I recently bought a Panasonic HDC-TM20. Features are great, and quality is awesome when hooked to my tv through the HDMI cable.
2 problems though. My pc chuggs real bad when editing, so it takes forever to do anything, and since I dont have a Bluray burner, I am stuck with standard definition material after putting it on a disc (even though playing it on the BR player still looked great).

I am returning it. I want to get the best bang for my buck, and since I belong to a buyers club, I can get a camera cheaper than in a store. Here is a list of what I am looking for.

$700 or less(cheaper the better since I am getting married in a month)
Easy menu navigation (touch screen is really nice)
Picture and sound quality
5.1 ch sound
Panasonic (preferably), but others can be JVC, Canon, or Samsung
Will not take forever to edit on my pc.
Built in HDD would be real nice too.

From what I understand, regular definition would be exact same as HD recording on a DVD. Correct? And would the same go for an up-converting camera?
Is there 5.1 sound on a regular def? I really hope there is.

Lastly, the program that I love using for editing is called Video Explosion 1.5
When I took the stuff I had recorded, and switched it over to MPeg-2, there was no sound. But when I put the same file into Windows Movie Maker, it worked fine. Any ideas?
Any recommendations on a program (free?) that is really good? It needs to have audio editing capabilities too.

Thanks guys.