[Meredith Wright]

Thanks for the quick response, only the MTS files were given to me.
However, I kept tampering with the sequence/codecs and discovered that if I create a new sequence, then manually change the settings to match the clip setting, THEN paste in the video it exports well.

The problem was I added clips to a sequence and allowed FCP to change the sequence settings instead of me. For some reason that does not allow the sequence to export properly.

hopefully that helps anyone else with MTS-FCP problems.

[Meredith Wright]

this is my first time editing MTS files in FCP 7. I converted the files to .mov, i then converted those files to Apple Pro Res .mov as suggested.

edited the video and text in fcp in a sequence with these settings:
720×480 NTSC DV (3:2)

square

none

editing time base 24
Compressor Apple Pro res HQ
rate 48khz
16-bit

clips in sequence are:
the same except pixel aspect: NTSC CCIR 601

Have tried exporting a million ways and the viewer and canvas are perfect and crisp, but the export remains fuzzy, especially the text.

am running out of ideas. help!