Eventhough I only have one Region 3 PAL DVD "Orange Road the movie" (Anime), I found the the PAL->NTSC conversion on LiteOn LVD-2001 is quite good, free of stuttering, when playing The previous owned region free PAL->NTSC conversion DVD player, Electrohome 8168, was so terrible with stuttering and skipping lines that I returned it within one week. If you cannot find a LiteOn LVD-2001, its LVD-2002 model (cheaper but with no upscaling) should be a worthwhile consideration.
P.S. My LVD-2001 has problem reading CD-R audio CDs, especially on the outer tracks. Sometimes would just hang there.