64 bit Final Cut

[Goaliegeek]

So with the recent announcement today of Aperture 3 which went full Intel 64-bit, what are the chances we will see a Final Cut Pro or Final Cut Express thats pure 64-bit in the near future?
I have FCE4 and would love a 64 bit version so it hopefully renders and runs faster and maybe a facelift. What do you guys think?

 

[MovieCutter]

Screw 64-bit Final Cut. How about multi-processor aware Final Cut...that'd be nice. A facelift wouldn't be too bad, but I need speed first, bug fixes 2nd, and everything else follows...

 

[jetjaguar]

a multi processor version would be awesome .. i would assume they would make it 64 bit as well

 

[Goaliegeek]

yea that would be sweet. Multi core support, take advantage of Snow leopards OpenGL and GCD and all of that good stuff.

 

[Chaos123x]

Hmmmm not sure if I should buy Final Cut Studio 3 now or not.

Does not seem to have any "New" features that I would use.

I bought FCS2 thinking that if I didn't when the next comes out I would have to pay through the nose for the new version. But then they allowed people to upgrade to FCS3 from any version for the exact same price

So should I even bother upgrading to FCS3? Or should I just hunker down and wait for the 64-bit version as planned.

Does FCS3 have any snow leopard enhancements?

 

[jetjaguar]

i would hold out for an updating version of fcp which could possibly be 64bit and take advantage of all these cores we have

 

[Igantius]

Hmmmm not sure if I should buy Final Cut Studio 3 now or not…

I think you’ve answered your own question – and if your current tools aren’t constraining you, I don’t think there’s a burning need to upgrade.

Although the new features may not interest you, overall there were a number of improvements that would fall under the ‘modest, but handy’ category – and it’s really these that provide the enhancements, rather than the new bells and whistles. As with all of these type of things your own mileage will always vary, so I would take look at some reviews/forum threads to see if there’s anything that you think would be of use to the way you work.

FCS 3 doesn’t have any of the SL enhancements – from what I remember, quite a few people suggested that this was a major reason that Apple released it before SL came out, rather than after. A while ago, there was speculation that Apple would release a 64-bit version in 2010 and offer an updater for a (fairly) nominal charge like it did for FCP 5.1 (which let the application run on Intel machines, if I remember right – and if I don’t I’m sure some kind soul will)… but that’s just speculation!

With the upgrade prices, although I was (pleasantly) surprised that Apple charged the same price for upgrading from FCP as it did from FCS 1, personally I think Apple had been pretty good with this previously and you didn’t have to have the most recent previous version to get the best discount when upgrading (e.g. from what I remember the upgrade price for FC2 was the same for the Production Suite as it was from FCS 1 and most of the upgrade cost from FCP was the same no matter what the version of Pro you had).

Because of the upgrade pricing in recent years, if the 64-bit version is going to be a standard upgrade release (e.g. FCS 4) then I would feel confident that it would cost the same whether I was going from 3 or 2.

 

[skyline r34]

So do you guys think I should wait for a 64-bit version of FinalCut or is it ok to purchase now? what do you think Apple going to release the next update to finalcut

 

[mutantteenager]

I don't think it's going 64bit or multi-core aware any time soon. Look at their past performance. DVD Studio Pro doesn't even support Blu-ray.

It's an interesting thing about FCS. Despite making substantial inroads to Avid's dominance, Apple seems to drag their feet when innovating these products.

I love the way they market the hell out of the superior performance of their hardware (and charge through the nose for it), but don't optimise their key professional applications to take advantage of it. Their focus is obviously on their consumer ipod and phone range.

I remember talking to an editor of many years who said that while Apple make FCP, that isn't their primary business, so it could potentially disappear overnight. Where as Avid is only a post-production software company.

Whilst I doubt Apple would drop FCS, it wouldn't exactly hurt their business, though stopping ipod production would.

 

[foidulus]

Speaking as a developer(not of FCP but of other stuff that uses Quicktime), I wouldn't hold your breath. Apple's 64-bit Quicktime API is a joke, you can do the MOST basic of editing with it, and even then all the real work is actually happening on another, 32 bit process.

Until Apple really updates their 64 bit API to actually match the capabilities I wouldn't expect FCP 64 bit anytime soon. Therefore, since Apple rarely updates major APIs without a new release of the OS, I would be shocked if we saw a 64-bit FCP before 10.7.

 

[THX1139]

So do you guys think I should wait for a 64-bit version of FinalCut or is it ok to purchase now? what do you think Apple going to release the next update to finalcut

I put out a call to Steve, but for some reason he hasn't gotten back to me with the answer.

 

[THX1139]

If you want/need 64bit and multi-processor aware video editing, then I suggest you embrace the Adobe Overlords. I think Apple is waiting for 128bit and bio-organic memory to be common place before going forward.