Convert PAL to NTSC VHS?

[manhnt]

I've got a few PAL VHS old tapes that need to be converted to NTSC tapes/DVD. Can anyone teach me the easiest and cheapest/free way to get the job done?

Thanks a lot!
Mike

[jman98]

This cannot be done for free. You will either have to pay someone to do it or buy some equipment and do it yourself. To be blunt, I'd advise you to pay someone to do it. If you have "a few PAL VHS tapes" as you said, it's not worth spending hundreds of dollars on the equipment to do it. Also, no offense but if you have to ask that kind of question, you're probably not up to the task of doing what is necessary, even if you have the right equipment.

Major cities should have various local companies that can do this kind of work for you. I'd expect them to charge you maybe $20-30 per tape to do it. It's also possible to find companies online who will let you mail tapes to them, but I have no personal recommendations to make.

[lordsmurf]

I handle a lot of PAL>NTSC VHS conversions, doing one right now on another system in fact.

Indeed, it does take special hardware, and then beyond that, the conversion process itself is best performed with some semi-complex methods, and those do involve payware.

The cheapest would be to send it somewhere. I've never come across a local walk-in store that handles PAL>NTSC with any sort of quality (they use really crappy cheapo hardware methods), so your best bet is to find a service online to mail the tapes to, that uses a quality method.

As an example of the software-side work, see http://www.digitalfaq.com/guides/video/convert-pal-ntsc.htm
A modified workflow is used when VHS is the source, as opposed to the digital source (DVD, for example) used in that guide.

[tomlee59]

I've got a few PAL VHS old tapes that need to be converted to NTSC tapes/DVD. Can anyone teach me the easiest and cheapest/free way to get the job done?

Thanks a lot!
Mike

Are these commercially recorded tapes? If they are, perhaps NTSC versions are available. In that case, the "easiest and cheapest" method would be to buy them.

If they're home-recorded, or NTSC versions are otherwise simply not available, then your best option might be to do a deal with lordsmurf.

[manhnt]

Thanks for all of suggestions.
Mike