FCE is absolutely TERRIBLE with AVCHD/MTS cameras - horrendous quality, HUGE file sizes, and ZERO help or support

So I've tried just about everything and it would appear that FCE cannot actually give me any sort of quality output when using an AVCHD (using MTS files) camera. I've tried exporting using Quicktime, MPEG-4, H.264, AVI, WMV (you name it, I've tried it over the past two weeks) with a myriad of different settings, and at the highest qualities possible, and STILL, I cannot get even a remotely decent exported video. Standard definition videos, across the board, look MUCH better after being exported than any of the HD videos I've tried to export - what gives? I've matched my fps, dimensions, used deinterlacing (because my camera insists on recording at 60i, 1440x1080i), tried using all sorts of key frame rates (to match or at least be divisible by the frame rate), data rates, etc. I can get the exported video to look almost decent if I use the deinterlace options, but still, the video quality is pretty terrible. I'm trying to make production quality videos for DVD and the exported files I'm getting look like a garbled mess. The quality I'm getting wouldn't even suffice for online use.

I've tried everything I can to make sure the mac itself is functioning properly (repair permissions, verify disk, safe boots, etc, etc) as well as updated quicktime and FCE - for one reason or another, I've had to actually reinstall FCE more than a couple times over the past two weeks... and I even went so far as to try a clean uninstall - which, for those who don't know, for some reason apple in their infinite wisdom decided NOT to include an uninstaller with this application so you actually have to scour through your hard drive and delete individual files (some of which may or may not exist based on what all you've done with the program).

I've been in contact with tech support, tried using the discussion forums, watched a host of youtube videos on the subject and appear to have exhausted every possible avenue to deal with these issues - it really seems that this software is NOT, in any way, shape or form, capable of deliverying even decent quality videos when using the AVCHD format (which is, of course, the most widely used of all video formats at this point... for what reason, I don't know, but it seems pretty ubiquitous and their aren't many options otherwise).

From my more windows-friendly folks, I'm hearing that AVCHD is pretty easy to use on windows machines and there's a whole litany of FREE software to use on windows to do what I'm desperately trying to accomplish on the mac... and I've blown $200 on this worthless FCE in the meantime and have wasted an inordinate amount of time and energy that I could've been using to ACTUALLY create more video projects (which, ya know, at some point I was actually planning on making some money with)

Overall, I'd say this has been a terrible waste of time and money - FCE does not do what it plainly says it's capable of doing in it's documentation. I want my money back - I would not recommend using FCE for any HD video processing whatsoever.

If anyone out there has any sort of magic they'd like to share, I'd love to hear it - at this point, it's really looking like Mac has been left in the dust concerning modern video production - I'm super disappointed, as I've been VERY impressed with Mac's abilities to do audio engineering and I was really hoping that their reputation as a leader in audio/video and creative endeavours would hold true in this case, but I'm starting to really think that Mac is a lot of hype in this regard.

PLEASE, someone tell me I've missed something here.