ok, well i still have quite afew clients wantsing SD.. in fact 99% of them arent interested in HD...
BUT...

i recall one time where i needed to upload some SD video files to a serer in the US, so what i did was convert those to custom M2t 576p at 19mbps

these worked fine on playback and editing and saved quite a substantial amount of storage (as opposed to sending the original 25mbps DV files...

Now, the compression artefacts werent that bad. Fair enough the long gop issue was there.. typical but its to be expected, but as this was talking head and interview stuff, it didnt matter as the camera didnt move much..

Now with AVCHD, can anyone tell me if its possible to use THIS codec (AVCHD) with SD material in SD resolution?
Reason i ask is that if i can get AVCHD down to 15mbps and retain a substantial amount of image quality, not only would it make my weekly uplaods to the US faster, but it would also allow me to view DV footage on the PS3 at higher bitates and for longer durations..
In turn, i could then market this as a low compressed alternative to HD

Fair enough its nto HD, but at least its going to be REALLY good looking SD...

Just a thought...

as it stands im working out a kink to my build so i cant test this theory but if anyone has the inclination to test it out, that would be appreciated