I've been messing with VS11+'s handling of HDV.
Very good for low end/beginner.
It's intuition is putting every file at the end and that's about it.
I can see why this would satisify 90% of consumer needs which is probably why it's so wildly popular among amateurs. I even did a little 6 minute documentary in it for the net.
It makes preset beginnings for you & stuff...ha ha...making you look like the next Steven Speilberg with a few clicks.
One major note...In order to get it to run right, there's a series of downloads that must be inserted in your box.
But that's no problem...You can do 504mb on your head...right?