PAL to NTSC menu problem

I have to create a NTSC DVD for a client- now i have done the PAL version
created a new menu for NTSC version and will create itall from scratch encoded the .mov file with Episode PRO form PAL to NTSC but when I use the same menu template (the wedding ring) and choose Display mode 16:9 letterbox in DVDSP it stretches the menu, any way of forcing it to 16:9 the way it does when I create a PAL menu?
Message was edited by: Allister Gourlay

The Wedding Ring background does not like being made into a widescreen version. I made my own by extending the sides of the original in Photoshop.
You can find the background here: hard Drive / Library /Application Support / DVD Studio Pro / Apple / Templates. Locate the "Wedding Band Cover" template, right click and choose "Show Package Contents". Click the Resources folder. The file is called "background.tiff".

Similar Messages

PAL to NTSC Big Problems

We shoot and edit in PAL on FCP and output to Quicktime MOV. When I convert the MOV to MPEG2 NTSC in Compressor I am getting some bad shuddering on any camera pans.
I have tried changing field dominance and turning on and off the deinterlacing. I have even tried transcoding from an encoded mpeg 2 PAL with no improvement
I am using version 1.2.1 of & have almost no control over the GOP settings. I don't know what do do
Please help

As a last resort (in case you are stuck which is a common fate of most users when dealing with this horrible legacy of NTSC frame rates) you have a simple solution that will produce flawless, no hiccups conversion from PAL to NTSC. You will need sufficient space, patience and willingness to accept 4% change in pitch.
a) edit your footage in 25 progressive. Export it as image sequence. Export audio separately.
b) In QTP import image sequence to NTSC frame rate 23.976. Add your audio (SCALED) to your movie.
c) Import your movie to 23.976 FCP sequence.
d) export it NTSC mpg2, which will add standard pulldown to bring it to 29.97.
(all this can presumably be done in FCP, if only one could figure out how!)
(Note to Apple.Please kindly note that 24 is not 23.98 nor it is 23.976, Your documentation is all over the place with no rhyme or reason. 24 can mean (FTC, QT) 24 or 23.976. Strangely 23.98 seems to be always used to denote 23.976. This is not nice nor professional and is awfully confusing)

Hdr-hc3 problems! Interlace? PAL to NTSC

Hello. I am having problems editing a video shot in Sony hdr-hc3 PAL version. I captured in hdv and edited. In the timeline I put 25 frames per second. 1440 x 1080. 16x9... Compression HDV 1080i50
Well, I exported everything. Export/Current Settings. Then I burnt a dvd with dvd studio pro and when I look the video in the TV it looks really really interlaced. Everytime there is movement, the image looks double. Well, I have tried with after effects to remove the pull down but it's not useful. It seems it's not really a interlace problem because when I say to guess pulldown... it doesn't appear anything. I also tried with cinema tools... i did the reverse telecine... but doesnt work... or at least i dont have any idea what i have to do...
I also tried with compressor but the same problem... I dont know if I have to do something in final cut, after i export from final cut... or what i have to do with this problem. The motion looks horrible. HELP PLEASE!
Thanks a lot!

As a last resort (in case you are stuck which is a common fate of most users when dealing with this horrible legacy of NTSC frame rates) you have a simple solution that will produce flawless, no hiccups conversion from PAL to NTSC. You will need sufficient space, patience and willingness to accept 4% change in pitch.
a) edit your footage in 25 progressive. Export it as image sequence. Export audio separately.
b) In QTP import image sequence to NTSC frame rate 23.976. Add your audio (SCALED) to your movie.
c) Import your movie to 23.976 FCP sequence.
d) export it NTSC mpg2, which will add standard pulldown to bring it to 29.97.
(all this can presumably be done in FCP, if only one could figure out how!)
(Note to Apple.Please kindly note that 24 is not 23.98 nor it is 23.976, Your documentation is all over the place with no rhyme or reason. 24 can mean (FTC, QT) 24 or 23.976. Strangely 23.98 seems to be always used to denote 23.976. This is not nice nor professional and is awfully confusing)

PAL and NTSC

Please can someone help. I have been using iDVD 5.0.1 absolutely fine. No glitches. Burned a lovely DVD using iMovie and iDVD in PAL.
Now upgraded to iLife 06 and new iDVD. Using same old movie (made in iMovie 5.0.2) I get this error message all the time:-
TV Standard Conflict?
It seems that we are burning a NTSC movie on a PAL disc. Proceed with burning?
I have set my Preferences on PAL, I have set my Project Info on PAL. I can't find anything in iMovie to change to PAL and never had this problem in the older iDVD version.
I want to use the new iDVD but have had to go back and find the older app of iDVD to do the work I want.
Please can you tell me what to change to burn my dvd in PAL.
Thanks
Frances

In iMovie, there is something you can change to PAL.
When you first create a project, there is an options
tab. Click it, and a drop down menu comes up. There
are multiple options like "DV", and "iSight". Select
what you want it to be compatible with. Then, once
the main window comes up, there are multiple menus at
the top. I can't remember which one (I'm not on my
mac right now), but under one of them you can find
the Project info. You can then select the type of
project (NTSC or PAL) in there. There may be an
option when you first create the project, to select
this (once again, I can't remember; I'm not on my
mac).
Hope this helps.
On the face of it, you advice should help. I've just spent an hour getting frustrated in trying to get iMovie to create an empty project in PAL format.
The difficulty is caused by the appallingly poor labelling Apple has used in providing those options in Preferences. Yes, indeed I have the choice of 29.97 fps or 25 fps. Had Apple added something like 'for NTSC' 'for PAL', it would be much clearer for unwary users. Choices need to have some clues attached to them that can indicate the relevance of the choice to the user. I was looking for a choice relating to PAL and NTSC. I did not know that the fps options were essentially the same thing in different clothing.
The really irritating aspect to all of this is that the information in Help Viewer talks about the choice, but fails to mention how you can choose between the two systems.
I feel better now.
Power Mac G4 733 MHz Mac OS X (10.4.1)
IMac 2GHz Intel Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Converting PAL to NTSC and making a DVD

I have a couple of .avi files, some are in PAL and others in NTSC, I wanna make a DVD in NTSC mode, How can I convert the files?

Hi
This is not easy and You need other programs to do this.
.avi.
You can use MPEG-Streamclip to convert the AVI files so that QuickTime can play them
and to streamingDV for iMovie.
This may work - I had great problems to get .avi into anything usably.
*PAL to NTSC or other way*
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.
• 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

QuickTime movie in Pal to NTSC

I have a PAL camcorder.
I made an i movie in PAL and then edited it. I then converted it to QT in Pal. I then want to convert it to NTSC in JES. It doesn't seem to want to convert. ??? Perhaps I put something wrong into the slots. Could some one give me the right steps?? I thought that I followed the "Unofficial iMovie FAQ"

Hi sola
Converting from Pal to NTSC is one of the hardest things to do.
Believe me! I live in New Zealand a Pal territory but when I wanted to convert my little TV programme DIYTV Learn TV Production in 44 minutes showing the world how to make saleable, watchable TV programmes on iMovie I had to convert it to NTSC and get it to work on all USA DVD's.
It took me five months! Nobody could tell me how to do it. You can get a man on the moon but not convert acceptable PAL to NTSC cheaply and easily.
I tried everything Jes, the Compressor which comes with FC Pro , took it to production houses and still I could not get an acceptable conversion that did not cost a bomb. I tried all the forums. I begged to be given some settings which would work. Nothing! Doing it digitally takes hours and you need the correct settings which are a 'big secret'.
I did not try Platinium Alchemist as it was about NZ$1000 a go and I had 8 programmes. I reckoned I'd not sell that many to cover the cost. I think this would be the best.
Now the first thing to find out is what you want to do with it once you have converted. This makes a difference for some of the ways you do this look awful on LCD screens
I am not an expert in Jes but a lot on the forum swear by it. I too never got it to work for me.
If your video is not too long you may consider having it done professionally by a duplication house.
For this you just need to take in your tape and they can make the change either to tape or DVD. They have the equipment mainly an NTSC recorder which are are difficult to come by in Pal countries.
You can do it the analog way at home by making a DVD, playing this on a cheap DVD recorder from China, a named expensive variety will not do, which has a cunning little switch between PAL/NTSC and you can make the change in real time and as good quality as you get, better than digital and it works on everything.
The big problem with this is you need an NTSC tape recorder.
Have you noticed your PAL camcorder will play in NTSC but not record. This is because the wattage/ampage, sorry experts I am dislexic here, is different in USA and it makes the pictures flicker if filmed under lights consequently the big firms only sell the correct type of camera for the country to avoid problems.
I hire an NTSC one as I have hours of video to change but if you have just one item it would be cheaper to get it done by a duplication house. Once you have it on NTSC you can do what you like with it.
Caution. If you want your iMovie to play on all USA DVD players you have to convert the sound to Dolby Sound AC3 but that is another problem.
This is my answer to the question for what it is worth. If anyone out there has a better solution please tell us. So far I have had no complaints and I have sold many DVDs changed like this. My change costs about $20 but takes hours to achieve but worth the effort.
Good luck. Hope someone is more helpful
Jane

PAL or NTSC for international distribution?

Hi everybody, we have a 5 hrs film shot and edited in Premiere Pro CS6 in HD pal, 50fps, 16:9 intended for international distribution on 2 double layer DVDs. How should we best author it to guarantee worldwide compatibility and best possible quality? PAL or NTSC? There is no budget to press both, PAL and NTSC DVDs. Thanks for your help!!!

NTSC every time.
All PAL players these days will happily output NTSC content either as true NTSC (by running an on-the-fly standards conversion in the video decoder chips) or else as PAL-60.
Very few NTSC players will output PAL in any form.
Your biggest problem will be standards converting your 50i footage into 29.97.
EDIT.
Here's a great tip for you.
Do not ever shoot at 25 fps in any shape, way or form if you need international release. Use 24p instead - and when the time comes to burn a DVD all you need to do is scale it down & render to DV 24p widescreen from Adobe Media Encoder. All will be fine, and you can use fully progressive images all the way through.
Pros:
24p footage is universal, 25p is not spec compliant, must be interlaced & will only work in PAL regions.
24p will play - in an upscaling player (such as a modern Universal, or a good BluRay player) at the encoded rate (Hollywood have been pulling this trick for years now) and in a non-upscaling player it will automatically pull to 29.97 with no intervention needed from the user.
Cons.
None that immediately come to mind - although of course 24p footage has it's own issues but these are outweighed by not having to standards convert.
Why this is needed.
Because although most US discs will play in PAL players, either as pure NTSC or PAL-60, the reverse is not true and even when you can find a US player that will handle a 25i stream, you will run into difficulties with the display because the mains is at the wrong frequency (60Hz instead of 50Hz) and the image will be garbled, black & white or missing altogether. A study by Sony showed that perhaps 1/20 players can output PAL frame rates properly in NTSC regions.

Video in Garageband - PAL or NTSC?

This is very annoying! My Canon HF100 is an NTSC model, so I imported into iMovie as NTSC, and my iDVD project was NTSC, all of which was designed to prevent the judder caused by dropping frames...
But it still happened! Really frustrating, as everything I did was meant to avoid this. And then I thought through the process and arrived at Garageband, which for some mad reason one has to use in order to put in chapters.
Did Garageband convert my videos to PAL, in which case iDVD would have converted them back again? I can't see how to switch from PAL to NTSC in Garageband preferences.

So does it look fine when you preview the video in iDVD? I don't think PAL and NTSC are the problem these are both international standards for Televisions, Garageband could be the problem but it would show up in iDVD.

PAL to NTSC ? a little help please!

Hi. I have read several topics but couldn't really find an appropriate answer to my question.
I am trying to:
I live in Switzerland where we use the PAL system. So I have a PAL video-camera.
I am trying to create an NTSC movie to send to friends in the US!
I understand about the part where you can export the movie to NTSC format.
My problem is:
1) Proportions!! PAL is: 720x576 and NTSC is: 720x480!
The height is shorter so when I export, the image is squeezed!
Is there a way to "CROP" the image instead of having the image squeezed ?
2) I also saw that you can keep your proportions while exporting to NTSC, but then what will happen when someone uses a NTSC TV to watch movie. Will it squeeze the image, or will it add black stripes at the top and bottom?
3) I thought if my iMovie file was NTSC that it would crop the image when I do the import from my camera. But it doesn't work, and plus .. it transforms the NTSC standard to PAL automatically. So you can't even chose the format!
Any ideas, suggestions ? How could I do it? I am a bit lost! MANY thanks! & kind regards,
Stephanie

default settings (no cropping) to export as NTSC, but it didn't work out.
What was the problem then? How did it not work out??
The following page has info how to preserve correct aspect ratio when converting video:
http://www.iki.fi/znark/video/conversion/
For example, Section 3.2.2 has instructions for PAL to NTSC conversion:
PAL 720x576 must be resampled to 729x486, then cropped to the final 720x480 NTSC resolution.
I haven't tested whether JES Deinterlacer does the conversion along those lines (very few applications do these things right but luckily almost no one notices that!!) but in my tests the results have been very good.
If it is NTSC, why is it [iDVD] using PAL size ?
Notice that iDVD's PAL/NTSC setting takes effect only for new projects.

Transferring the film to video best practice and combining PAL and NTSC

Could anyone help me with the following 2 questions that I was asked in our small school video lab, I don't really have much experience with negative film and NTSC. Thankyou so much.
1. "I may be going back to the film negative to cut it, based on the FCP EDL. This means that Final Cut has to maintain perfect synch. I know that with AVID, it's more reliable to transfer the film to video at 25 fps rather than 24 fps. Do you have any idea whether this is also the case with Final Cut??"
2. "Some of my source materials is on PAL and some is on NTSC. Is that going to be a nightmare?? Will I be able to convert from one to the other when I import?? Or will I need to get the NTSC miniDV tapes transfered to PAL so that your PAL deck can read them? "
we normally use PAL (In UK).

1. This is where Cinema Tools comes into play. It can conform your edit list from FCP back to film.
There is a wealth of information in the Cinama Tools handbook and Help menu item.
Someone else might be able to contribute more information, my experience with CT is very limited.
2. Some decks are switchable between PAL and NTSC. If yours can do this then you can capture your footage in a preliminary project and convert it for free with [JES Deinterlacer|http://www.xs4all.nl/~jeschot/home.html] which does a decent job or for $100 with [Natress Standards Conversion|http://www.nattress.com/Products/standardsconversion/standardsconver sion.htm] which does a very good job. Both will take some time, best to capture only what you really need.
The best possible conversion is done with dedicated hardware solutions such as those offered by Snell & Wilcox. Real time with excellent results. This would be the way to go if you have a lot of material or if your deck is not PAL - NTSC switchable.

I want to convert a movie that I've created in iMovie from PAL to NTSC.

I've created a large movie using PAL but now want to convert it to NTSC to send to my family in Canada. It took ages to create. Is there an easy way of doing the conversion? I don't want to have to do it all again.

Hi
A. Using iMovie'08 to 11 - Will not give 100% result - as You want interlaced SD-Video = NTSC
B. Converting from PAL to NTSC - is Never 100% loss free - but You lose a bit
I use iMovie HD6 or FinalCut - as they can deliver 100% over to program that converts.
• iMovie and iDVD can convert - BUT RESULT WILL BE Very POOOOR.
My notes on How I do it
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

Pal to ntsc small query

I have read up on the forum re producing an NTSC dvd from a Pal file and taken on board the suggestions re compressor & nattress etc. One quick question though. A friend of mine who shoots in Pal and produces dvd's in both pal & ntsc says he simply nests and exports the Pal project using QTconversion, sets up a new NTSC sequence and imports the qt file into it.
I have tried a small clip this way and if I look at the new clips properties in QT player, it appears to display as the correct frame rates etc for NTSC and seems to play ok.
Is there something very obviously wrong with this method? I am assuming so as otherwise everyone would use this method.
I think my friend is working on the basis that he says FCP will happily handle a mix of PAL & NTSC in the same timeline so switching is not a problem?
Confused?

All my movies/DVD are short ones then I use the Natrress plugins with very good results. It works inside FCP. It's a time consuming process, but you can leave working alone as heavy renders.
About how to test reaults, I don't find any other option that using a real NTSC TV. I'm sure you can find some models there with both standards PAL and NTSC.
Don't judge the conversion in the computer monitor because you need to check there is no problems with interlacing/scan.

PAL to NTSC...Unsure how to verify

Hi there, I have transcoded the clip from PAL to NTSC in Compressor 2. I have resized all my menus etc and authored in DVD Studio Pro 4 with the session set to NTSC. I am now wanting to verify that it will work in the USA (I am in Australia).
I have a Sony professional monitor, which I have set to NTSC. I have a DVD player that I have also set to NTSC. I then play my new NTSC DVD and it works. The only catch is that my PAL version of the same project also works within the NTSC environment, only it's not quite as smooth.
Is the difference between NTSC and PAL (within the correct environment) a matter of 'work' or 'not work' or does it just not look quite as good?
Thanks, Simon.

If you authored the DVD in DVD SP as "NTSC", it will work for shure in a NTSC only enviroment. Of course the quality of the video will not be so good as the original PAL DVD because the conversion, but it will work.
DVD SP doesn't let you mix PAL and NTSC assets.
I live in Argentina where the TV standard is PAL, my pro DV camera is PAL . . . but . . . all commercial dvd movies (sale or rental ones) are NTSC (don't ask me why who's smart brain decided so). Then I live with the double standard problem because most of the dvd players sold here are not capables of play PAL.
Be sure your project is set to NTSC in DVD SP and everything will be fine.

PAL to NTSC, when to convert? Can't Build or Burn now.

I shot on a Pal camera and built the project as a NTSC project in FCP 5 (Studio). Converted all the PAL video into NTSC when compressing using Compression out of FCP. All seemed to work fine. Built the DVD as a NTSC project, no problems until... I can't get it to Burn, build or format. Right now, it is freezing up on build, but I've actually burned a few CDs but none of them have worked. Always crashed the DVD player in my Computer.
Anybody have any experience with this?
Would I be better off going back and finishing the project as a PAL project in FCP and then convert the whole project into NTSC? How to do that??
I've been dealing with thise issues for days now. One small step forwards, 2 big steps backwards.
Especially frustrating because I've been working on this project for years and now it is ALMOST finished, but I can't quite do it......
Any help, suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Ed

this is my workflow for shooting in PAL for NTSC DVD discs - it has worked well for a contract to USA clients for over 6 years:
shoot in PAL
edit in Final Cut in PAL sequence
export QT file - self contained, current settings
standards convert to NTSC using Nattress:
http://www.nattress.com/Products/standardsconversion/standardsconversion.htm
import into Compressor or Bitvice and produce M2V and AC3 files
http://www.innobits.com/bitvice.html
author in DVDSP in an NTSC project
build project
burn disc using Toast with TAIYO YUDEN DVD-R discs
http://www.roxio.com/eng/products/toast/titanium/overview.html?ClickID=cqk44wven vp77zlfpxaqzwqe44w77wwsxkix
http://www.jigsaw24.com/default.aspx?ITEM=JIGSG155APA&IP=5WGSTOCONSC_DISCSPLBDVDFC

Compressor Pal to NTSC - issues - will progressive help?

I am trying to optimise a pal - to ntsc conversion. Source footage is DV tape.
I realise that there is always a quality hit - i have been using compressor following Anton Lineker's excellent article from Aussie Macworld mar 06 - on slow pal to ntsc conversion.
Am wondering if ,when using the encoder options in compressor,going progressive scan over deinterlaced will help up the quality - at the moment my final output is getting some serious "banding" when any motion happens on screen (eg moving pictureframes have "slat blind" edging while my original pal output maintains a sharp edge on the moving picture frame)- could this be an interlacing issue via the encoder in compressor?
and will progressive play out on many tvs around the world?

You may want to contact Roger Anderson at http://www.innobits.se/ssl/email_us.php . I understand that his new version of Bitvice may be able to solve your conversion issues.
You can download a demo version of this software, ( http://www.innobits.se/ssl/download.php ) to see if it solves your problems. I know that he has incorporated a new set of algorithms to scale between different source like NTSC to PAL and back as well as other new capabilities.

PAL to NTSC menu problem

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