NTSC PAL SECAM DVD VHS video transfer world standards and conversion information

Domestic Video formats we accept:-	Domestic Video formats we convert to:-
PAL or NTSC VHS, S-VHS, VHS-C SVHS-C Video 8, Hi8, Digital 8 MiniDV, MicroMV HDV 1080i DVD Video including +/- and RW & RAM PAL Pioneer LaserDisc & CDV LaserVision Betamax SECAM VHS	PAL VHS DVD-R, DVD+R NTSC VHS, DVD-R, DVD+R SECAM VHS

Click here for professional video formats including Betacam, DVCAM & U-matic

NTSC VHS video recorders run the tape slightly faster than PAL/SECAM VHS tapes. As a result it's not possible to fit more than 3 hours of video onto a SP (Short Play) NTSC VHS tape.

TYPE

RECORDING TIME

PAL

NTSC

E-180/T120

180 mins

120 mins

E-240/T160

240 mins

160 mins

E-260/T180

260 mins

180 mins

E-300

300 mins

Unlike VHS, which has several different video flavours, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD Video) has just two.

You may see technical descriptions such as 625/50 or 525/60 but the two DVD types are most commonly referred to as either PAL or NTSC.

DVDs are fragile which is why we include two copies. Put simply a Recordable DVD disc is two bits of plastic with dye sandwiched in the middle. If the disc is flexed (bent), scratched or exposed to extreme heat, cold or light then it can fail with very little chance or recovery. Well cared for Recordable DVDs should last for many years. It's a very good idea to make back-up copies of your home video DVD(s) - most computers with a DVD reader/writer can do this. You can also make back up copies of the data onto a hard drive, USB memory stick or other memory card. A good resource for more help and advice about this is www.videohelp.com

Regional encoding is deliberately intended to restrict international compatibility between DVD players in different world markets. Regional encoding should not be confused with the PAL or NTSC formats. DVD-R discs created by Manchester Video are region free (Region Code is Zero).

The DVDs we make are "DVD-R Video" and are intended for playback on compatible domestic DVD players and computers. DVD-R Video is an industry standard set out by the DVD Forum. DVD-R Video playback compatibility is a requirement of all current DVD players which carry the official DVD logo.

A DVD-R Video test disc is available on request for £2.50 (credited against any order).

Manchester Video convert the video tape formats listed above to DVD-R Video.

The DVD's we produce have either a basic menu or auto start with no menu. Chapter points, where used, are automated at fixed intervals.

Menu design with enhanced features and specific chapter points is available - email us for details.

Approximately two hours of good quality video can be transferred to a single layer DVD-R. We can encode DVDs up to 4 hours duration onto a single disc at a reduced picture quality.

All other DVD & Multimedia pricing available on request - contact us

A question often asked is how good will the copy be ?

The simple answer is that the quality of the DVD mostly depends on how good the original footage was.

As a rule if you have a good quality source tape you can expect a fairly good quality copy. However, if your source tape has a crackling soundtrack and a wobbly picture then so will the copy!

Some people are convinced that the DVD copies look much better than the original video tape did. There are good technical explanations for this apparent "improvement" in picture quality. One reason for this is that DVD players are usually connected to televisions using a much higher quality signal than a video recorder or camcorder.

If you would like to know more detailed information about the conversion process please read-on.

Copying analogue video footage is a lossy process. What this means is that you will never get a perfect copy of a VHS tape. When you copy and convert analogue video from one tape to another some information such as colour saturation or image detail is lost.

When transferring analogue video from one colour standard to another the quality drop issue is even greater. VHS is prone to poor colour reproduction (especially NTSC) with drop-out, colour bleed and tracking errors.

One other factor that affects NTSC/PAL transfers is frame rate and picture size.

NTSC standard definition video is 720 x 480 pixels per frame at 29.97 frames per second. PAL standard definition video is 720 x 576 pixels per frame running at 25 frames per second. To convert between these two formats, depending on which way we are converting (to or from NTSC/PAL) we need to either squash or stretch the picture size and either reduce or increase the frame rate plus sort out the differences between the colour signals.

The video signal is passed through a digital conversion unit. As you might expect during this stretching/squashing frame padding/frame dropping process something has to give!

Our equipment has high quality analogue and digital connections which allow us to maintain picture quality while converting video between the various video formats and standards.

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