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Apple No Show
I am starting to feel the echoes of what happened in the demise of edit* with the Discreet’s (Autodesk) “corporate” decision. I believe the original arrival of a much cheaper FCP editing product that could handle HD content, hastened the demise of edit*, which was a very good, solid editing program, but was the poor stepchild to Autodesk’s Autocad and 3D animation products, as far as marketshare and income. Edit* also didn’t carry quite the exorbitant price tag of the Inferno, Flame, Smoke solutions either. Autodesk decided to kill a great editing program and leave the NLE field to its cheaper rivals. I think Ron is the one who predicted not too long ago, albeit with a wink, and very “tongue in cheek,” that Apple may indeed be flipping off its post market, and is ripe for a sell-off of FCP. It has been very obvious with the last few Quicktime upgrades (and the bizarrely named “ProKit” upgrade), that Apple really doesn’t care about how it inconveniences its professional customers. It was like the early days, doing post work on the Windows NT and Windows XP (SP1)platforms. u>Every little incremental upgrade severely crippled a lot of third party software programs and plug-ins, and the pro market had to upgrade with patches and new drivers constantly. The recent QT upgrades were definitely only “security upgrades” shuttled out quickly so Apple could have the consumer masses be able to download Hollywood content on all their I-Junk devices. “Oh, you mean that this QT/OS incremental upgrade breaks rendering in After Effects, and also cripples compressor, FCP, and third party drivers and software?? So sad, too bad…”
I think I kind of share Walter’s hope that they do sell FCP to Avid or Adobe, and have the program become cross-platform with real development and integration, like the current direction Adobe is going with their production suite. This no show at NAB will also allow Adobe to shine even brighter this April. -
10 Replies
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[Christopher Wright] “I think I kind of share Walter’s hope that they do sell FCP to Avid”
You have to be kidding.
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OK, maybe NOT AVID!! ;>)
But someone who will finally acknowledge the moniker Final Cut PRO and continue to develop and value the product, and more importantly its users…
I think you get my drift….Dual 2.5 G5, IO, Kona LH, IO, Medea Raid, UL4D, NVidia 6800, 4Gig RAM
Octocore 8 GB Ram, Radeon card, MBP, MXO
Windows XP Adobe Studio CS3, Vegas 8.0, Lightwave 9.2, Sound Forge 9, Acid Pro 6, Continuum 5, Boris Red 4, Combustion 2008, Sapphire Effects -
Two things come to mind; The supposed Chinese proverb, “May you live in interesting times.” and “be careful what you wish for.”
Avid’s track record is a serious case of NIH, or “Not Invented Here Syndrome”. Avid bought Softimage DS from Microsoft. Avid took a great system and ignored it. The story I heard was that the Tewkesbury engineers had a fit over DS. An “us or them” battle erupted.
Adobe would be a better candidate, but they just finished porting Premiere over to OSX Intel. Why would they want FCP?
I really doubt Apple is shopping around the ProApps, but I think if (and I do mean a big IF) Apple sells the ProApps to anyone, it would be Autodesk.
My personal feelings are that the rumors of Apple selling their ProApp division were probably started by Avid.
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[Scott Thomas] “My personal feelings are that the rumors of Apple selling their ProApp division were probably started by Avid.”
Oh please…
Avid didn’t start it and while Autodesk *might* seem a good fit at first glance, the truth is, Autodesk would be a nightmare for the Pro Apps *if* Apple were shopping them around. I doubt they are and if they are, I highly doubt that Autodesk would be a good fit.
I could go into a TON of reasons why but it’s midnight, I’m tired and I am going to bed.
Best regards,
Ron Lindeboom
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlindeboom
Publisher, Creative COW Magazine
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[Christopher Wright] “I think I kind of share Walter’s hope that they do sell FCP to Avid or Adobe, and have the program become cross-platform with real development and integration,”
I don’t recall ever saying I hope they sell to Avid or Adobe. Avid would kill the product immediately so we would not have that choice any longer. I would hate it if Avid got a hold of FCP.
Adobe doesn’t seem to need it as they have an even better integrated package than Apple. The only thing they might want is Color.
I believe I was speculating on the sale to Thomson and saying that I hope if it truly is for sale, whoever buys it would make it cross-platform. Not sure why we have yet another thread started on this topic when there’s a very good discussion going on down below. I can never understand that.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR
The new Color Training DVD now available from the Creative Cow! -
[Ron Lindeboom] “it’s midnight, I’m tired and I am going to bed.”
Good night, Ron. Remember back when Midnight was when you got your second wind and went out for the evening?
Now, I have a question. Why in the world would Apple sell the one piece of software that sells more computers than any other? We just bought 2 Sony EX-1 cameras and the software runs only on FCp 6.0.2 on an Intel Mac. We have an Intel Mac Pro and an Intel Laptop but also 3 non-Intel machines that will eventually have to be sold off and replaced. There is no other application that would bring us to make that investment. How many filmmakers have bought a Mac just to run Final Cut. Answer: A Bunch. It it weren’t for our switch to FCp from *Edit, there would not be 5 macs in our facility.
Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1. -
[Steve Wargo] “Why in the world would Apple sell the one piece of software that sells more computers than any other?”
Is that true? I had the impression that the Pro market is a much smaller part of the overall sales than the consumer lineup. I’ve not looked at the sales numbers, but it seems Apple is making a killing on the i-lineup and especially the iMac.
I was in an Apple store last night for 15 minutes and saw 4 iMacs get sold while I was standing there. I guess I’ll have to look that up.
I think that’s part of the point that some of the folks are making in the various threads. The Mac Pro is not as important or as large of a sales percentage as the rest of the consumer market. The Pro market is relatively small when you consider the size of the general public who is using the vast majority of the computers out there.
Lots of stuff to consider and chat about until we hear something definitive from someone.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR
The new Color Training DVD now available from the Creative Cow! -
Walter,
I was talking about a single piece of software that causes one to buy a new box. Without FCp, we probably wouldn’t have and Macs here because there is plenty of PC software that does what the rest of the FCp Studio does.
The last place I would go for a Mac with FCp is the Apple Store. I would go there for other items but not something big. I buy all of my larger stuff from Apple Enterprise and get a 13% discount without standing in line or hauling a bunch of boxes to my van.
Also, when I order through Enterprise, I get interest free leases and absolutely no sales pitch. I am so small that they want my name, address, and social security number and we’re done. 4 or 5 days later, the product shows up on the doorstep. We just ordered Leopard and our FCp Studio upgrade and it took less than 5 minutes. And need I say that none of this required me to wear clothing? Well, I did get dressed to drag the boxes through the door. (Yep, the studio is on our residential property)
I haven’t been to the last two NABs but the year before (05), I spent a while at the booth and never did find someone who was knowledgeable about our business. They knew how to edit clips and do cool stuff but that’s it. When I want real answers, I get them from Shane Ross on the FCp forum.
So, to comment on your comment, I have no idea how much impact FCp has on the bottom line so I can’t base any statements on my feeble knowledge. But, now that we have 5 Macs, we buy lots of mac software.
By the way, our prior systems were Discreet *Edit and the software with the 3-D module was $13,000. When we went to HD in 2002, we had to do something.
Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona
It’s a dry heat!Sony HDCAM F-900 & HDW-2000/1 deck
5 Final Cut (not quite PRO) systems
Sony HVR-M25 HDV deck
2-Sony EX-1. -
I believe my rant was more specific than the thread started below! ;>)
Dual 2.5 G5, IO, Kona LH, IO, Medea Raid, UL4D, NVidia 6800, 4Gig RAM
Octocore 8 GB Ram, Radeon card, MBP, MXO
Windows XP Adobe Studio CS3, Vegas 8.0, Lightwave 9.2, Sound Forge 9, Acid Pro 6, Continuum 5, Boris Red 4, Combustion 2008, Sapphire Effects -
What about the intel (pardon the pun) that Apple were stopping Shake development to develop a more robust (um, Shake anyone?) and integrated compositing solution for FCP Studio? Also it’s acquisition of Final Touch was quite a recent investment for them.
I think we’re all very safe.
We just have to deal with their hit & miss development team. Their update descriptions are like gypsies trying to sell you what’s under their coat without first showing you what it is.
I don’t even know what that means.
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“Don’t Believe the Hype” – Flava Flav
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