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Note that iMovie cannot actually edit native AVCHD files. The "import" process converts them to QuickTime format first, a lengthy task that is a major stumbling block with HD video.
As mentioned at the bottom of the article, you can use the free HandBrake tool -- http://handbrake.fr -- to convert video directly to your hard drive at the quality level you want, using the command-line client.
My command line ends up looking something like this:
HandBrakeCLI --cpu=4 --input="/path/to/mounted/videocamera/file.MTS" --output filename.mp4 --two-pass --decomb --denoise --ipod-atom --markers --height=720 --vb 5500
This produces a 720p HD mp4 file I can play on my AppleTV -- the "--vb 5500" flag ensures the bitrate remains low enough for the AppleTV to play the file.
If you want to produce a different-sized file, such as iMovie's 960x540 (commonly called HR these days), just change "--height=720" to "--height=540". For standard definition (640x480, a.k.a. SD), use "--height=480".
Adjust the "--cpu=4" to reflect how many CPU cores you have. MacBook Pro users would use "--cpu=2" while recent Mac Pro owners could say "--cpu=8"!
I've made available the GPL shell script I wrote to convert video using HandBrake which has a few extra features like automatically concatenating large video files together before encoding. You can get it at http://tech.tnir.org...oads/2009/tomp4 -- be sure to edit it first to tell it where your copy of the HandBrake command-line utility is.
Hope this is useful for someone.
Reid

Is there a way to get thevideo from a MinoHD (pocket camcorder) directly into iMovie as opposed to via iPhoto?

What if it is 1080p camcorder (as opposed to 1080i)? Can iMovie '09 handle it in its native resolution as well?

Note that 1080p means 1080p60, which no consumer camcorders can do. I assume you mean a slower-framerate like 1080p30, or 1080p25 for PAL folk.

I believe that yes, iMovie can handle these frame rates. Not sure about 1080p60 (a.k.a. "full" 1080p) though.

How about AVCHD Lite? Could iMovie '09 or iPhoto '09 handle this, or can/ must I go through Handbrake first?

Since "AVCHD Lite" is just AVCHD recorded at 720p instead of 1080i, I think it would be ok.

I can import 1080p (30fps) into iMovie from my Vixia HF100 just fine.

"But unlike with tape-based standard-definition and HDV camcorders, iMovie ’09 has to work a measure of magic to import video from AVCHD cameras (iMovie ’08 can also work with AVCHD)."
I thought iMovie converts both HDV and AVCHD to AIC format.

Filburt said:

It does. The "measure of magic" refers to the import process rather than the conversion.

Clith, thanks for the helpful info. I did want to point out that there are now consumer cameras that do 1080p60. I'm thinking about getting the new Sanyo Xacti that can do just that. The VPC-FH1 and the HD2000 both shoot 1080p60. I'm sure consumer models will follow. Not bad for under $500 street price.

Could I use MPEG Streamclip to convert from those .mts files to .dv, and then import those into iMovie? Is it recommendable?

According to Sanyo, the Xacti shoots in 1080i, not 1080p.

According to http://ca.sanyo.com/...0p-CameraCorder says:
bq. FULL 1080i HD SENSOR
bq. Incorporating the latest high-definition CMOS sensor, the SANYO Xacti HD1010 captures full 1080i high-definition video (1920x1080) at 60 frames-per-second.
The VPC-FH1 and HD 2000 look like they do 1080p -- http://sanyo.com/xac...roducts/vpc_fh1 -- I'd be curious to know more about them.

Reid

I have purchased, and am very happy with, a Canon VIXIA HF 10 Camcorder. I can readily import clips into iMovie '09 on my 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac running OS X 10.5.6. But until I removed
ZyGoAudioS.component
ZyGoMJ2K.component
ZyGoTimeCode.component
ZyGoVideo.component and
ZyGoVideo.component.hqx
from the QuickTime Library, every attempt to import clips resulted in a red "Error" message. After removal of those components importing went well.