FCE-using streamclip to convert mp4

I am completely new to video editing. I recently returned from a bicycle journey across Africa and want to combine my footage into trailer. Everything was shot using a Full-HD Sanyo camera. I am not sure whether this is enough information, but it is in MP4 format, dimensions 1920X1080 and codec H.264 AAC, bitrate 12,127. I have no idea what any of this means, I just want to know how to put it into FCE such that I can work with it. Currently, when I drag it in there are lots of horizontal fuzzy lines throughout the picture.

I was told to use Streamclip to convert the file to Quicktime using Apple Intermediate Codec. I tried to do this, and got a .mov file, however this file still has some flickering. When I tried exporting it to a DV file, however, there was no flickering.

Why was I initially instructed to use Quicktime files for this, and can I just use the DV conversion instead? Is there any downside to this? If so, how do I get the quicktime conversion to work. Thanks so much for your time!

Sincerely,

Aaron Bodansky