PAL > NTSC or NTSC > PAL at DVinfo.net

Ryan Hansen · January 10th, 2010, 09:12 PM

Hi

I'm working on a wedding DVD, but I'm going to need to create 2 - one for NTSC and one for PAL.

I'm sure this is a simple anwser and it's a bit late since I recorded everything in PAL, so mainly for the record:

Is it better to record in PAL and convert to NTSC, or the other way around. I (think) PAL has higher res, but NTSC more frames (something stupid with a .97 - who thought of that! :)) It is better to lose a little res, or somehow (?) increase the frame rate. While I think of that, how does it make up the extra 3.97 frames?

Thank you
Ryan

Peter Manojlovic · January 10th, 2010, 09:59 PM

Since DVD's in Europe thru Asia play NTSC discs fine, most of us in NTSC land don't need to go through the headache of conversions....

NTSC to PAL is a headache, but PAL to NTSC is easier for me.

As a rule of thumb, i used to take PAL progressive footage, slow it down 25>24FPS, and simply run Pulldown on the 24fps video stream..Perhaps your authouring software can do this on the fly, but basically a flag is added to the 24fps stream to tell the DVD player to playback the MPEG as interlaced 29.97. Of course, the audio would need to get the same reduction in speed, so it could match the video..

Robert Lane · January 11th, 2010, 12:38 AM

At Peter pointed out, most of the EU and non-Americas region players that are PAL standard are also capable of playing NTSC content. If you want to author only once then shoot/edit/author in NTSC.

PAL is really only a preferred format if:

- You're only going to deliver to PAL customers or;
- You're doing a film transfer since the non-drop frame world of PAL make for frame-accurate film transfers.

William Hohauser · January 11th, 2010, 10:44 AM

While most DVD players in PAL countries can play NTSC, I have experienced that the reverse isn't always true. For some reason many DVD players (especially DVD recorders) sold in the United States will not play PAL.

The best thing to do is to convert the finished PAL project to NTSC (there are many posts here discussing methods either with the tools available in FCS or with purchased plug-ins) and then make a NTSC DVD.

Ryan Hansen · January 11th, 2010, 03:32 PM

Cool, Thank you everyone for the replies.

Its good to know some PAL devices can play NTSC, I guess the only other thing is the DVD regions... I complete my PAL version and pulldown to 24f for a NTSC version.

Thanks again, being in PAL land, I've never had to look at NTSC.

Cool
Ryan

January 10th, 2010, 09:12 PM	#1
Ryan Hansen Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 82	PAL > NTSC or NTSC > PAL Hi I'm working on a wedding DVD, but I'm going to need to create 2 - one for NTSC and one for PAL. I'm sure this is a simple anwser and it's a bit late since I recorded everything in PAL, so mainly for the record: Is it better to record in PAL and convert to NTSC, or the other way around. I (think) PAL has higher res, but NTSC more frames (something stupid with a .97 - who thought of that! :)) It is better to lose a little res, or somehow (?) increase the frame rate. While I think of that, how does it make up the extra 3.97 frames? Thank you Ryan

January 11th, 2010, 10:44 AM	#4
William Hohauser Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: New York City Posts: 2,650	While most DVD players in PAL countries can play NTSC, I have experienced that the reverse isn't always true. For some reason many DVD players (especially DVD recorders) sold in the United States will not play PAL. The best thing to do is to convert the finished PAL project to NTSC (there are many posts here discussing methods either with the tools available in FCS or with purchased plug-ins) and then make a NTSC DVD. __________________ William Hohauser - New York City Producer/Edit/Camera/Animation

January 10th, 2010, 09:59 PM	#2
Peter Manojlovic Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Hamilton Ontario Posts: 769	Since DVD's in Europe thru Asia play NTSC discs fine, most of us in NTSC land don't need to go through the headache of conversions.... NTSC to PAL is a headache, but PAL to NTSC is easier for me. As a rule of thumb, i used to take PAL progressive footage, slow it down 25>24FPS, and simply run Pulldown on the 24fps video stream..Perhaps your authouring software can do this on the fly, but basically a flag is added to the 24fps stream to tell the DVD player to playback the MPEG as interlaced 29.97. Of course, the audio would need to get the same reduction in speed, so it could match the video..

January 11th, 2010, 12:38 AM	#3
Robert Lane Go Go Godzilla Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ USA Posts: 2,825 Images: 15	At Peter pointed out, most of the EU and non-Americas region players that are PAL standard are also capable of playing NTSC content. If you want to author only once then shoot/edit/author in NTSC. PAL is really only a preferred format if: - You're only going to deliver to PAL customers or; - You're doing a film transfer since the non-drop frame world of PAL make for frame-accurate film transfers.

January 11th, 2010, 03:32 PM	#5
Ryan Hansen Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 82	Cool, Thank you everyone for the replies. Its good to know some PAL devices can play NTSC, I guess the only other thing is the DVD regions... I complete my PAL version and pulldown to 24f for a NTSC version. Thanks again, being in PAL land, I've never had to look at NTSC. Cool Ryan