[Robert Kreuz] "searching for a good way to transcode HD material to SD without losing the highlights and sharpness of the HD original."
The whole reason the world loves HD is because it is sharp and has great highlights. Much more than SD. This is called RESOLUTION...HD has more resolution than SD. More scanlines...a LOT more. SO it looks tons better. Take many of those scanlines away and it won't look that good. So I think your expectations on how good it SHOULD look are a tad high.
[Robert Kreuz] "I think, also in SD you must have the possibility to keep the brilliance of the original HD footage."
No...there isn't. That is why the world is shifting to broadcasting and delivering HD over SD. it looks better.
With Avid the best you can do without Avid hardware is Transcode...but that transcode is pretty good. If you had the hardware, like Nitris or Mojo or Adrenaline, then you can downconvert when you output to tape.
Shane
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