converting NTSC to PAL

14th Feb 2003 09:58 #1

Alexandre

Member

I need help converting DVD movie that is in NTSC to PAL.

Please Help!

Quote

14th Feb 2003 12:27 #2

miamicanes

Member

If your goal is the creation of a DVD that someone in Europe can put in his DVD player and view, pretty much all you need to do is author a region 0 (regionless) DVD-R with the file. No conversion is likely to be necessary.

First, let's assume that somehow you can turn the source video into an MPEG-2 file with parameters compatible with NTSC broadcast -- 704 x 480 resolution, 29.97 frame/second (progressive) or 59.94 field/second (interlaced). How you get to that point -- ripping, capturing, etc, is up to you.

Strictly speaking, the DVD industry misuses the terms "PAL" and "NTSC". The terms themselves refer to the way color information is multiplexed into the video signal -- nothing less, nothing more. From the standpoint of MPEG video, color encoding is irrelevant. Color is encoded within MPEG-2 as YUV 4-1-1, and it's the responsibility of the DVD player itself to translate that into the locally appropriate scheme.

Framerate (29.97/59.94 vs 25/50) is only an issue if the video needs to actually be broadcast, or possibly transferred to a true "PAL" videotape. For DVD playback, it's not likely to matter, because most European TVs can handle both frame/fieldrates (though the reverse is NOT usually true... few American TVs can handle 25/50). Cheap TVs require that the user adjust the vertical hold and horizontal size, normal TVs see the 59.94hz input, think "Ahhh. NTSC." and adjust themselves automatically.

Resolution is another thing that isn't likely to matter unless the video needs to be broadcast. Most European TVs automatically assume that 29.97fps/59.94hz video is 704 x 480, and 25fps/50hz video is {?} x 520.

In other words, as long as the DVD is regionless and is being played back on a European DVD player connected to a European TV, everything is likely to work just fine. Where things get ugly is when you want to do things like connect a European PAL DVD player to an American TV, or an American DVD player to a European TV, or when you try to add a VCR (particularly an American one) to the equation.