Page 1 of recording region 1 discs

I want to make back up copies of my region 1 & 2 dvd`s onto vhs tape. I understand that to record region 1 dvd`s onto my video the dvd output signal (NTSC) will need to be converted to pal 50 - not sudo pal 60

Which method is the best for good low loss picture quality

1- Do I buy a dvd which converts the signal as above (I`ve read that the picture is stretched vertically due to a pal signal having more lines, does this look bad on a large telly. ? I believe scan & yelo 800 give out a pal 50 signal, does any other dvds do this, if so what ones ?
The dvd would need to be macro deactivated

2-Do I buy a Digital NTSC to Pal converter which will sit between the dvd & the video, Ive read that digital is better than analogue converters as most analogue converters dont convert to Pal 50, is there an analogue unit out there which produces great video copies ? Digital converters are very expensive. Would the macrovision be deactivated by the converter ?

3- Do I buy a ntsc video which will record a pure ntsc signal from my dvd, Ive read most modern video recorders will decode a ntsc video tape anyway.

4-Do I buy a multi standard VCR which will convert the ntsc signal to pal 50

I am after good quality picture and sound quality but have not read about anyone who has reviewed all three together, pros, cons etc

I am new to this dvd area and hope Ive stated some of the above point correctly.

"back up copies"...sure ;)

If indeed what you say is true then I have to ask WHY.

Isn`t it defeating the whole point of DVD....picture and sound quality, durability, accessabilty, less shelf space required etc etc.

Of the possibilities you mention, (3) is the best option in terms of quality, since it avoids conversion artefacts. Most VCRs made by Thomson will record NTSC, but you do need a DVD player with "pure" NTSC 3.58 output (i.e. not NTSC 4.43 or PAL 60).

As you say, almost all modern VCRs will play back NTSC tapes.

If you must have PAL tapes of your NTSC DVDs, then (1) is the best option. I can`t say much about other models, but my Samsung 709 does an excellent job of converting to 50Hz output - only a very slight jerkiness belies the fact that it came from a NTSC disc. (It lets you disable Macrovision via the remote as well, which is nice.) The picture certainly isn`t stretched; I believe line interpolation is used to add the extra lines so the picture retains the correct proportions.

As for (2) and (4), it depends; often a standalone converter will give better results than the VCR types, but on the other hand you may appreciate the convenience of having the converter built into a VCR rather than a separate unit.

The quality of either of these won`t be nearly as good as (1), however, because the standards converter introduces an additional and unnecessary layer of digital->analogue->digital conversion, i.e.

DVD player with built-in conversion:
digital(60)->digital(50)->analogue(50)

Standalone converter:
digital(60)->analogue(60)->digital(60)->digital(50)->analogue(50)

This extra stage reduces picture quality considerably - you`ll find the picture from such a converter is quite fuzzy and blurred compared to a DVD player with PAL-50 conversion.

Another disadvantage is the price; a decent digital standards converter will cost quite a bit more than a new DVD player with PAL-50 output.

The cheap analogue converters you see will only do NTSC->PAL-60, which is obviously no good to you. There`s no such thing as an affordable analogue converter which can do 60->50Hz conversion.

Hope some of that was of help...

Mike


PS Kevo - "back-up copies" is usually a euphemism for "copies for my mates down the pub" :-) See also: Playstation games, computer software. I don`t think anyone would seriously consider VHS tape a suitable format for "back-up" in its literal sense.

This item was edited on Thursday, 23rd August 2001, 14:58

http://www.lektropacks.co.uk/acatalog/Lektropacks_Online_Converters_7.html

for standards converters.

NB work your way to the bottom of the page - they get cheaper the further down you go! ;)

I`ve also tried backing up my dvd`s to tape, but the R1 backups are in black and white and jump around alot. The picture on my screen is now black and white when i put the scart from the dvd plaer to the video. Whenever i put the scart straight from the dvd player to the t.v. the picture is in colour and fine. However, i`ve seen some VCR`s that both do NTSC playback and recording for £550. I dont really wanna spend this much on a new VCR. Therefore, is there any other way i can copy R1 dvd`s to tape without spending this much money? Or will a NTSC playback only VCR be fine to do this?

Andy

Thanks for your positive imput mike it was great help unlike Kevo`s mumbles

I have a Ferguson VCR that I bought in Powerhouse for about £80 a year ago, so I don`t know if they still make them.

It`s labelled with the following (if you look at the front - I`m not sure what model it is): Ferguson Worldwide A / V Socket, CommercialScan. There`s also a silver sticker on the right that says "PDC VPS", and on the video door it says "PAL/MESECAM/NTSC PLAYBACK & RECORD".

It is capable of recording in NTSC straight from an NTSC DVD (NOT PAL 60). Picture quality is pretty good and it can be played back on any newer VCR that can play NTSC tapes.

I`ve also discovered that if you set it to play NTSC as PAL it converts to to PAL 50, but be warned it`s not very good quality (colour is OK, but there are lines across the screen) - after all, it only costs about £80.