I've just spent 3 hrs. playing with my new-7 trying to import video into iMovie... I knew it should be easy but finally found that I could import all AVCHD files except the 1080p (highest setting)....so Is there a definitive answer as to what format is the best to record with?....I know I'll be watching most just scaled down to be playable on my AppleTV anyway but would like to record at the highest quality to have the content in it's best form in the event that I wanted something near broadcast quality. I know that imovie will convert to pretty much any format for output but I'm just looking for the best results....
I'm leaning towards capturing in AVCHD 1080i 60 or 24p....and haven't ruled out M4p yet.....

Check the Apple specs to see if 60p AVCHD is supported - I don't think it was last time I messed with it, if there's no support you'll have to convert it to a file imovie will recognize. There are free convertors like clipwrap and 5d2rgb that might do the trick.

thanks for the response...I believe the new version of final cut pro will handle it., and I'll just probably use one of the others like the 1080i or 24p frame version since they work and seem to still look great on output....(with iMovie)