DV Info Net - Fcp5 Hd Question

There's this thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=63494

where Nate Weaver gives tips on the best way to output your edited HD sequence in SD while retaining the highest possible quality.

Another thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=62577

has tips from Tim Dashwood on how to create a simple DVD of an HDV sequence in DVD Studio Pro (and also iDVD). But note that the final settings he gives are for a DVD in SD NTSC.

As far as your question about outputting to a DVD in HD, well ... all that is about to change.

Two weeks ago, Toshiba released the first consumer HD DVD player in the US (and note that "HD DVD" and "Blu-ray" are two totally separate formats for High Definition DVDs, each requiring discs with much larger capacity than a regular DVD-R). And consumer Blu-ray players are tipped for release around June and September.

In terms of hardware, Apple has not yet released burners for HD DVD or Blu-ray (what would've been the point when no consumers had players?) but this should all change fairly rapidly now. And note that Apple has already installed software to support HD DVD format. For example, DVD Studio Pro has been updated to enable the creation of HD DVDs. And the updates on the Mac's "DVD Player" will now support HD DVDs created by DVD Studio Pro.

So, there's an experimental workflow (Toshiba haven't released the players in Australia yet, so I haven't tested it) that you could try for IMMEDIATE output in HD DVD. If your edited sequence is not too large you could create a HD DVD in DVD Studio Pro (just adjust the settings to HD DVD) and burn it onto a regular DVD-R (which only has a capacity of 4.38 GB, so your sequence can't be too big). Then test it on your Mac's DVD Player. If it holds up this far, take the disc down to your local store, ask for a demonstration of the new Toshiba HD DVD player, put in your disc and see if it will play. It's worth a try.