How do I do this...?

Well, you need Premiere Pro 1.51 so make sure to get the free upgrade from 1.5.

Download a free trial of Cineform Aspect HD and use the included HDLink application to convert the m2T file to a Cineform AVI. That is what Premiere Pro 1.51 expects.

Erm... why would you need them both? The updated PremPro 1.5.1 will work with HDV files if you change the extension from m2t to mpg.

It is based, however, on a very early version of the Cineform codec.

I don't have a copy of 1.51 on my PC anymore, but as I recall, Premiere Pro 1.51 captured the files and converted them to Cineform AVI all in one step. It never accepted MPEG2 files at all without the MainConcept plugin.

Since Pat probably can't recapture from the way it sounded in the original post, it makes more sense to convert the files to something usable than it does to buy a program that you would have to keep on your system. The free trial of Cineform lasts 15 days and can get the job done. When the trial runs out the files will still work.

thanks Steven thats what I needed to know, as it doesn't make sense for me to buy a program, also I don't stil have the tapes so I can't recapture

thank you

The best part is that if it doesn't work for you, you haven't spend a penny. If it does, it is still free. Can't beat that.

However, be aware that if you are going to do more than one of these projects, you should consider buying Cineform Aspect HD. It accelerates HDV editing in a way that Premiere Pro alone can not do.

yeah thats perfect!

I use vegas, but I gave alot of footage to some guys that wanted to edit some stuff, and they use Premiere, so I had already captured!