PAL to NTSC in FCP settings

[Tom Bailey]

Thanks Neil! I’ll try this.

I just want to ask more specifically about testing the NTSC dvd once its burned- Both PAL and NTSC work on Mac’s- so if it plays in a Mac, i still don’t know if it will work on (just) NTSC dvd players in the U.S.

It seems like it is possible to change the frame rate but get it ‘wrong’: for example I’ve been told in this thread that is wrong the just change the frame rate in FCP- but how will i know its gone wrong- is it something you can judge by eye, does it play wrong?
or how else can i judge it?

Thanks.

[Neil Patience]

Hi Tom

Most UK Pal DVD players will play NTSC DVDs equally most TVs, unless ancient, will switch to NTSC. If your TV has one of those on screen displays that pop up and say “1080p” or “Pal” etc then it should tell you your disk is NTSC. You can laos play it in your Mac but thats really all the testing you can do.

[tom bailey] “It seems like it is possible to change the frame rate but get it ‘wrong’: for example I’ve been told in this thread that is wrong the just change the frame rate in FCP”

OK to do a proper standards conversion from PAL to NTSC you would use a hardware standards convertor. You will see names like Snell and Wilcox and Tennerex mentioned in this regard. This correctly adjusts the frame rate and line structure of the signal to go from 625 PAL at 25 frames to 525NTSC at 29.97 frames in the case of standard def TV which your DVD will be. It is more complex than simply changing the frame rate.

FCP is incapable of doing this conversion correctly on its own. It does not process the frames in the correct way so although, in theory, you are changing the frame rate the structure within that is all messed up. You will not get a smooth playback it will be obvious.

This is why you need additional software like Nattress or Compressor in order to make this conversion correctly. In doing this the audio is also correctly adjusted so that it remains in sync. These software convertors will never be as good as a proper hardware conversion but they do an “OK” job some slightly better than others.

Cinema Tools is a kind of odd one in that all it does is to change the flag that controls the frame rate in the quick time file. It literally tells it to play at a different speed. While this does not result in any problems with the picture, apart from the obvious speeding up or slowing down, which may or may not be acceptable. It also changes the pitch of the audio. So you need to correct that.

I hope that helps

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]

Thats fantastic Neil, really helpful! So i will be able to see if it works in the playback.

I have just run a test in cinema tools it looks good to me, i’ll sort out the audio somehow- thanks neil!

Bailey.