M4V to Final Cut Pro. Any ideas?

Don't use Handbrake. Use MPEG Streamclip to rip the disc. Convert to QuickTime using DV50.

Can I ask why you suggest mpegStreamclip over HB?

My workflow is currently the same as the original poster but in order to get the HB'ed file into FCP I have to convert it to DV stream which is ridiculous.

Handbrake is designed to rip discs to formats for delivery, iPhones, iPads, AppleTV. It is not designed to rip them to production formats.

Do not convert to DV Stream. This is a muxed format used in iMovie only. Convert to QuickTime.

When I tried to convert my HB'ed m4v's to Quicktime Mov FCP would not import them. Is this due to the DVD to m4v to mov workflow?
Your saying the best process is to use mpegStreamclip to rip the DVD to Quicktime Mov and import that straight to FCP?

I think they may not import because they're h.264 inside the MOV wrapper.

Does that apply to the mpegStreamclip ripped mov as well?

No, you rip from the disc to QuickTime and set the correct codec for production, usually DV or DV50 at the correct frame size, frame rate, with uncompressed 48k audio, all of which will exactly match FCP sequence presets.

they import just fine. Did one yesterday. Looked great in a FCP timeline. I was an hour long and dropped right in.

Great, thanks guys.
I knew there had to be a pretty straight forward simpler way of getting the video into FCP than converting a 1gb m4v to a 6gb DV stream!

I have a similar situation now and I'm having the same problem. I have been using HandBrake to rip a copy protected dvd (La Bamba) and then using MPEG Stream to convert it so I can then import it into FCP. I've tried using MPEG Stream direct with the dvd but, the dvd won't load for some reason. Even when I try to export the m4v files in QT, they still won't import into fcp. What's happening in MPEG stream conversion that's allowing for import, that's not in QT?

Handbrake rips to formats that are bot editable in FCP.