I have a backup DVD movie on a DVD-R but it will not play in my stand alone DVD player. I think it is still a PAL disc. How can I convert it so that it will play in my NTSC DVD player? I’ve tried DVDDecrypter and DVDFab but no luck. Can someone help me?
Thanks!
you’re not talking about protection. you’re talking about the native format of the disc.
you’ll have to actually convert the video.
DVDSanta will do this for you. Other forum members may be able to recommend other programs, but in the meantime dvdsanta is one you can look into.
maybe doing a search for “PAL to NTSC” would turn up some better results now that you know you’re after a format conversion as opposed to copy protection.
before you go through all that, I’d make sure the disc actually works first. does it play in your computer? if not, then the format is the least of your problems.
what kind of backup is it? did you make it? of what disc?
if you routinely buy out of region discs for home use, then you should really look into getting a region free or multi-region standalone unit so you don’t run into this issue.
By what you say you used to me it sounds more like a media issue. Either one of the 2 programs you use dhaould have done away with the region coding. What stand alone you got? and what media are you using?
region doesn’t matter. it’s the FORMAT that it’s in.
As explained before, the regioncode has nothing really to do with the video format used. PAL or NTSC
There are some cheap DVD Players that will play both PAL/NTSC formats. You will have to rip the region coding out of them but beyond that you won’t have to do anything else. I know that Coby DVD Players have this feature for sure and right now you can get one for less than $40 shipped. I am seriously considering one of these since I have a number of PAL format movies that won’t read on my Panasonic Player.
I have noticed that the NTSC DVD players that play PAL have very poor conversion and usually the image is deformed and fuzzy on some brands. For better picture it is best to transcode it. Possibly the best quality transcoder out there is Canopus ProCoder 2.xx - it does excellent PAL TO NTSC converts but of course it is an expensive program too.
Most actual dvd standalones should contain a PAL<>NTSC converter (at least here in europe it’s so).
Yeah here almost all units read NTSC, but AFAIK in the USA most units can’t play PAL at all.
It is my opinion that PAL is a much better format anyway, but all the players here in my house and over at my friends’ places support both formats.
unfortunately that’s not the case here in the US. On the rare occasion a PAL dvd will show up in an NTSC standalone, it’s very likely the picture has some inexplicable and random problem. I’ve seen pictures show upside down or sideways before…how that happens is WAY beyond my realm of understanding haha.
Sounds to me like a bloody ignorance from the industry. :Z
would you expect anything less from americans? 
Yes, because every tv set and set top player in america has a prod stamp on it…Made in the USA…
how’s this for an “american” response…
if everyone used the right format (NTSC) no one would run into compatibility issues in the first place!
Then how about this one from downunder: If consumers worldwide had the brains to refuse to buy a stand-alone player that isn’t multi-zone and multi-format (as they all are in Oz) then it wouldn’t matter squat what format was used.
[Btw, it doesn’t bother the hardware manufacturers at all for them to be multi-zone and multi-format as it’s actually cheaper for them to make them without any format or zone restrictions. As a result stand-alone players downunder not only play anything but are also dirt cheap owing to the lower manufacturing cost. :)]
So … many … errors … in this thread … must … resist … flaming … ignorant … people …