PAL to NTSC in FCP settings

[Neil Patience]

You cant simply put your PAL master into a NTSC sequence and let it render that out and export. FCP will make a total mess of that and you will get all kinds of frame skipping and other visual issues.
Probably the cheapest option outside of Compressor is the Nattress standards convertor plug-in. I don’t think there is a demo version but it is $100US which is about £65.
https://www.nattress.com/Products/standardsconversion/standardsconversion.htm

I have not seen a free plug-in or other software to do this. Maybe someone else has a suggestion there ?

Most PAL DVD players will happily play NTSC DVD’s and as long as your TV is not too ancient likelihood is that will switch too, but without proper conversion you are going to end up in trouble with that one.

best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv

8 Core MacPro, Kona 3, Tangent Wave, Mackie Universal Symphony 6.5 FCP7
i7 2.7 Gig MBP (non retina) 16Gigs Ram Blackmagic Monitor Mini Symphony 6.5 FCP7

[Steve Eisen]

[Neil Patience] “I have not seen a free plug-in or other software to do this. Maybe someone else has a suggestion there ?”

Compressor can do it but Nattress plug in does a better job.

Steve Eisen
Eisen Video Productions
Vice President
Chicago Creative Pro Users Group

[Neil Patience]

[Steve Eisen] “Compressor can do it but Nattress plug in does a better job.”

Totally agree with Steve, the only reason I did not mention Compressor in my post was that Tom said he did not have it.

It would be even cheaper to buy Compressor 4 at £34.99 however it is designed for use with FCPX, While I am pretty sure it does not directly interface with FCP7 maybe you can use it as a standalone App ? I don’t know the answer there again others will.

If thats a possibility make sure your hardware is up to running it first though.

best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv

8 Core MacPro, Kona 3, Tangent Wave, Mackie Universal Symphony 6.5 FCP7
i7 2.7 Gig MBP (non retina) 16Gigs Ram Blackmagic Monitor Mini Symphony 6.5 FCP7

[Tom Bailey]

Hi both,
Thanks very much for your responses. I’ll look into compressor again, the reviews of it said it was really bad and complicated to work out… which didn’t sound inviting! I’ll check it out again.

Do you guys know if it does infact works stand alone? and would earlier versions of compressor work if i can find one?

Thanks for your responses.

[Neil Patience]

Hi Tom

Compressor is not that hard to work out, there are many tutorials available.

Which version of FCP do you have ? If it is 7 then Compressor should be bundled in that software its not a standalone purchase the version for that is 3.5.3

I would have thought Compressor 4 would work as a standalone App, although it is designed to be integrated with FCPX not FCP7 – what probably wont work is the ability to simply “Send to Compressor” from FCP7 directly.

As I said though I am not clear on that so maybe someone else can confirm.

Here is a link to how to use the frame controls in compressor 3 for standards conversion

https://documentation.apple.com/en/compressor/usermanual/#chapter=23%26section=1%26hash=apple_ref:doc:uid:TempBookID-ReplacedWhenAssociatingWithMessierRevision-90863FRC-1007842

best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv

8 Core MacPro, Kona 3, Tangent Wave, Mackie Universal Symphony 6.5 FCP7
i7 2.7 Gig MBP (non retina) 16Gigs Ram Blackmagic Monitor Mini Symphony 6.5 FCP7

[Massimo Alberto croce]

Totally agree with Neil. Frame control do a good job.

Massimo Alberto Croce
Video Editor, Colorist, Pro Tools Editor
massimoalberto.croce@gmail.com

[Tom Bailey]

Hi Everyone.

Compressor it is then, I’ll get on with that today. Thank you all for your time!

Bailey.

[Tom Bailey]

Hi Guys,
I’ve got compressor 4 now. I’ve been trying to find the best method of converting 25fps PAL to 23.98 NTSC, but having trouble.
In frame control> retiming controls>’set duration to’> you can drop down ‘of source’ and pick some preset, but none of these options include when the original media at 25fps.
Has anyone got any tips on where i should be looking?

[Tom Bailey]

I’ve been reading that cinema tools is able to conform the frame rate, but it seems I might have to do a conversion first- can anyone tell me what the settings are for this and the workflow in compressor?

My biggest issue is that its all very well trying these DIY solutions, but I don’t know how to check its worked! (I don’t have access to an NTSC dvd player).
Will it look a certain way (is it to do with how the frames run together)? How can i tell its right?

Thanks.

[Neil Patience]

If you have cinema tools ( I perhaps wrongly assumed you only had FCP to do this) you can conform the frame rate. You will need to first make sure you have a ProRes master file. You can use Compressor or download MPEG Streamclip (free) to create this. This file will still be 25fps. You can then use cinema tools to conform this file to another frame rate. Its instant because all it does is re-write the metadata in the file that controls the speed. The conversion will be clean in terms of picture quality however the audio will change pitch.
So you are then in a situation where you need to re-pitch the audio without changing the duration so it stays in sync.

It is possible to do this, I think Logic can do it and there is also a programme called Audacity, which I think is free, that can alter pitch. I have not actually tried this but there will be posts here having done it for sure.
I have never had to make an NTSC DVD from a PAL file so I cant advise you on the workflow for that sadly or if this is going to be a proper way to attack it.

You should be able to test the NTSC DVD by playing in on your Mac. I believe it should be 29.97 frames/sec and 720×480 in terms of frame size. However Compressor will have a preset for an NTSC DVD that should work just fine as long as the file you use to create it is correct.

best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv

8 Core MacPro, Kona 3, Tangent Wave, Mackie Universal Symphony 6.5 FCP7
i7 2.7 Gig MBP (non retina) 16Gigs Ram Blackmagic Monitor Mini Symphony 6.5 FCP7