Is dvd shrink really sufficient to convert dvds of different regions?

Hi. I was interested in getting a dvd set, but it is region 4 and I'm in North america which is region 1. My player of course is NTSC region 1. I heard that you can convert dvds of different regions with dvd shrink by ticking the region free feature when backing up the dvds. But is that really sufficient? I've never tried this before and want to know if anyone knows this is viable before I actually purchase the dvd set. And what if the dvd set is pal? Aren't region 4 dvds pal? Wouldn't this factor into the conversion process with dvd shrink? I want to know the best way to convert region 4 to region 1 (a freeware method) that will preserve the menus. I heard convert x to dvd doesn't preserve the original menus and I want all of the menus intact. So I want to know if dvd shrink will be sufficient to convert dvds between regions regardless of the region and regardless of whether they are pal or ntsc and if not please recommend a freeware (not trialware, but completely free to use freeware) that will do the job sufficiently with the menus. Thanks for any help you give.