Again, thanks everyone for all the help. Before I decided I needed a new computer it was a supervisor at my local Best Buy suggested that I try a codec to play the .mts files from the AVCHD cams and I discounted the advice thinking that if it was a codec issue that the file would just not play at all. I bought CoreAVC Pro, used it with Media Player Classic and the files played seamlessly. I had codecs to play the files, but they weren't as efficient as CoreAVC (which aggressively de-interlaces) and thus the horrible skipping. So that solved my original problem, but a new computer is still necessary for editing and burning.