You are correct, the default ffmpeg parameters used by m2tstoavi don't create files that can be imported into cinelerra.
These parameters have been reported to create files that can be imported into Cinelerra.
ffmpeg -i filename.mts -acodec libfaac -ab 256k -ac 2 -vcodec mpeg4 -sameq -aspect 16:9 -b 15000k -copyts output_filename.mov
audio codec = libfaac video codec = mpeg4 container = mov
Please let me know if that helps.
More information about formatting options
You are correct, the default ffmpeg parameters used by m2tstoavi don't create files that can be imported into cinelerra.
These parameters have been reported to create files that can be imported into Cinelerra.
ffmpeg -i filename.mts -acodec libfaac -ab 256k -ac 2 -vcodec mpeg4 -sameq -aspect 16:9 -b 15000k -copyts output_filename.movaudio codec = libfaac
video codec = mpeg4
container = mov
Please let me know if that helps.