Using Sony HDR-SR12 with Cheap Video Editing Tools

I picked up a copy of Pinnacle Studio 12 Ultimate with some add-ons to mess with the video coming out of my Sony HDR-SR12 AVCHD format camera.  I was using the slightly higher-end tool Avid/Pinnacle Liquid to edit with my Sony FX1, but for the meantime Studio 12 will suffice for testing purposes since Liquid didn't support AVCHD, only HDV.  I'll post some observations and how well it outputs to Blu-ray and other formats in future blog postings.  Also I am going to take note about how often it will transcode and when it won't transcode -- i.e. going direct to Blu-ray I am assuming it will not transcode but I will have to try this to see for sure.