I have one system with full Final Cut Pro on it - my main editing suite. I am looking to implement a second system strictly for ingesting AVCHD footage and batch exporting to my preferred editing format of HDV720p30. Is FCE capable of A) ingesting AVCHD footage through a Log and Transfer like FCP is and B) can FCE batch export these ingestions to HDV720p30 like FCP is? I am obviously looking to free up conversion time on my main system.... just finished producing 10 dance shows - from 3 camera angles each and cannot get away from editing in HDV720p30 format. Thanks for any insight into FCE regarding this!

This PDF whitepaper from Apple has all your answers and then some:

Thanks for the reply. I could not find anything in that document regarding batch exporting from FCE. Does anyone know if FCE can do this?

Batch anything is something lacking in FCE.