Which software should I use to properly convert PAL to NTSC

[Sharc]

Avstodvd can do 25 to 23.976 using slowdown, then telecine 23.976 to 29.97, For ntsc film.
This is the typical scenario for progressive 25 fps source (eg. speeded up movie shot at 24 fps)

It actually works well if you want to give it a try. I've found in the scenario with consecutive VOB's
It's best to use DGindex manually, then use the d2v project as the source to A2D

Does DGIndex or AVS2DCD compress the video? I'm trying to avoid that.

Dgindex just creates an index and writes out the ac3 audio.
A2D uses mpeg2source to access the index.
A2D creates a standard dvd, playable in any player,
SD, 720X480 NTSC or 720x576 PAL
https://www.videohelp.com/dvd

I gave it a try. AVS2DVD (aka A2D) delivers a soft-telecined NTSC output, applying pulldown flags. Don't know how smooth it plays on NTSC devices though as the pulldown pattern deviated from the standard 3-2 pulldown it seems ..... maybe it was a source issue so I can't tell for sure.

For 23.976 source, if it's set to use HCenc, a2d adds the pulldown setting for the encoder.
Otherwise ( when FFmpeg does the encoding), a2d uses DGpulldown. Program creates
a very good log, all steps and details are there

Thanks. Source was 25fps (no slowdown), hence the applied pulldown flag pattern was for 25->29.97.
From the log:

<07.03.2024 19:27:40>
START PULLDOWN OPERATIONS
DGPulldown Parameters: "D:\....\DVD_VTS_01_1.m2v" -srcfps 25 -destfps 29.97 -inplace -tff
<>

So while DVDStyler (the proposal in post#18) converted the framerate by repeating certain frames, AVS2DVD applies soft-telecine (means providing pulldown instructions for the player) by flagging the stream accordingly (using the flags 'Repeat_First_Field' and 'Top_Field_First').
When ticking the PAL->NTSC slowdown option it produces the standard 3-2 pulldown pattern which is perfect for NTSC compliance and minimizing judder.
From the log:

START PULLDOWN OPERATIONS
DGPulldown Parameters: "D:\..........\DVD_VTS_01_1.m2v" -srcfps 23.976 -destfps 29.97 -inplace -tff

[Sharc]

Avstodvd can do 25 to 23.976 using slowdown, then telecine 23.976 to 29.97, For ntsc film.
This is the typical scenario for progressive 25 fps source (eg. speeded up movie shot at 24 fps)

It actually works well if you want to give it a try. I've found in the scenario with consecutive VOB's
It's best to use DGindex manually, then use the d2v project as the source to A2D

Does DGIndex or AVS2DCD compress the video? I'm trying to avoid that.

AVS2DVD (or any other utility) has to re-encode the PAL video (720x576) in order to comply with the vertical resolution of NTSC (720x480).

[victoriabears]

He is very old school. His dvd player is ancient, which is why he insisted on me burning a dvd for him

I doubt his TV is too old to play files via a USB port on the TV somewhere.

My 15 year old Sony HD 1080p TV cannot, but I have a roku player that will.

As said, get him via amazon a modern dvd player that will play worldwide dvd's. However when you make a copy you will remove region encoding and many many North American dvd player of old will play pal DVD's on a ntsc TV, your milage will vary.

[victoriabears]

I have a region 2 pal dvd that I would like to make a copy of for a friend. Since he only has a region 1 player, I am planning on converting it to an NTSC DVD for him. However, with every program I use (DVDFab, DVDstyler), it seems to create video with a very jerky kind of quality. What is the best program to lossessly convert PAL to NTSC without the issue of extra frames or high-pitch audio. Thanks in advance.

If your friend is local take your dvd over and may be just may be it will play. if not use a dvd decrypter to make a copy, I am interested-whats the film?

[cthane]

So I downloaded AVStoDVD but I can't figure out how to convert the video to 29.97. What should I do?

[davexnet]

So I downloaded AVStoDVD but I can't figure out how to convert the video to 29.97. What should I do?

What is your source?

[cthane]

A PAL Mkv file that copied from the DVD.

[davexnet]

A PAL Mkv file that copied from the DVD.

Use Avidemux to remux the contents into an mpg-ps file, then use DGindex on the mpg
to create the project and demux the audio. (file/save project)

A second method, is to use the MKV directly, I'm going to test it to see if it all works. (It works, perhaps try this first)

Before loading your source, set the Preferences and save them.
Avisynth tab -
AVS video source filter- ffmpegsource
AVS audio source filter - ffmpegsource
Use NTSC slowdown for progressive PAL (select)
Video tab -
DVD video standard - NTSC

[cthane]

And this will give me the best quality possible?

[Sharc]

I would say yes as AVS2DVD is shipped with the 'best' free mpeg2 encoder (HCenc).

[cthane]

Ok, so I converted the video to NTSC but now the file size is bigger than the source file size. Is there anyway to lossessly convert the video with AVSToDVD?

[jagabo]

And this will give me the best quality possible?

Not if it's interlaced. Not if it's a field blended conversion. It depends on the properties of the source.

[davexnet]

A2D's normal operation is to maximise the file size so it will best fit the DVD, ie. up to 4.5GB
the assusmption is you're going to be burning an actual DVD - if you're going to do that,
may as well maximise the bitrate

If you'd like to reduce the bitrate, you can do it from Title edit/video tab.
One scenario where this is useful is if you want to create an mpg file vs. a physical DVD.

[Sharc]

And this will give me the best quality possible?

Not if it's interlaced. Not if it's a field blended conversion. It depends on the properties of the source.

Good point. As the OP wrote that his source is a PAL DVD I silently assumed that it is progressive film (PsF). That might not be true though.
Maybe the OP wants to upload a short sample for checking.