Can I capture direct from PAL to NSTC using Dazzle DVCII.

[rijir2001]

Hello,

I live in the US (NTSC format) and I have an assortment of VHS tapes recorded in PAL format. Over the years I have had local companies transfers those tapes for me to NTSC format on VHS. Obviously for a fee. Now I am trying to burn those items to DVD. I would prefer to use the original source tapes to get the best copy I can.

I am using the Dazzle DVCII capture device and I am happy with the results I get. If I get a VCR that outputs in the PAL format can I hook the VCR directly to the Dazzle device and capture to NTSC? I know that I can capture in PAL and then convert. The device supports PAL. But due to the fact that Dazzle captures MPEG files, converting to PAL after will lose some quality due to re-compressing a compressed file. In addition, the time that TMPEG takes to re-encode the file will be 4 to 5 hours.

I want to get a VCR that plays PAL format and I have found inexpensive models that do but output in the PAL format only. I don’t want to spend a lot. So, before buying one I need to know if a direct capture PAL to NTSC will work. Any information will be appreciated.

Russell

[rijir2001]

Well, how about a suggestion of a good multiformat VCR that is inexpensive?

Russ

[Anonymous65]

Normally, when you use TMPGEnc or Virtualdub to do the frame rate and line rate conversion, you get jerky video. To get true NTSC/PAL conversion, you need to do line/frame rate conversion in a linear fashion, not simply by dropping or adding frames. A NTSC/PAL VCR converter does this interframe/field conversion to minimize the jerkyness in the converted video. You can get converting VCR's for just over $300 is you shop around. You can also get stand-alone converteres for less than $200.