Stefan, I've had the same problems with editing in HDV in PP2 then trying to down convert, the main concept encoder does a terrible job at down converting, and I've posted my problem on the premiere thread, this is what i got back-"render out to 1440x1080 avi, then downconvert using the Lanzos resize filter in Virtualdub, which is excellent quality and will cost you precisely $0."

I haven't had time to try this, but hopefully you will.

You could capture, import, edit, and put it back onto tape all in HD

Then import the HD footage again as SD... just render the already edited footage... walla... :)

It's fun watching edited HD footage back on an HDTV w/ component cables :)