Editing NTSC video on a PAL camcorder

[Mark4 0]

Help.... I have quite a bit of NTSC video which I have DVed to my PAL camcorder. I'm trying to edit it and write back to the DV tape.

I can import it to my PC as NTSC, edit it using almost any bit of software but then comes the problem. All the software I have tried refuses to write it back as NTSC to my camcorder.

I know the camcorder can do it. When I plug an NTSC camcorder via DV link and hit record there is no problem. The camera goes 'ah a NTSC stream, I'll record in NTSC'.

However the bloody smartarse software goes 'hmmm you have a PAL camcorder, NO! I'm not going to write in NTSC. Instead I will either'

(a) fuck up your video for you. Hey, lets chop every 6th frame, stretch it a bit and call it PAL (Windows Movie Maker, ArcSoft ShowBiz)

or

(b) abort with some obscure error message like 'camera not ready' that will keep you confused for ages. (Pinnacle Studio 9, WinDV)

I guess I'm looking for some software either smart enough to know the camera can record in NTSC, or dumb enough not to bother checking. Anyone done anything like this? I know I could get some decent conversion software and convert it to PAL but I prefer to keep the master footage in the original format.

Oh, and don't bother telling me if a MAC can do it because I don't have one

[pope 0]

In my experience the best (and usually fastest) way to do this (or the reverse, in my case), is to run out to a local post-house and have them do the conversion for you. If you have less than 5-10 tapes, they'll usually charge a reasonable fee.

The other way is to get an ntsc camcorder. You can pick one up from ebay for ULTRA cheap, since technically the screen doessn't need to be working, etc...or spend a few more dollars and get a fully functional ntsc camcorder for 100-300 USD. Problem solved.

If you're a die-hard DIY person, there is some decent conversion software out there, but I can't help you with the windoze thing--
good luck,
pope

[Mark4 0]

Thanks, I'll take a look on ebay. Its definately another solution. I'm still frustrated I can't find a software product to do it.

[alw 0]

You can capture it with Premiere and then interpret footage as either NTSC or PAL. When you do this the software will interpret the frames into whichever standard you choose.

If you are interpretting PAL as NTSC it will speed up the playback - you can fix that on the timeline.

If you are interpretting NTSC as PAL it will appear to run a bit slower - again thaqt can be adjusted on the timeline/

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[Faber 0]

You cant borrow a ntsc cam to import it at?

Stay safe
Stefan Faber