Running some tests with a Panasonic GH2 and FCP 6 and getting nasty pixelated results. Video was shot in Manual Movie Mode, AVCHD(1080i), and FSH. SD card plugged into computer, looks fine when played in the Log and Transfer preview window. Selected Log and Transfer AVCHD Plugin and I tried both Apple Intermediate Codec and Apple ProRes 422. Results were identical.

Same tests at 720p and 24p Cinema come out just fine. Loaded the 1080i clip into iMovie and it looks fine — except it stair-steps when I panned.

I am definitely missing something. Suggestions?

Thanks.

That's interlaced video on a progressive computer monitor.

Hmm. Not any interlacing I've ever seen. You can see it starting in the first frame (top) and the worse of it in the last (bottom):

http://members.cox.net/monika_a2/gh2fcp6.jpg

That's strange. Have no idea except that your computer can't handle the data flow, which model do you have?

It's quite odd and why I'm wondering what I have set wrong in FCP 6.0.6. It's only a 44MB file but I had the same weird results in another test I did prior to it. The same files open just fine in iMovie and Premiere Pro. Machine is a Dual core 2.8GHz iMac with 4GB RAM and OS 10.6.6.

Just did a quick test at 1920x1080 at 24H which has a higher bitrate than the 60i test. Worked just fine. This is strange.

So is this happening when playing back on the timeline or the from the bin? Are the quicktime files that you've captured playing back like this in finder/quicktime? VLC does this to MTS files from the GH1, when the files themselves are perfectly fine.
If the problem is just in FCP, then perhaps you could try trashing preference files creating a new project with fresh sequence settings and starting again?

Happens in the bin and the timeline. Trashed Prefs and started fresh as soon as I saw it -- associate suggested that I find a way to capitalized on the new found art form. :-)

Only happens with the 1080 60i files, 1080 24P, 720 60P, etc. play fine. I've come to the conclusion it's FCP 6.0.6. as the files play fine in the camera and in iMovie '11 and Premiere Pro CS5 -- iMovie stair steps on one with a pan though. I can use Toast to convert them to ProRes and they're fine. I was hoping it was just a setting I wasn't using correctly. Oh well.

Stopped off at an Apple store (wanted to pre-order a iPad2) and took a SD card and reader. Log and Transferred the clips into FCP 7, no problems. So, it's a CP6.0.6 issue. Darn it. At least I know now.