I need to copy a PAL-VHS tape in NTSC format for someone in the US. I have a Sony VCR which can read tapes in NTSC format and I want to dub this tape from a second VCR. My first attempt produced a tape which can be played whether the Sony is in NTSC mode or PAL mode. Have I succeeded or am I wasting my time?
I appreciate this is off topic here; perhaps someone could point me to a more appropriate newsgroup if there is no simple answer?
The European and North American TV systems use different standards -- 625/50 and 525/30, respectively. You cannot copy from one to the other without conversion at some point.
If the tape is PAL, you need a VCR that can output the image in NTSC format (or something closely approximating it), which you would then copy to a VCR that records in NTSC format.
If you would tell us more about the VCRs you have (make and model, specific features), it would be easier to help you.
NTSC tapes are usually viewed in the UK by a cludge between the VHS and TV
- the VHS doesn't actually convert them to PAL.
You might be able to do it properly via your PC.
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Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
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I think you've answered my question. The source VCR (JVC HR-J470EK) doesn't have the capability of outputting in NTSC format. The object VCR has the capability of reading NTSC tapes but probably not recording them (Sony SLV-F900). So it looks like the idea is a non-starter.
Cludge? Is that a technical term? :-)
I'd be interested to know what's involved.
you will need a vcr which outputs in NTSC 3.58 - not just NTSC 4.43, WHICH IS USED TO PROVIDE COLOUR ON A PAL tv but is useless for copying (sorry- caps lock jammed!) I have a sony SLV-ER7UY which has a switch for both modes, but there were a number of Uk models offering this. try ebay.
once you get such a machine you just set your pc card and capture software to ntsc.you can them make a vcd or dvd . I have done this.
-B
Yes. Spelled wrong. "Kludge", IIANM
A PC should have the processing power required to do a pukka standards conversion. But I dunno if the required software/hardware exists. A Google might help there.
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In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes
Using a PC, "just for fun", I've successfully converted PAL TV DVD recordings to NTSC, and vice versa. But of course, I wasn't starting with raw video, which is what you would have when the source is a VCR. With a DVD, you pick the files off the DVD, and transcode them. However, with a cheap TV video card, you should be able to feed the VCR video into a PC, and get it into a file format suitable for transcoding. After that, instead of transferring to tape, burn the finished product to a DVD (if this is an acceptable alternative).
[Just a note: I have a dirt-cheap Alba DVD player which, when playing an 'NTSC' DVD, the output composite video is switchable between original video (with the NTSC 3.58MHz subcarrier) and the PAL 4.43MHz. With NTSC output, the PAL TV set goes to B&W, and the subcarrier is very visible. This 'feature' is useful for determining if a NTSC-PAL conversion has actually worked. I'm not sure if the 'feature' works the other way around. I must check some day.]The success of my home-made transcodings can only be described as 'fair'. Occasionally, there is a certain amount of 'juddering' because of the 50Hz-60Hz difference of field frequency. Also, there is a possibility of the video and audio being a bit out-of-sync.
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It was originally spelt "kluge":
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Ah, as I thought - related to botch/bodge.
Incidentally, how common are multi-region DVD players in the USA? Over here, it seems that many of the cheap brands are multi-region while the known brands are Region 2 (Europe) only.
If you want to do one tape I sugest to go to a store that does that type of conversion.
Could you easily find a store in the US that does NTSC to PAL conversion? The other way round is more likely.
Same applies in the UK.
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Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
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In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes
I agree that, for just one tape, a 'store conversion' would save a lot of messing about. I was more interested in trying to defeat the idiosyncrasies of Nero (and other multimedia processing software) than actually trying to do anything useful.
I'm no real expert. Ten years ago, I had a couple of tapes (of a wedding in the USA) 'professionally' converted (in the UK) to PAL. I recall that the results were not too impressive. [Soon afterwards, my old PAL-only VCR packed up. The replacement could play NTSC tapes anyway, so the conversion was a bit of a waste of money!] I think that my own more-recent efforts on the PC were actually better.
I'm not sure how common 'store conversion' facilities are these days. However, ten years ago, when I was interested, I think that most used to offer conversions either way. I don't think that there should be any difficulty in getting a PAL-to-NTSC conversion done in the UK.
-- Ian
Likely done by pointing a camera at a monitor. Proper standards convertors were/are extremely expensive. And only really to be found within broadcast facilities. But then copying any VHS results in very noticeable degradation - even without standards conversion.
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Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
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I had done that in the 1980's. By 1991, I had a panasonic converting VCR that did digital conversions. That worked until about 3 years ago when it had a mechanical fault, and the people that repaired it tore the ribbon cable that controlled the converter. I still have it and was able to replace enough wires in the cable to get to work as a VCR, but for now the converter is gone.
I've since replaced it with an Aiwa that does the same thing.
BTW, the OP's problem is with Nero, PAL DVD players have no trouble playing NTSC DVD's on PAL TV sets. Some of them automaticly adjust, some have a setup option.
Geoff.
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At one time I knew of three, but I moved from that small town. One was a professional video duplication house that only worked with VHS & U-matic, while the others converted almost anything from 8 mm film, to foreign tape formats.
Some TV stations have the capability to import foreign tape formats to NTSC time base corrected video and can record in NTSC VHS format, if yo know someone in the video engineering department.
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As I said earlier it depends on what quality you want the conversion done to - a proper one cost a lot of money. But a camera on a monitor will do the conversion - that's how early broadcast ones worked.
Indeed - my former employer had a full blown standards convertor which cost 100s of thousands of pounds. How else did you get to watch Benny Hill? ;-)
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Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
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Thing is it's a bit of a misnomer talking about PAL or NTSC DVDs - as they aren't actually coded to either. It's just the line and frame rates that differ - and of course there are different ones of those on both PAL and NTSC, IIRC, in various countries. In other words the digits on the disc aren't PAL or NTSC encoded. And if you're feeding them to the TV in digital, RGB or components again it doesn't matter - only if composite or RF does PAL or NTSC really come into the equation. So I suppose it's really just convention that they are marked PAL or NTSC - to show the countries they're for.
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Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
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