Can any one tell me the proper workflow for downconverting footage shot with a mini-dv HDV camera to be edited along with standard def footage? We will be using a G5 with FCP5 to capture and edit. We will not have any access to 3rd party softeware that I know of. Nor will any be able to be purchased for this project.

Did you use one of the Sony cameras? If so then the easiest approach would be setting iLink downconvert with the camera's menu. Then capture your footage from the camera as regular standard definition DV. No software is needed for this approach. Any other approaches would require rendering and twice as much disk space for both HDV and DV versions. From what I've read there isn't a lot of difference in quality between downconverting with the camera vs software conversion with FCP, and it's a lot faster and easier.

thanks Boyd for the quick response. Yes, it will be one of the smaller Sony cameras. What I just found out is, the Producer/Director will be having that footage stay HDV as we give it to a person who will be doing some compositing with it uncompressed, and then we need to send the footage back and downconvert it into FCP to SD.