Hey guys, I'm new to this forum, and I have a questions I really wish someone can answer.

I have some hdv 1080i50 footage, and I need to use Premiere Pro to edit it.
However, the footage was captured on Final Cut Pro, and is encoded with their proprietary codec (as seen by vlc: mpgv, and by gspot: hdv3) that does not work in Premiere Pro. VLC can play this codec, but Premiere Pro cannot.

Is there a plugin for Premiere Pro to enable the usage of video encoded in that codec?
Or, if not, what's the best setting or format to convert it into using mencoder or ffmpeg or other media encoding software? (Ps. I have a quad core and lots of free time so the encoding duration is not a key factor)

Btw, I wont be needing 1080i, I would actually prefer 720p (1280x720).
Btww, no, I cannot use Premiere Pro to capture it :( I have the files, and I need to edit :(

Anyone can help me, I will truly appreciate it :)