@bc, you are right about a different processor speeding things up; I am lucky enough to have a P4 3.2 HT, with 2 gigs of ram, so video conversions and dvd rips happen pretty quickly..
sorry to hear about the "coaster" though!

Hope it was a cheap DVD blank!

Heya

I found this website to very helpfull in all types of conversions. It might be a handy bookmark to have. http://www.videohelp.com/ (also known as DVDRHelp.com & VCDHelp.com)

"What is this site about?
This site will help you to make your own VideoCDs, SVCDs or DVDs that can be played on your standalone DVD Player from video sources like DVD, Video, TV, DV, Cam or downloaded movie clips like DivX, MOV, RM, WMV and ASF. We also have extensive lists of Capture Cards, DVD Media, DVD Writers and desktop DVD Players with features, compatibility information, user comments and more. Use the menu to the left to navigate our site. "

Thanx for that PAL vs NTSC description BC. I didn't know that PAL is "better". Glad that we use PAL in South Africa then.

Cheers
J...

Yeah. Too bad because now there seems no way to go back. It's sort of like metric vs the old colonial measuring system too. :)

Thank you very much for all the help
I will give TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress a try :)
And wase4711, thank you　for the info, will try that too :) :)

http://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=219852
Shows that this conversion things are NOT easy :(