PAL DVD to NTSC DVD conversion

2005-08-06 16:18:29

Ok, this is really two questions:

1)  how do I convert a .vob to mpeg2?

2) How do I go from PAL .vob or mpeg2 to NTSC .vob or mpeg2?

PAL DVD to NTSC DVD conversion

Reply #1 – 2005-08-06 21:32:30

Vob is mpeg2. If you want to turn it into a program stream, you need to remux it.
If you want to pal to ntsc or vice vers, you need to decode the video file and do framerate conversion. You can search more information at Doom9's forum.

PAL DVD to NTSC DVD conversion

Reply #2 – 2005-08-07 03:06:43

Thanks Latexxx.

I knew that .vob was mpeg2, I just didn't know the correct term (remux).

I know there's alot of good info at doom9, the problem I find is that the guides are kind of out dated and the forums take forever to dig through and I'm not as interested in a lot of the subject matter as say I am here at HA.  I was hoping someone would just give the quick and dirty Cliff Notes version, or at least point me at some software to start digging into.

PAL DVD to NTSC DVD conversion

Reply #3 – 2005-08-08 10:23:54

I can give you some hints, but you really need to take the time to trawl through the obvious searches of the doom9 forums.

The most important issue is that of the source: is it film (25 different frames per second, encoded as 25 pairs of similar fields) or video (50 different fields per second)? The only way to find out is to step through it field by field (I use TMPGenc deinterlacer in bob mode to do this, but you can bob in AVIsynth and view in virtualdub too) and see if there is motion between fields (like video) or not (like film). Obviously you need to pick a part where there is some motion!

If the source is film material (i.e. progressive frames) then it's quite easy. Use AVIsynth to resize the frames, adjust the frame rate slightly, and apply 3-2 pulldown. Use something appropriate to resample the audio. I think there's a reasonable guide to this over at doom9.

Alternatively, use DGpulldown (search doom9) after resizing to 720x480 - you can even use settings which avoid having to resample the audio.

If the source is true video material (i.e. interlaced fields) then things are a lot harder. To keep the smooth "look" of video, you need to deinterlace to double frame rate (i.e. 50fps), and then use motion compensation to predict and build frames at the correct frame rate, before re-interlacing to standard NTSC. There is an AVIsynth script called mvfps which can be built into a good PAL>NTSC and NTSC>PAL conversion (with mvbob) - the "motion compensated deinterlacer" thread gives details IIRC. Alternatively, deinterlace the video content to 25fps then treat it like film.

Some commercial packages will take PAL video and let you author an NTSC DVD, but I don't know of any that do this well - especially not if the source is interlaced video.

Hope this helps - if nothing else, it should give you some ideas for key words you can search for over at doom9.

Cheers,
David.

PAL DVD to NTSC DVD conversion

Reply #4 – 2005-08-13 17:20:31

Thanks David, I think that will give me a good starting point.

PAL DVD to NTSC DVD conversion

Reply #5 – 2005-10-09 21:48:30

I bookmarked this a couple of weeks ago, but haven't had the time to experiment yet. Let me know if you find one that actually works =)