Top 10 things overheard in the Final Cut Studio developer’s lounge

[Jason Levy]

https://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-apple-ipad-sales-2011-1

Have a look at this chart. The very thin yellow line represents revenue from ALL apple software. FCP is in there somewhere… Is this a priority for Apple?

I suspect the best thing that could happen would be for them to sell off the FCP unit.

[Jeremy Garchow]

You crazy mon!

The real chart would be the domino effect. For every FCP license holder, i wonder how many of those people bought desktops, laptops, iPhones, iPads, or whatever iDuJour?

After all, an FCP dongle is the hardware it runs on.

I don’t think it’s in their best interest to sell it off.

[Jason Levy]

Not in theirs but maybe ours. The thing is badly in need of a real update, make that rewrite, rather than just another redesign of the packaging. The guts of it are old and creaky. Perhaps a company who’s main business was editing would take better care of it.

[Jeremy Garchow]

[jason levy] ” Perhaps a company who’s main business was editing would take better care of it.”

There’s a couple out there. Adobe, Avid, Autodesk… Jump on in!

In all seriousness, if there’s not a major update announced around NAB, I would imagine that it would be time to start looking around.

[jason levy] “The guts of it are old and creaky.”

No doubt. I’m just saying there’s an interest to keep FCP alive and well. The very fact that we haven’t heard anything for a while is very telling.

[Sam Cole]

Its not like Apple need the money to sell FCP off.

And when we moved from Adobe to FCP we went and purchased a whole range of Apple hardware – right down to our iPhones!

Sam Cole
On line Mastering Facility
FCP, Avid, Adobe
Sydney, Australia

[Scott Davis]

Even if it is not their biggest money maker, or even close, doesn’t mean they aren’t making something off of it.

Scott Davis

[Jason Levy]

Editing systems are very tricky bits of software with complex requirements and demanding customers.. It’s like you start a contract editing a feature and someone calls to see if you can make a copy of a DVD for 5 bucks. You don’t mind the five bucks but most of the time you don’t bother. Final Cut as a loss leader to sell more PCs? It’s minuscule compared to what they are already doing. I’m just saying that they don’t have any really big need to care about it which probably explains its current decrepit state.

Selling it? I think they should sell it to Adobe.. replace that clunky Premiere thing … Imagine a totally integrated FCP AE environment. C’mon Adobe…

[Jason Levy]

https://tinyurl.com/36b6jum

article from appl insider.com

I don’t mean to be a prophet of gloom and doom. My facility is 100% FCP and it’s mostly a very good system. But it’s got some problems and the core application hasn’t had a serious upgrade in a while.

[David Roth weiss]

[jason levy] “I don’t mean to be a prophet of gloom and doom.”

Sure you do Jason… That’s just about all you post about.

Meanwhile, if you read the article at the link you posted in it’s entirety, at the end it says, “Recent rumors reported by HardMac have missed the mark, with the site claiming in July that Apple would soon add USB 3.0 to its Mac Pro and iMac desktop machines. Eventually released later that month, the new Mac Pro has USB 2.0 and FireWire 800 ports.” So, if they’re wrong about USB 3.0 it’s just possible that they’re wrong about everything else too. Right?

Bottom line is, you clearly have too much spare time on your hands and you’re really wasting valuable bandwidth with all this rampant speculation. Time will tell all, and only time will tell. So, be patient, stop ruminating, and avoid staring into your crystal ball. Please!

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
https://www.drwfilms.com

POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™

A forum host of Creative COW’s Business & Marketing and Apple Final Cut Pro forums. Formerly host of the Apple Final Cut Basics, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.

[Scott Sheriff]

I guess I don’t understand the logic of the naysayers and the rumor mill.

The argument is basically this:
Apple should dump FCS/professional products because it is such a small percentage of their business.
And/or:
It doesn’t make a gazillion dollars like iPhone, so they must be thinking of dropping support for it. Or it’s the reason they won’t update it. Or both.

Does that make any sense?
First if that was the Apple business model, then why even make computers? Apple has such a small share of the personal computer market, why bother to compete with MS?
I’m pretty sure they knew what the market penetration of FCS, and the related hardware sales were going to be. I bet that small sliver of their overall business is not a surprise.
Even that small sliver isn’t all that bad. Look at rough numbers. One million FCP licenses times 999 dollars (or more if you bought earlier), and each one of those is running on an Apple system. Lets say the average price of those systems is just 1,500 dollars, times a million. Even after you subtract all the costs, the kitchen sink, The Steve’s new liver, and add another 25% of cost on top of that, you still have made a buck or two.
Is it iPhone money? No. But I bet they are making money.

Should Apple sell FCS to whoever?
No.
Do you think the reason they spent money developing the 12 core was to satisfy iLife and Aperture users? Without FCS driving the sales of high-end systems, the resultant drop in sales could eliminate, or at least halt the development of these machines. So be careful what you wish for, especially if you like using high-end Mac hardware.

Apple isn’t listening.
Why? Because they haven’t dropped everything and addressed your particular needs? How often does that happen? I have been doing TV since ’81, and have yet to find a perfect piece of gear. I’m not saying you don’t have a legitimate issue, or need. But you have to look at the numbers.
There are a million users, and how many on this forum? A thousand? Lets say 10,000. And of those, how many have a big complaint(s), or have migrated? Even if it was all 10,000, that still leaves (apparently) 990,000 silent users chugging along doing OK. I’m guessing Apple’s percentage of satisfied users are about average, and the speed of development is based on that to some degree.

If Apple doesn’t announce a new version by (insert favorite trade show/event here) that means they are dumping FCS.
No, it doesn’t.
OK, I admit it could be that. But it dismisses the hundred other, and probably more likely reasons your new version isn’t out yet. If you go back on these forums far enough you will see plenty of criticism of Apple for releasing new versions before they were ready. Tough crowd, aren’t we?
Maybe they are trolling us by holding back a new release, trying to get some lulz. (if so, it’s working!)

OK smart-a$$, what do you think they will do?
I don’t know.
I shook the Magic 8 Ball and asked if FCS4 (code name FCS Awesome!) will be out soon, and it said “Reply hazy, try again”.

So if FCS isn’t doing what you need, migrate to another platform that does. If enough people do that, then they will either feel the pressure to release an update, sell to a competitor, or buy the competitor everyone is migrating to.

Scott Sheriff
Director
https://www.sstdigitalmedia.com

I have a system, it has stuff in it, and stuff hooked to it. I have a camera, it can record stuff. I read the manuals, and know how to use this stuff and lots of other stuff too.
You should be suitably impressed…