FCE 4 or 3.5?

[aceracer195195]

Hi,
I'm looking to upgrade from iMovie HD to a more serious editing program. Should i buy Final Cut Express 4 or 3.5? Both are available on newegg and I'm wondering the difference between them besides one being newer.
I'm using a Mac Mini with 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo and 1Gb ram.
Ace

 

[zioxide]

FCE4 has more plugins, support for AVCHD, etc.

 

[aceracer195195]

Ok, thanks. Would it run respectably well on my mini or would it just be slow? I have patience but to an extent it wears thin.
ace

 

[mcavjame]

Be advised though, that FCE 3.5 includes Livetype and Soundtrack. Both of these apps are invaluable to me. Apparently FCE 4 does not come with these and even uninstalls the apps if you are upgrading from a previous version.

So, if you don't need AVCHD, then you might want to consider FCE 3.5.

 

[aceracer195195]

I don't currently have an HD camcorder but do plan on upgrading. I just have a pain-to-transcode pocket camcorder at the moment. What's the difference between AVCHD and HDV anyway?
Also, what do soundtrack and livetype do?
Ace

 

[bootedbear]

Apparently FCE 4 does not come with these and even uninstalls the apps if you are upgrading from a previous version.

Are you serious? Can someone corroborate this?

 

[vistajumper]

Wow. If it, in fact, uninstalls Soundtrack and LiveType from fce3.5 can't you just reinstall them with the original disks after? Why would it uninstall these, they're separate installs/programs?

It does seem like there are more plugins (free ones anyway) for fce4.

 

[zioxide]

Be advised though, that FCE 3.5 includes Livetype and Soundtrack. Both of these apps are invaluable to me. Apparently FCE 4 does not come with these and even uninstalls the apps if you are upgrading from a previous version.

It doesn't remove them. And Livetype is still included with FCE4. Soundtrack is pretty useless because garageband does the same exact ****.

 

[mcavjame]

It doesn't remove them. And Livetype is still included with FCE4. Soundtrack is pretty useless because garageband does the same exact ****.

Sorry to disagree, but Soundtrack is far superior to Garageband. I was checking the reviews on the Apple site, and users who have upgraded indicated that there are far fewer stock animations with the new version of live type.

Do you know from experience that it does not uninstall Soundtrack? It has been my greatest concern over upgrading.

An earlier review indicated that Soundtrack was uninstalled, which is where I was basing my information (I thought he said both, but actually just soundtrack and that Livetype was hobbled). I have attached his review as a screen grab: