Authoring DVD's from HD Source?
 

I would love to have the new JVC HD camcorder IF some of the high definition quality carried thru to a DVD played on a standard definition TV.

Can anyone tell me about the issues I would face in authoring a DVD from HD source material?

Can I expect the finished product to look better when played on a standard definition TV?

You might want to check the "just one question..." thread I got started. I'm wondering the same thing. I've always assumed that material ending up on VHS or DVD will look better if it's original source material is as sharp (meaning HD) as possible. Steve Mullen makes it sound as if the camera can be used to feed thru the final edited project to create analog media.

I know that true HD looks better on a DVD as it is down-converted. I doubt that would be the same for the JVC camera - down-converting 25mbps HD to 25mbps SD doesn't sound all that advantageous.

Maybe this is not going to work
 

So to summarize what I have learned so far:

- At present, there is no such thing as an HD DVD. (So if you buy an HD TV, the only HD material you can watch is over the air broadcasts?)

- No one knows how the JVC HD cam will perform in the real world: whether HD, true progressive scan, and 4:2:2 color space will outweigh a single chip, unknown lens quality, MPEG2 compression, downsampling to SD and re-compressing.

- My new NLE, Vegas Video 4, will probably require a lot of workarounds to get the HD source material in and out.

Vegas4, in an apparent "bug", currently will process HD material. I've rendered 1024x768 video clips from 1024x768 digital still camera inputs. It works beautifully. SoFo has announced that this "bug" will be "fixed" in the next version....hahahahaha.

In order to make this work, just import your HD material, just like a DV file, then render to the Main Concept MPEG2 codec. Be sure to set the CUSTOM properties to the right Hi DEF options.

That would be a real bummer if the removed the HD support.....

Yes I've read the thread regarding Vegas' (unintentional) HD capabilities.

I'm assuming that the JVC HD MPEG2 file will be happy on the Vegas timeline? (Part of the Vegas reputation is that it is format agnostic.......)

Off topic, but I've been reading the review of the Sigma D9 still camera with the Foveon X3 chip. It looks like a GREAT HD chip -almost full size for a 35mm movie frame. Maximum frame rate is 15fps at present though.....