Does iDVD actually convert NTSC/PAL?

I was just dozing on the bed and had a moment of clarity...
Well, I've recently got a new iMac and got into this DVD thing I shoot movies of my family and send them back home on DVD. I'm in Japan (NTSC) and the family's back in England (PAL). My camera and iMac are all Japanese-bought.
I put my movies into iMovie then iDVD. I've made 3 or 4 movies so far. What I've been doing is rather troublesome, actually, but I've put the movies through to iDVD twice. The first time with iDVD preferences set to NTSC (my copy), then set to PAL (family's copy). This requires setting up the DVD menus, etc., twice in iDVD. Well, it's two completely different projects. A drag. Intuitively I feel this is wrong or unneccessary, so part of my query is whether this is necessary?
I've only had feedback on one movie so far - the first one. For that one I sent both an NTSC and PAL version back to see which worked or were better, etc., as I don't really understand the technology yet. Now according to my brother there was no difference between them (obviously he can play NTSC on his PAL player).
I've made a few more and sent PAL for the simple reason that England is a PAL country...
Then this 'moment of clarity' I just had was: that option in iDVD to set between NTSC and PAL, is that only to reflect the original tape and NOT to convert?? Have I, in fact, been sending NTSC DVDs only?? Or does it tell iDVD to convert to PAL when I send it an NTSC iMovie?
If it DOESN'T convert, that would explain why both were the same on my brother's player. In that case, does that mean I can only send inferior quality DVDs (I'm assuming PAL plays better than NTSC on a PAL player)?
On the other hand, the fact that they appear the same could be simply that the quality of both is not so good (the movies are just under an hour, with transitions and a little music).
Sorry, bit rambling, but I have a lot to learn, especially if I want to ensure my family get a good record of our lives here.
I remember when digital watches and calculators first became available. That was the height of technology. People were happier then...
Thanks in advance for any info and advice.
James
PS please reply as to an idiot

IDVD uses different templates depending on which format you choose. PAL and NTSC are different formats, not only in frame size, but color resolution, and frame rate.
Yes, PAL is superior to NTSC. However, some regions of the world can only play NTSC, others PAL... some can play both formats.
You must specify the format BEFORE starting a new iDVD project because you can change that setting over and over again after having started a project and it will actually only use the setting that it was set to when the new project was started. As in, change your video standard preference, then File > New... not the other way around.
As for transcoding... many apps do transcode, but by mistake, not by design. What I mean is, if you take NTSC footage (720x480 29.97 FPS Non-square pixels) and tell it to output it as PAL footage (720x576 25 FPS Square pixels), it will. It will convert it by stretching the pixels vertically and reducing the frame rate. Most may not even be able to notice the difference, especially when viewed on an analog device such as a TV... it might be more apparent on a digital device such as a computer. Another example would be to take a 320x240 Quicktime move and then add it to iDVD directly. It will stretch the content to fit the format that you have chosen. Now there is a drastic change in viewing quality because there was a drastic change in frame size. PAL and NTSC are quite close to one another by comparison.
All in all, you should shoot in PAL if you wish to output PAL DVDs and conversely shoot in NTSC if you wish to output NTSC DVDs. This will result in the best outcome.
NTSC is jokingly referred to as Never Twice the Same Color... meaning that NTSC has some of the worst color rendering out there. It is one of the primary reasons why the U.S. is FINALLY switching to HD... to say goodbye to the archaic format that has existed in the U.S. for well over 50 years. PAL too is going away. Cheer the arrival of HD... it is superior to both PAL and NTSC on a grand scale.

Similar Messages

Can FCE Convert PAL-NTSC And NTSC-PAL ?

A recent post got me interested in this question. I believe Tom said it wouldn't though he may have been referring to something else.
I set up a new project to work in NTSC and imported a PAL video clip.
When put in the timeline the clip's frame-rate appeared to be in the NTSC 30fps standard. After rendering, the clip seemed to play normally.
Have I actually converted the PAL clip to NTSC or is something else occurring?
Ian.

Another query has arisen.
In the thread I alluded to, the JES Deinterlacer was stated to be able to do the conversion.
I downloaded it and converted another PAL clip to NTSC.
When I play it in an FCE project set for NTSC it works perfectly except there is a narrow black band all round the frame.
When I click on the clip and get item properties it says the frame size is 656x480 even though the JES was set to 720x480.
Could this be connected with the shape of the pixels?
However, what I find more puzzling is the fact that the quoted height of the converted NTSC clip is the normal 480 pixels so shouldn't I be getting a black border up each side but NONE ALONG THE TOP OR BOTTOM?
Following on from that is there any way I can make the JES provide frames that fill the frame? (I know I can use Motion to enlarge it by setting the Scale to 115).
Let me stress that I do not NEED to be able to convert - I am simply curious.
Ian.

IDVD changing 16:9 PAL to 4:3 when burning

Hi there
I have some 16:9 footage which I export from iMovie 08 as a Quicktime Movie using Apple Intermediate Codec as PAL 720 x 576.
I bring that footage into a 16:9 iDVD PAL project.
But when I save the project as a VIDEO_TS folder and open it in DVDPlayer, the main menu screen is 16:9 but the actual movie is pillar-boxed and not in 16:9.
If I import the iMovie footage into iDVD via the Media Browser, all is fine.
Any clues on this would be appreciated - why is iDVD treating the PAL 16:9 AIC differently?

Just a guess but I suspect iDvd's media browser helps prep most added media files so that they are more palatable to iDvd.
Apple's DVD Player app on the other hand is a different app altogether. It's apple's playback software. Normally, it's very dependable but it may or may not see certain embedded flags for 16:9 as opposed to 4:3.
If this is the case then, an alternate test for this media is apple's QT Player/better yet ... QT Pro. If the flags aren't seen here then there's a problem....
Suggest you take a look at JES Deinterlacer which can convert NTSC<->PAL with much better quality than converting with iDVD, iMovie or QuickTime Player Pro.
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/13069
Message was edited by: SDMacuser

IDVD Preference setting for NTSC/PAL

I now understand that DVD's encoded to NTSC will almost certainly playback in UK on modern DVD Players.
My question is this (iLife'06):
If I have an iMovie encoded as NTSC, what will changing the setting in iDVD Preferences from NTSC to PAL actually do?
Will it ..
i. Re-encode from 29 frames/480 lines to 25 frames/526 lines before encoding to the MPEG2 format?
ii. Ignore the setting
iii. Make a complete mess of the MPEG2 data?
iV. Other
Thank you!

i. Re-encode from 29 frames/480 lines to 25 frames/526 lines before encoding to the MPEG2 format?
Yes, but it does it by simply dropping a frame here and there so the output looks jerky. You get better quality conversion with 3rd party tools like JES Deinterlacer. And usually there is no point in converting NTSC to PAL because all PAL DVD players and almost all PAL TVs can display NTSC.
See also:
http://www.sjoki.uta.fi/~shmhav/SVCDon_a_Macintosh.html#PALNTSC

IMovie - iDVD and a NTSC versus PAL question

I have some questions about creating iMovie for use in iDVD and about the various formats. Here goes:
I have a large number of travel photos taken in various cities that I need to use to create a project in iMovie. In addition, I have a couple of smallish video segments that go with each of these cities. I want to be able to get to any section from the DVD menus. The sections being defined as the either the videos or the photos for each individual city. Also, I need to be able to create both NTSC and PAL formatted DVD's from this exercise.
Now, as I understand it, there's several ways I can approach this:
First, I can use iMovie to create discreet projects for each segment. The individual city videos being one type. The photo shows of the individual cities being another type. Then export each of these via the media browser and import them individually into iDVD. But that then begs the question of NTSC versus PAL. Since I have to choose a project format in iMovie (NTSC or PAL), does that imply that I've got to have separate projects for each one of the cities NTSC or PAL versions? Or can I just use the NTSC project and cut the DVD in either NTSC or PAL format based on the settings in iDVD? If I use this route, what's the best export format to use for optimal appearance on the finished DVD?
Second, I can create one long project in iMovie. Put chapter markers in it and export it to the media browser. Then, import it into iDVD and use the chapter markers referenced from the various menu picks. If I go this route, once again, how do I account for the NTSC versus PAL differences? And again, what's the best export settings for optimal viewing?
I guess much of this question relates to the issue of having to specify a format in both iMovie and iDVD. If I choose NTSC in iMovie, but use PAL in iDVD, other than the obvious format mismatch, what actually happens by doing this? Or, turn it around. Use PAL in iMovie and NTSC in iDVD. Again, what's the ramifications of doing this?
Just trying to figure out the best way of going about this and what the tradeoffs are for each approach. Any insight you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Oh... and sorry to have been so long winded.
Many thanks in advance,
Tom

Hi
Oh Dear. Is this an assigned task from an editing turor. Then He/She is mean.
a. If You want a DVD - Then You should not use iMovie'08 or 09 or 11 as they can not export interlaced video to iDVD as it needs but discard every second line resulting in a less quality DVD. Use (for SlideShows and Movies)
• iMovie up to HD6 (SlideShows or Movie) - or -
• FinalCut any version (SlideShows or Movie) - or -
• FotoMagico (if You make only a SlideShow - can not do movies)
If persisting with iMovie'08-11 - Then DO NOT use "Share to iDVD" from within any version of iMovie (not 3 - HD6 either) as they do a bad job. But in iM'08-11 "Share to Media Browser" and as Large. In iM HD6 or FCE/P Save as QuickTime .mov and import this into iDVD.
b. NTSC and PAL - If DVD is to be sent to EU (PAL) - then most DVD-players also playback NTSC so conversion is not needed (mostly).
There are NO way to make a combo version PAL & NTSC - They do not exist.
If You make a PAL iMovie /FC project - then DO NOT let iDVD convert to NTSC (or other way either)
• it can do so - BUT Result is severely BAD
I use JES_Deinterlacer to make the conversion and it's so much better. (free on internet)
But absolutly best result is by doing two versions in the movie-editor - one PAL and one NTSC version.
c. Use High quality DVD brand - I only use Verbatim DVD-R
and set down burn speed to x4 - Less burn errors and plays on many more Players.
Just to start with.
Take one Q at a time and we can fix this.
Yours Bengt W

Converting NTSC to PAL with chapter markers

Hey guys,
I have just a quick question.
I am making a home made video. I did all the editing in FCP and made a great DVD in iDVD. I would like to do the same thing in PAL format so I can send it to my parents in Europe. My original footage is in NTSC. I did my own research and tried using compressor to change format to PAL.
I tried several different settings (PAL DV, Mpeg 2 PAL) but the outcome movie is always missing chapter markers.
I also tried to import the PAL movie (after conversion in Compressor) to FCP and added chapter markers but did not work.
Does anybody know how to convert the format from NTSC to PAL and keep the chapter markers at the same time? I would like to mantain as high quality as possible.
Thanks for your help.
iMac G5 Intel Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.8)
iMac G5 Intel Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Well, this seemed to work. However, being completely new to converting to PAL, I was surprised to see the "jumpiness" that goes along with the frame rate drop. Looking at it taxes the eyes as it seems like its dropping frames every so often. I realize, through more research that this is due to the 25 FPS nature of PAL plus the fact that I'm converting and not just authoring from PAL material. Having said this, is there a tried and true way of "smoothing" this jumpiness that anyone would share?
A friend of mine suggested that when I place the file into DVDSP, I choose the TOP field in the encoding tab, prior to burning the disk. In the past I have always left the FIELD menu set at Auto. He says that setting it to TOP might help a little.
He also told me that a lot of the software based converters don't do the best of jobs. Although acceptable results may come from tweaking the settings, the best way to convert NTSC to PAL (with the most pleasing results) is by using a very high end converter (not a computer). Although you have to weigh out the circumstances such as how many disks will eventually be converted compared to available budget, is it worth spending a little extra for a master that will ultimately see 1,000 copies?
I'm planning on showing my client the burn with field dominance set to TOP, on Monday. Hopefully she'll find it acceptable and I'll be able to move on with this project. Thanks for all the help!
Steve
Power Mac, G5 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Converting ntsc to pal-sound

hey there,
i work on a program where half of the episodes is in ntsc and the other in pal.
to be able to broadcast it (in germany), it has to be converted into pal. we get this done by a local post facility.
so the picture will (hopefully!!) not be a problem.
but now i have to set up a timeline in pal for the converted cut and somehow get my mixed audio tracks
in there too. i have 4 tracks for the original clipsounds (sorry don't know what you call this in english),
2 tracks for voice over and 4 tracks for music. pretty standard i guess.
whats the best way to do this. i was told, the converted pal video will have the same length than the original ntsc cut.
the cut is 29:03:24
as i need the sound cut in my new pal sequence, the only way i can think of is to copy and paste it from the ntsc sequence
into a new pal sequence. but that doesn't seem to be right. the total length has changed to 29:02:01 and there are 1 frame gaps
here and there. although the music tracks don't seem to be affected by that, (i guess because they don't really have a framerate??)
but it's still a mess and to short.
i get the converted video tomorrow and i have to process it really quick. so if it's true that the total length will not change, then i have
a real big problem because my sound will be to short and i have 1 frame gaps that i have to fill up!
now i hope that you people can tell me how to fix it!?!
pleeaase, i am not familiar with this 29,97 drop frame stuff!!!
thanks a lot.
andy

i tried that. it's actually the same result (lengthwise) you get, when you export an AIFF straight out
of FCP. but interessting enough, the file is still 5 frames shorter!
but anyway, i was hoping to get my actual sound edit into the new pal timeline, as i have to still
fiddle arround with it - insert VOs, dip music, create clean feeds and stuff like that.
so i basically need my sound edit with all tracks and clips in it, in a pal sequence, in sync with the converted video. :-)
is that possible?? does an OMF do that job? i know FCP can't open OMFs, but it sounds so right...
thanks for your help.
my sequence settings by the way are DV NTSC 29,97fps 720x480
sorry didn't get what you mean with the last sentence
andy

NTSC DVD created with iMovie 6.0.3. Need to convert to PAL.

Is there a way to do this without starting over? Can I switch iMovie from NTSC to PAL? Can I take my iMovie NTSC project and copy it to a new iMovie window after switching the preferences to PAL? Would that keep chapters in place? Can Toast or something do this? I sure hate to totally start over.

Hi
Please Karsten
b) export your iMovie project; drag the resulting file into a new PAL IDVD project; iDVD will ask you to keep or change the standard
IS NO GOOD WAY at all - It works but resulting DVD is barely viewable ! (jumpy, un-sharp and really bad)
a) is an excellent choice as long as TV is fairly modern - else result will be Bl/W
My notes on this:
PAL to NTSC or NTSC to PAL
A. Copying commercial DVDs - No Not possibly at all - Not even legal to discuss.
B. Home made DVDs (DVDs without copy protection)
C. Movies from iMovie or FinalCut
• Save as full quality QuickTime .mov and convert this with JES_Deinterlacer (free on internet)
NTSC ---> PAL.
• Most often not necessary - Most stand alone PAL DVD-players playback NTSC
(if TV is old in BL/W)
PAL ---> NTSC.
• If played on Mac - not necessary AT ALL
• If on NTSC DVD-player - CONVERSION IS NEEDED - nearly no Stand alone NTSC-DVD-players
playback PAL at all.
To do this You need to convert the PAL DVD to streaming.DV or full quality QuickTime .mov
• I use Roxio Toast™ to do this (There are no free converter)
• JES_Deinterlacer (free on internet) to convert to NTSC
• Set up an NTSC project (29.97fps or 30) in iDVD and import then burn
I burn to
• Verbatim DVD-R
• Set down burn speed in iDVD to x1 or x4 recommended by many
• Secure a minimum of 25Gb free space on internal boot hard disk before burning (IMPORTANT)
PAL is 25 fps and an analog TV standard of 625 lines
NTSC is 29.97 fps and 520 lines
NTSC (29.97fps) 520 lines - about 640x480 pixels (square) 720x480 rectangular (narrow) pixels
PAL (25 fps) 625 lines - about 768x576 pixels (square) 720x576 rectangular (narrow) pixels
to use a photo 702x480 resp 576 then add 9 pixels on each side to add together as 720
If iDVD hangs on PAL or NTSC.
Bengt W wrote
Deleting iDVD pref. file - should return You into NTSC mode.
Yes iDVD can switch to PAL - BUT as You see with a rather lousy result.
a. Need to convert to PAL - most often not - Most PAL-player can playback NTSC
and on a fairly new TV in color. (old TV in Bl/W)
(Other way around - from PAL to NTSC most often a must - few NTSC-player can use PAL)
b. IF MUST - then use JES_Deinterlacer to do this conversion - so much better and free.
My list on this (or rather PAL --> NTSC - just think the other way around)
I have to send it overseas
That too can be a problem. As USA = NTSC = 29.97fps and EU = PAL = 25fps.
DO Not let iMovie or iDVD do this conversion from one to the other - Result will be Very
BAD
I save the movie as a full quality QuickTime .mov file then I use JES_Deinterlacer to do the conversion - then I cont. in iMovie or iDVD with project set accordingly.
JES_Deinterlacer is free on Internet and there are Pro applications but not that much better and costs are astronomical.
PAL-DVDs - don't play in US
NTSC-DVDs - usually plays well in EU
All plays well on a Mac - What ever.
Allosaurus writes
Thank you SDMacuser. I dumped all the plist icons with no result, and was getting pretty plist off when it occurred to me to delete all the previous dvd.proj files. Bingo. That did the trick. So thank you for all your help and the additional information you provided.
Yours Bengt W

Converting ntsc dvd to pal for web

hi , i am based in uk and I have a dvd that apparently is ntsc as it plays in my dvd player and says ntsc region, it plays on the computer to.
I want to take small segments from it to convert to web format , add titles etc and upload to youtube.\
trouble is i cant rip the files to use in final cut pro, tried media streamclip but that produces jerky unusable files with random drop out and colours
I then thought play it realtime into fcp , it will play going by a firewire into capture and i see it but when capturing it stops every few seconds saying there is dropout I unchecked report on droped frames, and abourt on dropout. and capturing without deck control. i then tried to go through my dv camera but that doesnt see the picture only the sound.
I thought I could copy the dvd but it wont work either on my dvd recorder or with toast.
any suggestions how I can do this? does it need converting first if so how?
I am only using a few minutes of at least 90 minutes of footage .
thankyou
ade

>Maybe worth a feature request for CS5?
God in heaven - NO!
As Joe just pointed out, these are 2 completely different TV standards, running on different frame rates at different resolutions.
The results of attempting this "on the fly" with menus etc would very closely resemble a dogs dinner.
>I would therefore guess that you are stuck with copying the menus and other such assets into a new Encore project for each output format.
That won't work.
NTSC is 720x480, PAL is 720x576. They have different PAR as well.
If compliance is what you need, then design your menus in Square Pixels at 720 x 540, and resize the image (in PS) to the required TV standard before importing into Encore. 16/9 is worse, as you need to use different designs for each TV standard. There are no short-cuts.
Asset preparation should be done
i outside
the authoring application, never
i in
it.

Can iMOVIE HD convert a PAL DVD to a NTSC DVD?

That was all! Can iMOVIE HD convert a PAL DVD to a NTSC DVD? That's my only question. Thanks.

Hi
A. Commersial DVDs - No Not at all - Not even legal to discuss.
B. Home made DVDs (without copy protection)
NTSC ---> PAL.
• Most often not necessary - Most stand alone PAL-DVD players playback NTSC
(if TV is old in BL/W)
PAL ---> NTSC.
• If played on Mac - not necessary AT ALL
• If on NTSC-DVD-player - CONVERSION IS NEEDED - nearly no Stand alone NTSC-DVD-players
playback PAL at all.
To do this You need to conver the PAL DVD to streaming.DV
• I use Roxio Toast™ to do this (There are no free converter)
• MPEG Streamclip (free on internet) to convert to NTSC
• Set up an NTSC project (29.97fps or 30) in iDVD and import then burn
I burn to
• Verbatim DVD-R
• Set down burn speed in iDVD to x1 or x4 recommended by many
• Secure a minimum of 25Gb free space on internal boot hard disk before burning (IMPORTANT)
Yours Bengt W

Is it possible to convert NTSC to PAL......

on a Mac that is. I made the mistake of buying an NTSC only camcorder through Ebay and whilst I have no problem playing it through my multiregion DVD player I wondered about making DVDs I could give to friends / family who may have region 2 players only.Any suggestions ?

Hi don,
first of all: don't mix region codes and video standards - your Mac creates rc0, they play anywhere.
NTSC dvd-players can not handle PAL, but most/all PAL dvd-players accept NTSC - but not every TVset "understands" the non-standard signals coming form the player => loss of audio and/or b&w pic.....
you have two options:
* your Mac doesn't care for video standards, so simply use the iApps; in iDVD you can "switch" the video standard, BUT the converter within QT doesn't show a very good quality... so:
* after finishing your iM project, export as QT Full Quality; get for free JES Deinterlacer; it has a conversion option and uses a much better algorithm (besides: choosing the deinterlacing feature adds some "movie feeling" to your projects, in case you like that....)
you drag'n drop the PAL version into iDVD (which, as said, doesn't care for standards..) and create your disk
besides: your Mac plays back these PAL disks.....
last word: NTSC has a much smaller pic resolution... NTSC=>PAL means loss of quality....... ebay again?

Workflow for converting NTSC to PAL with Premiere/AME

Hi everyone,
After searching the forums, I see that to convert NTSC to PAL for standard def DVD, most recommend using Canopus Procoder software for the MPEG2 encoding, or using a hardware based solution. I don't have the money for those options, so I was hoping you could clear up something for me. Which of these options is best?:
Option #1: import the NTSC footage into Premiere and edit on a NTSC timeline with settings matching the original footage. Then use Adobe Media Encoder to encode a PAL format MPEG2 file for the standard def DVD.
Option #2: import the NTSC footage into Premiere and edit on a timeline set up with PAL resolution and framerate settings, and simply scale up the NTSC footage to match the larger PAL resolution. Then use Adobe Media Encoder to encode a PAL format MPEG2 file for the standard def DVD.
Thanks for the help!!
Mike
Intel i7-930 2.8GHz
12 GB RAM
1 GB VRAM
Adobe CS 5

pal to ntsc is not quite the same as ntsc to pal.
pal has more scanlines and there for makes a better end result to ntsc than ntsc to pal.
Usually ntsc converted to pal does not look very good on a tv.
That's why i recommend to leave it in ntsc, most pal players can be switched to ntsc.

Convert NTSC DV Quicktime video to PAL w/out audio

I have an NTSC video (10 min or so) that I need to convert to PAL. The NTSC program was created in Final Cut and I need to make a PAL copy of it onto DVD, but without the audio track. I'm fairly inexperienced with Final Cut Express HD v3.5.1 so if this is possible make the steps I need to follow fairly basic. Thanks.

You should not use FCE to do this. You should get Graeme Nattress Standards Conversion software, or use another high quality compression application.

How to convert DVDs (PAL, NTSC) to mp4?

Hello,
I would like to convert DVDs (PAL, NTSC) to mp4.
I have Adobe Premiere Pro CS3, but never used it.
I am looking for a easy to understand information how to do it step by step.
Maybe there are already how tos for this?
PAL: 720 x 576, 25 fps
NTSC: 720 x 480, 29 fps
Thank you very much.
Sandra

Oh, you need to learn the program first before you can export anything...
Get yourself a month of Lynda.com subscription and learn CS3.
Watch the Online Video Course Premiere Pro CS3 Essential Training
Adobe TV had a course for CS3 but they dropped that.

Converting NTSC to PAL in CS5, the audio is out of sync-too slow. What do I need to adjust?

Hi. I had to purchase a new Sony video camera in USA (NTSC 29.9fps). We are PAL, so most of my holiday movie is PAL 16:9 widescreen. When I imported the clips from the NTSC camera, I converted the clips to PAL 25fps but the audio is out of sync and appears to be too slow. eg. a male voice is high pitched and not quite audible. Is it the 'bit rate' difference causing the problem and if so, how do I change that in CS5? The PAL clips off my old camera are imported as MPG files. The new camera files are MTS. I am not sure if this is important but would appreciate some help. Thanks.

Adobe doesn't have any tools that perform adequate NTSC<=>PAL conversions, in my view. You may be better off creating a separate video for the NTSC stuff, keeping it as NTSC. Your player should be able to handle it fine.

Does iDVD actually convert NTSC/PAL?

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