Apple just released an update to their Pro Application support for Mac OS X. According to Apple, this update "improves reliability for Apple's professional applications." This update is recommended to all users of Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Server and Logic Studio. Final Cut Pro 6.0.4 and Compressor 3.0.3 are applications included in the update.
You can download this update by opening Software Update (choosing Software Update from the Apple menu) or by downloading the installer package from the Apple Support Downloads site. You can visit the Pro Applications support note for more information about this update.
Apple released two Pro App updates bright and early this Monday morning:
ProKit Update 4.5: "This update improves reliability for Apple's professional applications and is recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Express, Aperture, Logic Studio and Logic Express."
Plugin Manager 1.7.3: "This update improves reliability for Apple's professional applications and is recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Express, Aperture, Logic Studio and related SDKs."
According the release notes for the Plugin Manager update, it addresses a backwards compatibility issue with Apple and third-party filters in the applications listed above. Users of any of these apps and Motion should fire up Software Update and install the recommended updates. No reboot is required (and there was much rejoicing!).
Update: These updates were new to me! Sorry for the false alarm all, I just installed FCP and jumped the gun. That being said, be sure to check out Apple's list of available updates. You never know what you'll find on there.
Thanks to everyone in the comments for setting me straight.
Today Apple released a Pro Applications Update 2008-01. This update is described as: This update improves reliability for Apple's professional applications and is recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Server, Logic Studio, and Shake.
Apple's press release describes Final Cut Server as, "a scaleable server application...allows searching across multiple disks and SAN volumes and enables viewing, annotation and approval of content from anywhere using a PC or Mac®."
The cross-platform nature of the client software is a huge win for production houses that are not fully Mac-ified. Even if your whole production suite is Mac, being able to login from a PC to search media clips or access media from a PC in your Final Cut workflow has great potential.
Read on for the rundown of the specs and system requirements for the server and client software.
Today, Apple released Plugin Manager version 1.7.3 for Apple's Pro applications. In regular Apple wordiness, here's what the update says:
This update improves reliability for Apple's professional applications and is recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Express, Aperture, Logic Studio and related SDKs.
You can download this update by opening Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update) or by downloading the installer from the Apple Support website.
First Tiger is updated, then iPhoto, and now the Pro apps are getting the update treatment. Apple has released a slew of updates for their Pro apps. The list includes:
All the updates fix some issues, but more importantly they bring Leopard compatibilty to Final Cut Studio 2 (which is the only reason I have been running Tiger on one of my Macs).
Attention Final Cut Studio users, Apple has just released Pro Application Support 4.0.2 which, 'addresses issues with keyboard interface reliability for Apple's professional applications and is recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio.'
Keyboard shortcuts are very important for the video types out there, so I am guess this is a must have update.
This is a pretty nifty video competition from Apple and the band "Modest Mouse". The later wants a video for their new song "Missed the Boat," so they have placed online 12 videos of the band performing the song in front of a green screen with different angles and camera shots. They are inviting people to download these videos and edit them together into a music video (you can use your own footage as well). Once you're done with your masterpiece (all rights to which you forfeit), upload it back to Apple for judging. The contest ends May 22, 2007.
Obviously this is a publicity stunt designed to promote Final Cut Studio and Logic, but it's a pretty darn cool publicity stunt. The contest page with the videos is live, so all of you wanna-be video directors get started!
I'll admit that some of the new features in Final Cut Studio are a little bit over my head, as a non-pro-video guy. OK, pretty much all the new features are over my head, so I asked a couple of pro-video friends for their expert opinions on the NAB announcements.
First, Josh Apter from NYC's Manhattan Edit Workshop, a top training facility for Final Cut:
Three words - open timeline editing. Two words - color correction. One word - wow. From a training standpoint, MEW is going to offer discounted upgrade classes on this new package as soon as it hits the street. From a practical standpoint, users have one hell of a toy to unwrap.
Second, my colleague Matt Paleologos, video post supervisor at MJM:
Wow! Color is as good as a $50K color grading system and It's included in FCS 2. Motion has now officially grown a pair. 3D, motion ramping, better workflow. This is looking like a banner year for Apple and the death of Avid. And, we have to have Final Cut Server!!!! $1000 for 10 concurrent users, $2000 for unlimited. Runs on OS X Server and requires 1 Xsan client. Must have this! MUST!
As Scott and the engadget crew at NAB noted earlier, Apple's introduction of Final Cut Studio 2 and Final Cut Server made quite a splash at the keynote presentation. Now that a bit of the dust has settled, apple.com has been updated with product details:
Pricing is set at $1299 for a new Studio license, $499/699 for upgrades from FCS1/Final Cut Pro or Production Suite, respectively; Final Cut Server is $999 for a 10-seat license, $1999 for unlimited clients. We'll be parsing the boatload of new features and tools in Studio over the next few days, hopefully with comments and contributions from video professionals who depend on these products every day.
Personally, I'm excited about Final Cut Server. Having seen a demo of the original Proximity artbox product that FCServer is built on (I'm sure about this -- the screenshot is a dead ringer) and knowing the difference between what Proximity was charging and what Apple's going to charge for the product... well, it looks like this is going to be another game changer: Mercedes-quality digital asset management at a Kia-level price point.
Apple has updated Aperture to 1.1.2 though they haven't, at the moment, provided any details as to what the update does (at least not on their website).
Also lurking in your Software Update panel is the Pro Application Update 2006-01, which ' addresses several issues with underlying frameworks and shared components for Apple's professional applications and is strongly recommended for all users of:
Today Apple has announced that Shake 4.1 is available. This .1 release marks Shake's entrance into Universal Binary status, and Apple says that it really flies on Intel Macs (how about an Intel Power Mac, Apple?). That's not all though, Apple also decided that the $3000 price tag for this program was a bit much, so they chopped it down to $499 which should make Indie film makers hearts beat a little faster.
Existing Shake customers can get the upgrade for $49.
Update: A few people have pointed out that according to the Shake FAQ you can still get Shake for Linux but it'll cost you $3000. That's right, the price drop is for the Mac version only, so I suggest all you Linux Shake users pay the Mac version and use the remaining $2500 to pick yourself up a Mac.
This should really come as a shock to no one, but Final Cut Studio is not supported on the MacBook. Does this mean you can't install Final Cut on a MacBook? No, the install won't stop you, however, the experience won't be all that great. Since the MacBook sports an integrated video processor, which Apple says, doesn't support floating processing performance will be 'degraded' on a MacBook.
Bottomline: if you're a video professional you should pony up the extra dough for a MacBook Pro.
MacTV has posted Apple's NAB 2006 demo reel which shows off a number
of movies and commercials that used Final Cut Studio in their production. This is very well put together, and really
shows off the power of Final Cut Studio (as it was designed to do). Thanks, Cepheus.
Apple just released an update to their Pro Application support for Mac OS X. According to Apple, this update "improves reliability for Apple's professional applications." This update is recommended to all users of Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Server and Logic Studio. Final Cut Pro 6.0.4 and Compressor 3.0.3 are applications included in the update. 
Apple released two Pro App updates bright and early this Monday morning:
Today Apple released a Pro Applications Update 2008-01. This update is described as:
After 
Today, Apple released 
First Tiger is 
Attention Final Cut Studio users, Apple has just released 
I'll admit that some of the new features in 
Final Cut Studio just got bumped to version 5.1.4.
Apple has updated Aperture to 
This should really come as a shock to no one, but Final Cut Studio is not supported on the MacBook. Does this mean you can't install Final Cut on a MacBook? No, the install won't stop you, however, the experience won't be all that great. Since the MacBook sports an integrated video processor, which Apple says, doesn't support floating processing performance will be 'degraded' on a MacBook.
