Andrew Richards
Forum Replies Created
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When did Apple abandon Xsan? They are giving it away in Lion.
Best,
Andy -
When it was a Macromedia project it was for Windows NT. Then Apple acquired it and spent ten years developing it for the Mac. I just doubt much of that development at all would port nicely back to Windows in the impossible scenario in which Apple relinquishes the code. And even then, it would still be a 32 bit QuickTime app. Apple had to abandon that code (albeit due to their own actions related to 64 bit Carbon), and anyone else would have to as well.
It doesn’t matter. There isn’t room in the market for another general purpose NLE.
Best,
Andy -
[Jeremy Garchow] “So how come their own software is so slow to uptake?”
Slow on what uptake? FCPX is using the new APIs (public in Lion, private in 10.6.7+).
[Jeremy Garchow] “And why build another NLE around another proprietary engine?
Why limit yiurself to Mac? Hasn’t the past 6 months been a huge clue to not put all your junk in one sock?”
The premise I was responding to was the idea that some third party could build the FCP8 everyone wanted if only Apple would hand over the legacy IP (Robert’s opening post and Dave’s subsequent post). FCP was always Mac-only, so why not this imaginary progeny? It isn’t like the legacy code would be all that portable after all this time.
But outside that narrow rhetorical perspective, you’re right. The reality is there is a reason no one is doing this. There is a reason Adobe and Avid have their own playback engines. There is a reason we don’t have the Pixelmator of NLEs.
Bottom line: if you really think about it, building an indie FCP8 is totally impractical, regardless of whether or not Apple handed over any IP.
Best,
Andy -
[Bill Davis] “The big driver was their ownership of the “end to end” supply chain represented by the iTunes store. THAT is the huge Apple competitive advantage that makes a modern price like $299 for a sophisticated piece of software like X possible.”
There’s also the shift of low-level development work away from Pro Apps to Core OS. In the past, the FCP team would need to code their own optimizations for multi-core processors, GPU acceleration, etc. Now all of that is wrapped into the OS, and the Pro Apps team can work more efficiently by staying higher in the stack. So the App Store exclusivity cuts distribution costs, and FCPX is still subsidized by the platform effect of Lion and the Mac.
Best,
Andy -
[Jeremy Garchow] “And what would the new engine be? Can’t be QuickTime, so you’d have to build/borrow/license another one. “
If you are reviving the ghost of legacy FCP, you only need to put it on Macs. Apple put their playback engine in every copy of Lion.
Best,
Andy -
[Herb Sevush] “With a few million Legacy seats in play, I’d guess a fairly large co-operative group could be put together to license UI and other property rights. I’m quite sure Apple would never sell.”
Sounds like a job for Kickstarter. You don’t need Apple’s IP. They are giving away the playback engine and FCP needed a UI freshening anyway.
How much to fund development on such a project? I’d say $750K minimum. Double that to be safe, $1.5M. You need a five thousand editors to pony up a few hundred dollars each to make it happen.
Best,
Andy -
[Walter Soyka] “I also think that FCPX’s price is artificially low. If we pick up the monetary jokes from yesterday, Apple are currency manipulators, keeping the price artificially low to make their product more appealing.”
FCP’s price has always been artificially low in that sense. The joke has long been that FCP is cheap, but you need a really expensive dongle to run it (a Mac).
[Walter Soyka] “For anyone looking for FCP7’s spiritual successor, Premiere Pro is really close.”
Exactly. It is as close as anyone is ever going to get to FCP8, but it runs a heck of a lot faster on Windows (or more accurately, on the commodity PC hardware Windows lives on). I really wish Adobe had a reason to port it to Linux. Maybe Windows 8 and Metro will give them a reason, but I doubt it.
Best,
Andy -
[Walter Soyka] “Adobe does sell Premiere Pro a la carte; you could also get it via subscription licensing instead of perpetual licensing, either alone or in a suite, if you so choose.”
I stand corrected, was that part of their recent licensing change? I could swear PPro was only in the bundle the last time I shopped it.
[Walter Soyka] “Adobe is proof that you can succeed in the industry as a software-only developer, if your offering is compelling enough. Autodesk is another (looking at their 3D and CAD apps moreso than turnkey Smoke/Flame systems).”
That still aligns with my main point. Both Autodesk and Adobe make most of their money away from NLEs. Then to be economically viable, Smoke costs $15,000 and Adobe has had to tighten their upgrade pricing (while laying off 750 employees). For an indie Mac-only NLE to float, it would almost certainly have to cost many FCPXes to be economically viable.
Best,
Andy -
[Bill Davis] “It was merchandise aimed for the customer who wasn’t particularly price sensitive but wanted a way to “trick out” their mid line purchases to the nth degree.”
Aye, there’s the rub. Who in the Post business isn’t particularly price sensitive?
Best,
Andy