OT: Paypal to NTSC (1 Viewer)

[Ron1973]

This is sort of off topic but not too much. Scanning eBay earlier, I noticed an Australian VHS release for an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies that never has made it officially to DVD nor was it on the Columbia House tapes. The only problem is the tape is in PAL format. Is there any way one could get that to work on a standard NTSC VCR? I wouldn't even mind paying the asking price of almost $30 to add another unedited episode to my collection if I could get it to work!

 

[schan1269]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-SV-5000W-WorldWide-Multi-System-PAL-NTSC-SECAM-Digital-Converter-VCR-/200862361564?pt=VCRs&hash=item2ec45467dc
or
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TV-Video-System-Converter-PAL-B-D-I-G-H-to-NTSC-M-Adapter-Mayflash-New-/271119065907?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f1ff4a333
I'd rather have the VCR...

 

[Ron1973]

Sweet!!! I knew someone would know!!! If that episode were released I wonder if other ones were released in foreign markets that didn't make it to domestic release?

 

[Ron1973]

Sweet! I've added the VCR to my watch list. Now I wonder how many other foreign releases there were that weren't on home video domestically?

 

[schan1269]

There is another one of those 5000 that ends in 2hr for $150(I think). I watch "lots" of foreign cinema. It is a crying shame what gets edited out of the NA release in many movies.
Put it this way. If I could use Netflix to get the movies I'd watch...I'd own a lot less DVD-VHS.

 

[Ron1973]

There is another one of those 5000 that ends in 2hr for $150(I think). I watch "lots" of foreign cinema. It is a crying shame what gets edited out of the NA release in many movies.
Put it this way. If I could use Netflix to get the movies I'd watch...I'd own a lot less DVD-VHS.

$150 is way out of my price range right now. The $33 this guy wants for shipping seems a bit high, too, but depending on where the auction goes, I'll see if I want to bid.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TV-Video-System-Converter-PAL-B-D-I-G-H-to-NTSC-M-Adapter-Mayflash-New-/271119065907?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f1ff4a333[/qutoe]

for the above option to work, you'd have to have a PAL VCR. That type of converter won't magically make a PAL tape play on an NTSC machine. There is no plug-in device that will do that, at any price.

The only ways to get a PAL tape to display (or convert) to NTSC is to either have one of those expensive Samsung-type "worldwide" VCRs mentioned previously, or to have a PAL VCR and connect a standards converter in-between the VCR and the next device (your TV, your DVD recorder, etc.).

I'd rather have the VCR...

Over the years, I have used both options and can tell you from my own personal experience, that those all-in-one worldwide VCRs suck! They're terrible with straight lines: get any on-screen text or venetian blinds, and they will "pulse" (for lack of a better term). Trust me, they look awful compared to even the most basic converter you'd find in a $30 DVD player.

A person would get much better results from a PAL VCR and stand-alone converter (World Gift Center used to sell these in bundles and had a demo on their website displaying the difference in-between the two setups. They still sell the converters, but most probably not VCRs anymore).

You can sometimes find PAL VCRs on eBay for less than $100. Whatever kind of set-up you're looking for, it isn't going to be cheap.

Better still, would be to have a PAL VCR, and a DVD recorder capable of recording in PAL format, avoiding a standards conversion altogether (assuming you have a DVD player and TV capable of PAL). Heck, even if you didn't, the DVD player would do about as good a conversion as some of the consumer-grade digital converters I've seen out there.

For this case (converting a single tape), the original poster would be far better off paying someone to convert the tape for him.

 

[schan1269]

In a perfect world he could find a perfectly functional Panny NV-W1...Rare bird indeed...
However if you are inclined to try your luck with this one...or fix its quirk...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Panasonic-NV-W1E-Hi-Fi-Stereo-VHS-VCR-Worldwide-Video-Cassette-Recorder-/230889119803?pt=VCRs&hash=item35c210603b

 

[Ron1973]

I looked again at the videotape in question and it's showing it to be black and white and it should be a color episode. I'm going to contact the seller and clarify. I think if it's color, I will go ahead and buy it and at tax time go ahead invest in a good PAL VHS and a converter instead of doing the all systems in one thing.
Off topic more, why is it that it's always the foreign labels releasing American movies and music? I know Bear Family in Germany does a ton of American music and I have a lot of their stuff. Yeah, I know copyright prices are lower but still......

 

[schan1269]

It is the same thing with SACD and DVD-A. The two countries with the largest market?
Germany and Brazil. Lots of things were released in Germany that you can't find here. Easy to buy because of German Amazon.
Brazil is a different story, but is worth the risk.

 

[Ron1973]

It is the same thing with SACD and DVD-A. The two countries with the largest market?
Germany and Brazil. Lots of things were released in Germany that you can't find here. Easy to buy because of German Amazon.
Brazil is a different story, but is worth the risk.

I pondered purchasing Bonanza DVD's via German Amazon a few years ago before CBS HE started releasing it and getting a region free player to play it on. It looks like CBS HE is going to continue with Bonanza on DVD, though it's quite slow. As long as they get to the point where Adam left, I'm okay. Encore Western is showing the "lost" episodes and I'm DVR'ing those with the intention of putting them over to DVD. They don't appear to be edited as they run the full 50 minutes and EW's picture quality is quite excellent on these. I'm really surprised Viacom/CBS gave up unedited episodes but I'm sure not complaining!!!