Friend bought Final Cut Studio (one) 3 months ago but hasyet to use it... options?

[wangchunggti337]

I have a friend who is majoring in Radio, Television, and Film. They don't go on any forums so I'm getting this question asked for them.

They bought Final Cut Studio (I) 3 months ago to edit on their 17" MBP. They ended up going to the lab and never ended up installing on their MBP. Since FCS II is out now, they are a bit bummed that they just bought FCS and never used it. I'm just trying to get a feel for the options.

Would they be able to sell it and buy FCSII? I know there is an upgrade, but I think it would make sense for them to start new and buy it at the educational price. Is there an educational upgrade price?

Is Apple okay with selling FCS (on ebay or forums) that was purchased with an educational discount?

Perhaps the larger question is: Is it worth upgrading to FCSII?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Father Jack]

Perhaps the larger question is: Is it worth upgrading to FCSII?

Thanks for any help!

If they are using an Intel mac, I would say "Yes"

FJ

 

[ikonq]

Sorry!

I hate to be the guy who says it, but there are no Education upgrade routes - I believe the philosophy behind this is that you'll probably no longer be in a education institution when you want to upgrade. (I work at a reseller, and always reccomend the full version to students for this reason).

The guy should probably have done a bit more research however, as Final Cut rumours have been buzzing recently, and the program was getting on to two years old. (NAB is fairly well known as an early year event too).

His best options are probably to:

(A - Use Final Cut Studio. It's Still an exceptional editing suite, it's just been superceded. Depending on his machine, Final Cut Studio may actually run a little better than Final Cut Studio 2. (Case in point; It's not like my Quad Mac Pro runs any slower now that there are Dual-Quads out, My Core Duo MacBook Pro isn't capturing any slower now the Core 2 Duos are out, and ability to edit in Final Cut Pro 5 has not diminished whatsoever since the release of Final Cut Pro 6. - Sure there are speed increases and other features (like the FW800 port I missed out on on the MacBook Pro...), but If I'd waited for these updates, I would have missed out on months of work!)

(B - Sell it to a friend/student/whatever who is willing to pay for it (maybe at a small loss if its easier for him), and perhaps doesnt need all the features of the new suite, or is running an 867Mhz Powermac, which has been axed from the compatiblity lists. The legalities behind this are sketchy.

(C - There is no C, but the list felt lacklustre without a third option on it. =)


If your friend decides to buy the new FCS2, it's worth the extra dosh to buy retail, as it will save you money in the form of offering upgrade routes in the future.

In response to the "Larger Question"

FCS2 offers more flexibility in editing, and excellent audio/colour post production capabilites. Compressor's update allows you to deliver to a range of different mediums quicker and easier than before. Many functionalities of Shake have been built in. DVD Studio Pro has had no major update.

There are new features, but whether it's worth X price is up to him, Think about whether he'll use the features seen in the Apple Quick Tours, or whether the current version will do everything he needs. There's no point in having the newest version with the latest features if he isn't going to use them.

Happy Post-Production-ing!! =)

 

[MacDann]

I hate to be the guy who says it, but there are no Education upgrade routes - I believe the philosophy behind this is that you'll probably no longer be in a education institution when you want to upgrade. (I work at a reseller, and always reccomend the full version to students for this reason).

I'm not sure I agree with the education upgrade comment.

I have been in education using Macs for some years, and I have been able to use educational versions for upgrades. A good example is Aperture, or the FinalCut Pro to FinalCut Studio upgrade. In both of those cases Apple honored upgrade terms for educational versions.

That may not be the case with all of their software, but these are only two of a number of instances where I have upgraded over the years using nothing but educational licenses.

I would also add that an easy way around the upgrade issue is to buy an older version to upgrade. I had a colleague who desperately wanted FinalCut Studio but had an older FC version that was not covered under the upgrade policy. He ended up buying a copy of Soundtrack Pro for $75 and using that for the FinalCut Studio upgrade. I think that made his total investment for FinalCut Studio $374 ($75 for Soundtrack Pro and $299 for the FCS upgrade, I believe.)

MD

 

[wangchunggti337]

Thanks for all the help so far.

I'll run this by my friend and see if they have any more questions.

It's the full version of Final Cut Studio I that they have. Could they just sell this on eBay and then buy the new one?

 

[wangchunggti337]

Would that make sense to do?

Sell this one on eBay and then buy FCSII?

 

[LethalWolfe]

If only worth selling if they aren't going to use it and FSC2 is only worth buying if they are going to use it. But if they decide to sell it they need to do it fast 'cause eBay is about to be flooded w/them if they aren't already.


Lethal

 

[CanadaRAM]

Here is the FCS license: The language does not say anything about not being able to sell the Educational version, but it does say that the purchaser cannot legally use it unless THEY are an eligable Educational user.

http://images.apple.com/legal/sla/finalcutstudio.pdf

3. Transfer. You may not rent, lease, lend or sublicense the Apple Software. You may, however, make a one-time permanent transfer of all
of your license rights to the Apple Software to another party, provided that:
(a) the transfer must include all of the Apple Software, including
all its component parts, original media, printed materials and this License;
(b) you do not retain any copies of the Apple Software, full or
partial, including copies stored on a computer or other storage device; and
(c) the party receiving the Apple Software reads and agrees to
accept the terms and conditions of this License. All components of the Apple Software are provided as part of a bundle and may not be
separated from the bundle and distributed as standalone applications.

Updates: If an Apple Software update completely replaces (full install) a previously licensed version of the Apple Software, you may not use
both versions of the Apple Software at the same time nor may you transfer them separately.

Academic Copies: If the Apple Software package has an academic label or if you acquired the Apple Software at an academic discount, you
must be an Eligible Educational End User to use the Apple Software. "Eligible Educational End Users" means students, faculty, staff and
administration attending and/or working at an educational institutional facility (i.e., college campus, public or private K-12 schools).

 

[solvs]

Doesn't really seem to be selling much on eBay. Wouldn't get much for the educational version anyway, and they'd have to pay $700 to buy it new. Just tell them to purchase the upgrade for $500. Have them call and see if Apple will offer them anything, but that would be the easiest thing to do.