PAL format DVD

Several months ago, we used our Macbook Pro DVD player to play a PAL (European) format DVD. We just tried to play another PAL format DVD and the DVD Player won't accept it. Can the Macbook PRO DVD player play PAL format DVD's or can it be set up to play

NTSC/PAL is not the same as region settings. NTSC/Pal is like Mac vs. PC. Two different equipment formats accomplishing pretty much the same thing. Region settings are the motion picture industry controlling the regional distribution of movie releases. They don't care if it is PAL or NTSC.
Have you tried playing it with VLC?
VLC media player - http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ - general media player that plays just about anything.

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Can the dvd player support PAL formatted dvds?

Hi,
I'm moving from the States to France, and I'm wondering of the dvd drive supports PAL formatted dvds. If not, is there an easy, user-friendly way to convert from PAL to NTSC?
Thanks!

The entertainment industry mafia does not allow commercial DVDs to be "region free". However, a so called "Region 0" DVD can play anywhere, as is the case for most music DVDs. Playing it will not force a region change on the drive. More info on this controversial issue can be [found here|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVDregioncodes]
Note also that [the VLC player|http://www.videolan.org> can let you play most, if not all, DVD's directly on your Mac regardless of the region and without causing region changes. It also lets you play video/audio files in a great variety of formats.

Will MacBookPro play Reion2 PAL formatted DVDs?

Will MacBookPro play Reion2 PAL formatted DVDs?

Most optical drives in computers are shipped without having set a region code. Here in the US, you are generally only allowed to change that region code 5 times, so if you have set it to Region 1 (US) and you want to change it to a new Region to plan the PAL discs, then you will have 3 changes left, so make sure that you keep this in mind because once you make that last change, you will be stuck in whatever region you select...

How do I export a PAL format dvd into i movie

I have a dvd of my Vegas holiday that is in PAL format and I have no idea how to get it onto i move. I am a newbie to Apple so laymans terms would be helpful to let me know what to do.
Cheers Newbie

Perfectly reasonable request! We all start out knowing nothing, then hope to learn a little every day!
So, let's start by why you have to convert: a DVD is in a compresed format called mpeg2, which is standard across all DVDs. This is what is known as a 'final delivery format' and is not suitable for editing. Because is is compressed, a 4.7GB DVD can hold a two hour movie (dual layer DVDs twice that), whereas the DV stream from a video camera, which runs at about 13GB per hour, is not compressed and IS intended for editing.
In other words you have to 'reverse engineer' the DVD back to an uncompressed format in ordfer to edit it. There is a penalty for doing this in terms of slight quality loss, but it is one you can live with.
When you have your DVD as an icon on your desktop, double-click it, and it will open to reveal a TS-Folder containing a number of various files, some called VOB. These are the constituent parts of any video DVD.
When you have downloaded and installed mpegStreamclip, and purchased and installed the Apple mpeg2 plugin, open mpegStreamclip and drag the entire TS Folder into its window. Then using the various menus available to you (just explore them and you will get the hang of it) ask it to convert to DV.
That DV file, which will be many times larger than the original TS Folder, and which can a while to create (be patient - make coffee or prune the roses!) is what you can now import into iMovie for editing etc.
When you have finished doing that, you then have to turn the project back into a DVD.
I don't know what version of iMovie you have, but this should help:
iMovie 9 tutorials:
http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/#imovie
and also this:
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/imovie_09_stone.html
A good guide to iDVD 7 can be found here:
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/idvd_07_stone.html
Please feel free to post back if you have more questions!

Converting PAL format DVD to NTSC formats

THis might be a wierd one, but i was wondering if anyone knows hot to convert a DVD with PAL format (which are used in most european countries) into a NTSC format (which is used here in the states). I dont know if there is a software i need, or any of my apps on the computer will change the format for me.
thanks

There is some useful information here:
http://www.danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/tips_tricks/6017.shtml

Making a PAL format DVD

I want to send some DVD footage that was shot in NTSC miniDV format to a friend in Australia to view on his PAL TV. Is it as simple as bringing the NTSC DV footage into my mpg converter and using the PAL settings there to make a DVD for him? Or do I need to convert the DV footage to PAL from Premiere during the export first? Doing the latter doesn't make much sense to me, but I've never done this before, so I thought I'd better ask someone who has first.
Thanks

When it comes to digital equipment, it should be no reason for not playing both PAL and NTSC (could be a programmed lock of course).
It is more about the TV-sets than the DVD-players. An analog PAL TV can cope with NTSC signals quite fine as long as the right output from the player is used. In the days of VHS tape, that meant to use the RGB signals (if I remember right), if composite was used, NTSC tapes would be displayed in B/W. Nowadays when SCART cinnectors are used, it's not a problem anymore (for most people).
NTSC TV's (analog ones) has never been able to deal with the PAL sync frequencies, no matter what the players have been able to play.
Anyway, just do as Jim said, send the NTSC version, it would probably be better displayed in a PAL-land than whatever Premiere alone could be able to produce when it comes to NTSC to PAL conversion.
PS! Zone is another animal though, but I still haven't had a DVD set top player that I couldn't make zone-free.
Dag

PAL/NTSC DVD player question

Greetings, Can I play a PAL format DVD from the UK in my Powerbook? Here is the info. from system profiler:
MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-835E:
Firmware Revision: GAN7
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO
Media: No
I have read that if you play a PAL format DVD more than five time my settings will be permanently locked in the PAL format, and I will no longer be able to play commercial NTSC DVD's. Which would be bad. I do travel allot with the Powerbook and watch movies on the plane. Should I consider converting all PAL DVD's into NTSC? If anyone could shed light on this please advise. Thanks.

Here's the work-around I use, which just requires that you have enough free space on your hard drive to hold the entire VIDEO_TS file (up to 8 GB): Download the freeware program Mac the Ripper (Google it, then find a site that MacroVision hasn't hacked into and shut down, and proceed with the download and installation). Insert the DVD you want to watch. The DVD player in your Mac will then ask you if you want to use one of your few remaining region switches. IGNORE that dialog box altogether--just leave it open without selecting anything (if you select CANCEL it'll eject your DVD, so don't do that).
Open Mac the Ripper and following the clear instruction manual to set the controls properly copy the DVD into your Mac (I choose to save the file in the Movie folder). Takes about 20-25 minutes for most movies, and the copy you get is stripped of region coding. When that is done, close MTR, go back to the dialog box of your DVD player, hit CANCEL, and let the disk eject. Then reopen the DVD player, and have it open the VIDEO_TS file. Playback will proceed as if you were watching the DVD itself.
PS-if you want to burn a DVD backup stripped of region coding, you can use DVD2oneX2, a file-compression/DVD burning program available for a free 30-day trial, $30 thereafter. Works very well. Good luck & (hopefully) enjoy!

Chapter markers in PAL format

When I share my PAL format iMovie project to iDVD, a DVD in NTSC format results. So I share to Quicktime using the custom settings as advised in the Help menu to get a PAL formatted DVD, but in the process I lose all the chapter markers. I can find no reference to this problem...any ideas please?

The problem arises when I export an iPhoto slideshow. This produces a Quicktime clip, with the only options refer to resolution, no way to specify Pal. Should have made this clear before, but I have only just realised that this is what is causing the problem. (I export it to iMovie in order to add voiceover and chapter markers.)

After burning a successful DVD in iDVD out of FCPX, how can I see the settings it used? So I finally burned a DVD out of a Apple Pro Res file into iDVD in PAL format. My question now is how can I find out what the exact burn properties were so that I ca

After burning a successful DVD in iDVD out of FCPX, how can I see the settings it used?
So I finally burned a DVD out of a Apple Pro Res file into iDVD in PAL format. My question now is how can I find out what the exact burn properties were so that I can apply the same burn properties to a project in Compressor 4?
Is it possible to see what iDVD did?

I don't know any way you can interrogate iDVD to reveal settings to the extent that you can in a Compressor project. What you could do is open up the show's VOB in MPEG STreamclip, go to File and Reveal Stream Information; that will at least give you some rudimentary info like average bit rate. Perhaps someone, with more iDVD experience, can chime in here.
The broader question is why use Compressor at all if your current workflow is doing the job to your satisfaction?
The value of Compressor is that it gives you control over the many parameters that affect size quality. and playability. The Compressor presets can give you a starting point for DVD delivery, Web, etc. From those presets, people typically experiment by adjusting the parameters until they get the desired results for their specific show. It's a little bit science and a little bit art. After experimenting, you may be able to get slightly better quality for the project you've successfully burned in iDVD by using Compressor and something likeToast…or maybe not.
Good luck.
Russ

Playback of commercial DVDs in the PAL format

I live in the US. There is a movie I would like to get but it is only offered in PAL format. Can the i-Mac play this back ? Some have referred to changing a region setting. How is this done ? My i-Mac has a superdrive.

Most modern DVD players can correctly handle both
formats.
I've not seen a consumer DVD player that connects to a TV set play PAL here in the US. I HAVE seen stand-alone players with an attached LCD screen that will play both NTSC and PAL.
Edit: An Amazon.com search turned up two players that claim to play both in the US - the JVC XV-NP10S Multi Region Code Free DVD Player and the Philips 642/ 37 Region Free - Code free DIVX PAL NTSC DVD Player
That's not many choices.

PAL format on quick time

A newbie question. I just got a DVD from France and is in PAL format, I am trying to play it on my laptop and the DVD is getting rejected (without being able to play it). I thought that it does not matter if it is PAL or NTSC the computers can play either format. Is that correct? if not how do I play the French movie in PAL format?
Thank you ?

They can. You are up against the Region Setting.
As you are in the USA your Superdrive is set for Region 1, Europe is Region 2 and so on.
The firmware in the Mac's Superdrive will allow that setting to be changed up to five times, after which it is set in stone for eternity.
What your Mac should have asked you is 'This DVD is for Region 2, do you wish to change region?' or words to that effect.
It would be safer for you to view that DVD in a stand-alone DVD player, assuming that yours can play PAL as well as NTSC DVDs. DVD players sold in Europe nearly always play both, but apparently that may not be the case in the US.
But DVD players are also affected by this silly Region thing, except that they can be set for 'multi-region' with a simple number code entered with the remote control. These codes are readily available for all DVD players, and you can google for them. I would provide a link but laws are different about this in Europe and the US.
On your Mac you may find VLC Media Player useful:
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

PAL & NTSC DVDs--an Option?

I have an extensive collection of PAL & NTSC DVDs. The G5 has a (lower) empty optical drive slot. If I install another Superdrive will I be able to set it up to exclusively use this to play PAL regions 2 & 4 DVDs without locking the G5 permanently into this format i.e. use the first drive to still play NTSC Region 1 DVDs only? I understand that the manual says the the format choice can only be changed 5 times, but it is not clear to me if this statement applies only to the optical drives or the computer itself. I certainly do not want to make an irreversible choice for the G5!
Any help will be appreciated.

So... You are confusing video standard (format) with region codes here. The optical drives in Macs (most) are region code locked, meaning that they will only play disks from one region (and that region may be changed up to 5 times before the hardware gets stuck). It doesn't care what video format is on the disk from that region (NTSC or PAL), and it doesn't care about region-free disks (recordable DVDs, and commercial region-free disks).
On the Mac, the region locking is managed by firmware on the drive itself, so you can have one drive per region, if you like.
It might be more convenient to upgrade the firmware on the drive (depending on what model you have) to a region-free version of the firmware. As you may or may not be aware, the US is a WIPO signatory country and is prohibited from recognizing region codes as a form of copy protection or copyright control. Apple includes region code locks on their drives, ostensibly at the behest of their peers in the media industry, but it's perfectly OK for you to remove it (and, there are locales where region code locking is actually prohibited, but presumably if you bought your Mac there the locks are already absent). Be aware, however, that changing the firmware of the drive would void the warranty on the drive (not the whole Mac, just the DVD drive).
Another option might be to purchase an external region-free DVD drive.

PAL Format

I'm new to MACs and have just tried making a DVD of my mother-in-law's 70th birthday party. (You have to look after the mother-in-law). When I created the project in iMovie it doesn't allow me to create it in PAL format, it just defaults to NTSC. PAL is not even listed in the video format (I was importing video clips previously saved on the mac). When I share it with iDVD as soon as I try to burn to a DVD it tells me there's a TV Standard conflict. How do I create a new project in PAL format?

Ponder
Welcome to "Discussions".
Have you looked at your iMovie PREFERENCES ?
I work in the PAL format. I can tell you that in iMovie 4, you have a choice in "preferences" between PAL or NTSC.
If you have inadvertently created a Movie in NTSC, you won't be able to convert it to PAL in iMovie.
One thing you may have to watch is that when you create a "new project", iMovie may default to NTSC. In that case, you have to go to PREFERENCES, change "new project settings are" to PAL... close the iMovie project and open it again, and double check that the format is PAL. That is my experience with it.
I hope this will help and that I am adressing your concern correctly. I have been playing with iMovie for a couple of years now and am still "learning" and discovering. I think it's a fantastic tool. The first thing I did was to print the sections of the "HELP" pages I was interested in and studied them ... one at a time! There is a lot to absorb ! Incidently, I am not an expert in these matters !!!
jc
eMac - G4 Mac OS X (10.3.7) 768 MB SDRAM

I have Video camera movies that are HD format.. I am doing editing work on them using Final Cut Pro, but using DV PAL format for the projects I am editing. When I then tried to copy my work done in FCP Project that's originally DV PAL , into a new FCP Pro

I have Video camera movies that are HD format.. I am doing editing work on them using Final Cut Pro, but using DV PAL format for the projects I am editing. When I then tried to copy my work done in FCP Project that's originally DV PAL , into a new FCP Project that is HD, and tried reconnect media with original HD movies (video), the sequence project got distorted for all the text, shapes used and all.. everything changed its orientation and scale.. Is there a way by which I can preserve my work done on DV PAL and switch it preserving its proportions, scale and orientation, but on a HD project sequence?? Appreciate your help and advice..

Yes. A couple of ways that might work.
First Way
What you need to do is load one of your hd clips in the viewer and edit into a new HD sequence. Does it display correctionly?
OK, select the clip in the hd timeline and copy (command-c). Now go to the HD sequence with the material that's distorted. Select all (command-a) and paste attributes (option-v) and choose basic motion and distort. That should maek things work. What won't work is anything that you've adjusted as far as basic motion or distort in your PAL sequence. That I'm pretty sure you'll have to redo.
Second Way.
Choose your original PAL sequence and do a Media Manage changing the sequence preset to the appropriate HD paramenters with the media offline. You then should be able to reconnect these clips with your original HD media.

How do I achieve a high quality PAL SD DVD from Final Cut Pro?

From a PMW-EX1 camera file edited in Final Cut Pro I am unable to produce a high quality PAL SD DVD using compressor and DVD Studio Pro (tried multiple combinations).
Using Final cut pro and Magic iDVD I can achieve a high quality SD DVD with no changes in export.But am limited to the iDVD restrictions.
From discussions it appears using compressor and DVD Studio pro it is not achievable, it is very frustrating that the Apple product you have to buy is not as efficient as the free one?
If not possible then how do I access the encoded file from IDVD?
My Final cut pro sequence settings:
General - Aspect ratio: HDTV 1080i (16:9) 1920x1080, square and upper(Odd)
Quicktime video settings compressor: xdcam ex 1080i50 (35 mb/s vbr)
I

iDVD does everything automatically for you. With DVDSP and Compressor, all steps must be done correctly. The trade off is that you achieve better quality using Compressor over iDVD.
1. First thing to do is export your sequence as an uncompressed interlaced 25i 720 x 576 16x9 Anamorphic QT.
2. Determine your optimal bitrate by using a bitrate calculator. Here's a good one. Remember you need to account for all video on the disc, including motion menus.
http://www.videohelp.com/calc.htm
3. Bring your down converted QT into Compressor and use the manual settings set your bitrate. Also encode out a Dolby digital AC3 file. These files take up less bandwidth than uncompressed audio. Also remember to match your upper fiiled dominate filed order as well in Compressor. This must be consistent throughout the export and encoding stages.
4. bring your encoded video and audio files into DVDSP and author

PAL format DVD

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