NTSC to PAL in imovie

I have made a small movie in imovie and want to burn it to DVD I had not noticed that it somehow I have made it in the format- NTSC instead of PAL (for Europe). How do I change it to PAL in Imovie and how did I change in the first palce. I have successfully previosly burnt a DVD form the same file that worked on my DVD player. As I am a novice I have probably overlooked the obvious.
Thanks

welcome keyframe to the  board ....
you have some options:
* most European DVDstandalones accept NTSC disks; it is the TVs which sometimes get a hickup with that "foreign" signal: pic turns b/w, and/or loss of audio... but as, said: in most cases it works...
* you can select in iDVD the video standard of your project (PAL=25fps) and drop in your NTSC iM project... the conversion will then be done by the QTengine...
* or, I prefer the results created by a free tool called JES Deinterlacer; simply export your project as QT/Full Quality and let JESD do a conversion.. drop that new created into PAL-iDVD project....
helpful?

Similar Messages

IMovie - Changing From NTSC To PAL & Other Way Around

I want to make a dvd in pal format and at present its only doing them in NTSC format. I've looked at the help on the site which states:
iMovie initially set all projects to PAL or NTSC video depending on the type of camcorder or device you connect to the computer, or the format of the first video you import.
To set new projects to be NTSC or PAL, follow these steps:
Update to iMovie 3.0.3 or later. It is available from the iMovie website (http://www.apple.com/imovie/). iMovie 4 is available as part of iLife (http://www.apple.com/ilife).
Open iMovie.
From the iMovie menu, choose Preferences.
Change "New Projects are:" to either NTSC or PAL.
Now I'm using 6.0.1 but I can't see "New Projects are" anywhere under the preferences in iMovie HD, can someone please offer me some suggestions as although this is my first mac I've had a pc for sometime so I'm not totally clueless about changing options and looking where to find these things....

With iMovie 6.0.1 the wording has changed slightly. In preferences, under 'General', you now want 'New Project Frame Rate:'. Set to 25 fps for PAL, and 29.97 fps for NTSC.
Presumably, as you're in the UK, all your imported footage is in PAL format anyway. If you are importing NTSC footage, but want to export in PAL, I would suggest that you convert the NTSC to PAL before importing it.
iMac G5 20in 1.8 Ghz Mac OS X (10.4.5) 2 GB RAM

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

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

"Large" or "Full" "NTSC" or "PAL"

I recently shot about 3 hours worth of digital video on a Panasonic DVX100B. I am going to cut it down to be a 20 minute promotional video and it will be played on a very big screen in a theater. Here's a link to the best picture I could find of the screens.
http://images.citysearch.net/profile/ec/b0/35901331p1.jpg
I'm using iMovie '08 but I need to know how I should import the video.
should I use large or full, NTSC or PAL.
Please Help!

Here is how to think about FULL vs LARGE. This is only important if you are importing video shot at 1920x1080.
If you choose FULL, it will import at 1920x1080. It will take up about 40GB of disk per hour of footage.
It will preserve the full quality of the original camcorder capture.
If you choose LARGE, it will import at 960x540 (half the original resolution). It will take up about 13GB of hard disk space per hour of footage. There will be some quality loss, but the loss is minor, and is not noticeble by most people.
So it depends how you are using the footage. If you are creating a BluRay disk, import at full. If you have a way to display 1920x1080, such as a Sony PS3, import at full. If you are doing this for broadcast television and will do further editing in Final Cut, import in full. If you will be displaying your movie on a computer monitor, with at least a 24inch screen, you might want to use full. To take full advantage of Full, you must EXPORT USING QUICKTIME with appropriate options. All the other Share options will export at a max of 960x540.
For most other uses (Mobile Me Web Gallery, a 480i DVD, Apple TV, etc., iPhone, iPod, Quicktime file for the Web) large is sufficient. This is because even though you input at 1920x1080, the output will be a maximum of 960x540, and in the case of the DVD, will be much less. So if you are exporting at 960x540, why not import at 960x540 and save the space?
This is a gray area, however, because you may want to preserve your option to burn your movie to BluRay or other devices in the future. You might want to import at 1920x1080 just to preserve all your options.

Defaulting (not) to PAL in iMovie 5.0.2

I can't get the Pref's to hold PAL on iMovie 5.0.2. Every new document opens as NTSC. Is there any tricks here? Something to delete?

Ok, I was having the same problem here (need to work in PAL standard and iMovie HD defaults to NTSC).
To the specific issue apple has an article (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=165287) stating that you can choose from these formats:
DV NTSC
DV PAL
DV NTSC Widescreen
DV PAL Widescreen
MPEG 4
iSight
HDV 720p
HDV 1080i
in fact on my currently installed version, 5.0.2 (111), I only have these choices:
DV
DV Widescreen
HDV 1080i
HDV 720p
MPEG 4
iSight
... that said I did SOLVED the problem thanks to Matti Haveri's post: the PAL/NTSC option in iMovie 4 was in iMovie > Preferences > General ... now there is no such choice but you can select frame rate and this causes new projects to be accordingly set when created. Since PAL and NTSC ar not simply a frame rate distinction it wasn't immediately obvious to me that this would have done the trick...
I hope the iMovie development team will read this because these changes are quite confusing, especially in such an otherwise easy to use application, and the "solution" provided in the support article unfortunately only made it worse.

VHS (NTSC and PAL) conversion to DVD

I am trying to figure out an easy way to convert years of old kids videos (VHS in both NTSC and PAL format) to DVD.
I have seen there are combo VHS players (NTSC) with DVD recorder and hard drives. This looks like a lot easier than connecting Canoplus ADVC device.
Any advice welcome,
thanks

Welcome to Apple Discussions
If you have a digital camcorder you can do what I do. I use a Sony DV camcorder as a pass-through to convert video tape (VHS, Beta & video 8) via FireWire into iMovie.

Converting a video to watch overseas NTSC to Pal

Hello.....I am going to create a photo montage using imovie and idvd. I will later be making copies and I have had a request for a copy for overseas, could anyone give me their suggestions on how I should do this properly. Is it simply going into the idvd "project" drop down mode and change the video setting from NTSC to Pal?
Also I believe that the dvd will be needed for Germany, I do not know what format they are in. I am guessing that they are in the PAL format but I am not sure. Does anyone know this?
Thanks so much in advance.

Yes, Germany (and the rest of W Europe) uses PAL.
And as Kirk says, all modern DVD players sold in Europe play NTSC as well.
Which apparently is not the case in the US (playing PAL DVDs).

Making a NTSC and PAL DVD

Hello and thank you for taking the time to read my question.
The question I have is, I have made a DVD in the Video Standard NTSC( in the preference menu) now I am wondering if I can use the same project to burn both NTSC and PAL DVD formats or if I have to re-create the whole thing in the
PAL format in order to get a PAL formated DVD?
Thanks again for helping.

Hello PettMac,
you can change the project's standard by choosing Project > Project Info from the menu. On the right side of the pop-up window you'll find the drop-down menu for the TV standard.
That said, the standard conversion done in iDVD is not too bad, but JES Deinterlacer does a much better job. In order to convert with JESD, you'll need your original iMovie project: ctrl-click the project file and choose Show Package Contents from the drop-down menu, then navigate to the Shared Movies folder to find your reference movie. Drop that into JESD, it will create the PAL movie in the same folder (as reference movie) and you can simply replace the original movie in your iDVD project with the new one. Don't forget to change the TV standard....
hope this helps
mish

DVI to Video adapter switches from NTSC to PAL

I just bought an apple dvi to analog video adapter to connect my mac mini to my tv.
It worked like a charm the first time, but seems to reset for no reason from ntsc to pal output. This is really annoying because the pal output is nearly impossible to read, making it painful to switch it back. It's weird because it boots into ntsc just fine and the login window looks good. But as soon as I log in from either account, it opens in pal. When I change it, it will change back over night.
I tried using both composite and s-video plugs. The TV is a sony wega xbr (US).

I assume you have the previous generation mini even though you have posted in the forum for the newer one. The newer one wouldn't work at all from the adapter you describe. Anyway...
...OS X's display preferences files may have corrupted somehow. Especially since it worked before and now it doesn't. That really sounds like a problem with the configuration of the Mac.
In /Library/Preferences is a file called com.apple.windowserver.plist. Navigate your way to it and throw it in the trash. Also, in your main user account (folder with your name on it) under ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost will also be found a file com.apple.windowserver.xxxxxxxxxx.plist where the xxxxx is a hexidecimal string. Throw that file in the trash, too. Now restart.
When OS X restarts and finds those files missing from their expected location, it creates fresh copies with default values. This will give a clean start with any attached display.

DVD Footage for FCP Edit - how to tell if NTSC or PAL?!

Hi all, apologies if this seems like a stupid request but I have a job at the moment calling for me to extract footage from a DVD, edit in FCP, add a few bits from Motion etc., but I can't work out if the DVD is NTSC or PAL!
I intend to extract the video (no issues with copyright) via DVDxDVPro but am unsure if the DVD has been encoded in NTSC or PAL. The footage it contains is from both the States (NTSC) and South Africa (PAL) so how do I tell? I don't want to go through a standards conversion if I can help it.
I am keen to try to retain as much quality as possible (client can't provide tape) so also any thougts on the best output from DVDxDVPRo for FCP editing?
Thanks all,
Best wishes
Michael

Hi Thomas, that's it!
Thanks for this - it clearly shows the TV standard and the resolution plus 4:3 etc., so everything I needed for confirmation.
Glad I cheked because it was in Pal - thought the conversion in DVDxDVPro looked a bit ropey.
This realy baffled me - seemed so simple but couldn't find a way to tell the standard. Learn something everyday...
I am using DVCPro for export from DVDxDVPro - anyone thoughts on a better option?
Thanks again for the answer - and so quick on a Sunday too!
Kind regards
Michael

Follow up from Real Pro thread - NTSC and PAL and AVCHD and FCE

Interesting topic line but can I just check one thing out from PAL land.
With an HD/AVCHD camera it is not recording in either PAL or NTSC as this is a analogue mode - so the issue issue of format is only relevant if i playback on a analogue TV. We have a digital tv so i record on AVCHD, deal in that format in FCE and burn to DVD (not sure in what format) play on DVD player through the digital TV.
If that is all correct then why do the manufacturers, in my case Canon HF10, talk about an NTSC and PAL version and then price differently - comparing the spec sheets from the Canon site I can see no difference. Am I missing something?

Hi Tom
The thing i was trying to establish was whether really there was a difference (other than price ) in the so called versions of the Canon HF10. The specs are exactly the same. My assumption is that as the cam records in AVCHD unless you intend to play back thro a PAL or NTSC TV (bearing in mind most European PAL sets play NTSC as well) it makes no odds which camera.
My plan- and this is what I need to check - is to record and import into FCE taking your advice not to record in the highest quality to save rendering on import. After editing can export through FCE to PAL or NTSC DVD version for playing on TV.
Does that sound right
PS I have found your book on FCE very helpful to date !!!!

Where can I check to see if project has been imported in NTSC or PAL?

I have been importing DV tapes from both NTSC and PAL DV camcorders and I think I may have made a mistake on a take and recorded an NTSC tape in PAL. I can't find anywhere that tells me if my projects are in PAL or NTSC. Does anyone know how I can check?
Thanks
Kevin

[email protected] wrote:
...I tried what you said but it only gives me the option to see codecs under 'more info' when I view the info on the thumbnail files and then it still doesn't tell me if it is Pal or NTSC. When I right click on the file in the finder the only info I get is that it is a DV Movie....
.... ooops..
in case you own QTpro or the free tool Mpeg Streamclip, open file, hit Apple-I and read in the info framerate/fps: 25=PAL, 29.97=NTSC..

Ntsc vs pal

pal vs ntsc
Posted: Oct 18, 2006 8:27 AM Reply Email
i got some footage of a wedding that was shot in ntsc format on vhs that was burnt do a dvd. i recorded the dvd onto my computer using final cutpro (dvd to cmaera to computer). I saved it as a quick time movie, now i want to burn into a pal format film so it can be shown in England. How can i do this with idvd.
I tried changing the prefernces to pal and i tried changing the video mode in the project info to pal but i get an message when i click burn that says TV standard conflict. i still go ahead to burn but it comes beack with an encoding error.
is there anyway i can change the format (ntsc to pal) using finalcut express

to playback your ntsc dvd (vhs for that matter) you need either
- a dvd player or vhs deck that does true ntsc playback plus a monitor or projector that handles true ntsc
or
- a dvd player or vhs deck that does "ntsc playback on pal" (i believe that's what it was called) with a regular tv. it's a rough scaling of the video-image and it drops a few frames here and there to compensate for the frame-rate difference. this is of course not as good as a proper conversion, but for home-viewing is more than good enough.
this last pont also explains what is the point of places offering proper conversion...
discs created in dvd sp usually are set to play in all regions - though can be made to play only in 1 region, you'll have to check this with the person who created the disc or by popping it into a different region player
hope this helps

NTSC and PAL

Under iDVD preferences and the Projects tab it asks a few things that I know nothing about:
1) Video Mode: NTSC or PAL. What are those and when would I use one over the other?
2) Encoding: Best Quality or Best Performance? Which is better to use and if I use Best Performance do I want to "Enable background encoding"?
Thanks. -Jeff

there are no NTSC DVDs, there are only DVDs that have 29.97fps, 720x480 MPEG-2 video to maximize video quality on an NTSC analog output
... and THAT makes them NTSC DVDs.
Jeff asked: ) Video Mode: NTSC or PAL. What are those and when would I use one over the other?. Jeff, the are video standards used in different places around the world. If all your DVDs are intended for use in the US, just select NTSC and don't worry about it.
PAL and NTSC are analog modulations
... that differ mostly in the way the chrominance signal is treated (besides the image size and frame rate).

NTSC to PAL in imovie

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