Thanks for the response - JKoch - I was kinda hoping you would chip in.   I concurred with your views elsewhere about not bothering with 1080p for the time being.   Can't see that I would ever go back to re-edit stuff from the original footage so I am filming in 1080i.

Anyway, I have just tried 4 avchd clips totalling 75 secs in PS 14.  They were unedited, and no effects or transitions were added.  I used the following settings in 'Make Movie'.

mpeg-2

HD 1080i   (what is HDV 1080i??)

video at 1920x1080 30000Kbits/sec 25fps

audio at mpeg layer 2, 224 Kbits/sec, 16 bit stereo, 48KHz.

The process for a 75 second sequence took 5 minutes 45 seconds on the stop-watch!  Is this typical?   The mpeg-2 file produced was playable, in sync, on WMP, but with a couple of visual flutters at scene change.   I will now recode some more scenes and join them up on the timeline, along with some avchd and see if I can create a 25 minute movie in HD.

Useful tip, by the way, to leave unedited avchd clips until the final timeline.  As I can edit/split/delete in the camera this could be a useful way to go about constructing a film.

 Thanks again for your guidance.