It sounds like your player may not be able to handle PAL.
Can you convert it? Well, yes and no.
Technically, yes, you can convert it, and there's a guide here:
http://www.digitalFAQ.com/guides/vid...t-pal-ntsc.htm
But even the
best PAL to NTSC conversion method will lose some quality. It also takes a lot of time and effort. How much is your time worth to you?
The easiest solution is to get a DVD player capable of playing PAL. Almost anything made in China -- the majority of DVD players sold in the USA for probably 4-5 years now -- can play PAL without any problem. It's almost harder to find a player that doesn't play PAL! Philips decks from Walmart are a known PAL playing DVD player.
There's also the cheaper $20-30 players found at Target, Walmart, gas stations, truck stops, grocery stores, Big Lots, dollar stores, etc. Those are almost always Chinese goods that play PAL.
If you want an awesome DVD player, one that does not only PAL and NTSC, but can play XVID/Divx too (from a USB thumb drive, even!), then get a Philips. It runs in the $50-60 range. Save money buying it from
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B001VICORW
Leaving PAL as PAL has the benefit of maximum quality, offloading the "conversion" (quasi play) onto the display hardware, both the DVD player and TV.
No time required, either.
That's what I'd suggest.