VideoHelp Forum
+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 9 of 9
Thread
  1. Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Singapore
    Search Comp PM
    I have a friend who purchased a DVD in Mexico. Unfortunately, while the region code works here in the states (its region 1 - 6), the video itself is PAL (for whatever reason). He wants to be able to play it on a stand-alone (US) DVD player but obviously it won't play. My question, what is the simplest way to create an NTSC version of the disc which will retain most of the video and audio quality? I have access to computer ripping and burning tools and would like to help him out. The disc will play on my computer (using the MPC-HC player) but that doesn't help him with his desire to use it on a stand-alone player.
    Quote Quote  
  2. Member DB83's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Search Comp PM
    Others will have other ideas but....

    1. Use vob2mpg to create single mpg file of the video
    2. Use avstodvd to create NTSC dvd-folder or iso from that
    3. burn iso or folders to disk with imgburn

    You can also create a simple menu at step 2

    As I said, there are other ways but none would retain any menu from the original disk.
    Quote Quote  
  3. Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    United States
    Search Comp PM
    AVStoDVD is able to do PAL to NTSC video conversions, although as stated, it won't allow one to keep the original menus, and its menu creation abilities are limited. (AVStoDVD can create simple menus or menuless DVDs.)

    I normally use the free version of VOBtoMPG to create a multiplexed file containing the audio and video from previously decrypted DVD files and folders. However, PgcDemux might work better in some cases. Unlike VOBtoMPG, PgcDemux outputs elementary streams, video(m2v), audio(ac3,wav,dts,mpa) and subtitles(sup)

    Decrypted audio and video can be imported as one multiplexed file, or they can be imported as individual files. If the PAL DVD includes subtitles, AVStoDVD accepts subtitles in SUP format, but I have never tried that feature in a PAL to NTSC conversion, so I don't know if it works well.
    Ignore list: hello_hello, tried, TechLord, Snoopy329
    Quote Quote  
  4. I use the PAL to NTSC AVISynth script posted by Nick Hope many years ago (see below).

    However ...

    I no longer bother to convert PAL discs because it is now so easy to play them. Yes, you are correct that an old-fashioned set-top DVD player will not play them. But, despite this, if the TV set is a modern LCD set, I can almost guarantee that it will have no problem playing 25 fps interlaced material.

    So, what your friend needs to do is look around the house for other things that will play round shiny discs. You can certainly play the disc on any computer which has a DVD player. If your friend has a laptop with a DVD player, all he has to do is figure out how to hook that up to his home theater.

    My son's ancient XBox 360 will also play them.

    Another option is to NOT convert the DVD, but simply rip it. When you rip it, tell the software to create a single, large VOB file, and strip out all but the video and one of the audio tracks. Rename that file from VOB to MPG. Copy that to a thumb drive. Plug that thumb drive into the TV's USB port. It should play just fine. No conversion needed. The video will be unaltered, unchanged, and undamaged.

    The conversion script below provides just about the best quality you are likely to get, but you won't have any quality hit if you simply play the PAL disc as I just described, and you'll save lots of time and effort.

    Code:
    #Script to convert PAL to NTSC
    #Frameserve in RGB24 format (or RGB32 if AviSynth will not accept RGB24)
    
    loadplugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\MVTools\mvtools2.dll")
    loadplugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\RemoveGrainSSE2.dll")
    loadplugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\SSE3Tools.dll")
    loadplugin("C:\Program Files\AviSynth 2.5\plugins\mt_masktools-25.dll")
    
    Import("E:\Documents\My Videos\AVISynth Scripts\QTGMC-3.31a.avsi") #Use version with hpad,vpad hardwired to 8 (avoids crash)
    
    SetMemoryMax(1000)
    SetMTMode(5,8)
    AviSource("e:\fs.avi").AssumeTFF()
    SetMTMode(2)
    
    ConvertToYUY2(interlaced=true, matrix="PC.601")
    
    Spline36Resize(720,height)
    
    #The following worked well for HD PAL video that I restored for someone on the Internet
    QTGMC( Preset="Slower", SubPel=2, EdiThreads=4,ThSCD1=180, ThSCD2=98, Blocksize=32,Overlap=4)  #Nick's latest settings default scene detection is thSCD1=304, thSCD2=100
    #QTGMC( Preset="Slower", SubPel=2, EdiThreads=4,ThSCD1=180, ThSCD2=98 )  #Nick's latest settings default scene detection is thSCD1=304, thSCD2=100
    #QTGMC("faster", sharpness=0, SubPel=2)             #SubPel must match pel in MSuper below
    super = MSuper(levels=1, pel=2)
    MFlowFps(super, QTGMC_bVec1, QTGMC_fVec1, num=60000, den=1001,ThSCD1=180, ThSCD2=98) #Change scene detection to match QTGMC
    Spline36Resize(width,480)
    
    #Spline36Resize(720,480)
    
    blur(0.0,1.0)
    sharpen(0.0,0.75) #Adjust 2nd value between 0.5 and 1.0 to taste
    
    separatefields()
    SelectEvery(4,0,3)
    #Selectevery(4,1,2) #For reversed fields
    Weave()
    Quote Quote  
  5. Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    United States
    Search Comp PM
    @johnmeyer You wasted a lot of time typing that post. His friend wants to use a DVD player.

    Originally Posted by JazzKennyWowy View Post
    I have a friend who purchased a DVD in Mexico. Unfortunately, while the region code works here in the states (its region 1 - 6), the video itself is PAL (for whatever reason). He wants to be able to play it on a stand-alone (US) DVD player but obviously it won't play. My question, what is the simplest way to create an NTSC version of the disc which will retain most of the video and audio quality? I have access to computer ripping and burning tools and would like to help him out. The disc will play on my computer (using the MPC-HC player) but that doesn't help him with his desire to use it on a stand-alone player.
    Ignore list: hello_hello, tried, TechLord, Snoopy329
    Quote Quote  
  6. Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    @johnmeyer You wasted a lot of time typing that post. His friend wants to use a DVD player.

    Originally Posted by JazzKennyWowy View Post
    I have a friend who purchased a DVD in Mexico. Unfortunately, while the region code works here in the states (its region 1 - 6), the video itself is PAL (for whatever reason). He wants to be able to play it on a stand-alone (US) DVD player but obviously it won't play. My question, what is the simplest way to create an NTSC version of the disc which will retain most of the video and audio quality? I have access to computer ripping and burning tools and would like to help him out. The disc will play on my computer (using the MPC-HC player) but that doesn't help him with his desire to use it on a stand-alone player.
    Well, thank you for taking the time to berate me. You are, of course, totally wrong.

    First, he said his friend has a "desire" to use it on a standalone player. I was trying to get him to explore an alternate, better solution which is to rip it (he says he has ripping tools) and then put it on a thumb drive. Yes, this does not play on a set-top DVD player, but despite that it is a much better solution on multiple levels, specifically less work and better quality. I sell thumb drive HD versions of my videos all the time, having skipped Blu-Ray as a dead-end technology, and pretty much any modern TV with a USB port will play them.

    Even more to the point, I provided what is probably the highest-quality PAL to DVD conversion method, if he really wants to pursue putting it onto an NTSC DVD that can be played on a USA set-top DVD player, and cares about quality.

    So, I both answered his question and also provided a better solution than doing a conversion. Your post is therefore completely wrong: I did not waste my time.

    And, as you can tell by the tone of my response, it was not appreciated.
    Last edited by johnmeyer; 15th Mar 2018 at 16:42. Reason: typo
    Quote Quote  
  7. Mr. Computer Geek dannyboy48888's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Texas, USA
    Search Comp PM
    The simplest way to do it and maintain av sync without speedup etc is to rip it, demux it, resize to 720x480, dump the m2v file into dgpulldown and select 29.97fps, then drop the audio new video subs and chapters into avs2dvd. Yes its recoded, but fields and blending is not a issue. On a PC in MPC-hc you'll notice it plays at 25fps still as it ignores the pulldown flags. On a progressive standalone it will do similar. Only time you should see any issues in on a composite out player..bit even then it will play as it will be a complaint DVD. As long as the sub's are ripped to vobsub first timing won't be a issue as its time based not fps based. fitcd can Help with resizing/crop conversion is you want to make new black borders (I usually do)
    if all else fails read the manual
    Quote Quote  
  8. Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    United States
    Search Comp PM
    Originally Posted by johnmeyer View Post
    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post
    @johnmeyer You wasted a lot of time typing that post. His friend wants to use a DVD player.

    Originally Posted by JazzKennyWowy View Post
    I have a friend who purchased a DVD in Mexico. Unfortunately, while the region code works here in the states (its region 1 - 6), the video itself is PAL (for whatever reason). He wants to be able to play it on a stand-alone (US) DVD player but obviously it won't play. My question, what is the simplest way to create an NTSC version of the disc which will retain most of the video and audio quality? I have access to computer ripping and burning tools and would like to help him out. The disc will play on my computer (using the MPC-HC player) but that doesn't help him with his desire to use it on a stand-alone player.
    Well, thank you for taking the time to berate me. You are, of course, totally wrong.

    First, he said his friend has a "desire" to use it on a standalone player. I was trying to get him to explore an alternate, better solution which is to rip it (he says he has ripping tools) and then put it on a thumb drive. Yes, this does not play on a set-top DVD player, but despite that it is a much better solution on multiple levels, specifically less work and better quality. I sell thumb drive HD versions of my videos all the time, having skipped Blu-Ray as a dead-end technology, and pretty much any modern TV with a USB port will play them.

    Even more to the point, I provided what is probably the highest-quality PAL to DVD conversion method, if he really wants to pursue putting it onto an NTSC DVD that can be played on a USA set-top DVD player, and cares about quality.

    So, I both answered his question and also provided a better solution than doing a conversion. Your post is therefore completely wrong: I did not waste my time.

    And, as you can tell by the tone of my response, it was not appreciated.
    I doubt that you will like this reply either. The OP asked for a simple method of producing an NTSC DVD from a PAL DVD source, and I doubt that he is expecting to do this very often. If you really think that learning how to use Avisynth scripting with an MPEG-2 encoder to produce DVD-compatible video is something that would meet most people's definition of simple or easy, you need a reality check.

    We know nothing about the TV. Playing video on USB stick created with your method will only work if the TV has a built-in media player that supports playing VOB files masquerading as mpg files.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 16th Mar 2018 at 00:51. Reason: Correction:The OP asked for a simple method.
    Ignore list: hello_hello, tried, TechLord, Snoopy329
    Quote Quote  
  9. Member hech54's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2001
    Location
    Yank in Europe
    Search PM
    Originally Posted by usually_quiet View Post

    I doubt that you will like this reply either. The OP asked for an easy method of producing an NTSC DVD from a PAL DVD source, and I doubt that he is expecting to do this very often. If you really think that learning how to use Avisynth scripting with an MPEG-2 encoder to produce DVD-compatible video is something that would meet most people's definition of easy, you need a reality check.
    Foolish mortal.
    Don't you know that dazzling newbies with your Avisynth prowess makes your penis larger?
    Jeez. I thought everyone knew that.
    Quote Quote  



Similar Threads

Visit our sponsor! Try DVDFab and backup Blu-rays!