Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Final Cut Express 1 vs. Final Cut Express HD

cooknwitha

cooknwitha

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 5, 2005
562
0
London
Okay, so I'm VERY slow. I've been using Final Cut Express 1 for about 2 years and only today discovered there was now another update (HD). I couldn't see the value in upgrading from FCE 1 => FCE 2. But there's now the option of getting an upgrade to FCE HD.

I don't do any HD editing but with Soundtrack and Livetype, the idea of spending the AUD$139 upgrade seems quite tempting.

Is FCE HD (now the 3rd incarnation of FCE) worlds apart from FCE 1?
 
I started off with Final Cut Express 2, and wasn't such a fan of the Boris titling thing it included, so I scooped up the HD update almost entirely for LiveType, which is great. However now I'm wishing that I'd skipped this Final Cut update, bought the academic version of Motion 2, which also seems to do a great job at titles as well as having the advantage of it's animation benefits. I don't have a lot of experience with Motion yet so I can't really comment on how valid a competitor it is for Livetype. And mind you if you don't want to take the non-upgradeable edu pricing (or can't get the discount at all) Livetype stands a lot cheaper, and comes with the (mildly useful to me) Soundtrack, offering the key benefit of being able to play your video as you score, so you can time things dead-on.
I don't know about the changes from FCE1 to FCE2 as far as actual Final Cut Express app, but from 2 to HD there were almost no visible changes, apart from Digital Cinema Desktop.
 
Ahhh, this could be an issue. I've got the EDU verison of FCE 1. Does this mean it's not upgradeable?

The FCE Express box doesn't have EDU on it. Nor does it say EDU anywhere within the program. In fact, the Serial Number says "Final Cut Express Retail".
 
chameeeleon said:
I started off with Final Cut Express 2, and wasn't such a fan of the Boris titling thing it included, so I scooped up the HD update almost entirely for LiveType, which is great. However now I'm wishing that I'd skipped this Final Cut update, bought the academic version of Motion 2, which also seems to do a great job at titles as well as having the advantage of it's animation benefits. I don't have a lot of experience with Motion yet so I can't really comment on how valid a competitor it is for Livetype. And mind you if you don't want to take the non-upgradeable edu pricing (or can't get the discount at all) Livetype stands a lot cheaper, and comes with the (mildly useful to me) Soundtrack, offering the key benefit of being able to play your video as you score, so you can time things dead-on.
I don't know about the changes from FCE1 to FCE2 as far as actual Final Cut Express app, but from 2 to HD there were almost no visible changes, apart from Digital Cinema Desktop.
Click to expand...

Motion's recommended system requirements are pretty high. Even the minimum requirements look just beyond the OPs system.

http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/motion/specs.html
 
devman said:
Motion's recommended system requirements are pretty high. Even the minimum requirements look just beyond the OPs system.

http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/motion/specs.html
Click to expand...

Those numbers don't mean crap. I'm running it on my 1.25 FW800 powerbook with 512 megs of ram (the gig is in the mail :rolleyes: ). Although it runs a bit slow, I can edit in FCP and Motion at the same time.

Lesson: Don't be scurred by system specs.
 
cooknwitha said:
Ahhh, this could be an issue. I've got the EDU verison of FCE 1. Does this mean it's not upgradeable?

The FCE Express box doesn't have EDU on it. Nor does it say EDU anywhere within the program. In fact, the Serial Number says "Final Cut Express Retail".
Click to expand...
Nope, I don't think (don't go solely by me though) that there are the same kinds of restrictions with the Edu version of Final Cut Express as there are with the Edu version of Motion, probably because Motion is a pro app and FCE is a prosumer app.
Ok, and given your iMac's specs (which I somehow missed) forget the Motion vs. Livetype thing.
 
chameeeleon said:
Nope, I don't think (don't go solely by me though) that there are the same kinds of restrictions with the Edu version of Final Cut Express as there are with the Edu version of Motion, probably because Motion is a pro app and FCE is a prosumer app.
Ok, and given your iMac's specs (which I somehow missed) forget the Motion vs. Livetype thing.
Click to expand...

From what I've since read, it looks like I can upgrade (and I think I will). By the looks of it, the EDU discount was just that, a discount. I got the same version as all other FCE users.

And don't worry about Motion, I wouldn't have got that anyway. I make most of my titles in Flash anyway. Plus I have to learn to only buy software I need! It's so easy to go "Oooo! Imagine what I could do with that!" and the reality is, I would never use it!
 
Just to add closure to this thread and for anyone who searches it up in the future, I have made the switch. My upgrade to FCE HD arrived today and in a word..... WOW!

I can't comment on the transition from FCE 1 => FCE 2 but the jump from FCE 1 = FCE HD is pretty significant. Even from the initial start-up there are things to make life easier. The menus are layed out in a much more logical way and the whole program just has a better feel now.

Then comes LiveType and Soundtrack. Double and Triple wow! If you like to make your own music for films / home movies then you'll know how annoying and time consuming it can be. Soundtrack, though taking away from of the individual spark of making your own, will be a HUGE time saver. Not only that but it's huge. I was playing around and thought "Wow, these samples are great. A pretty good range of choice" then realised for that category I was on Page 1 (1-50 of 2500 samples).

As for LiveType. This will take a bit more playing around to get used to but again, it's a huge program with its files and all but it'll take titles from the simple and amateurish to prosumer and beyond.

So, the AU$139 upgrade from the education version of FCE was worth every cent. And even better, it came with manuals as books!!!! A 160 page Getting Started for FCE HD and a 270 page Soundtrack Manual. Thank you Apple. Whoever thought replacing manuals with .pdfs should be hurt!

In response to my initial question - YES! There is a world of difference.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back