http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVCHD

"AVCHD DVDs cannot be played back on regular DVD players."

My suggestion- Instead, have your friend send you the raw files saved as a data DVD. Use the free program VLC to play back the .mts files on your PC running W7. Done. Your other friends will also need to install/use VLC to play back these files. FWIW, the less horsepower their machines have, the harder it will be for them to play these files smoothly. Dual core processors and plenty of RAM is a must IMO and E. This method is less hassle than having to convert this content to standard DVD where you would be losing the HD.

Enjoy,
Pedro