Well, I thought I'd done my research. Got mixed up and thought only AVCIntra needed an Intel Mac. Seems I was wrong, as my Powerbook will not accept AVCHD.

So the quick question is: any way to use any third party app or anything to get out of the AVCHD format before the ingest phase so that I can get the files into Final Cut Pro?

Many thanks for your suggestions.

Oh, I should mention that I'm shooting with a Sony CX7 on Pro Duo cards.

PowerBook isn't Intel

A MacBook or MacBook Pro is.

And AVCIntra is a different animal than AVCHD. What are you referring to?

This might help, but please be specific in detailing hardware:

http://shedworx.com/?q=volmac-home

Voltaic seems to work! Sorry I wasn't being clear. I have a Powerbook G4, which of course is Power PC, not Intel. I was checking up on AVCHD and read on one of the posts of this forum a copy of a Final Cut Pro update specs sheet, which seemed to say that AVCIntra required Intel processors, but didn't specifically say that for AVCHD. I got hurried and bought the CX7 and discovered to my dismay my Powerbook did not like AVCHD at all. But Voltaic appears to do the trick. Thanks!