Will Final Cut Pro Surpass Avid? or has it already?

Dave Perry · June 7th, 2004, 12:38 PM

The company that just hired me recently purchased a G5/FCP HD station saying they are eventually switching to FCP for all their work.

They are keeping the PC/Matrox Digisuite for legacy work however.

Jonathan Noone · June 9th, 2004, 10:43 AM

Great disscussion,

I'm a prime example in that market economics have dictated what system we use and I'm sure the few short falls in Final Cut HD will be easily rectified.

I'm presently building a new business in London which will be pushing out a bi-monthly DVD. We had an avid sales guy round and on nearly every comment (for our needs) the Mac could do the same or better and of course was a damn site cheaper. In the end the guy just gave up and I saved the business a fortune, not to mention the fact we also now don't have to buy a standalone and expensive HD moniter as the 23 inch Cinema displays dotted round the place will do this for us.

With regards to what format you are trained on this is becoming more of a non-issue. The bottom line is how good your ideas are and of course what your reel looks like.

So avid had better watch out, you don't have a compelling enough proposition at the moment.

Best

Jonathan

Mark Sloan · June 9th, 2004, 02:44 PM

While WordPerfect put the initial word processor on the map for PCs they too rested on their reputation and paid for it. Word became huge when WordPerfect decided NOT to do a Windows 3.x version and when they did it was a horrible hack. Then, when they recoded the thing to make it work they changed the keyboard commands and compatibility between versions stunk, essentially alienating their entire user base. Word is a mess, no doubt, but part of WP problems were their own hubris... which brings us back to Avid. With XSan, XServes and FCP, I think Apple is primed to make FCP even more powerful. Avid should probably focus on doing the high-end really well, something Apple can't, and wouldn't want to try to compete with (IBM main frames are still being sold).

Richard Alvarez · June 9th, 2004, 03:02 PM

All of which brings us back to the original question of the first poster

"I was wondering what your views are for the future of Avid and Final Cut Pro.
My two cents are within three years FCP will have all of the advanced features of avid and will become the industry standard. "

If by "All of the advanced features of Avid" you are talking about a symphony or nitris... then you are talking about a lot of hardware based features. Not sure Apple wants to get into that.

Jonathan Noone · June 9th, 2004, 03:21 PM

To be honest with the advancements in Video Graphics cards and the speed of the G5 and other 64 bit processors on the way, IMHO the only hardware you need is a fast firewire connection and a good break-in / out box.

Having always been intrested in editing, I remember the days when you had racks of hardware just to do title generation. Back in 1994 at an edit facility called optical image bragging about their new £150,000 machine.

So eventually it will all come down to exisitng hardware within Pc's / Apple's / Linux machines.

I completely agree with the previous comment though. For Avid to survive they need to occupy a high end niche OR drop the price and take Final Cut head on whilst they still have a strong brand reputation - BUT also code for unix / Mac which is vastly becoming the weapon of choice (walking round the broadcast show in London and looking at the stands showed this).

Best

Jonathan

Richard Alvarez · June 9th, 2004, 03:58 PM

"Code for Unix/Mac" Not sure I get your point. They already ship a copy of Mac AND Pc versions when you buy.

June 7th, 2004, 12:38 PM	#31
Dave Perry Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Roanoke, VA Posts: 796	The company that just hired me recently purchased a G5/FCP HD station saying they are eventually switching to FCP for all their work. They are keeping the PC/Matrox Digisuite for legacy work however. __________________ Dave Perry Cinematographer LLC Director of Photography • Editor • Digital Film Production • 540.915.2752 • daveperry.net

June 9th, 2004, 02:44 PM	#33
Mark Sloan Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 346	In regards to Word and WordPerfect While WordPerfect put the initial word processor on the map for PCs they too rested on their reputation and paid for it. Word became huge when WordPerfect decided NOT to do a Windows 3.x version and when they did it was a horrible hack. Then, when they recoded the thing to make it work they changed the keyboard commands and compatibility between versions stunk, essentially alienating their entire user base. Word is a mess, no doubt, but part of WP problems were their own hubris... which brings us back to Avid. With XSan, XServes and FCP, I think Apple is primed to make FCP even more powerful. Avid should probably focus on doing the high-end really well, something Apple can't, and wouldn't want to try to compete with (IBM main frames are still being sold).

June 9th, 2004, 10:43 AM	#32
Jonathan Noone Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 35	Great disscussion, I'm a prime example in that market economics have dictated what system we use and I'm sure the few short falls in Final Cut HD will be easily rectified. I'm presently building a new business in London which will be pushing out a bi-monthly DVD. We had an avid sales guy round and on nearly every comment (for our needs) the Mac could do the same or better and of course was a damn site cheaper. In the end the guy just gave up and I saved the business a fortune, not to mention the fact we also now don't have to buy a standalone and expensive HD moniter as the 23 inch Cinema displays dotted round the place will do this for us. With regards to what format you are trained on this is becoming more of a non-issue. The bottom line is how good your ideas are and of course what your reel looks like. So avid had better watch out, you don't have a compelling enough proposition at the moment. Best Jonathan

June 9th, 2004, 03:02 PM	#34
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	All of which brings us back to the original question of the first poster "I was wondering what your views are for the future of Avid and Final Cut Pro. My two cents are within three years FCP will have all of the advanced features of avid and will become the industry standard. " If by "All of the advanced features of Avid" you are talking about a symphony or nitris... then you are talking about a lot of hardware based features. Not sure Apple wants to get into that.

June 9th, 2004, 03:21 PM	#35
Jonathan Noone Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 35	To be honest with the advancements in Video Graphics cards and the speed of the G5 and other 64 bit processors on the way, IMHO the only hardware you need is a fast firewire connection and a good break-in / out box. Having always been intrested in editing, I remember the days when you had racks of hardware just to do title generation. Back in 1994 at an edit facility called optical image bragging about their new £150,000 machine. So eventually it will all come down to exisitng hardware within Pc's / Apple's / Linux machines. I completely agree with the previous comment though. For Avid to survive they need to occupy a high end niche OR drop the price and take Final Cut head on whilst they still have a strong brand reputation - BUT also code for unix / Mac which is vastly becoming the weapon of choice (walking round the broadcast show in London and looking at the stands showed this). Best Jonathan

June 9th, 2004, 03:58 PM	#36
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	"Code for Unix/Mac" Not sure I get your point. They already ship a copy of Mac AND Pc versions when you buy.