Read all about Apple's latest upgrade to their professional level editing software, Final Cut Pro 4 (http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/) Many, many new features,

Compressor MPEG 2 and MPEG 4 encoding with 1 pass and 2 pass VBR (http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/compressor.html)

SoundTrack, Music composition tools to create your own Royality Free music. (http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/soundtrack.html)

RT EXTREME Multiple Streaming Real Time Effects (http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/effects.html)

LiveType for Industry leading text creation (http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/livetype.html)

Over 150 LiveFonts (http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/fonts.html)

Create your own keyboard shortcuts, remap the keyboard (http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/customize.html)

Broadcast Quality CODECS (http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/codecs.html)

Master in High Definition (http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/hd.html)

Support for Panasonic DVX100 with pull down tools for telecine insertion and removal (3:2 / 2:3). (http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/specs.html)

Pro quality software based 8 bit and 10 bit uncompressed formats. Combine this with 32 bit floating point per channel video processing (http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/output.html)


And much, much more. The update is $399 USD and the full version is $999 USD. You need 60 Gigs of hard drive space to install. Complete requirements are here. (http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/specs.html)

A big feature in Final Cut Pro 4 is the incorporation of Cinema Tools into FCP with new support for change lists and ink numbers. FCP 4 is big news.

I just received the notice from Apple.

Jeez, 60 Gb of available disk space (presumably on one's system drive) seems unreasonable. Many Macs only ship with a 60Gb drive (such as mine).

I think it is all the fonts. How are you going to get it on a powerbook, was my thought? Time to start looking at the newer 120+ gig drives with 8MB cache.

It looks like they may have fixed the audio synch issue (http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/editing.html).

The innovative Autosync Compensator maintains synchronization of audio and video in long DV captures (a solid benefit, since DV cameras have different audio sample rates).

Yup, the last sentance seems to sum it up.

Note: FCP4 is not shipping until June. So we can take our time perusing the new features, if so desired.

It may offer some the best quality output in the industry. Support for multiple Codecs and software based uncompressed 8 bit and 10 bit formats. Combine this with 32 bit per channel processing and the image quality should be stunning. Apple says this is the first time these features have been combined on a system costing less than $100,000.

Provided, of course, that you start with something worth looking at. <g>

Quote:
60GB of available hard disk space for installing applications

20GB of available hard disk space for installing LiveType and Soundtrack content

They must be also allowing some space for video. It would be absolutely insane for an app such as this to take up 60GB. I can understand the LiveType and Soundtrack taking up 20GB since all those LiveFonts animated fonts and audio files would get pretty big. But 60GB for FCP is just insane. All the Powerbooks come with 40 or 60GB drives.

They must be erring on the side of caution here.

Well, I do hope so...

The size will be clarified in a few days, I'm sure. If you click on the purchase button, the page says you only need 14 gigs. It's a little confusing. It does say you need a DVD drive for installation. I suspect it will keep the software pirates away for a long time. The app is just to big to download.

This QuickTime (http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/quicktour/cinematoolstelecine.html) explains how FCP 4 w/Cinema Tools handels 24P and 24AP from the Panasonic DVX100.

The PDF for FCP reads:

1 gig for he application

5 gig for Soundtrack

9 gig for Livetype

DVD a necessity

Hm .,.. has anyone checked out the other new announcement, just to the right of FCP 4 =)

http://www.apple.com/shake/

Also looks pretty interesting.

And re. the soundtrack feature... does it show that Emagic is now owned by Apple :) (Emagic makes Logic Audio, one of the more popular audio/sequencing packages)

/Henrik

Wow! My reaction after having watched most of the quick tour videos. You sure get an awful lot for your money with FCP4.

LiveType aka IndiaGraphics(?) looks cool. Might also prove useful for those, like me, who also dabble in web site creation.

Soundtrack could prove really useful as a quick way to add a bit music to a project. Also looks like a nice way to produce looping audio for DVDs.

Compressor does look like it has similar functionality to Cleaner, though probably if you delve deeper find that it falls short of fully comparing. I'm not complaining. Looks fine for what I want to use it for, and once again useful for compressing video for web.

All in all a very nice package, and that's even before I get started on DVD Studio Pro, or Shake.

Sure is a good time to be a Mac and video/film user/maker.

A little OT...

Has anyone heard y there is no upgrade to DVD Studio Pro2? The price is amazing compared to what I paid for the previous version, but I would have thought there would be an upgrade...

No word yet. Wait till it gets a little closer to releasem maybe July. Then look at the online Apple Store.

The system requirements say that you need a G4 this time. Am I reading this wrong?

These are the requirements as they appear on Apple's site

Macintosh computer with a PowerPC G4 and AGP graphics card:
500MHz or faster single processor or any dual processor Power Mac G4 or PowerBook G4 required for RT Extreme and Soundtrack.
667 MHz or faster PowerBook G4 required for RT Extreme in DV format.
QuickTime 6.1
384MB of RAM (512MB recommended for RT Extreme and Soundtrack).
1GB available disk space required for application installation.
14GB available disk space for required for Soundtrack and LiveType content.
DVD drive required for installation.




The only possible exception is the amount of drive space needed. There is conflicting information on Apple's site and in their literature.

damn, i was just about to pickup a cheap 12" ibook for portable usage, which is normally rare... guess that wouldnt be such a great idea now though

iBooks and iMovie. An upgrade is due for the iBooks, but it will just be a speed bump. Expect 900mHz G3's. They might get G4's the next bump, due just before the Holidays.

I've heard the DVD 2 upgrade is $199. I haven't seen it on Apple's site, but was confirmed by a friend at NAB.

I would upgrade to DVD Studio Pro 2 in a second for $199 (plus tax). It looks cool. I have already paid the $427.73 for the upgrade to Final Cut Pro 4. Apple is calling people who bought previous Final Cut Pros (2 and 3) and giving them first crack at the upgrade when it is available in June.

I'm sure that 60 gigs is not required. But I think I will get more hard drives anyway. My MDD can hold 4 ATA drives. Anything I should know before installing them?

This is very exciting for Mac users, and it seems Apple has incorporated Acid Pro like features into FCP. They will even use Acidized wave files (loops). Nice move on Apples part. This will keep SoFo on their toes, hehehe. There are lots of places with free loops around the net.

Now if only they would offer better hardware. The 32bit powerPC chip is fast becoming a dinosaur. Lets hope for Mac user sakes, they have a 64bit option coming within a year or so.

The IBM 970 is on it's way and full scale production by IBM is scheduled to begin on or around the 15th of April. I expect new PowerMacs to be announced at WWDC June 23 - 27. Rumor has it that several boards are being developed (single and dual processor) and the speed of the chips will range from 1.6GHz to 1.9GHz initially. Expect speed bumps around the first of the year.

Jeff, Charlie White over at DigitalVideoEditing.com loves FCP 4, but damned it because of slow hardware. Will the 970 be a real improvement? Or just a simple speed bump of the CPU (real as in better FSB, faster memory, faster more reliable motherboard and subsystems). A faster chip alone isn't the answer. AMD proved that.

Just wondering, not trying to start a flame war here.

I couldn't find the article on that site (terrible site by the way, nothing but pop-ups) so I can't address his specific complaints. I haven't seen FCP 4 but it doesn't release for another 3months and Apple Betas do usually run slow. I expect final release to perform very fast.

The 970 is a smaller version of an IBM processor used in their big servers. This is an entirely new processor. It is not a speed bump of an old Motorola G4. This is a very advanced processor using a .09micron manufacturing process (the stumbling block for current Intel chips).

I have never found reliability a problem. My main editing station is on day and night and performs flawlessly. It will be three years old in July. I've never thought of Apple as having a reliability problem. I've used their products since the late '80's and I'd have dropped them at the first signs of any consistent problem. At times I've had issues with various aspects of the OS and waits for upgrades etc. But in my opinion they've always been faster than MS with fixes.

They say that the process will begin at .13 microns, which is why there will be no PowerBooks with the 970 until next year when they move to the cooler running .09 micron fabrication. But as said before, the processor isn't the only problem. The G4 today isn't kept fed because the rest of the system is slow and can't keep up. Until they make more drastic changes, the speed increases for Macs will be small. Even the change from SDR to DDR memory really hasn't changed anything and this new chip is 64bit and has an incredible amount bandwidth that can be pumped in... if it kept fed it will be terrific. I've been using Macs for 10 years now and still love them, but PPC 970 or not, Macs are about the software these days, not the UI or speed. The PDF about the chip can be found here:
http://www-3.ibm.com/chips/products/powerpc/newsletter/pdf/dec2002.pdf

good to hear it's 64bit. Unfortunately, hardware is important when you charge by the hour. Still, one of the reasons I don't use Macs has been the attitude of Mac users.
Maybe someday that will change, it seems Jeff and others are proving Mac users can have a reasonable discussion about platform differences with out sounding like they are on a religious Jihad. If that attitude were more common, I would consider using these new Macs, even with the high price premium. As it is, I'm thankful for programs like Vegas which give Win users a viable and stable alternative.

Now I'm just mad that i bought my dual 1.25 the other day......

Well, 64bit isn't necessarily a good thing. Fortunately, it runs 32bit code natively so there is full backward compatability supposedly. As for when we'll see it... we've been hearing about the G5 for over 2 years now and it is still just smoke and mirrors, so they went to IBM... I still have the "I'll believe it when I see it mentality"! Now the question is... will FCP4 run in 64bit? On new motherboards with the new chips it could really cook! Of course, I still love my FCP3 and dual 800MHz G4!

Is it better than Vegas 4? ...just curious.

In my opinion it is. I don't think you're going to find too many editors or users that are extremely proficient in both. They compete in different markets. That's not to say their isn't some crossover, but FCP is aimed at the pro market and Vegas is more for the event, industrial, single user market. Sure you can do a feature on Vegas or a wedding on FCP, but those are not the markets they go after.

The real question is Vegas, or FCP, better for you? I do documentary and corporate work mostly and FCP offers the speed, features and tight integration to other tools that I need for my clients. The work flow is very smooth.

Believe me, I don't want to start an argument, political or otherwise. But, I don't understand the idea of not using a computer because of the attitude of other users. The longtime reliability of macs is well documented. I work with a lot of cross platform people. They'll use their pc when doing web work and move to the mac when doing their video work. I have a G3 that's over 5 years old that I suped up. I was recently offered $500 for it. My friend tried to sell his 3 year old pc recently and couldn't get more than $100 for it. I have nothing against pc's or pc users. But, I will say the few heated discussions I've gotten in were initiated by them. But let's get back to FCP 4. It's great. Like another thread around hear pointed out, you'd have to spend close to$100,000 to get an editing system that had much more.

There are many many Windows users who have a bad attitude as well, basically just running off at the mouth about how much better PCs are than Macs. So both camps fall victim to that my friend. I use both myself.

Back to the subject at hand... I have the student version of Final Cut Pro 3 which is the same as the full version, just a different license. Will I be able to upgrade to FCP 4 with the update? I assume the student license would remain in effect. I have already purchased the update, but want to know the answer before it will ship. The Apple salesguy really didn't have any info.

Are you upgrading to FCP 4 Academic version or FCP 4 Full Retail Version? The only difference will be the price you have to pay for the upgrade.

The Mac vs. PC thing will be an ongoing debate. There are jerks on both sides (none here fortunately). Neither side really understands the needs of the other or is willing to take the time and try to understand. Each side is too busy trying to tell the other why their side is better.

You'll still have an Academic License.

Anyone was at NAB in Vegas?

I now that FCP 3 has good color corrections but does it have any automatic options (like in Photoshop Elements). I realize that you are almost always better off working manually but sometimes the problem is consistent (white balance being off) and an auto correct works fine.

If not if FCP3 then what about FCP4, expecially since the new version of Avid seems to have it.

Let's see, G5 (970), FCP4, DSP2, ka-ching!

Jeff,
Well, not exactly like Photoshop Elements. Perhaps the handiest "auto color correction" feature I use are the eye droppers for setting various balances.

<<<-- Originally posted by Ken Tanaka : Jeff,
Well, not exactly like Photoshop Elements. Perhaps the handiest "auto color correction" feature I use are the eye droppers for setting various balances. -->>>

It works great with the whites and the blacks . . .

Any estimates on WHEN in June FCP4 will be out. I see that Apple has been sending the developers on the road to show it off to various FCP User Groups. On the other hand the coupon on the web site offers a $50 upgrade if you buy FCP3 between April 6 and June 20 which makes me wonder whether the release isn't until June 20, or even June 23 (WWDC).

One magazine reports that the main reason for the price drop in DVD Studio Pro is a reduction in licensing charges from Dolby Digital.

I would guess either just before WWDC or during it. I don't know about the licensing and price reduction of DVDSP. I know the new Adobe product had an announced price of $549. I thought maybe Apple was figuring on having to compete with Adobe

Saw it in action at the Production Show. Looks great. The UK are getting it in shops late June apparently, so probably mid June on the net.
LiveType seems simple to use and very quick to get professional looks.

<<<-- Originally posted by Trent O Connor : Saw it in action at the Production Show. Looks great. The UK are getting it in shops late June apparently, so probably mid June on the net.
LiveType seems simple to use and very quick to get professional looks. -->>>


Same here. Soundtrack looks fun, I mean , err, a very useful app in the production workflow.

Hot rumors this week (already) -

FCP 4: Thinksecret reports that FCP4 could be released as early as June 9. They report that the release was originally scheduled for June 16 but that it was moved up a week.

QT 6.3: Thinksecret also reports on a Quicktime update (6.3) due out soon, possibly today. One improvement is supposed to be in the area of audio/video synchronization.

970: Macwhispers reports that the 970 chip is 25% cheaper than the current Motorola chips. That won't mean the computers will be that much cheaper though....it's just the chip price. Another rumor site suggests that the new computers might be able to handle 32gb of RAM.

MacCentral (http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2003/06/05/finalcutpro/) reports that FCP 4 will ship on 14th June.

I'd like an non-Apple opinion of usability before I jump on teh upgrade. Maybe even wait for the first patch.

Got mine today. I must say I'm really impressed. SoundTrack blows me away. It's a complete advanced music making app. 24 channels of audio output is sweet. I hooked it up to my Motu 828. Compressor seems very, very good. This is really a MAJOR upgrade.

Is it just me or are they still using that damn lindy hop as the tutorial... how long will this go on? Apple you make great products but get some more tutorial media!