Thanks for the virtualdub/panasonic codec suggestion. Having read the problems others have had when "tinkering" with these codec thingummies, I would prefer a proprietary route!
This is my thinking:

If the good folks at Adobe have already acknowledged and worked out an mpeg4 solution for their (later) PremPro "Elements" -presumably this "lite" version uses the same coding engine as the "heavy" version I currently find lacking -then why can't they release this vital functionality as a "one-step" patch/fix enhancement to update their top-of-the-range product?

Or is this too much to expect?