Pal Dvd at DVinfo.net

Jeff Harper · October 29th, 2008, 05:28 AM

I have a widescreen project that was shot NTSC 16:9 and it has come out fine and the DVD is great, etc.

However I need a PAL version of this for relatives of my customers in Germany.

For those familiar with PAL, is the following correct?

I resaved movie and changed properties to PAL 720x576, etc.

I re-did DVD changing the setting there as well.

Is that enough to make project compatable with German DVD players?

Lou Kulynych · October 29th, 2008, 05:52 AM

It should work OK. If you are rendering the project in Vegas with Pal Widescreen Mpeg2 settings, you should be fine.

Martin Mayer · October 29th, 2008, 06:58 AM

PAL is also 25fps (unlike NTSC's 30fps) - and has a different black level - strictly you need to convert those two attributes too.

I would suggest you TRY just sending them an NTSC DVD first - all DVD players (and all European TV sets produced in the last, say, ten years) can display NTSC OK as well as PAL - and you would avoid the substantial quality hit from attempting the NTSC>PAL conversion.

Also make sure your DVD is "Region Free".

Mike Kujbida · October 29th, 2008, 06:59 AM

Jeff, be advised that this will take a very long time.
The last time I did this, the render time was roughly 6X what it was for the NTSC encode :-(
Also, most European DVD players do the NTSC to PAL conversion on the fly during playback so a PAL DVD, while a nice option to offer, may not be necessary.

Jeff Harper · October 29th, 2008, 07:05 AM

Thanks everyone. I've already burned the PAL versions, not having read your responses first.

I'll burn the Germans a NTSC copy also. That is great to know.

Mike, didn't take long to render at all. I feel confident the setting were correct...maybe I did something wrong and didn't know it.

With the NTSC versions I will feel safe now.

Mike Kujbida · October 29th, 2008, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Mayer

Also make sure your DVD is "Region Free".

Martin, any DVD made in DVD Architect (and, as far as I know, any other home burning software) is region-free.
It's only the "big boys" who make region-coded DVDs.

Mike Kujbida · October 29th, 2008, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

Mike, didn't take long to render at all. I feel confident the setting were correct...

Glad to hear that Jeff.
My experience was with a P4 3.4 GHz machine so your machine is probably a LOT faster.

Quote:

...maybe I did something wrong and didn't know it.

Your changes were correct so, as long as you rendered it out in PAL widescreen, you should be OK.
BTW, if you don't have a DVD player that will handle a PAL DVD, your computer's DVD drive should be able to play it for you.

Jeff Harper · October 29th, 2008, 07:58 AM

Didn't know my PC would play pal, that's good to know, had no idea!

Buba Kastorski · October 29th, 2008, 11:04 AM

it should, but it'll be a bit chopy

Fred Helm · October 29th, 2008, 05:20 PM

Great thread, we just shot a tourist doc for French release, was gonna ask about the PAL issue. so NTSC will be ok for French tourists going back to France with NTSC DVD?

Richard Firnges · October 30th, 2008, 05:18 AM

Hello Fred,

a lot of DVDs which are sold in Europe are NTSC - especially Music - DVDs. Therefore all DVD -Players here are capable of NTSC and Pal and also most TV Sets. Only on very cheap or old equipment the playback quality of NTSC - DVDs is not so good - but they are still playing. Many People here have regionfree players and import US - DVDs. If I were from "NTSC - Land" I wouldnt even think of producing an PAL - DVD because of the necessary framerate conversion und loss of quality that comes with it.

Greetings from Germany

Richard

Seth Bloombaum · October 30th, 2008, 10:18 AM

While I'm glad our friends in Germany and elsewhere have had good experiences with them, NTSC DVDs are *not* universally playable in PAL lands. I stopped sending NTSC when I saw that some players would only show the program in black and white, and underscanned.

A PAL DVD is not hard to make with Vegas and DVDA. The quality, in my personal experience, is very good - much better than the alternative of what some PAL players will show of an NTSC disc.

I did a lot of viewing on a couple different PCs to confirm that the discs were recognized as PAL, and looked good, wasn't choppy, and I've had good feedback from viewers in Europe and Turkey.

See also this on AC3, this thread on deinterlacing, Spot's advice on NTSC->PAL, and much more if you search this forum!

Alastair Brown · October 30th, 2008, 12:36 PM

I would say most players will be able to handle NTSC over here. Generally, the cheaper and nastier the player, the bettwr the chances. It's becoming les and less of an issue as older players start to get put out to pasture.

Ian Stark · October 30th, 2008, 12:39 PM

Please don't ask why, but I have ten DVD players around the house and all play NTSC DVDs into a PAL TV without a problem.

Ten. I know. Extreme.

Mike Kujbida · October 30th, 2008, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian Stark

Ten. I know. Extreme.

Not unless you have 10 TVs to go along with them :-)

October 29th, 2008, 05:28 AM	#1
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Pal Dvd I have a widescreen project that was shot NTSC 16:9 and it has come out fine and the DVD is great, etc. However I need a PAL version of this for relatives of my customers in Germany. For those familiar with PAL, is the following correct? I resaved movie and changed properties to PAL 720x576, etc. I re-did DVD changing the setting there as well. Is that enough to make project compatable with German DVD players?

October 29th, 2008, 06:58 AM	#3
Martin Mayer Major Player Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Oxfordshire, UK Posts: 416	PAL is also 25fps (unlike NTSC's 30fps) - and has a different black level - strictly you need to convert those two attributes too. I would suggest you TRY just sending them an NTSC DVD first - all DVD players (and all European TV sets produced in the last, say, ten years) can display NTSC OK as well as PAL - and you would avoid the substantial quality hit from attempting the NTSC>PAL conversion. Also make sure your DVD is "Region Free". __________________ Martin at HeadSpin HD on Blu-ray

October 29th, 2008, 05:20 PM	#10
Fred Helm Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: san diego, ca Posts: 150	Great thread, we just shot a tourist doc for French release, was gonna ask about the PAL issue. so NTSC will be ok for French tourists going back to France with NTSC DVD? __________________ Fred Helm pinnedtv.com

October 30th, 2008, 10:18 AM	#12
Seth Bloombaum Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,420	While I'm glad our friends in Germany and elsewhere have had good experiences with them, NTSC DVDs are not universally playable in PAL lands. I stopped sending NTSC when I saw that some players would only show the program in black and white, and underscanned. A PAL DVD is not hard to make with Vegas and DVDA. The quality, in my personal experience, is very good - much better than the alternative of what some PAL players will show of an NTSC disc. I did a lot of viewing on a couple different PCs to confirm that the discs were recognized as PAL, and looked good, wasn't choppy, and I've had good feedback from viewers in Europe and Turkey. See also this on AC3, this thread on deinterlacing, Spot's advice on NTSC->PAL, and much more if you search this forum! Last edited by Seth Bloombaum; October 30th, 2008 at 10:57 AM. Reason: added links to other NTSC->PAL threads.

October 30th, 2008, 12:39 PM	#14
Ian Stark Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 2,237	Please don't ask why, but I have ten DVD players around the house and all play NTSC DVDs into a PAL TV without a problem. Ten. I know. Extreme. __________________ www.vit-media.com www.classicmachinefilms.co.uk

October 29th, 2008, 05:52 AM	#2
Lou Kulynych New Boot Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Staten Island New York Posts: 23	It should work OK. If you are rendering the project in Vegas with Pal Widescreen Mpeg2 settings, you should be fine.

October 29th, 2008, 06:59 AM	#4
Mike Kujbida Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Windsor, ON Canada Posts: 2,770	Jeff, be advised that this will take a very long time. The last time I did this, the render time was roughly 6X what it was for the NTSC encode :-( Also, most European DVD players do the NTSC to PAL conversion on the fly during playback so a PAL DVD, while a nice option to offer, may not be necessary.

October 29th, 2008, 07:05 AM	#5
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Thanks everyone. I've already burned the PAL versions, not having read your responses first. I'll burn the Germans a NTSC copy also. That is great to know. Mike, didn't take long to render at all. I feel confident the setting were correct...maybe I did something wrong and didn't know it. With the NTSC versions I will feel safe now.

October 29th, 2008, 07:58 AM	#8
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Didn't know my PC would play pal, that's good to know, had no idea!

October 29th, 2008, 11:04 AM	#9
Buba Kastorski Trustee Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,414	it should, but it'll be a bit chopy

October 30th, 2008, 05:18 AM	#11
Richard Firnges Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 45	Hello Fred, a lot of DVDs which are sold in Europe are NTSC - especially Music - DVDs. Therefore all DVD -Players here are capable of NTSC and Pal and also most TV Sets. Only on very cheap or old equipment the playback quality of NTSC - DVDs is not so good - but they are still playing. Many People here have regionfree players and import US - DVDs. If I were from "NTSC - Land" I wouldnt even think of producing an PAL - DVD because of the necessary framerate conversion und loss of quality that comes with it. Greetings from Germany Richard

October 30th, 2008, 12:36 PM	#13
Alastair Brown Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Glasgow/Scotland Posts: 626	I would say most players will be able to handle NTSC over here. Generally, the cheaper and nastier the player, the bettwr the chances. It's becoming les and less of an issue as older players start to get put out to pasture.

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