Adobe sees 45% sales growth for Mac video tools after Final Cut Pro X exodus

[Tim Wilson]

That article includes a link to AppleInsider’s story from May 2010 with the provocative headline, Apple scaling Final Cut Studio apps to fit prosumers.

Apple’s Final Cut Studio suite of video post production apps is getting a significant makeover to better target the software to the mainstream of Apple’s customer base rather than high end professionals.

According to a person with knowledge of Apple’s internal Pro Apps plans, the company has shuffled around management within the Final Cut team in order to retarget its efforts to more closely match the needs of the majority of its customers. Apple’s Mac customer base has steadily shifted from desktop models to notebooks, while also broadening out from a high end creative niche to a wider installed base that includes more prosumer and advanced home users.

You can argue whether they got the story substantially right…oh wait, maybe not…but 13 months ahead of the game? Color me impressed.

[Steve Connor]

The figures also might be more impressive when you take into account that many switchers would have moved to the PC versions

“My Name is Steve and I’m an FCPX user”

[Tom Wolsky]

Why do you think many switchers would move to the PC versions? If it already runs on their hardware, why not stick with it?

I actually think the number is higher than that. The 22% is paid switchers, but I think there’s a large group of FCP users who already had a version of Premiere sitting on the shelf that came bundled with AE and Photoshop. Many just cracked open the box for the first time.

All the best,

Tom

Class on Demand DVDs “Complete Training for FCP7,” “Basic Training for FCS” and “Final Cut Express Made Easy”
Coming in 2011 “Complete Training for FCPX” from Class on Demand
“Final Cut Pro X for iMovie and Final Cut Express Users” from Focal Press

[Tim Wilson]

The numbers also wouldn’t take into account the number of Mac customers who already own the Creative Suite, and have started using Premiere for the first time.

[Paul Dickin]

[Tim Wilson] “Color me impressed.”
Hi
Steve himself told us – in April 2010, a month before your quoted piece.
I quoted it a few days ago:

[Paul Dickin] “[Aindreas Gallagher] ” …he really meant it when he said in the email “its going to be awesome” Steve Jobs thought it was awesome.”
Hi
At the time everybody zoomed in on Steve’s “awesome” quote.
This is from the MacSoda article that broke this story:
“Mr. Jobs answered the three …questions that all video enthusiasts have been wondering aimlessly.
1) Does Apple care about Final Cut?,
2) Who were the Final Cut employees who got fired?,
3) Will the next release be any good?
Steve responded:
“We certainly do. Folks who left were in support, not engineering. Next release will be awesome.”

Those definitely were the answers we wanted to hear.”

Its really question 2 that was the crucial one.
How many Apple ‘support’ people does it take to understand the industry, keep the software engineers on track. To understand (= write) the Manual for Final Cut Pro 1-7?

I suspect those were the guys who were sacked. 🙁
Superfluous to Apple’s ongoing strategy 2010 on…

[Robert Brown]

I personally think Apple will long for the day when it had a dominant video app that had to be run on macs. I think this opens a Pandora’s box for them but maybe I’m wrong.

Robert Brown
Editor/VFX/Colorist – FCP, Smoke, Quantel Pablo, After Effects, 3DS MAX, Premiere Pro

https://vimeo.com/user3987510/videos

[Gary Huff]

[Robert Brown]I personally think Apple will long for the day when it had a dominant video app that had to be run on macs. I think this opens a Pandora’s box for them but maybe I’m wrong.

I don’t think Apple will at all. The vast majority of computer use is Internet, and if the masses want small, light, connected devices running iOS to do that, Apple will be just fine and won’t have a care at all for that.

[Jamie Franklin]

[Gary Huff] “I don’t think Apple will at all. The vast majority of computer use is Internet, and if the masses want small, light, connected devices running iOS to do that, Apple will be just fine and won’t have a care at all for that.”

I don’t know…reflecting on the last year on the run up to fcx you have to ask…why go through NAB, why go through the pains of mischaracterizing the software with intent, and “more to come” “this is just a taste” yadda yadda…

I think they care, they just don’t care about the right things and since we do, a loud thud after plunging off that cliff might make a wave or 2. Or maybe not. They certainly don’t need to care anymore…but they can’t use that minority of majority of professional users as their whipping boys anymore, propping up their tools the pros use for their now defunct marketing shenanigans…

[Dennis Radeke]

Hey guys,

This is actually older news that is contained in a video we published in June. The video is from the VP of the video business unit with a very long time in the business. It’s a good watch and should give you continued clarity about our direction.

Cheers,
Dennis – Adobe guy

[Dennis Radeke]

[Tom Wolsky] “Why do you think many switchers would move to the PC versions?”

I wouldn’t say “many,” but perhaps you haven’t seen the threads all over the COW where people have already added PCs their facilities.

The story is largely the same: it has been clear for a while that Apple’s pro focus is becoming, let’s say, less focused. These folks had been putting off new purchases for a while, and aren’t willing to wait around and watch the whole thing circle down the drain in hopes that Apple’s next release of hardware or software will make it all better again.

With Premiere Pro in particular, the Mercury Engine can make it absolutely scream on Windows — not because Adobe or NVIDIA love Windows better, but because Apple has never been willing to commit to the fastest video cards. So if you want a combination of extensive native media support and performance you wouldn’t have thought possible, take a look at Premiere Pro on Windows, running with a higher-end video card than Apple supports.

(For the record, the max Mercury Engine NVIDIA card that Apple supports has 1.5 GB RAM and 256 cores. The max PC is 6 GB RAM and 448 cores. It’s easy to see the difference in practice.)

Now, that’s just my opinion. Feel free to disagree and I won’t argue back. The numbers are the numbers, and they either matter to you or they don’t. You’re the only one who has a vote.

But some of the very highest-profile Mac enthusiasts like Richard Harrington (in addition to hosting the COW’s FCP podcast, has written several FCP books) and the folks at Digital Film Tree (who developed workflows for the first FCP feature and first FCP prime time network show) have already added PC rooms to their previously Mac-only facilities. In DFT’s case, they’re going much further than that, and it started in a big way with Xserve, before FCP. There are many more who have posted along these lines all over the COW.

I by no means think that this is going to represent the majority of people looking for their post-FCP landing pad. Not even close. I also don’t see a lot of people throwing their Macs away. But moving in the direction of Windows is already appearing as a viable option in mainstream discussions, and an increasingly mainstream choice.