Understanding HD/20"iMac/iMovie6/iDVD6

I've read through a number of recent posts about HD here in the forum, but I'm still a tad confused. I know I can't burn a HD DVD of either type, that we hope iHDVD will becoming. But can I shoot with a HD camcorder (say Sony HDR-HC7 or HDR-HC5) with DV tape, import that via FW into iMove6 HD, edit, and then share to iDVD, and burn a SD DVD, with SD video? If so, at what point does the HD get "down-converted" to SD? And if I do all that, will the resulting product look significantly better, or worse, than if I simply shoot originally with a good quality SD 3 chip camcorder (Panasonic PV-GS500)?
What if I take one of the above HD camcorders and shoot in SD--do I get a benefit in image or do I take a hit because I'm "down-converting" as I originally record? In other words, is a HD camcorder in SD better than a good SD DV camcorder (GS500)?
In other words, does it make any sense right now to buy a HD camcorder if I'm only delivering content on SD DVDs? Is there benefit to the cost of the camcorder and the added render/encoding times, as well as possible improvement of SD image quality?
Even with the challenges of HD, it's the buzz work out there now, and others are selling the sizzle of shooting with HD cameras and I'm trying to figure out how to ease into wave of moving from SD to HD. Any opinions and comments welcomed!
Thanks! Dale

Yes, I know a side-by-side would be best, but I'm looking for general comment. Which you actually gave, in that if HD downconverted to SD was significantly better than good SD DV, side by side wouldn't be necessary.
I eventually want to be able to deliver HD content, but can't right now with what came with the iMac. So I'm trying to get a handle on what the work flow will be to provide various content, and the equipment I need and how to use it. I'm a low end event videographer doing graduations, drama, choral, dance, and weddings. This of course in the past has meant delivering SD 4x3 on DVD or VHS. But today one could provide
HD on BR, HD on HD-DVD, HD downconverted to 16x9 SD, SD 16x9, or SD 4x3.
Any HD shown on 4x3 format will be squeezed or letterboxed--any 4x3 shown on 16x9 format will be stretched or matted. Add to this confusion the fact NO ONE has asked for HD content from me, yet some of my clients are now asking if I shoot in "HD", because they perceive they'll get a better product in SD in their videographer originally shoots in HD, and my head begins to really hurt to think about it all. And the costs of HD to the customer might double when one compares my current SD costs to HD.
To show you just how confused I am, I'll ask this question--with the FW connection on the front of some DVD standalone recorders, can you record HD to the HDD in some of these units, but not to the DVD burners in them?
If I shoot in HD, and eventually are able to burn to BR, but also want to provide SD, I control that when I send the edited project in iMovie to either, in the future, iHDVD, or to iDVD, and the latter will create an SD 16x9 letterbox of the project on a SD DVD? And that will look better than shooting in SD 4x3? Am I thinking about this correctly?
Maybe someone on the board knows a link to a good general discussion about HD and working with it, what's possible and not, would be of great help to me--I looked at Videomaker website but didn't seem to find a lot of the information I was looking for....
Thanks, Dale

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Well a couple weeks have passed without a response (although I did have a similar chat in another topic in the same sub-category on this site) and I think I have figured out why I can't get a definative answer:
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Lolo55,
Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities.
I understand that your iMac display shows a blank screen. Here is the best troubleshooting resource to go through when experiencing these symptoms.
Apple computers: Troubleshooting issues with video on internal or external displays
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT201177
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It has been now 2 days and a half that I received my brand new 24" inches iMac (2,66 Ghz 4Gig of ram etc). I really wanted a definitive desktop computer to use at home and I went for another iMac. I'm saying another imac because as soon as the iMacs aluminium were out on the merket (end of the year 2006) I decided to buy one of them and things didn't go well.... to make a long story short after 10 days with no problems at all it started blowing smoke! That's correct, I had to return the item and since the replacement the gave me was not fitting my standards and I asked for my money back.
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Message was edited by: antonio.r

Roger I shall thank you for your reply but I have already been to a couple of malls and I tried getting closer to the speakers area. I have to admit that i could NOT notice any humming or whirring sound.
I REALLY don't understand how this imac should work it seems to me that everyone is having troubles with these machines. Soma Pc users might also be used to their old and messy pcs so they don't really notice if these is some humming or not.
I reckon that those are just empirical tests though and they don't really mean much. I wanted to take it in to the only assistance place that we have in this area, but in less than 2 days they are will close the shop for a month.
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Sounds like a question for Blackberry.
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Hi mputnam80,
Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!
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Hello brunofig132,
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
I understand that your iMac is booting to a black screen and loud fans. The following article provides steps to troubleshoot the startup process for your iMac. It should give you an indication of what might be causing the problem.
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F Shippey,
Thanks for the quick response.
I have noticed the audio issues when previewing the project in iDVD. The original iMovie project plays fine. I created a disk image last night so I will check on that once I return home.
I typically burn my project from a disk image in Toast and certainly appreciate you reiterating the fact that using iDVD to encode and burn in one step can be a painful/expensive lesson to learn.
Bummer about the iDVD to Toast to encode. I kinda figured that was the case but had to ask anyway.
The source audio is from a Canon GL1 DV camcorder. I believe the audio is 16bit PCM.
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