Company that converts PAL VHS to DVD at DVinfo.net

Martin Ben · January 31st, 2009, 03:15 PM

I'm looking for a company that can convert a PAL VHS to a PAL DVD.
I've found some websites that say they can do it for $15 or something, but are they trustworthy? Is there any place in particular anybody would recommend?

I asked one local company and they said they could only do NTSC. Thanks for the help.

Eric Darling · January 31st, 2009, 11:13 PM

I'd say $15 is a too-good-to-be-true price for such a service. It will mean a transcode into NTSC first, and then an encode to DVD. For $15, I'd suspect the quality wouldn't be up to snuff.

There are basically two routes to address this need. You can find a do-it-yourselfer kind of production company outfitted with all the necessary tools or send it off to a service company.

The necessary tools for a production company would be a non-linear editing system with analog capture card, PAL VHS player, and software to transcode from PAL to NTSC. Of course, they'll also need software to encode and burn the NTSC DVD you want, but if they have that other stuff, it shouldn't be a problem.

Service companies that handle this kind of task are usually found in major metro areas. I tend to ship to Atlanta since it's my backyard - Crawford or VTA can handle this job.

Chris Soucy · February 1st, 2009, 04:03 PM

You did say "Pal" to "Pal", right?

Why not "post" in the "Helping Hands" section for one of our European members who happens to have a VCR to DVD machine (they're pretty popular there).

Heck, it's just a bit of "post"age.

CS

Eric Darling · February 1st, 2009, 04:51 PM

Whoops - somehow read it as PAL-NTSC. Yes, I guess $15 is a reasonable (still somewhat cheap) fee for transferring VHS to DVD. All you need is a $150 DVD recorder... At least that's what they cost in the USA.

Chris Soucy · February 1st, 2009, 05:40 PM

Just leaves the small problem of finding a Pal VHS player in the US of A.

Probably about as common as hens teeth.

As for the companies offering the service in the USA, no matter where you send it, there's the chance of "lost in the post" etc.

Suppose it's about time to ask the Big Q:

What on earth is someone in darkest State side doing with a Pal VHS tape in the first place, and similarly, what are you going to do with a PAL DVD?

Confused.

CS

Eric Darling · February 1st, 2009, 11:04 PM

Hey now, as a darkest State-sider, I can say with no degree of uncertainty that we have a fair amount of hens teeth about...

There's always the standards conversion VHS players that can still be had. But, they grow rarer. I think B&H stopped selling them.

Chris Soucy · February 2nd, 2009, 12:11 AM

What gives?

CS

Martin Ben · February 8th, 2009, 12:47 PM

I have a PAL VHS tape of one of my favorite bands playing on a TV show. I don't have a PAL deck, though. So I want to put it on DVD. I want to keep it in PAL so there is no resolution loss. My DVD player has no problem playing PAL.

I'll try to Helping Hands forum, I didn't think of that.

John Peterson · April 17th, 2009, 06:45 AM

Martin,

I researched this and found some of the sites you probably looked at. Resellerratings had only one review of PAL VHS/DVD video format conversion, convert PAL//NTSC DVD/VHS video MiniDV Digital video tape format conversion vhs 8mm dvd overseas pal system american european video system converter transfer for example, and although it may not be reflective of the business it wasn't a good review.
DVDOverseas.com - dvdoverseas.com - Reviews, Ratings and Prices at ResellerRatings

I would recommend you try several universities and see what they charge for the conversion.

Example:

Brown University: Media Services

John

Peter Manojlovic · April 17th, 2009, 09:02 PM

Or.....

You can search the Helping hands section, and see that i've already done it for him...
Yep, in about 20 years, my AIWA System Converter will pay off.....

January 31st, 2009, 03:15 PM	#1
Martin Ben New Boot Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 8	Company that converts PAL VHS to DVD I'm looking for a company that can convert a PAL VHS to a PAL DVD. I've found some websites that say they can do it for $15 or something, but are they trustworthy? Is there any place in particular anybody would recommend? I asked one local company and they said they could only do NTSC. Thanks for the help.

February 1st, 2009, 04:03 PM	#3
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,682 Images: 18	Hi Martin............. You did say "Pal" to "Pal", right? Why not "post" in the "Helping Hands" section for one of our European members who happens to have a VCR to DVD machine (they're pretty popular there). Heck, it's just a bit of "post"age. CS

February 1st, 2009, 05:40 PM	#5
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,682 Images: 18	Hmm............ Just leaves the small problem of finding a Pal VHS player in the US of A. Probably about as common as hens teeth. As for the companies offering the service in the USA, no matter where you send it, there's the chance of "lost in the post" etc. Suppose it's about time to ask the Big Q: What on earth is someone in darkest State side doing with a Pal VHS tape in the first place, and similarly, what are you going to do with a PAL DVD? Confused. CS

February 2nd, 2009, 12:11 AM	#7
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,682 Images: 18	Martin............... What gives? CS

January 31st, 2009, 11:13 PM	#2
Eric Darling Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Savannah, GA Posts: 463	I'd say $15 is a too-good-to-be-true price for such a service. It will mean a transcode into NTSC first, and then an encode to DVD. For $15, I'd suspect the quality wouldn't be up to snuff. There are basically two routes to address this need. You can find a do-it-yourselfer kind of production company outfitted with all the necessary tools or send it off to a service company. The necessary tools for a production company would be a non-linear editing system with analog capture card, PAL VHS player, and software to transcode from PAL to NTSC. Of course, they'll also need software to encode and burn the NTSC DVD you want, but if they have that other stuff, it shouldn't be a problem. Service companies that handle this kind of task are usually found in major metro areas. I tend to ship to Atlanta since it's my backyard - Crawford or VTA can handle this job.

February 1st, 2009, 04:51 PM	#4
Eric Darling Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Savannah, GA Posts: 463	Whoops - somehow read it as PAL-NTSC. Yes, I guess $15 is a reasonable (still somewhat cheap) fee for transferring VHS to DVD. All you need is a $150 DVD recorder... At least that's what they cost in the USA.

February 1st, 2009, 11:04 PM	#6
Eric Darling Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Savannah, GA Posts: 463	Hey now, as a darkest State-sider, I can say with no degree of uncertainty that we have a fair amount of hens teeth about... There's always the standards conversion VHS players that can still be had. But, they grow rarer. I think B&H stopped selling them.

February 8th, 2009, 12:47 PM	#8
Martin Ben New Boot Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 8	I have a PAL VHS tape of one of my favorite bands playing on a TV show. I don't have a PAL deck, though. So I want to put it on DVD. I want to keep it in PAL so there is no resolution loss. My DVD player has no problem playing PAL. I'll try to Helping Hands forum, I didn't think of that.

April 17th, 2009, 06:45 AM	#9
John Peterson Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Monroe, NY Posts: 703	Martin, I researched this and found some of the sites you probably looked at. Resellerratings had only one review of PAL VHS/DVD video format conversion, convert PAL//NTSC DVD/VHS video MiniDV Digital video tape format conversion vhs 8mm dvd overseas pal system american european video system converter transfer for example, and although it may not be reflective of the business it wasn't a good review. DVDOverseas.com - dvdoverseas.com - Reviews, Ratings and Prices at ResellerRatings I would recommend you try several universities and see what they charge for the conversion. Example: Brown University: Media Services John

April 17th, 2009, 09:02 PM	#10
Peter Manojlovic Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Hamilton Ontario Posts: 769	Or..... You can search the Helping hands section, and see that i've already done it for him... Yep, in about 20 years, my AIWA System Converter will pay off.....