Is recording HD vs SD really that better at the end of the production chain if the final product is to DVD.
Now I think that recording in SD, capturing in SD, editing, compressing to MPEG-2 then out to DVD looks as good as HD downconverted…
I know recording in the highest quality possible is a given and I understand this but after doing tests HD-SD I find that the conversion from HD to SD just doesn’t seen quite right.
When we are converting to a MPEG-2 format what exactly is being taken away from the original 1440x1080 to bring it to it’s new format of 720x576 Pal?

Are my eyes going, Am I going mad.
Nick

I shoot on HDV 1080i 50i and edit in final cut studio 2 at this resolution, I then export pro res 422 HQ at 1920x1080i

I then load this directly into idvd and let it transcode from pro res to the DVD, it keeps the resolution good and the contrast ratio nice too.

If I want filmic look I export pro res 422 HQ 1920x1080p from FCP but the de-interlace takes a bit longer.

I dont use compressor and just go straight out of FCP as an export, I agree with you that I have found using other methods very disapointing when going from full HDV to SD.

Hi Gary,

Are you using the Z7 at 1440x1080i or using another camera? I'm a bit confused with 1920x1080i
Do you use any sharpening on your footage.

Nick