Ok, I'll try to explain this plainly as possible. Here goes:
I shot a concert video with a Canon ti3. I had no problem importing the footage into Final Cut Express. I rendered it and edited with ease, as well. The footage looked great in the canvas. The problems began when I tried to export it or convert it. When I tried quicktime conversion, it said "codec error". When I tried exporting it as a quicktime movie, it caused Final Cut to shut down. I then downloaded streamclip from square5 and used that to convert it to a quicktime file, this worked but when I imported it into Final Cut, the image was slightly dull and pixelated. I then tried exporting it from streamclip as a DV file. This produced the same poor image. I tried again, adjusting the quality bar on streamclip but with no results. My questions are:
1. Is there a way to convert the original video files without having to use streamclip, so that I can export them as a quicktime movie from Final Cut?
2. If stream clip is necessary, what settings should I choose to ensure high quality images that will be compatible with Final Cut Express?

I am new to final cut and would greatly appreciate any help. Thanks.