Final Cut Studio for PC platform? at DVinfo.net

Jon Snyder · January 8th, 2007, 02:00 PM

Does anyone suspect Apple will make Final Cut Studio for the PC platform? Seems to make sense now that it's coded for intel processors. It would also open the door for more sales of their product. (though it almost would open the door then for competitors to sell their software for macs)

Just wondering if there's any rumors out there about this.

Jon

Kyle Prohaska · January 8th, 2007, 02:07 PM

I'd be highly upset if they did that. I bought a Mac almost exclusivly to use thier software, and have been putting up with the Adobe products not being native. Now that Adobe is going mac again things are ok but it would still annoy me and push me to possibly get a PC instead and get both. I guess it would be good but from what I see, Apple originated applications dont run so well when they make them windows compatible. QT Pro is pretty buggy in XP, throw in a program or package like FCS and I forsee some serious issues. Although it would make alot of HVX people happy being able to use a PC laptop, and the FCS specifics of P2.

- Kyle

Boyd Ostroff · January 8th, 2007, 02:17 PM

I can't imagine that happening anytime in the immediate future since FCP is one of those things which help sell Mac hardware. Jobs has been adamant about never licensing OSX for other companies, but this is probably the big question. Many people have speculated that he will eventually cave in and license OSX to other PC vendors. Michael Dell was quoted as saying he would love to offer it as an option on their machines.

My personal belief is that someday Jobs will license OSX because it will just be too lucrative to ignore. And since we have it running native on Intel there are obviously no technical barriers anymore (other than supporting lots of other hardware configurations).

But until that happens, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for FCP to show up on your PC...

Mathieu Ghekiere · January 8th, 2007, 03:17 PM

I would hope it, actually.
And now with Adobe going Mac, it would be nice to see Apple doing the same thing...
I love Final Cut Pro, but I don't have the money to completely upgrade to a Mac for the use of that program alone, so now I work with Adobe Premiere Pro, which I like also, but there is 1 thing that REALLY bugs me (in FCP, you can just, with one button, unlink ALL the audio from the video over the whole timeline. In Premiere Pro you have to do it at each shot... VERY time consuming!)

Justin DeAre · January 8th, 2007, 03:18 PM

I was thinking they might. Adobe and Apple seem to have a bit of a software battle going anyway.

Jon Snyder · January 8th, 2007, 06:50 PM

To be honest the reason I hope it does, is because the honest truth is, although i'm forced to work on a mac, i love FCP. I want to get a laptop to do edits on the road, but i don't want to invest in a laptop strictly for FCP but also a laptop to have for other things.

I don't mean to get into a debate on whether OSX or Windows is a better platform, just my personal preference to work on a Windows platform because it's so much easier for me to navigate Windows quicker.

That and I can build my own machines and could put a better one together than Mac can offer :(

Jon

Cole McDonald · January 8th, 2007, 06:54 PM

Apple is a hardware company. The reason they were able to sell shake for as cheaply as they do...and the reason they sell final cut for as cheaply as they do is to sell macintoshes. They don't intend to make profits on their software, if they did, they would be selling their pro apps for the original prices they were before they bought the software and Macified them.

Apple is a hardware company. iTunes is free, the iPod isn't.

Apple is a hardware company. All of these acquisitions came with painfully substantial price drops...the goal is to grow market share in their hardware by having more high quality software at prices that software companies can't touch because they need to make a profit on their development cycle.

Motion = http://www.macworld.com/news/2002/06...ismo/index.php
itunes = http://www.applematters.com/index.ph...ry/2006/01/09/
final cut = http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/20...0227010464.htm
logic = http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2002/jul/01emagic.html
shake = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...05/ai_n7976536 & http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/5933

The future holds:
http://www.hdforindies.com/2006/10/s...ple-whats.html
http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0612proximity.html

Andrew Kimery · January 8th, 2007, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cole McDonald

Apple is a hardware company. The reason they were able to sell shake for as cheaply as they do...and the reason they sell final cut for as cheaply as they do is to sell macintoshes. They don't intend to make profits on their software, if they did, they would be selling their pro apps for the original prices they were before they bought the software and Macified them.

What Cole said. Apple's very good, and relatively inexpensive, first party software is the incentive they use to sell Apple computers. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple sold its first party Apps at a loss.

-A

Jon Snyder · January 8th, 2007, 07:54 PM

For a hardware company they are surely cutting a lot of corners and taking PC hardware over their own. I guess I really don't get it. Ipod's aside their pc's are really just regular pc's now with a mac logo running Mac OSX. If they dont make money off it (which i'm not doubting they dont) then why not just build good pc's like alienware and put a mac logo on it?

OK talking like that will probably get me flammed :) I was just thinking that they were more interested in software sales since hardware traditionally doesn't make as much money, and that they would make more opening it up to the PC platform. I kind of get tired of people telling me Macs are better because they dont crash and are more user friendly, but i remind them that windows hasnt been crashing since 98 first edition and that i would trade control over dumbed down OS intuition anyday.

Just my 2 cents. Dont want to start a mac vs windows debate but i would rather them focus on the software which i think has more going for it then their PC clones running mac osx.

Jon

Steve Maller · January 8th, 2007, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Snyder

Does anyone suspect Apple will make Final Cut Studio for the PC platform? Seems to make sense now that it's coded for intel processors. It would also open the door for more sales of their product. (though it almost would open the door then for competitors to sell their software for macs)

Just wondering if there's any rumors out there about this.

Jon

It'll never happen. Apple's software is a showcase for their hardware. The engineering resources required to make any of their Pro apps work on Windows would double their development costs (or worse) for very little potential payback. And it would hurt sales of their high-end (read: profitable) hardware.

Boyd Ostroff · January 8th, 2007, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Snyder

OK talking like that will probably get me flammed :)

No it won't because we have a zero tolerance policy for flaming at DVinfo :-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Snyder

I was just thinking that they were more interested in software sales since hardware traditionally doesn't make as much money, and that they would make more opening it up to the PC platform

Well I think that Apple has figured out how to make money pretty well as this stock chart shows (Apple is red, Adobe blue, Microsoft green and Dell is yellow):

http://finance.yahoo.com/charts#char...urce=undefined

Jon Snyder · January 8th, 2007, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Well I think that Apple has figured out how to make money pretty well as this stock chart shows (Apple is red, Adobe blue, Microsoft green and Dell is yellow):

http://finance.yahoo.com/charts#char...urce=undefined

Point taken. I guess that's why I'm here and Jobs is CEO.

jon

Cole McDonald · January 8th, 2007, 08:50 PM

I have no problem with the conversation. Most of the problems the windows world has with the apple world are old misconceptions.

Apple started using commodity PC parts partially due to the "Macs are expensive" argument. This was true at the time...it's becoming much less relevant today and is really coming back to the same thing I've been arguing forever...the difference is user experience and what you're comfortable with.

The second part of apple's decision to go with commodity parts is that these pieces of hardware are where the advancement was being driven by competition. The more proprietary hardware wasn't progressing as quickly as the apple customers wanted and the customers (read: money) were jumping ship.

"Macs are simple...I want control over my system"
Macs are deceptively simple. They are specifically engineered to hide the computery bits from the user. These bits don't magically dissapear when they do this, they just target your parents and grandparents with the interface. As an apple support guy for the past 10 years, the target "creative professional" audience for apple computer doesn't "get" the computery bits when using the computer (boy do I have stories to tell). In the same way a carpenter doesn't need to understand the metallurgy that goes into making a hammer...it's just a tool for many folks.

You can access all of the computery bits of OSX through the terminal and some of the admin/utility applications that access the unixy bits. The power is still there, it's just hidden from the user. I started using computers in 1978. To repair them, you soldered new chips onto the logic board. I have a litany of hardware/software platforms I'm familiar with and have used over the years. The purpose and reason behind the advent of computers...the promise of computers was to make life simpler. By forcing average users to have to understand what is happening is pointedly trying to not live up to that promise (some people don't want the computery bits hidden, and there is nothing wrong with that).

Board masters, please moderate this as you see fit, I am simply trying to explain away some of the historically accurate misconceptions that still plague apple as a company.

Kevin Shaw · January 8th, 2007, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Maller

It'll never happen. Apple's software is a showcase for their hardware.

Or at least that's the way Apple seems to view it. But now that Apple's hardware is effectively just a PC with a proprietary BIOS chip, there's little reason left not to emphasize the software over the hardware. If Apple could figure out a way to make enough money selling software without worrying about hardware they could do just fine financially, like, say, a certain software company from Redmond. Apple's biggest limitation throughout their history has been insisting on being a hardware company, when it's really their software which makes them what they are.

Tim OBrien · January 9th, 2007, 09:18 AM

The reason you WON'T see Final Cut Pro on Windows is the same reason that Apple pulled the great audio editing program Logic from Windows:

On the Mac side, they have a known hardware set.

On the PC side, they'd have to support all the problems with the millions of PC components that are "near-spec" (things that are roughly within specification and often don't work exactly right with each other when combined.... something I suspect is causing a far greater amount of problems with PCs than anyone will admit to. Mostly due to the cheap ways the components are produced.)

With Logic, Apple cut loose 40% of users that were taking up more than 80% of the problems and it's working.....

January 8th, 2007, 02:00 PM	#1
Jon Snyder Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Mesa, AZ USA Posts: 35	Final Cut Studio for PC platform? Does anyone suspect Apple will make Final Cut Studio for the PC platform? Seems to make sense now that it's coded for intel processors. It would also open the door for more sales of their product. (though it almost would open the door then for competitors to sell their software for macs) Just wondering if there's any rumors out there about this. Jon

January 8th, 2007, 02:07 PM	#2
Kyle Prohaska Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Ransomville NY Posts: 239	I'd be highly upset if they did that. I bought a Mac almost exclusivly to use thier software, and have been putting up with the Adobe products not being native. Now that Adobe is going mac again things are ok but it would still annoy me and push me to possibly get a PC instead and get both. I guess it would be good but from what I see, Apple originated applications dont run so well when they make them windows compatible. QT Pro is pretty buggy in XP, throw in a program or package like FCS and I forsee some serious issues. Although it would make alot of HVX people happy being able to use a PC laptop, and the FCS specifics of P2. - Kyle __________________ Online Portfolio \| Feature Film on XHA1

January 8th, 2007, 03:17 PM	#4
Mathieu Ghekiere Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Belgium Posts: 2,195	I would hope it, actually. And now with Adobe going Mac, it would be nice to see Apple doing the same thing... I love Final Cut Pro, but I don't have the money to completely upgrade to a Mac for the use of that program alone, so now I work with Adobe Premiere Pro, which I like also, but there is 1 thing that REALLY bugs me (in FCP, you can just, with one button, unlink ALL the audio from the video over the whole timeline. In Premiere Pro you have to do it at each shot... VERY time consuming!) __________________ http://productionsofthe3rdkind.com http://pr3k.com

January 8th, 2007, 06:54 PM	#7
Cole McDonald Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sauk Rapids, MN, USA Posts: 1,675	Apple is a hardware company. The reason they were able to sell shake for as cheaply as they do...and the reason they sell final cut for as cheaply as they do is to sell macintoshes. They don't intend to make profits on their software, if they did, they would be selling their pro apps for the original prices they were before they bought the software and Macified them. Apple is a hardware company. iTunes is free, the iPod isn't. Apple is a hardware company. All of these acquisitions came with painfully substantial price drops...the goal is to grow market share in their hardware by having more high quality software at prices that software companies can't touch because they need to make a profit on their development cycle. Motion = http://www.macworld.com/news/2002/06...ismo/index.php itunes = http://www.applematters.com/index.ph...ry/2006/01/09/ final cut = http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/20...0227010464.htm logic = http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2002/jul/01emagic.html shake = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...05/ai_n7976536 & http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/5933 The future holds: http://www.hdforindies.com/2006/10/s...ple-whats.html http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0612proximity.html __________________ Web Youtube Facebook

January 8th, 2007, 08:50 PM	#13
Cole McDonald Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Sauk Rapids, MN, USA Posts: 1,675	I have no problem with the conversation. Most of the problems the windows world has with the apple world are old misconceptions. Apple started using commodity PC parts partially due to the "Macs are expensive" argument. This was true at the time...it's becoming much less relevant today and is really coming back to the same thing I've been arguing forever...the difference is user experience and what you're comfortable with. The second part of apple's decision to go with commodity parts is that these pieces of hardware are where the advancement was being driven by competition. The more proprietary hardware wasn't progressing as quickly as the apple customers wanted and the customers (read: money) were jumping ship. "Macs are simple...I want control over my system" Macs are deceptively simple. They are specifically engineered to hide the computery bits from the user. These bits don't magically dissapear when they do this, they just target your parents and grandparents with the interface. As an apple support guy for the past 10 years, the target "creative professional" audience for apple computer doesn't "get" the computery bits when using the computer (boy do I have stories to tell). In the same way a carpenter doesn't need to understand the metallurgy that goes into making a hammer...it's just a tool for many folks. You can access all of the computery bits of OSX through the terminal and some of the admin/utility applications that access the unixy bits. The power is still there, it's just hidden from the user. I started using computers in 1978. To repair them, you soldered new chips onto the logic board. I have a litany of hardware/software platforms I'm familiar with and have used over the years. The purpose and reason behind the advent of computers...the promise of computers was to make life simpler. By forcing average users to have to understand what is happening is pointedly trying to not live up to that promise (some people don't want the computery bits hidden, and there is nothing wrong with that). Board masters, please moderate this as you see fit, I am simply trying to explain away some of the historically accurate misconceptions that still plague apple as a company. __________________ Web Youtube Facebook

January 8th, 2007, 02:17 PM	#3
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,800	I can't imagine that happening anytime in the immediate future since FCP is one of those things which help sell Mac hardware. Jobs has been adamant about never licensing OSX for other companies, but this is probably the big question. Many people have speculated that he will eventually cave in and license OSX to other PC vendors. Michael Dell was quoted as saying he would love to offer it as an option on their machines. My personal belief is that someday Jobs will license OSX because it will just be too lucrative to ignore. And since we have it running native on Intel there are obviously no technical barriers anymore (other than supporting lots of other hardware configurations). But until that happens, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for FCP to show up on your PC...

January 8th, 2007, 03:18 PM	#5
Justin DeAre Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Wheaton, IL Posts: 42	I was thinking they might. Adobe and Apple seem to have a bit of a software battle going anyway.

January 8th, 2007, 06:50 PM	#6
Jon Snyder Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Mesa, AZ USA Posts: 35	To be honest the reason I hope it does, is because the honest truth is, although i'm forced to work on a mac, i love FCP. I want to get a laptop to do edits on the road, but i don't want to invest in a laptop strictly for FCP but also a laptop to have for other things. I don't mean to get into a debate on whether OSX or Windows is a better platform, just my personal preference to work on a Windows platform because it's so much easier for me to navigate Windows quicker. That and I can build my own machines and could put a better one together than Mac can offer :( Jon

January 8th, 2007, 07:54 PM	#9
Jon Snyder Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Mesa, AZ USA Posts: 35	For a hardware company they are surely cutting a lot of corners and taking PC hardware over their own. I guess I really don't get it. Ipod's aside their pc's are really just regular pc's now with a mac logo running Mac OSX. If they dont make money off it (which i'm not doubting they dont) then why not just build good pc's like alienware and put a mac logo on it? OK talking like that will probably get me flammed :) I was just thinking that they were more interested in software sales since hardware traditionally doesn't make as much money, and that they would make more opening it up to the PC platform. I kind of get tired of people telling me Macs are better because they dont crash and are more user friendly, but i remind them that windows hasnt been crashing since 98 first edition and that i would trade control over dumbed down OS intuition anyday. Just my 2 cents. Dont want to start a mac vs windows debate but i would rather them focus on the software which i think has more going for it then their PC clones running mac osx. Jon

January 9th, 2007, 09:18 AM	#15
Tim OBrien Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Palm Beach, Florida USA Posts: 99	The reason you WON'T see Final Cut Pro on Windows is the same reason that Apple pulled the great audio editing program Logic from Windows: On the Mac side, they have a known hardware set. On the PC side, they'd have to support all the problems with the millions of PC components that are "near-spec" (things that are roughly within specification and often don't work exactly right with each other when combined.... something I suspect is causing a far greater amount of problems with PCs than anyone will admit to. Mostly due to the cheap ways the components are produced.) With Logic, Apple cut loose 40% of users that were taking up more than 80% of the problems and it's working.....