24p Project for DVD PAL delivery, im stuck!

[Jordan Brindle]

Hello chaps. Having real trouble with the classic 24p/PAL/DVD malarkey. I've been reading through Google for hours to no real conclusion for my issue, maybe im being stupid, maybe i'm not seeing the answer in front of me any more.

I basically have a project shot in 1920x1080 24p. I need to render the 24 minute project for PAL DVD (SD).

All PAL MPEG2 (25 frame) renders result in rhythmic stuttering on DVD and in windows media player.

DVDA's NTSC 3:2 pull-down MPEG2 template does not stutter when played through windows media player, but small stutters are noticeable in the NTSC DVD Architect project preview. Will this small stuttering disappear with the pull-down flags in the player? I heard a lot of PAL players can play NTSC DVD's now?

Other than that, is this whole pitch-shift project-stretch stuff my only choice for getting my film onto PAL compliant DVD?

[Juris Lielpeteris]

Search in Help (F1) "Converting NTSC 24p DV into 25p PAL video"

If you want to match the way feature films are transferred to PAL, follow these steps:

Render your 24p project using the NTSC DV 24p (inserting 2-3-3-2 pulldown) template. For more information, see "Rendering Projects (Render As)."

Start a new project using the NTSC DV 24p (720x480, 23.976 fps) template. For more information, see "Creating a New Project."

On the General tab of the Preferences dialog, select the Allow pulldown removal when opening 24p DV check box. For more information, see "Preferences - General Tab."

Add the NTSC 24p DV rendered clip to the Vegas Pro timeline.

Right-click the clip, choose Switches, and then select Disable Resample.

Set the ruler format to Absolute Frames. For more information, see "Time Ruler."

Press Ctrl+End to move the cursor to the end of the clip.

Copy the cursor position to the clipboard:

Press Ctrl+G to select the cursor position in the status bar.

Press Ctrl+C to copy it to the clipboard.

Press Esc.

Change the project format to PAL DV (720x576, 25.000 fps).

In the Project Properties dialog, choose None (progressive) from the Field order drop-down list. For more information, see "Setting Project Properties."

Return the cursor to the previous position:

Press Ctrl+G to select the cursor position in the status bar.

Press Ctrl+V to paste the value you copied in step 8.

The cursor should move to a location about 96% of the way through the clip.

From the Options menu, select Enable Snapping.

From the Options menu, deselect Ignore Event Grouping.

Hold Ctrl and drag the end of the clip until it snaps to the cursor.

You’ve just sped up the clip by about 4%, exactly matching the 24p material to 25p frame locations and stretching the audio to match.

Verify that the audio event's pitch shifting is tied to its stretching length:

Right-click the audio and choose Properties from the shortcut menu to display the Event Properties dialog.

Verify that Classic is selected in the Method drop-down list.

Verify that the Pitch change: Lock to stretch check box is selected.

Click OK.

Render the project:

From the File menu, choose Render As. The Render As dialog is displayed.

In the Output File box, choose the folder and file name you want to use to save your file.

In the Output Format box, choose Video for Windows (*.avi) and then choose the rendering template that matches the desired output format.

Click the Customize Template button.

On the Video tab of the Custom Template dialog, choose None (progressive scan) from the Field order drop-down list.

Click the Save Template button and save this template as PAL 25p DV for future use.

Click the OK button to close the Custom Template dialog.

Click the Render button to render your file.

and change NTSC DV 24p to 1920x1080 24p

[Jordan Brindle]

Hi Juris thanks for your help! What do you mean by change the NTSC DV to 1920x1080 24p? Do you mean use a Blu-Ray 1920x1080 template with pull-down to begin with?

[Giroud Francois]

since 24p is neither NTSC(30i) nor PAL (50i), simply leave it 24p (24p is Cinema, worldwide compatible).
all readers and screen can read it.

[Juris Lielpeteris]

Jordan, you must skip pulldpown removal step since you have 24p material, simple use 1080@24p template. Significant is how to speed up 24 to 25 fps without loose of quality.

[Jordan Brindle]

Now i understand, i was using the MPEG2 template, now i see you mean the AVI. Thanks guys will let you know how i get on!

[Jordan Brindle]

Juris you are my saviour, thank you so much for taking the time to post that workflow for me! Now i just need to get around the pitch change as the people sound a little too chipmunky! I think Audacity can do this. :)

[Juris Lielpeteris]

Movies are always converted into PAL TV display in exactly this way, and the people not to comply with 4% pitch change. Generally it sounds better than the pitch preservation using Zplane élastique timestretching in Vegas or some external DAW.