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There is also IPTV. The VOD offer of our triple pay provider includes also HD titles, which are pretty good in quality (720p and DD 5.1). The OS of the set top box is Windows ME or something. The only Windows in our household :D
 
It's easy. The average person isn't watching blu-rays on a 27 inch or less screen. They get them for their big 50-60 inch TVs. And the sales of Macs are rising despite the lack. True professionals do what is needed to get the job done. Including buying a stand alone drive and 3rd party software if the simple menus in DVD Studio Pro are not enough

I disagree. I would argue that the reason people are not watching Blurays on their computers is because they CAN'T watch them on a computer. Blowing up a regular DVD to full screen on an Apple 27 inch cinema display looks horrible, and the alternative is a highly compressed H264 that looks amazing in comparison. I guarantee that if every Mac shipped with a Bluray drive, I'd have more clients requesting Bluray discs. Clients seem to love DVDs because they are dummy proof. Bluray? The smart ones will have to wait to watch it until they get home where they can put it on their PS3 or something. The others will stick it in their MacBook and then send me an E-mail saying that the DVD they received doesn't work.

Apple has to see financial benefits in not including Bluray in their computers. The professionals will add a drive to their MacPros so they can burn them. But consumers? Apple would no doubt take somewhat of a hit in profit for every Bluray drive that goes into a Mac. They'd also rather sell the HD media through the iTunes Store and make a profit there too. I'll admit it, one of the reasons I haven't switched completely over to buying Bluray Discs is because I can't watch them on my Laptop.
 
Coming from a full-time, multimedia/journalism/photography/etc professional I have to totally and completely


AGREE!

I've seen a huge decline in Apple's interest in the professional market, and I don't even mean high end pro, we're talking SMB and SOHO type stuff here. The last revision of FCP was just not worth it unless you were buying new or buying to ensure you didn't have any left over bugs.

Avid Media Composer and Premier have gained massive leads on FCP in terms of workflow and speed. Once the younger college students start seeing how fast they can delivery a product with Adobe or Avid, they'll start wondering why the small houses switched to FCP in the first place, and start wanting to learn what the industry is working with . . . Avid, After Effects, ProTools, etc. And the iMovie Pro will be left to indie filmmakers and consumers with deep pockets

** disclaimer ** I have nothing against the indie segment . . . I am in it and love it. But Apple makes it harder with every update to justify staying with a company that has too much on it's plate, and not enough staff to keep up with the rest of the market.

Apple will always claim that "no one's buying it" rather than, "we didn't make it marketable and desirable" when they go to axe some hardware or software title.

Careful, some trolls will insist that your opinion is only relevant to your narrow world view and that you need itemized spreadsheets to prove that you know what you're talking about.
 
Everything depends on your work and needs right? For me...I'm short format and tweak every frame.

In terms of full disclosure I own FCP 4 suite and CS 5 master suite and own all the major Apple products (hardware and software). I also run Windows 7 in bootcamp.

Short format work is all about After Effects. Motion is 5 years behind and offers an incomplete feature set in comparison. After Effects marries up well with the tools from big 3d players, like Maxon and C4D. Its a great pipeline.

I'll watch with interest the announcements next week, but the release of an "iMovie Pro" won't interest me...and it seems like that's where Apple is headed. They now are fixated on Consumers Lite and Consumers Plus.

Apple is also doing everything to push me away from it's platform, with it's anti-Flash crusade, and it's complete inability to support Any (I mean ANY of the top 5-7) professional GPUs.

For the serious Pro Apple is living on borrowed time and the Steve Jobs reality-distortion field is weakening. Redmond is calling. Increasingly serious content professionals are listening. I never imagined these words coming from my mouth. But it's the truth.


11thindian, do you still think it's only professionals that I know?
 
Careful, some trolls will insist that your opinion is only relevant to your narrow world view and that you need itemized spreadsheets to prove that you know what you're talking about.
The positive is that all the other mentioned apps are Apple capable :)
 
Professional Editor for about 10 years. I came up before the DV revolution, and before Final Cut even existed. Before Non linear editing even existed really - or at least was widely used. It's crazy how far the editing world has come when I look back.

I did my first non-linear editing on an Amiga video toaster. I also learned Media 100 & Premiere. I have used FCP on and off since version 1.0. I used Avid Professionally around 5 years, and now back on FCP for about 4 years. It's not really my choice, I use what my employer uses. Avid was great when I used it but the editing world is growing so fast. I didn't like the closed system, and the expensive hardware. I will say I was faster on an Avid than I probably ever will be in Final Cut. Maybe that's my own laziness, but whatever...

So here we are in 2011. It seems Premiere has come on strong and is doing good things. I will most likely never use it though. I really like Final Cut, but if Apple ever got out of the game, I'd go back to Avid. It is my opinion that Avid is better for narrative, but Final Cut is better for a more diverse set of projects. For what I do at my job, Final Cut works fine, and I prefer it over Avid.

People spend a lot of time arguing, but they are just editing systems. They all do essentially the same thing. Some edit software may have better features, or better compatibility with certain things, but software is always changing anyway.

I think Final Cut has been ahead of the game for most of the past 10 years. In the last year, maybe 2, I think it has lost ground to Premiere and Avid. It's normal. You can't be on top all of the time. I am hoping with this next release, it will put Final Cut back on top for the foreseeable future.

Edit software is getting very good. I think we are very close to hitting a sweet spot. I cannot speak for Avid or Premiere since I haven't used them in several years but for Final Cut some things need to improve. I think the biggest problem is quicktime itself. It's become bloated with all the focus on iTunes music, and film. Apple needs to do something about this. It also needs to be 64-bit and use processing/memory better. Also better integration with Video cards. Also RGB 444 doesn't work in Final Cut. Compressor is horrible and outdated. I like Motion just fine although I would prefer a few interface tweaks which I won't get into. I don't ever use Soundtrack because I think it's horrible, and I have the luxury of having an audio guy at work.

I think Final Cut is a pretty good program and if Apple puts in a little more work it can be great. Different people have different workflows and want different things out of their edit systems. It's pointless arguing about specific features.

I LOVE ProRes and it has absolutely saved editing for me. I love editing and I'm exciting for what the next version of Final Cut will bring. Sorry for the rant this should have been a blog post instead.
 
However...most, if not ALL of the pros I know that have been using FCP continue to do so....and there are more motion pictures, BIG ones...this year, edited on FCP than I can remember in years past. Pulling this BS out of your arse is crap. The iToy phenomenon, in my very humble opinion will actually HELP the Pro Apps...as Apple is making more money than EVER!!! This will afford them the expertise they need to develop the pro apps...more so than they've ever been able to do in the past. Keep in mind...for these iToys to be great, they need content....and again, IMHO...I think Apple knows this, and would be happy if every app, movie, song, etc...that resides in iTunes, Mac Store, App Store, etc....was created WITH their soft/hardware as well. Again, just my opinion....Apple won't shoot themselves and the entire creative community in the foot....just when they've becoming the HIGHEST gaining computer sales platform in the world!!! They're selling more computers (MB, MBP, MBair, MP, iMacs) then EVER...and I attribute that somewhat to the excellent user experience so many folks have had with their "iToys". You gotta figure some of those folks will be "Pro" creative guys. And enticed they will be (my Yoda impersonation) by the hardware and software that Apple offers....so if anything, there is Growth in the Pro sector...hardware and software both. NOT a mass exodus. Again...if you truly have proof that "All those Pros have already left Mac"...I'm all ears. If anything, they've made significant gains. Hence the reason AVID has DECREASED their pricing from the astronomical rates it used to cost...and the proprietary rigs you had to have to run the program.
J

Final Cut jobs tend to pay less than Avid jobs.
 
11thindian, do you still think it's only professionals that I know?

Of course not. The proliferation of people who say that they have migrated to another platform indicates that for varying reasons, be they technical, workflow, or otherwise... some have left FCP. There are reasons to do that. I would just rather people state personal experience for what it is; rather than paint broad, unsubstantiated remarks like, "Apple is bleeding market share to Premier!". State what's happening for you in your neck of the woods. That's educational for everyone, rather than being combative.

Heck, my first 4 years in NLE was on AVID. Why did I switch? Primarily because that's where my market was going. I couldn't stick with FCP if all my clients decided they were going to make a switch to another platform now.

My biggest confustion is with people already labelling this iMovePro. There's no solid evidence of this. Apple hasn't let the product lay fallow, they've recovered from an internal crossed wires as to platform direction in 2009, which resulted in a modest update with FCS3, but have been working on a complete rewrite.

If Apple were just delivering a reheated 64bit FCP7 that could play DSLR footage natively, THEN I'd be worried! But by all accounts they've rewritten from scratch, and completely rethought the product, the goals, the interface. That takes a lot more time and effort.

Until the cat is out of the bag, I prefer to be more interested than worried.
 
Glad you realize it was wrong to put those words in my mouth "lots of professionals I know".

Uh, no. I do think that's what you meant. That's just not what you said.

Just because lots of people you know, plus a couple of people on these forums say that they've switched, you can't generalize that into a broad statement that covers everyone everywhere. It might be a localized trend in your area. Just like I can't say that just because none of my clients has switched platforms, that there's NO migration off FCP to AVID or Premier.
 
Uh, no. I do think that's what you meant. That's just not what you said.

Just because lots of people you know, plus a couple of people on these forums say that they've switched, you can't generalize that into a broad statement that covers everyone everywhere. It might be a localized trend in your area. Just like I can't say that just because none of my clients has switched platforms, that there's NO migration off FCP to AVID or Premier.

Uh, except I said "lots of professionals" and then you claimed I meant "professionals that I know" and then you acknowledged that it's not just professionals that I know.

Do you honestly think the people I know and the people that responded with a similar sentiment on this message board are the ONLY pros who have switched to Premiere? Are you one of those extreme skeptic empiricists that doesn't believe Antarctica exists, for example, because you've never been there?
 
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Uh, except I said "lots of professionals" and then you claimed I meant "professionals that I know" and then you acknowledged that it's not just professionals that I know.

Yes, I agreed there are professionals, but not LOTS of professionals. You don't know, cause... you don't know them, and neither do I. So these "lots" outside of your field of view may or may not be looking to switch. You see the difference, yes?
 
Yes, I agreed there are professionals, but not LOTS of professionals. You don't know, cause... you don't know them, and neither do I. So these "lots" outside of your field of view may or may not be looking to switch. You see the difference, yes?

So you really think it's just a handful of people on Macrumors?

Oh, and people I know.

So, how many do you think? Less than 10? Less than 100? What is your definition of "a lot"? Also please note I never said it was any kind of majority of FCP users or anything like that. I never said it was an industry-wide pandemic, although you'd like to put those words into my mouth as well. You'd also like to paint my claim that "a lot of pros are leaving FCP" as "combative", even though it's not. It's just an observation. I don't know why you're taking it so personally.
 
Looking forward to the new final cut studio.

if apple is smart they will allow access to individual parts of the suite
as seperate Mac App Store downloads.

If it were possible to buy apple Motion on it's own I think many existing After Effects would be very happy to have something else to play with that can take adavantage of their hardware and deliver some fun realtime workflows...

it could be a halo product for such editors as well to end up using the whole suite...

I bought motion for 300 when it used to be sold individually, and I have spent a tonne of money since simply because I love that product.

do it apple. please.
 
So you really think it's just a handful of people on Macrumors?

Oh, and people I know.

So, how many do you think? Less than 10? Less than 100? What is your definition of "a lot"? Also please note I never said it was any kind of majority of FCP users or anything like that. I never said it was an industry-wide pandemic, although you'd like to put those words into my mouth as well. You'd also like to paint my claim that "a lot of pros are leaving FCP" as "combative", even though it's not. It's just an observation. I don't know why you're taking it so personally.

I'd say 25% of the current user base would be a lot.
 
Looking forward to the new final cut studio.

if apple is smart they will allow access to individual parts of the suite
as seperate Mac App Store downloads.

If it were possible to buy apple Motion on it's own I think many existing After Effects would be very happy to have something else to play with that can take adavantage of their hardware and deliver some fun realtime workflows...

it could be a halo product for such editors as well to end up using the whole suite...

I bought motion for 300 when it used to be sold individually, and I have spent a tonne of money since simply because I love that product.

do it apple. please.

Motion has a funny reputation. I find it quite powerful and very intuitive now that I've been using it almost exclusively for over a year. I know a lot of AE users find it very hard to make the mental leap to the different methodology, and I totally understand that as it took me several months of regular work to really adjust my headspace to the new way of thinking.

How the different parts of the Studio might be merged or changed is one of the more interesting questions for me. You could overload FCP if you tried to cram all the other apps together, but there's no question there's room for tighter integration.

It would be very surprising to see the different programs sold separately thought the appStore. The programs themselves aren't too massive [and may have been streamlined more] but the extra content for loops would make it a HEAFTY download for anyone!

This evening can't come soon enough, glad to have all the speculation over with and concentrate on what it actually is [and isn't].

If anyone comes up with a good liveblog or ustream of the presentation, remember to post it here. So far, the best coverage I can find it twitter feeds for people like Larry Jordan or Philip Hodgetts who will be in attendance.
 
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