Started a big project in H.264 and want to change to 422 and move up to X

Hi, this is my first post and I'm in a bit of a pickle. I've not been editing in a while, I'm still using FCP 6.01. I now have a monstrous 45 min doc that I'm in shooting and editing using a 5d MII. Now I've shot a few small projects with it and finished them with this version of FC and did not think much other than it was a bit sluggish.

So I've been working on this project for a while in pieces and did not know about transcoding my footage to 422. So what do I do if I've already done a lot of editing? Is there a way of using new 422 source material? I see there is a render timeline option to convert to 422, but how can I make my H264 sequence to 422 and link to my old h264 clips to new 422 clips? I don't mind converting the 600gb of footage, but I don't want to rebuild my sequences from scratch, which Apple support said I would have to.

Oh, and if I manage to do this, then how in the hell can I upgrade to X and keep my work. All of this made me try out Premiere CS5 but I can't get used to it, it seems like a toy.

And what are the pitfalls of working in H.264, I notice it's a bit slow in rendering some effects, but if I when I finally join all my sequences for a 45 min program, will it export?

I appreciate any help, any.

Cheers,

Luke

If you stay in fcp6 use media manager, it will transcode everything and keep your edit. It will also convert the sequence to a pro res sequence.

If you upgrade to FCPX. Look at the 10$ app called 7toX it will convert fcp6 and 7 projects for FCPX.