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Avid and Apple Project?
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What Apple really needs to do is to team with some game devs and AMD. The rest of the population follows the gaming community. They have the GPU's, now lets see the CPU's and software.
Unlikely
Unless Apple _buys_ Avid why would they want to help a competitor? Apple is eating into Avid market share to such a severe degree that Avid had to release a 1,200 dollar version of thier program to compete against FCP. (when the previous entry level was about 30,000) Avid also retaliated by releasing a iMovie competitor (which theoretically would give a PC user one less reason to swtich to mac for a easy video app). Any collaboration would be unlikely at this point IMO.
Unless Apple _buys_ Avid why would they want to help a competitor? Apple is eating into Avid market share to such a severe degree that Avid had to release a 1,200 dollar version of thier program to compete against FCP. (when the previous entry level was about 30,000) Avid also retaliated by releasing a iMovie competitor (which theoretically would give a PC user one less reason to swtich to mac for a easy video app). Any collaboration would be unlikely at this point IMO.
Re: Unlikely
While I agree it's unlikely, I can think of a few reasons why it makes sense:
(1) FCP is at best a mid-range solution; most of my video editing friends think it's great, but still do pro stuff on Avid. Therefore, it's still a good market for Apple to be in.
(2) I doubt Apple is interested in providing dedicated video-related hardware. Avid is.
Seems to me, these two reasons would at least make it plausible. Apple isn't interested in competing in the really high end market, developing a high-end product with Avid wouldn't cannibalize FCP sales, and it's a way to reach out to Avid, in order to keep them developing for the Mac.
While I agree it's unlikely, I can think of a few reasons why it makes sense:
(1) FCP is at best a mid-range solution; most of my video editing friends think it's great, but still do pro stuff on Avid. Therefore, it's still a good market for Apple to be in.
(2) I doubt Apple is interested in providing dedicated video-related hardware. Avid is.
Seems to me, these two reasons would at least make it plausible. Apple isn't interested in competing in the really high end market, developing a high-end product with Avid wouldn't cannibalize FCP sales, and it's a way to reach out to Avid, in order to keep them developing for the Mac.
Re: Re: Unlikely
Sorry...but wrong. Mid-range? I use FCP to do HiDef onlines of Broadcast Masters and I also use it as a digital intermediate for HD effects that go back to film. "Mid-range at best"?. Depends on the user.
Apple _does_ sell video-related hardware to support FCP..it is called a Power Mac. You see, most power users upgrade to the newest fully loaded box every year. These are high margin products for Apple.
Apple is interested in competing in the high end market. Do a lookup for "Cold Mountain" and FCP. It is a feature film from the creators of "The English Patient." They are cutting on FCP. This is a pretty high end project.
Apple doesnt need to reach out to Avid to keep them on the Mac platform. Avid would love to develop for PC only. In fact they tried to dump the Mac several years ago but the users revolted.
Avid and Apple hate each other and have been fueding for years. A partnership between them is as likely as one between coke and pepsi.
Sorry...but wrong. Mid-range? I use FCP to do HiDef onlines of Broadcast Masters and I also use it as a digital intermediate for HD effects that go back to film. "Mid-range at best"?. Depends on the user.
Apple _does_ sell video-related hardware to support FCP..it is called a Power Mac. You see, most power users upgrade to the newest fully loaded box every year. These are high margin products for Apple.
Apple is interested in competing in the high end market. Do a lookup for "Cold Mountain" and FCP. It is a feature film from the creators of "The English Patient." They are cutting on FCP. This is a pretty high end project.
Apple doesnt need to reach out to Avid to keep them on the Mac platform. Avid would love to develop for PC only. In fact they tried to dump the Mac several years ago but the users revolted.
Avid and Apple hate each other and have been fueding for years. A partnership between them is as likely as one between coke and pepsi.
BOB == "Break Out Box" ???
Perhaps Avid is asking Apple for a custom Power Mac case to allow for the Avid board set and all of the video connections? Curently Avid uses an external box for all of the connections to the Meridian hardware. This is true for both Mac and PC based systems.
Avid at one time made their own system called an AMP. (Avid Media Processor) It was a large metal box that contained a PM 8100 motherboard, NuBus extension and had all of the connections directly on the back of the box. I used to use one of these things. The station I worked for liked it over previous Avid systems because they saw it as a big rackmounted piece of broadcast gear rather than a personal computer with a bunch of wires coming out of it. The AMP was just the same personal computer with all of the guts hidden.
Perhaps Avid is asking Apple for a custom Power Mac case to allow for the Avid board set and all of the video connections? Curently Avid uses an external box for all of the connections to the Meridian hardware. This is true for both Mac and PC based systems.
Avid at one time made their own system called an AMP. (Avid Media Processor) It was a large metal box that contained a PM 8100 motherboard, NuBus extension and had all of the connections directly on the back of the box. I used to use one of these things. The station I worked for liked it over previous Avid systems because they saw it as a big rackmounted piece of broadcast gear rather than a personal computer with a bunch of wires coming out of it. The AMP was just the same personal computer with all of the guts hidden.
Re: Re: Re: Unlikely
Actually most say that coke and pepsi are now so huge due to the rivalry. Without it, neither would be so large. The thinking was/is advertize and we will gain "switchers"
Actually most say that coke and pepsi are now so huge due to the rivalry. Without it, neither would be so large. The thinking was/is advertize and we will gain "switchers"
Re: Re: Re: Unlikely
With the news of Avid bringing Symphony to the Mac, I see Final Cut as the catalyst that made that happen. I know from my contacts that Avid was looking for an exit from the Mac back when Apple was still working on Copeland (OS 9) way back when, but FCP and OS X have put enough heat under Avid to make them realize that the Mac is not going away and is a good platform to work for.
The recent literature I received from Avid shows that they see FCP as a threat, but I'm glad that they are still working on the Mac. If Avid pushes the Mac platform Apple's investment in FCP will have paid off quite well.
With the news of Avid bringing Symphony to the Mac, I see Final Cut as the catalyst that made that happen. I know from my contacts that Avid was looking for an exit from the Mac back when Apple was still working on Copeland (OS 9) way back when, but FCP and OS X have put enough heat under Avid to make them realize that the Mac is not going away and is a good platform to work for.
The recent literature I received from Avid shows that they see FCP as a threat, but I'm glad that they are still working on the Mac. If Avid pushes the Mac platform Apple's investment in FCP will have paid off quite well.
Avid is king of the hill when it comes to high end editing. They are the company that established non-linear editing for film and television. Their hardware could be made compatible with the Final Cut Pro software but I am not convinced that they would do that. Their own software is a major reason their customers return.
The free version of Avid's software was announced the day Final Cut Express was let out of the bag. Avid and Apple may be competitors but they also need each other.
The free version of Avid's software was announced the day Final Cut Express was let out of the bag. Avid and Apple may be competitors but they also need each other.
Their hardware could not be made compatible. It is not based on Quicktime. They would have to start over with thier cards all toghter. You are right, the software is the reason they have such a large user base.
The Avid software released was to "compete" with iMovie not Final Cut. The XpressDV software that does compete with Final Cut is not selling very well at all on the Mac platform.
Rivalry aside, Apple does not really need Avid much at all. The Avid sales dont really amount to many PowerMac sales. Avid sells an $80,000 PCI card in a $3,000tower. There are just not that many out there. Not to mention that Avids typically work on the same CPU for up to five years while people using other editing solutions upgrade more frequently.
Avid is a hardware based solution (and a pretty good one). Apple does much better with software based products that call for frequent CPU ugrades.