A client just received some HD DVD files burned on DVD-Rs formatted as HD-DVD disks. It's my job to down convert them to standard DVD format so it can be played. Here's the problem: While I could purchase a HD DVD player, one of the disks is in the PAL format and I can't find out if the Toshiba player is locked to one system. In addition I can't figure out if the Toshiba down-converts HD to SD anyway.

What Mac program can convert the files? MPEGStreamclip, an excellent program, can only recognize the video portion of the H.264 file (so it seems). Right now I'm considering playing the disks on my Mac and outputing the desktop video and audio into a DVD recorder.

Any suggestions?

Well, I used my Mac and, with DVD Player, successfully played the HD-DVD disks using the S-video adapter on the second monitor port. I ran the video and audio signals into a DVD recorder and then took the finished standard DVDs, demuxed them with MPEGStreamclip and built a new DVD with menus in DVD Studio Pro.

Squared 5, the maker of MPEGStreamclip, sent me an e-mail stating that HD H.264 conversions are on the drawing boards with a possible inclusion of the capacity to do this in version 2.