVD (or had MTV or Much Music run them rather than re-runs of The Hills).

[lordsmurf]

thanks for the suggestions guys. its a real shame this is such an issue (stupid 40 year old technology lol).

seriously though things would be so much easier if they just released these effing concerts on DVD (or had MTV or Much Music run them rather than re-runs of The Hills).

On this we can agree. 8)