PAL to NTSC Conversion

*** you can also convert NTSC to PAL  -  simply reverse the settings shown in this process ***

an actual conversion is very time consuming
Therefore, you "trick" your player into thinking your PAL DVD is NTSC !!!

Why it is so Hard to Do an actual Conversion

It is actually "do-able"  .  .  .  it is doing it and having good results that is so hard.  The main problem is that the refresh rates differ.  PAL uses a refresh rate of 50 fields per sec (25 frames per sec) and NTSC uses 60 fields per sec (30 frames per sec).  When you convert the video, many programs have used duplication of fields which causes jerkiness in the playback.  The best method is to use interpolation but that is EXTREMELY CPU-intensive (i.e. slow as hell).

So, the better solution is to buy a DVD player that can play both PAL and NTSC.  A few important facts:

Home DVD Players
     PAL DVD Players can play both PAL and NTSC Discs
     NTSC DVD players can ONLY play NTSC
     ***  there are a few NTSC players that can play PAL as well - for home DVD players
             that play "everything", goto http://www.codefreedvd.com/

Computer DVD Players (DVD Drives)
     PAL drives can always play both PAL and NTSC
     NTSC players can usually play both NTSC and PAL

But if you do not have a Multi-Region Player  .  .  . 
here is a Fast, Easy PAL-->NTSC Conversion Method  .  .  . 

 - it's the old, "I'm an NTSC Disc" lie Trick - also called the "Patch" method

 - it works !!! Usually . . .

*** also see Pal-to-NTSC (Patch Method) - does not actually convert to NTSC - it fools your player into thinking that a PAL disc is actually an NTSC disc).  NOTE:  this does not work on ALL players - so try it and and see.  It did work on my new Sony 5-disc player, and Sony is known for being tough to play anything but NTSC discs with.

• This method requires no re-encoding - and can therefore be done in just a few 10 minutes ! !
  
  If this method does not work in your player, then it simply means "It does not work in your player" - there is no guarantee

• Tools required:  IFOEdit
   

• Assumptions - This method requires that you have all of the necessary IFO, BUP, and VOB files stored on your PC. Although you can create new IFO files with IFOEdit, this guide is not intended to cover that option. It assumes you have a working DVD image stored on your PC.
   

The 10 Steps

Step 1)  Launch IFOEdit, and select the OPEN button located in the lower left hand corner of the GUI
When prompted, browse to our stored DVD image (usually located in the VIDEO_TS folder), and select the primary IFO file (this file will always be called VIDEO_TS.IFO )

once you open the main IFO file, you'll see a large amount of information displayed.
Ensure the IFO is selected in the upper pane. It should be the first item listed in that pane:

Step 2)  open the rest of the IFO files - their lines of information will be stacked below the previous IFO in the top pane

once all of them are open - scroll to the top and click each of the minus symbols " - " to collapse the information down to just the main headers:

Before fully expanded - shows main and sub headers	After collapsed - shows only Main Headers

Step 3)  select a main IFO file header from the Top pane - the lower window will instantly display information about the selected IFO file.

Scroll through the bottom pane, locate each entry that begins with "Video:"  -  these lines reference the parameters [MPEG-1 or MPEG-2, 720x576 or 720x480, and (PAL) or (NTSC)].  Two of those entries are shown below, and those are the entries that you need to change to NTSC:

Step 4) Double click a PAL entry from the bottom pane.  This opens a box with the following settings:

Step 5) Edit the settings - typically all you MUST do is to change the "PAL" selection to "NTSC" !!!

This edit will automatically cause the resolution choices to change to NTSC - for example, 720x576 will change to 720x480

Optionally - select the "Automatic Letterbox" checkbox

Step 6) click OK to accept the new settings and return to the lower pane

NOTE:  the changes will not show up in the lower pane yet.  You must either:

• save the IFO and re-open it before the changes will be displayed !!

• or even easier - click another main heading and then click this main heading to "refresh" it (i.e. go away and come back)

Step 7) repeat steps 4 through 6 for every PAL entry in the lower pane

Step 8)  click the "Save" button to save the IFO file

NOTE: - the IFO file will be saved, and then a box will pop up (as shown below) asking you if you want a corresponding IFO backup file (BUP file) to be saved:

Step 9)  repeat steps 3 through 8 for each of the IFO files (each of the main headers in the top pane)

Step 10)  optional - to test - close IFOedit and reopen.  Then open all the IFO files, click the main header of each, and look at the "Video:" lines below in the lower pane to make sure they are indeed now switched to NTSC format.

DONE !!!

*** you can also convert NTSC to PAL  -  simply reverse the settings shown in the process ***