Apple Responds to Reports of Final Cut Pro Refocusing

[Poll Smoker]

The iPad is pretty dang awesome, sure that's marketing talk, but who else has sold a million tablets in one month...

And McDonald's sold a billion hamburgers. So what?

MacBook Pros are awesome, other than the 15" model's lack of ExpressCard. But CPU is great, video card is good, memory is pretty good, etc.

So, having elements that are "great," "good" or "pretty good" makes a product "awesome"?

iPhone OS 4 most people agree kicks total butt, and addresses just about everything everyone has been asking for.

Try again.

 

[Nicky G]

I have an iPad. It's not that great. I use it because I'm making a game for it, but other than that it's overpriced, and pretty underpowered.

The Macbook Pros are incredibly expensive for what you get and have a lovely freezing feature. Cheaper, more powerful Win7 laptops are readily available, and you can get fine build quality.

"Most people agree iPhone OS 4 kicks total butt." Who is "most people"? Kicks total butt? That sounds like a consumerist viewpoint. I'm not a strict consumer (I'm a dev) and actually evaluate things based on merit. The actual phone itself seems alright. The OS is ok as well, but it's been 3 years now. They are getting passed up by Android and the new Windows phone OS could end up being nice as well. iPhone is hardly the only game in town, and my current 3G is so awful with the current software, that I consider it near unusable. It's way, way too slow and buggy.

Not sure what "calling [me] out" has to do with anything. It's not a competition, or a platform where one is "lying." It's a matter of Apple basically saying "our products are great!" and people being stupid enough to take it at face value.

All of this is your opinion, and that alone, nothing more. Many smart people disagree with you, and yes, I include myself in that statement. Good luck developing for this platform you dislike so much. I'm sure your terrific game will be very well received and make you rich.

Oh, and as an aside, please pass along the names of those other tablets that are cheaper and more powerful than the iPad, that I can go out and buy today. Yeah...

My MacBook Pro doesn't freeze, maybe it's defective? Maybe you're running bad software? Your own, perhaps? I'd like to see another laptop that has the sheer specs of the MacBook Pro, features, is as thin and as light, and gets the same battery life -- oh yeah, and is cheaper. Please, send links, I'd love to see them. Two inches thick, 3 pounds heavier, 4 hours less battery life, and slightly more powerful and/or cheaper doesn't count, because Apple, guess what, believes that laptops should actually be, you know, portable devices.

And while you're at it, please let me know what features iPhone OS 4 is missing that you desperately need as a user or developer. Please, something other than "true multitasking" or Flash, both of which almost none of us need or want.

 

[Digital Skunk]

Just check the other thread. You would have thought the world was ending and Avid or Premiere were the second comings with how many people were jumping ship!

The real truth is that many that are on there speaking about jumping ship had been thinking about it since CS4 was released, CS5 makes the decision a little easier and the possibility of FCP not getting the update it needs may be the final nail in the coffin.

I said this yesterday because I actually have critical thinking skills, unlike a lot of you here, who simply read something and react without much thought.

I agree, but the reasonable side of the argument isn't that we are worried about features being removed, only that the bugs and issues and problems won't get fixed . . . as well as the features that should have been there since Ver 2 not being in the next version.

Are "pros" using AVCHD to any real measure? Seems like a prosumer codec at best.

JohnG

They are using AVCHD if they are professionals using AVCHD camcorders. It's a useful codec in a pinch. . . . I wouldn't cut in that codec, but I'd shoot in it.

 

[patent10021]

...and then there were three...

and then there were 27.

 

[jnpy!$4g3cwk]

I HATE APPLE
:
Seriously, look at Snow Leopard. I can`t even think of upgrading to it. Maya, shake, nuke... work like crap on Snow Leopard.
:

Maybe the problem is with Maya, Shake, and Nuke? I use Snowleopard every day for 8-9 hours, and, I can't even remember a single OS crash. All the system stuff is 64-bits. About the only program that I recall crashing is Safari, and that, only when I accidentally point it at some Flash (I usually let Chrome do Flash if I have to). Snowleopard has been extremely solid for me, and I've been running it since it came out.

 

[SandynJosh]

"Final Cut Pro is the first choice for professional video editors, and we've never been more excited about its future," Apple spokesman Bill Evans told CNET. "The next version of Final Cut is going to be awesome, and our pro customers are going to love it."

Jeez do they all have to sound as giddy and cheesy as Steve Jobs about their products.

Anything worth doing needs to be done "Magical."

 

[pukifloyd]

This is better
they can release two versions...one for prosumers and one for professionals...(same price tag for the professional one but cheaper price for those who don't want pro features)
that would be awesome

 

[SandynJosh]

When the media creates a story where there is none - that's a problem.

I for one am tired of reading speculation and conjecture reported on as fact.

...and here you are, totally on your own volition, reading a rumor site??

 

[shervieux]

Quote:
Originally Posted by kernkraft View Post

Tomorrow, they will say that it is "magical and revolutionary" and it will run on the iPad.

Now THAT would be truly awesome, magical AND revolutionary!

I would agree with that.. Video editing on the ipad would be awesome, magical, and revolutionary. I was looking for one for my ipad and iphone. So far only found this:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/reeldirector/id334366844?mt=8

pretty cool for just wanting to do something quick and on the fly.

Wait. they updated the description......

"Update that supports iPad submitted for approval." Can't wait to see what that update brings. hopefully better than the iphone with all the bouncing back and forth between screens; but then again what can you expect from such a small screen as the iphone.


On another note - Many people like me were complaining about the lack of quality tutorials for FCE, I think I am going to give these a try....

http://www.izzyvideo.com/learn-final-cut-express/

 

[calsci]

well this is good

 

[backdraft]

Maya, shake and nuke work great in snow leopard. I'm also running houdini, modo, cinema 4d, realflow and smoke.

How much RAM do you have? How many CPU cores? What GPU? What about Hard drive setup?

-backdraft

I HATE APPLE

Seriously, look at Snow Leopard. I can`t even think of upgrading to it. Maya, shake, nuke... work like crap on Snow Leopard.


Why should apple care about FCP when it`s selling millions of ipods?

 

[Big_Baby_D]

Whew! I just made the plunge and bought FCS. I still have a little uneasiness.

 

[B. Hunter]

I'm going to call you out on this.

The iPad is pretty dang awesome, sure that's marketing talk, but who else has sold a million tablets in one month, or EVER? That's pretty revolutionary.

How about Rite Aid and WalMart pharmacies!

 

[SandynJosh]

I can't believe people still just bash Windows software out of nowhere. It's as if they are completely ignorant of reality, or in some sort of dreamworld. Huh.

Apple also needs a new adjective besides "awesome."

Microsoft worked hard for their current reputation and I'm not about to deny them

Also, Apple has a new adjective and it's "magical."

 

[rhett7660]

The real truth is that many that are on there speaking about jumping ship had been thinking about it since CS4 was released, CS5 makes the decision a little easier and the possibility of FCP not getting the update it needs may be the final nail in the coffin.

So what you are saying is that Premiere is being used instead of avid or fcp? I am not baiting, I am asking. From everything I read, not only on this forum but others, Premiere and Vegas are the bottom of the barrel when it comes to video editors.

This is better
they can release two versions...one for prosumers and one for professionals...(same price tag for the professional one but cheaper price for those who don't want pro features)
that would be awesome

I am assuming your are being sarcastic, but just in case, they do this anyways now... lol..

 

[devilbond]

"...our pro customers are going to love it"

I'm still pessimistic.

This doesn't say anything about their commitment to professional users. This is marketing, nothing more.

Apple thought the pro's would "love" QuickTime X, remember?

 

[Scottsdale]

Off-topic, but I really feel like we don't NEED Mac Pro updates until SSD drives get cheaper. Hard drives are such a huge bottleneck on these machines...what's the point in even updating them at all right now? My Mac Pro never runs at full speed...it's constantly waiting on hard drives!

That's actually the most intelligent post I have seen here in weeks. The drive and drive controller are currently the bottleneck in computers. We don't need new CPUs in our MBPs or whatever flavor of Mac it is (oddly enough except maybe the Mac Pro with users who actually use the CPU extremely intensively). What we need is faster drives, faster drive controllers, more use of software to better take advantage of the hardware we currently have (like OpenCL and Grand Central Dispatch), faster RAM but maybe not necessarily more RAM (as some point it's not about how much RAM anymore), better graphics cards and drivers to take full advantage of the graphics cards used, and finally OS X truly optimized with low-level API access to ensure full ability to use hardware like a GPU for acceleration (with tech like h.264).

Everyone wants a Core i7 CPU, as Intel has marketed its chips so well that people think they need faster CPUs to get a faster system. My favorite Mac ever is the ultraportable MacBook Air. It was the first Mac to get an SSD standard, and the performance of v 2,1 MBAs with SSDs is incredible for an average user's typical use of a Mac compared to MBPs with 7200 rpm HDDs. It goes to show that we're all looking at the wrong components when we want upgrades. I want Apple to focus on getting us faster SSDs in our Macs. I want the drive controllers to be fast enough to ensure they're not the limiting factor in the data transmission. I want not just better GPUs but better drivers as Apple proved it could do with the 10.6.3 update... we got over 100% OpenGL performance boosts on the Macs with 9400m GPUs. The v 2,1 MBA's SSD has also gained speed improvements with better drivers since 10.6 was introduced.

Apple knows how to make faster computers, but until it removes Intel CPUs from Macs we're all going to buy into the Intel marketing hype that we need the Core i-series CPUs that are 20% faster... In the real world, most users would benefit far more by a drive upgrade to an SSD drive. Of course a faster drive is NOT going to boost clock speeds, but that's just a small part of what users expect from their Macs in these times.

 

[Atkins]

I have an iPad. It's not that great. I use it because I'm making a game for it, but other than that it's overpriced, and pretty underpowered.

How do you define 'great' or 'revolutionary'? Revolutionary just means radical change - maybe the iPad is nothing special spec-wise, but it sure as hell changes how we interact with our computers.

The Macbook Pros are incredibly expensive for what you get and have a lovely freezing feature. Cheaper, more powerful Win7 laptops are readily available, and you can get fine build quality.

I would agree that MBPs are expensive, but not 'incredibly' expensive. You seem to define a purchase by specs and build quality. But you also have support, weight and macOS. So mostly this is what you are going to see:
- cheaper, more powerful laptops with crappy support and probably heavier
- expensive, a bit more powerful laptops with crappy support
etc.

"Most people agree iPhone OS 4 kicks total butt." Who is "most people"?

Those from the 15% market share.

Kicks total butt? That sounds like a consumerist viewpoint. I'm not a strict consumer (I'm a dev) and actually evaluate things based on merit.

Lol. Very arrogant statement. You mean consumers don't evaluate things based on merit? In fact, they do, it's just different merits. And sorry to break it to you, but it is the consumerist viewpoint that we take in account here, not devs - that is why you're developing for the platform.

The actual phone itself seems alright.

Seems more than alright - great build quality, good specs, probably best touchscreen on the market.

The OS is ok as well, but it's been 3 years now.

I've seen that statement many times and I still don't get it. MacOSX was introduced around 2002 (correct me if I am wrong), so it is 8 years old. OMG! So what?

They are getting passed up by Android and the new Windows phone OS could end up being nice as well.

Passed up how exactly? I hope you are not talking about market share.

and my current 3G is so awful with the current software, that I consider it near unusable. It's way, way too slow and buggy.

That's the first time I hear that complaint.

It's a matter of Apple basically saying "our products are great!" and people being stupid enough to take it at face value.

The arrogance again... Btw, what do you expect from Apple? Of course they will say their products are great, magical and revolutionary. Why people take this literally? I've seen some car ads which basically state - if you buy our car you'll be a better father. I hope you don't take those as seriously.
Btw, Apple products are great.

 

[Nostromo]

That's actually the most intelligent post I have seen here in weeks. The drive and drive controller are currently the bottleneck in computers. We don't need new CPUs in our MBPs or whatever flavor of Mac it is (oddly enough except maybe the Mac Pro with users who actually use the CPU extremely intensively). What we need is faster drives, faster drive controllers, more use of software to better take advantage of the hardware we currently have (like OpenCL and Grand Central Dispatch), faster RAM but maybe not necessarily more RAM (as some point it's not about how much RAM anymore), better graphics cards and drivers to take full advantage of the graphics cards used, and finally OS X truly optimized with low-level API access to ensure full ability to use hardware like a GPU for acceleration (with tech like h.264).

Everyone wants a Core i7 CPU, as Intel has marketed its chips so well that people think they need faster CPUs to get a faster system. My favorite Mac ever is the ultraportable MacBook Air. It was the first Mac to get an SSD standard, and the performance of v 2,1 MBAs with SSDs is incredible for an average user's typical use of a Mac compared to MBPs with 7200 rpm HDDs. It goes to show that we're all looking at the wrong components when we want upgrades. I want Apple to focus on getting us faster SSDs in our Macs. I want the drive controllers to be fast enough to ensure they're not the limiting factor in the data transmission. I want not just better GPUs but better drivers as Apple proved it could do with the 10.6.3 update... we got over 100% OpenGL performance boosts on the Macs with 9400m GPUs. The v 2,1 MBA's SSD has also gained speed improvements with better drivers since 10.6 was introduced.

Apple knows how to make faster computers, but until it removes Intel CPUs from Macs we're all going to buy into the Intel marketing hype that we need the Core i-series CPUs that are 20% faster... In the real world, most users would benefit far more by a drive upgrade to an SSD drive. Of course a faster drive is NOT going to boost clock speeds, but that's just a small part of what users expect from their Macs in these times.

I'd love to see SSD drives coming to the Mac Pro.

But I doubt we'll be getting it anytime soon. The next Mac Pro generation will again be an overpriced computer with no real innovation.

Apple is caught in a hubris, caused by the success of selling gadgets to the masses.

And thinks the low volume of pro equipment and software isn't interesting enough to get big revenue.

 

[Nuvi]

Oooh this sounds so AWESOME, COOL and KICK ASS!!!!

"Final Cut Pro is the first choice for professional video editors, and we've never been more excited about its future," Apple spokesman Bill Evans told CNET. "The next version of Final Cut is going to be awesome, and our pro customers are going to love it."

Wait, that sounds some nonsense without any facts what so ever. Its one thing to hype a consumer product but it's totally different world when it comes down to professional applications. iToys are worth few hundreds but editing systems are life line of professional editors so saying something like "Final Cut Pro is the first choice for professional video editors" should be backed with some hard facts and not the Apple consumer PR crap they're pulling out of their ass. Spill the beans and show the specs. Time to start talking with facts that matter.

 

[rajbonham]

Wait, that sounds some nonsense without any facts what so ever. Its one thing to hype a consumer product but it's totally different world when it comes down to professional applications. iToys are worth few hundreds but editing systems are life line of professional editors so saying something like "Final Cut Pro is the first choice for professional video editors" should be backed with some hard facts and not the Apple consumer PR crap they're pulling out of their ass. Spill the beans and show the specs. Time to start talking with facts that matter.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[Atkins]

Wait, that sounds some nonsense without any facts what so ever. Its one thing to hype a consumer product but it's totally different world when it comes down to professional applications. iToys are worth few hundreds but editing systems are life line of professional editors so saying something like "Final Cut Pro is the first choice for professional video editors" should be backed with some hard facts and not the Apple consumer PR crap they're pulling out of their ass. Spill the beans and show the specs. Time to start talking with facts that matter.

Specs? It's still in development. You forget that Apple's statement is a response to something.

 

[pixelcruncher]

Yeah you can play anything back using draft quality. You're gonna need to render that bad boy if you lay it to tape though.

And which system do you suggest that requires no rendering for mixed format tape layback? i was responding to someone who said that "everything" needed to be rendered to edit. I'm no FCS fanboy (check my posts) but the one thing FC does do is allow us to mix formats freely without rendering for the client. Render for layback doesn't matter - that's handled by online and a completely different company.

 

[Nostromo]

Oooh this sounds so AWESOME, COOL and KICK ASS!!!!



Wait, that sounds some nonsense without any facts what so ever. Its one thing to hype a consumer product but it's totally different world when it comes down to professional applications. iToys are worth few hundreds but editing systems are life line of professional editors so saying something like "Final Cut Pro is the first choice for professional video editors" should be backed with some hard facts and not the Apple consumer PR crap they're pulling out of their ass. Spill the beans and show the specs. Time to start talking with facts that matter.

Apple dumbing down its operation to the iCrowd.

I still hope there will be a backlash. I'm kind of torn between what I wish would happen (Apple developing high end professional products) and what I think will happen (more crap products like the iPad).

 

[Nuvi]

Specs? It's still in development. You forget that Apple's statement is a response to something.

Apple's response is hot air without any meaning or real facts. Regarding professional software development, full or partial specs are released by such companies as Avid, Red, Sony etc. before the actual product release so users can evaluate the product and decide if it meets their requirements. If for some reason Apple doesn't even know the specs of the new FCP themselves then they have lost the ball big time.

Specs of the yet unreleased Avid Media Composer 5:

http://www.avid.com/US/products/Media-Composer-Software/features