MP4 clips just won't preview in PremPro CS4

Hi there,
I have a question about why I don't seem to be able to work with HD footage in Premiere Pro CS4.  I'm using footage shot on a Flip Mino HD (720) and although I can access the MP4 files just fine, and import them into PP ok, I can't get them to play, either in the Source window or the Project window.  When I tap the spacebar or press the play button, it plays a short blip of the footage, perhaps about a quarter second or so, then stops.  It's almost like it's trying to play it, but just can't keep it going.  During that quarter second I see correct moving video and I hear the audio, but it just stutters and won't keep playing.
I've watched the excellent tutorial about working with PP and Flip HD at DavTechTable (http://tv.adobe.com/watch/davtechtable/using-the-flip-hd-and-other-pocket-usb-cameras-with -premiere-pro-cs4-) and it seems to work just fine for him, but I just can't make it work.  I'm using the HDCAM EX 720 @ 30 setting he recommends in that tutorial, and following the exact same steps he suggests.
Interestingly, if I just accept the fact that I can't preview the footage, but I go ahead and edit it anyway, it works fine.  I mean, although I can't preview any clips, I can scrub them (fairly roughly... it's not smooth at all) and I can add clips to the sequence timeline, and do an Export, and that parts all works fine.
I tried editing the same footage using Final Cut Pro (on a different computer belonging to someone else) and it worked fine, so it's driving me crazy that Premiere Pro is giving me so much trouble.  I can edit regular DV (non-HD) footage on my computer with no trouble at all.
I'm starting to wonder if my computer is not up to spec, but it seems to meet most of the requirements listed here (http://www.specrequirements.com/software/adobe-premiere-pro-cs4-system-requirements) although I don't think I've got a 7200rpm drive.
My specs are...
2007 iMac 5, 20" running Snow Leopard 10.6.3
2.16Ghz Intel Core2 Duo
3GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM  (the max I can put in this machine)
I have about 70 Gb of free space on the internal HD
I'm not using a separate scratch drive (should I be?)
What else am I missing?
It really is driving me crazy that I can't get these clips to play in PP.  The same footage edits just fine in iMovie 09, so I can't understand why PP struggles with it, or an I doing something wrong?
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Chris

Thanks Jeff,
I was wondering if it could be a lack of horsepower, and you seem to think that it might be...
What I don't really understand is where the lack of horsepower might be.  The specs I found online for PP-CS4 (which admittedly are "unofficial" since they aren't from Adobe's site, but I can't find them on the Adobe site since they've gone to CS5) say the following...
Minimum Spec
My Computer
Multicore Intel processor
I have a multicore Intel processor, a 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo
Mac OS X v10.4.11–10.5.4
I have the latest version of Snow Leopard
2GB of RAM
I have more than this, 3Gb, the max I can put in this machine
10GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional hard-disk  space required during installation
Premiere Pro is already fully installed and runs fine with other media.  I have about 66GB of free space currently.
1,280×900 display with OpenGL 2.0–compatible graphics card
I have a higher res screen, 1680x1050, but I'm not sure whether the  graphics card is OpenGL 2.0 compatible... I assumed it was. How do I find out for sure?  It's an ATI Radeon X1600.
Dedicated 7200 RPM hard drive for DV and HDV editing; striped disk array  storage (RAID 0) for HD; SCSI disk subsystem preferred
I have the standard serial ATA drive that came with the iMac (I don't think it's 7200 RPM though...  could this be the issue?)
DVD-ROM drive (SuperDrive for DVD burning)
Not really relevant for my problem
Blu-ray burner required for Blu-ray disc creation
Not really relevant for my problem
QuickTime 7.4.5 software required to use QuickTime features
I have the latest version of QT and iTunes.
Apart from the 7200RPM drive, I would have thought my machine met or exceeded the required specs?  When you say that my Dual Core CPU is too weak for the task, what processor should I need in order to do this?  It seems fast enough for editing in other applications like iMovie and other video apps, although, as you say, Apple codecs treat the footage differently so that may be the reason.
I'm just trying to understand whether I truly don't  have the grunt to edit this video, and if not, why not?  The machine was purchased new in early 2007 and from memory, CS4 came out in September 2008...  I mean, I'm not trying to run it on a Pentium 3... I'm a little surprised to find that there might be such a hardware/software gap in 18 months that would make my computer unable to handle this footage.
I'll admit I don't really understand the intricasies of codecs and such, but from what you've said, the MP4 file needs to be decompressed on the fly by Premiere in order to show clips and to scrub?  And the CPU doesn't have the grunt to do that.
If I converted the clips to a different file type before I brought them into PP, what would be the bext format?  HDV?
So, I guess my next question would be, when I get my next computer soon (probably a new MacBook Pro i7 with 8GB RAM and a 7200RPM drive), will IT have the grunt to work with these H.264 MP4 files?  Or should I just accept that Premiere Pro is too sophisticated or fussy for these files and go back to Final Cut where I know it works?
Thanks again for your advice and suggestions...
Chris

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