AVIs... NTSC to PAL

[dvd_dunce]

I've got some NTSC AVIs I want to convert to doing it. Is there any freeware that will do the job without burning a load of text onto it?

I've tried using Ulead Videostudio 8 (which I know isn't free, but it's a program I already have) which thinks it can do the job but the result consists of normal audio and a series of freeze frames or sped up video.


Help!

[Seb.26]

What do you mean by NTSC->PAL converting ?
- framerate ?
- 3:2 removing ?
- frame size ?
- ...ect...

[dvd_dunce]

Hope this is enough detail...

I lifted the file from a Region 1 DVD then used Fair Use wizard to convert it to an avi. If I right click on the file it made it says the following...

Width 688 pixels
Height 384 pixels

Framerate 29 Frames per second
Data rate 533 kbps

I want to burn this file onto a DVD to watch on a Region 2 DVD player, so I assume I need to get the framerate down to 25fps first as my attempts so far won't play on my region 2 DVD player

:o

[Blue_MiSfit]

Okay - a couple of things that we need to know

1) Is it interlaced? In other words, when you play it back on your computer monitor do you see any combing artifacts? Theses are the horizontal lines that can be associated with high motion areas.

It's likely progressive (not interlaced) in which case you just need to write a simple AviSynth script like this (adapted from the AviSynth user manual):

#Load up the source
AVISource("29.97 fps.avi")

#Convert Resolution and Framerate to PAL
BicubicResize(768,576)
ConvertFPS(25)


This should spit out PAL compliant video that can then be frameserved into an MPEG-2 encoder like HC, QuEnc, or CCE. This will result in an M2V file, which can be authored with the original audio stream. QuEnc should be able to handle all of these bits, and spit out VOBs that can be burned onto a DVD+/-R.

For interlaced material the script is a bit different.

AVISource("NTSC_clip.avi")
Bob(height=576)
BicubicResize(768,576)
ConvertFPS(50)
SeparateFields.SelectEvery(4,0,3)
Weave


Let us know if you have other questions. Oh, and if the output is a little blurry, switch bicubicresize to lanczos4resize.

Welcome to Doom9 :)

:readguid: :search:! :p

~MiSfit

[setarip_old]

@dvd_dunce

Hi!

From what I've been told and read at many forums, the vast majority of R2 standalone DVD players are capable of playing BOTH PAL and NTSC DVDs properly. If yours is one of these, simply play your NTSC DVD on your standalone player...

[Blue_MiSfit]

Very true, I neglected to mention that.

Definitely give that a try before you spend hours with re-encoding and authoring.

~MiSfit

[dvd_dunce]

I'm afraid my telly won't show NTSC which is the main problem, but my DVD player won't either. Thanks for your help but I'm afraid you'll have to credit me with a bit less intelligence... I'm afraid I don't really understand where I write the bits of text you suggest. I assume that once I've done that I download one of the programs you suggest and somehow use that to convert the file, then use something like "My DVD" to build the final DVD with the various files I've converted from my original NTSC AVIs. Is there a guide that has already been written so I don't have to waste your time any further?

Thank you for being so welcoming to your forum. Apologies for my ignorance... At least I wrote it in the Newbies section! I'm determined to learn how to do new stuff but it's all a bit daunting at the moment!

Many thanks
:D

[dwm4444]

You might want to try a freeware program called Avi2Dvd. I've used it a few times in the past to convert AVI's to DVD and it worked very well and was simple to use. However, I have not used the PAL/NTSC conversion feature (it's a tickbox on the "Step 2 Output" screen in the program), so I can't vouch for how well it works, although just looking around the net I've seen a few posts saying it works well.

It will handle all the conversion and authoring: just feed it an AVI and it will give you a DVD iso image file (tick the "Make ISO" box on the "Step 2" screen) that you can burn using Imgburn, Nero, whatever. It comes with a choice of built-in encoders (QuEnc, HCEnc, NuEnc, FreeEnc), take your pick (I used my own copy of CCE with it and was very happy with the video quality, but it's not free). HCEnc gets pretty high marks from several posts I've read. They're all going to be pretty slow, though (we're talking several hours unless you've got a monster machine).

The authoring part gives you a menu-builder if you're interested. I never used it.

There are a few guides scattered around the net for it and a simple guide at their website. If you run into any problems with it you can hopefully track down the solution via google or come back here.

This is the simplest way I have found to go from AVI to DVD. Hopefully it will do the NTSC to PAL thing for you.

Good luck.

[Blue_MiSfit]

ConvertXToDVD should be able to do the PAL conversion. It's a simple matter of dropping the AVI in, selecting PAL output, and encoding. Awesome tool for quick jobs :)