Free Converter for dvd to pal or avi format

[belinda502]

I am looking for free softwear that would convert a dvd I burned to 'PAL' or 'AVI' so I could watch it on my DVD player. I tried downloading a few such a AVC and CUDA and Realplayer but when I opened them conversion to either of these formats did not appear as an option. Any advice appreciated

 

[marsmimar]

What format is the DVD in? If WMV you might be able to use the free converter here:

WMV to AVI Video Converter - Convert WMV to AVI, WMV to AVI Converter

If the DVD is not WMV it would help to know what it is.

 

[crankypenguin]

Have you tried Handbrake. It is a free utility to convert between different video formats. I use it myself. HandBrake

 

[benjy206]

Hi Belinda502,

I use Freemake | Best Freeware Alternatives To Paid Video Software has all the formats you need.

 

[belinda502]

Thanks,I will check out the handbrake link suggested. To reply to first post, the original DVD had nine files. Two of them had .BUP extensions, two of them had .IFO extensions and the other five had .VOB extensions. I can play the burned dvd on my computer by opening one of the .IFO extension files file name - 'VTS_01_0.

 

[belinda502]

I downloaded Freemake and converted to AVI but the DVD would still not play on the dvd player. Then I just tried to burn them to a dvd on freemake which didn't recognise that a dvd was inserted (I was using a dvd-ram disk). I tried doing it through my computer and the files did not burn. The message advised me to download the latest firmware. I then just tried copying and pasting them but now the dvd disk is just started and stopping all the time

 

[benjy206]

What you need to do it this.

 

[belinda502]

Hi I did that - when I selected dvd it said there was no dvd in the drive. I had used the dvd before so maybe the dvd was corrupted (although I had erased all the stuff on it).

 

[benjy206]

Could be try a different dvd if you have one.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
IMO the BEST piece of software (although it's paid software) is SlySoft's AnyDVD -- it will rip a standard DVD to ISO, remove all the regional encoding and encryption and then you can burn the iso (finalized) so it should play on any standard DVD player.

It can even do the same for Blu Ray DVD's.

I always keep copies of commercial DVD's in iso format on a small external portable HDD when I'm travelling. W8 mounts ISO's directly - and I just play these with VLC just like I would do with a physical DVD. W7 can do the same although you need some software for handling virtual ISO's (such as Alcohol 52% - Free - ).

Cheers
jimbo

Cheers
jimbo

 

[belinda502]

Hi Jimbo,
I checked that out and it seems good but it is seriously expensive as I would need to get the clone dvd option.
I am a newbie at doing this. Basically I copied and pasted from the original dvd to my videos files in Windows. I got none files:-
Video_TS.bup
Video_TS.ifo
Video_TS.vob
VTS_01_0.bup
VTS_01_0.ifo
VTS_01_2.vob
VTS_01_3.vob
VTS_01_4.vob

All the files with extensions ending in .vob are to be opened with programme Windows Shell Common and there is an icon with a lock beside them so I am presuming they are encrypted.

The file VTS_01_0.ifo actually plays the video on my computer even though the file size is only 56 KB.

My question is if I got the softwear you recommend I have to copy the dvd onto my computers hard disk first I presume before cloning it and it has copied in the format above so how would I get around this? I have looked at most of the free video converters now and I think I'm stuck because some of the dvd seems to be encrypted

 

[Wishmaster]

If the DVD is in NTFS format, it will likely need to be converted to PAL and burned to disc for use in PAL players and visa versa.

Its not so much a region code issue as it is a format incompatability, unless you have a DVD player than can play both formats.

You need to use AnyDVD to decrypt the disc. 2 ways to do this.
1. Rip the Disc to your Hard Drive (This method will make the conversion process much faster)
2. Just start anyDVD and let it scan the disc.

Then use a authoring program to convert to PAL format, such as FreeMake, and burn to a blank disc.
If you choose option 1, choose the folder on your Hard Drive. If you chose option 2, choose your DVD drive and save to Hard drive.
Option 1 will make the conversion process go much faster.

You'll want to choose the option DVD to DVD, and make sure the Output options are set to PAL.

You can not just copy/paste the original DVD.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
Most monitors will display both NTSC / PAL without a problem - at least the ones here do - I'm using a standard LG TV LCD monitor and our TV system is PAL (and HD) but loads of NTSC DVD's are also in circulation -- NATO / US Base also not far away.

That's the advantage of cloning the DVD -- simply copy the DVD to ISO -- don't bother with rip to Disk and then mount the ISO just as you would a physical DVD and play it with VLC. (W8 mounts iso's directly, W7 use free virtual drive software like alcohol 52%).

The DVD ISO you make is an EXACT copy of the original DVD with the CSS decryption and regional restrictions removed.

If you want the DVD as a physical DVD then simply burn the iso image to a DVD. it - it will play on your commercial DVD player (complete with menus, subtitles , languages etc) but all the css encryption will br removed as well as region restrictions.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[belinda502]

Thanks Wishmaster and Jimbo45 for your comprehensive responses - am just getting onto this now