Hello,

I'm trying to downconvert my HD footage to SD and I believe the first step it to click on the digital cut tool and go from there.  But when I click on my digital cut tool I get a 'selected video output device has no configurable options'.  Any help on this? 

Digital Cut is an output to tape tool.

You will want to open a new 30i project & bring your HD footage into the new project.

 So to bring the HD footage into the new 30i project.  I open a new 30i project and import the clips and sequence from my HD bin?  Or can I just drag and drop them in?

The steps are (not in front of my system right now) as near as I can recall:

1.  Create your SD project and launch it.
2.  Open your media bins from the HD project.
3.  Transcode them to the SD compression that you want.
4.  Make sure the transcoded media is placed in SD project bins.
5.  Close and delete the HD bins from your SD project.

That will convert your media to SD while leaving your HD originals untouched.

Before you resonded, and while trying to figure this out on my own.  I created a problem with my HD bin. What I did follows... I created a SD project.  Through that project I opened the HD bin I wanted to downconvert.  I grabbed the sequence from the HD bin and dropped it into the SD bin.  I didn't manipulate the sequence while it was in the SD bin, but I did load it into the record window and watched a little of the sequence.  I then dragged and dropped the sequence back into the HD bin.  When I tried to watch the sequence in the HD bin none of the video clips or sequence will play.  The audio roles but the video doesn't.

What have I done to myself?!?

 Did you go back in to your HD project first or were you trying to view the HD sequence while still in the SD project??

I did not use the HD project in anyway while the HD sequence was in my SD project.  I was originally trying to downconvert that sequence using the digital cut tool.  But I did drag and drop my HD sequence into a 30i SD bin.  In the SD bin I viewed the a little of the sequence.  Decieded I didn't want to mess with it anymore, and removed the HD sequence from the SD bin back into my HD bin, where it originally was.   

Thanks for the response

When you say that the video doesn't play but the audio does, what is actually happening?  When you attempt to play are you seeing a flashing white border around your composer window?

If that's the case it's good news.  Nothing has happened to your cut.  What's happened is that your composer window is slightly off screen and needs to be dragged back fully on.  Once you do that your problem should be solved.

 Thanks for the response jwrl, but that is not the case.  Although last night I actually somehow fixed the problem.  Not exactly sure what I did.  But I do have another question that I'm sure you can help me with.  Before I created the original problem I could make QT file that would look HD.  Nice picture and a rectangular monitor.  Now when I make QT file It looks SD.  Any thoughts?

When you transcoded did you tell Avid not to keep your original clip?  It sounds like you've bought your SD sequence into your HD project.