[Quackers]

I have 2 VCR's one that has NTSC Playback support and another one that does not.

I have a video with that is in NTSC, which i would like to copy, i put the video in the VCR with NTSC Playback support and try to record on the other VCR. But it does not work properlly its all stutery. Why is the copy like this? Tried both RF and Scart connections for copying and same result. Surly its PAL thats being outputted from the VCR, so it should record OK?

[David (2)]

I am not sure, but I suspect the NTSC machine is outputting NTSC, and you have a tv which can accept NTSC signals - many newish uk PAL tv's do. So playback to the tv would work, but linking the NTSC video to the PAL only video would not therefore work. Some tv's have an "output" option. So (in theory), you could get the NTSC video to play back to the tv, then using the tv's output you could connect to the PAL recorder. The tv might convert it for you, then again it may not. I think you can buy a standards converter which would sit between the 2 video machines which should do the job, but know idea where to buy them or how much.

Dave

[Orbitalzone]

Your NTSC tape is being output in what's known as PAL60 (or possibly still in native NTSC) which is a signal that most UK tv sets can cope with so you get a picture....sadly most video recorders cannot record PAL60- that's why you get a lousy copy.

The above reply mentions inputting to a TV then using the TV's output to record from.. sadly this most llikely won't work either as a TV generally outputs the same signal type that is input to it.

You can get converters from about £45 which could possilby allow recording, but is the cost really worthwhile?

[meltcity]

If you want to get a NTSC tape copied your best bet is to go to a video copying specialist (try Yell), as no consumer VCR I know of supports NTSC/PAL60 recording. It shouldn't cost much for a standard NTSC to NTSC VHS copy. I wouldn't recommend a standards conversion as it would degrade the video quality: NTSC is bad enough as it is. You could even get the video transferred onto DVD, which would allow you to make more copies yourself.

PAL60 vs NTSC: the only difference between PAL60 and NTSC is the frequency of the colour sub-carrier - 3.58MHz for NTSC and 4.43MHz for PAL. For this reason PAL60 is also known as NTSC 4.43. Using the PAL sub-carrier frequency for the colour enables a standard PAL television to decode the colour. A standard NTSC signal would produce a monochrome picture on a PAL set (unless it specifically supported NTSC).

Many newer sets support both NTSC 3.58 and NTSC 4.43 (PAL60), but there isn't much point: VCRs output PAL60 and S-VIDEO 60Hz anyway (my old Panasonic VCR actually had a switch for 3.58/4.43) and DVD players support NTSC, PAL60, S-VIDEO and RGB @60Hz anyway. My 12-year-old Sony 21" set supports PAL60 even though it isn't listed in the specifications.

[David (2)]

Pal60 is what some PlayStation games can output (as well as Pal standard). My Sony tv works well with Pal 60, but I know a few people with tv's where the pictures drops into black and white.

What happens if you copy an NTSC video to DVD? Is the dvd copy also NTSC unless you specify PAL DVD conversion?

Dave

[Orbitalzone]

I have a 5 year old Thomson VHS video recorder that actually records NTSC but that's about the only domestic video recorder that I've ever come across that does..... I used to run a TV shop and dealt with quite a range of models too.

I agree that if it's a one off, paying someone to do a conversion might be the cheapest route.

[flagpole]

David (2) makes a good point, if you could use a PC with a TV card to sample it, you could easily convert it.