I just spent a few months running around the middle east shooting on a Canon XL-H1 in 1080i.

It is time to start editing and Avid looks like the only complete product for working with HDV taking it from import to output.

I need to be able to output to tape in HDV and;
to output to tape in standard def., and;
output to standard def. DVD, and;
BluRay.

The BluRay looks pretty straight forward, but the other three workflows seem convoluted and no one at avid has been able to give me a straight answer on what I need to buy.

Thanks.

JD - I edit on AVID, and would advise holding off for a while. AVID does NOT support Canon's 24f format.

Just so you know.

Richard,

Thanks for the advice.

I shot on "i" not the "f" settings.

So Avid should be able to work with it. Before I made the leap to HDV I knew the "24" settings were going to be a problem so didn't even start down that path on this program.

Just stuck on exactly what I need to be able to out put the HDV into Standard Def.

Some of the Avid informtion makes it look like I need Mojo. But I don't want to invest in it if I do not have to.

Avid can work with HDV 1080i.

Since it is HDV (long GOP), it might on occasion have an issue with 'broken' TC, forcing a manual capture.

You don't need Mojo. In fact, Mojo DOESN'T work in HD/HDV - this applies to both versions of Avid Mojo - the analogue and digital. What it does is it allows a downconverted single field client monitor output during editing. Other than that it's quite useless and it has to be DISCONNECTED from the computer during capture, as the FW bus cannot share anything else if the Mojo is detected.

HDV export from Avid is possible - you may have to do more research to find out any particulars relevant to your Canon equipment.

Export to DVD also works, on the Mac I have used iDVD successfully and people use DVD Studio regularily. On the PC I would assume that you would follow the standard route.

DVD HD or Blue Ray compatibilty will have more to do with your burning software and hardware than Avid per say.

In Avid, once finished (or at other times during post), you could transcode to DNxHD and export/master to the appropriate delivery media. Again, this is a much more complex subject than what could be answered here.

Conversion from HDV (1080i) to 480i SD is in Avid a click of a button. Regular SD 'Digital Cut' export to tape could be used afterwards.

Good luck and check Avid bords for more answers (do a search first before posting questions).

http://www.avid.com/exchange/forums/42/ShowForum.aspx