Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0 & .MTS...

I've been using adobe premiere elements 4.0 for quite a while and like it. Recently, I've considered purchasing a Canon HG20 ''I want to film in HD'' which I believe records in .MTS. Is this compatible or will I need to look at a different camcorder?
Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0 %26 .MTS...
HG20 captures in the AVCHD format and it is not compatible with PE4. PE7 supports AVCHD. PE4 supports HDV mpeg2 not AVCHD, so the Canon HV20, HV30 or the soon to be released HV40.
Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0 %26 .MTS...
Is there a way to convert the files or do I need to get PE7.

I am not aware of any free converters (unless you have NERO 7 or 8 which can accept AVCHD). You could try AVCHDUpshift that can convert the AVCHD to HDV that PE4 will accept.

http://www.newbluefx.com/avchd-upshift.html

You may be able to convert the files using Quicktime Pro ($29 from Apple) -- but that depends on what you want to convert them to!



Is your ultimate plan to burn a BluRay disk or are you ultimately planning to output a standard DVD?

For now I'd just output to a standard dvd. I still would like to view the files in hd and edit in hd on my computer though. I'm planning to export to blu-ray further down the road so that's not a big deal.