PAL DVD to NTSC DVD without using Project Files.
 

note... I've tried the search function but it didn't work for me.


I have had requests for a PAL DVD we produced to be available in NTSC for the US market.
I no longer have the encore and premier project files on my computer.

Does anyone know of a program that can convert my original PAL DVD to NTSC?
I really don't want to start the whole project from scratch and convert all files in AfterFX to NTSC.

Can I rip the original PAL DVD with its menu structure and then convert?
Suggestions please as this is only to a 500 DVD run off of the product.
Thanks in advance.

Gary

It's not that simple, actually. First of all, you shouldn't use AE for transcoding between PAL and NTSC material, at least not without some sort of plugin. There's no good built-in function in After Effects to convert frame rates.

First of all, you need to rip the DVD's assets to a real-frame file (QuickTime, if you're on a Mac). This will result in a PAL format file, of course - you shouldn't transcode yet.

Then, if using Final Cut Pro, invest in Natress' standards conversion plugins. They are just $100 USD, often paid for with just one project. You'll use the plugin as an effect in Final Cut Pro to convert the PAL QT file into an NTSC QT file in an NTSC sequence.

Then, you'll need to take the resulting QT material and encode that to DVD assets (MPEG2 for video and AC3 for audio).

So, it's not just a simple one-step process where you convert a PAL DVD into an NTSC one. Although you can do it in fewer steps, you don't want to, since the results will be poor quality video.

Thanks Eric.
Forgot to say Im on PC :-)
I have quite a few plugins for conversion I just wondered if there was software that would convert a whole PAL dvd and its menu systems over to NTSC.. Would save a lot of time.
Looks like Im going to have to rebuild the whole thing again from scratch. :-(
Ah well.

I'm not aware of a product that is a one-stop solution for this need, unfortunately.

Here are a bunch of threads you might want to check out about this subject:
The Digital Video Information Network - Search Results

A software you might want to check out is the DVfilm Atlantis
PAL to NTSC Software - DVFilm Atlantis

Atlantis is a simple standards conversion utility - same as the Nattress plugins I recommended earlier. His problem is that he wants to convert a DVD - menus and all. I think Gary's aware of the options available to him otherwise.

Thanks Eric... you are correct.
I just wondered if anyone knew of any software that could re-code a complete DVD.
Thanks everyone.

Gary