Slashdot Mirror
Apple Updates Professional Video Lineup
BlueGecko writes "Amid surprisingly little fanfare, Apple today updated their entire professional video lineup, including DVD Studio Pro 2 (including a greatly improved menu editor and improved compression abilities), Final Cut Pro 4 (enhanced real-time editing, more customizable workflow, and an improved titling interface), and Shake 3--the first version of Shake to be Mac OS X-only and now sporting enhanced rotoscoping tools and the ability to work directly with Photoshop layers. Combine this with Logic and you've got an entire professional movie studio on your Mac."
Shake is NOT OS X only. There are still other versions for linux/irix... there ARE some Mac OS X only features however (Rendezvous enabled Distributed computing). also - the Mac OS X version is $5000 cheaper.
They are totally cutting out Logic users from the ability to use a PC in the near future. I have no idea how long they plan to keep logic for PC updated, but I absolutely love logic. Midi wise, it's far ahead of pro tools and it can utilize the VST plugins while pro tools forces you upon expensive RTAS or TDM (depending on whether you use LE or a MIX system). I'm happy with my digi 001 running with logic on a pc. Runs great...I am sad however. Oh well.
Anyone know the exact cutoff date?
Also, we need to get open support for the digidesign stuff, as well as the presonus firestation and the motu stuff.
-gabe
I think they were referring to it being the first Macintosh version that will only run under Mac OS X, not carbonized or executable under Classic.
No. There was never (and will never be) a Carbon or Classic version of Shake. It's been OSX-only from the get-go.
News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters? Like hell.
I know of some people that use iMovie for professional videos that sell tons of copies.... Simply because it's so fast and easy to use it clears up their time to do other things.
A hefty price difference. Makes ditiching the Linux machine a more tempting proposal if you really need Shake!
The really cool feature Apple introduced with Shake 3 is automatic clustering with Rendezvous. From Apple's Shake page:
Point and click clustering, courtesy of Apple. Looks like a good way to sell Apple's new XServe Cluster Node config.
--
The internet is the greatest source of biased information in the history of mankind.
While browsing around, I ran across this press release:
p ril/prod_san.html
http://www.sgi.com/newsroom/press_releases/2003/a
Anyone naive enough to flame Apple because they think their hardware is too expensive should stop for a minute and take an honest look at what they actually offer. I decided to perform a quick comparison between a Powerbook and a Dell laptop to see which was the better buy. Note: this is a comparison between the 17" Powerbook and the best Dell laptop I saw configured up to the Powerbooks specs the best I could.
Processor:
Apple - 1 Ghz G4
Dell - 2 Ghz P4
Winner = debatable but I'll give it to Dell
RAM: Apple and Dell both 512 MB, tie
Hard Drive: 60 GB for both, tie
CD/DVD Drive:
Apple - CD-R/DVD-R
Dell - CD-R/DVD
Winner: Apple
Wired Networking:
Apple - 10/100/1000
Dell - 10/100
Winner: Apple
Wireless Networking:
Apple - builtin card and antennas
Dell - PC card can be added for extra
Winner: Apple
Graphics Card:
Apple - 64 MB Nvidia GeForce 4 440 Go
Dell - 64 MB Nvidia Geforce 4 4200
About the same performance = tie
Screen:
Apple - 17 in. widescreen
Dell - 15.4 in widescreen
Winner: Apple
Battery: Apple claims 4 hours, Dell claims 3
Winner: Performance is probably close but Apple might have a marginal lead
Warranty: both one year = tie
Software:
Apple - Mac OS X, iTunes, iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto, Image Capture, iCal, iChat, Mail, IE 5,
Dell - Windows XP Pro, Dell Jukebox Premium, Dell Picture Studio, Dell Movie Studio Essentials, Outlook Express, IE 6
Winner: most definitely Apple
Thickness and weight:
Apple - 1 in. 6.8 lbs.
Dell: 1.52 in. 6.9 lbs
Winner: Apple
Looks: Apple again, obviously
Price:
Apple - $3299
Dell - $2640
Winner: Dell
In summary, while the PC is a little bit cheaper and the processor a little faster, in virtually every other area the Mac comes out ahead. With a Mac, you get what you pay for. Sure the processor may be a little bit slower, but it isn't a dramatic difference and the overall value of the product is just as good as a PC.
-You may license this sig for only $6.99.
Lemme tell you...
1. Horrible Media Management
The FCP2/3 Media Manager works ok with simple projects (i.e. no nested timelines), but once you get even a tiny bit more complex than that, the thing just stupids out and completely disregards references to subclips, nests, etc. This basically makes it worthless for media consolidation, which sucks ass when you need to free up a large chunk of diskspace for more clips or projects. Another annoying thing is that once you drop a clip from the bin into the timeline, it totally loses all relationship with the master clip in the bin. This problem is ostensibly because FCP3 lacks any sort of internal clip database system, as is standard on Avid systems. The FCP4 feature list on the Apple site appears to give no indication that these problems have been resolved, but the addition of XML interchange is a nice touch. Although the damn thing should support the Advanced Authoring Format (AAF) natively, it appears that it didn't make this release :(
2. "RealTime" performance was a joke
All my smug Apple-fanatic friends sent me countless emails regarding FCP3's supposed software-only "realtime" support back when it was first released. Well, anyone who uses FCP3 professionally knows very well that the its "realtime" capabilities are nothing more than PR hype. Realtime dissolves work nicely, but do anything more complex than that, and it's "Command-R time" (i.e. Render....Render...Render).
It's even more irritating how the most insignificant change to an effected clip's attributes will force you to rerender the whole damned clip, even if the change only affects a few frames of it.
It must have been very embarrassing for Apple when just a few months after the release of FCP3, Avid released XpressDV 3.0, which completely blew away FCP away as far as native realtime effects were concerned. Seeing XDV 3.0 perform a chroma-key with titles, color-correction and a superimposed 2nd clip--all simultaneously in realtime gave me an extremely large erection when I demo'ed it.
FCP3 also did not have the ability to perform realtime effects output to NTSC through the Firewire port, unlike Sonic Foundry Vegas, on Windows. Then again, to be fair, almost nobody's products except for Sonic Foundry offered this ability either.
3. 8 bit-per-channel color processing
Simply put, color correction and compositing in 8-bpc sucks ass. 10-bpc is quickly becoming a required feature in all professional video and compositing apps. In very happy that FCP4 now supports float space...this will definitely expand the product's acceptance in high-end circles.
4. Extremely poor audio features
FCP4's new 24-channel output is great fucking news. Up until now, people using FCP had to lay off multi-channel audio masters in multiple passes...that is so 1990's.
5. Lame-ola MPEG2 export
FCP3's MPEG-2 export used the native Quicktime MPEG-2 plugin, which works okay for simple stuff, but offered hardly any control over compression parameters at all. The new FCP4 export features will hopefully obviate the need for annoying and slow compression sessions using Cleaner6
6. No clip-context in the 3-way color corrector tool
The 3-way color correction in FCP3 was a great addition, but it still lacked the clip context features that are standard in the color-correction tools found in systems like Avid XpressDV 3.5 and Symphony. It's really difficult to color match a show from shot to shot without a side-by-side reference.
7. No time-remapping
Creating that annoying, herky jerky stop-start, MTV "Cribs" speedramp effect is a pain in the ass in FCP3. There's no builtin feature for remapping time, like in Adobe AfterEffects.
8. No user-definable keyboard shortcuts
Self explanatory. Some of FCP3's keyboard shortcuts are really dumb (the shortcuts for
And a wheel mouse is extremely nice. (Had to load osx drivers off m$ site to get it to work, yes osx drivers...) Not all features are supported or work right from app to app. Some standards would be nice. (Most programs are dumbed down to 1 mouse it seems also.)
Almost every app provides context menu support for commonly used commands, as well as wheel support (even though they don't ship 2button+wheel mice). Third buttons and beyond have no defined purpose, and are available for customization (which is what MS's mouse drivers do). The 2buttons+wheel should Just Work for every app for any USB mouse. I'm unsure about how the microsoft mice work, but if you needed drivers to get that basic functionality (and I would be suprised if you do), then that would be the fault of Microsoft rather than Apple, because that would imply their mouse doesn't conform to the defined USB mouse protocol.
Cut/paste/select all is annoying as hell, no standard like windows, or even KDE/Icewm/CDE.\
No standard for cut/paste/select all? Um, perhaps you should check the logo on that box and make sure it's a mac. It's cmd+c/cmd+x/cmd+v/cmd+a for copy/cut/paste/selectall, and it's been that way at least since I've been using macs (~1992). I can't recall using an app that didn't conform to these.
This is in contrast to the Linux box (running gome) I was using this afternoon and ran into no less than 3 different keyboard shortcuts for copy in various apps.
Cant even hit home/end to move the cursor on some apps command line.
home/end on the mac goes to the top or bottom of the file. To go to the begining or end of the line, cmd+left arrow or cmd+right arrow. About the only app I know of that doens't follow this is Terminal, which falls back to the unix standard of control-a and control-e
Alt-tab doesnt work, grabbed a 3rd party app to fix that.
You're right, it doesn't work. If you're pressing alt. To switch between apps, you use cmd+tab. This brings every window of a particular app forward. Then, to switch between individual windows, cmd+~. It seems you would prefer to have to work your way through x many windows in one app before even getting to work your way through the next app's windows. And to find software: versiontracker.comi know a few thousand ibook/powerbook owners who'd disagree with you.
the desktops might be lagging, but as far as portables go, apple products seem to set the standard.
london is drowning and i live by river
CAn'T CompreHend SARcaSm?
Just a note so people know where these apps fit in to workflows: (feel free to correct any innacuracies)
FINAL CUT PRO 4
Non Linear Editor. Now works with DV, DV-Pro(more bandwidth, better resolution/quality), film, and aparently anything in between. Other things to note are a new Title generator, audio mixer, and lots of tools (color correction, various video analizers). If you dont work in video production, the reasons for choosing an Avid over FCP might not seem readily apparent, especially considering the potential cost difference, but it mostly has to do with what you can do in real time(rendering effects and dissolves in software can get tedius with hi rez footage)
SHAKE 3
Compositing software. NOT a direct competitor to combustion or after effects. They all have their place in the workflow, and it would do a potential buyer well to know which tool will fulfill the requirements of their project. It is not for special effects so much (by itself, though you would composite them in on it), and dos not have the 3d support of combustion. It does however work very well for film resolutions, and has a very powerfull workflow.
DVD STUDIO 2
DVD Studio offered the most accessable way to profession DVD authoring I had found (compared to the products for windows, which had potentially more power, but were messy at best to work with). Looks as though ver.2 will up the flexibility while improving the workflow. Also, big tools that were missing from ver.1 are better compressors with more granular control, timline for integrating various video, audio, and subtitles, and better integration with final cut pro.
All in all, Apple is offering a very compelling set of tools for a wide subset of motion media production. Ugg dont want to sound like an ad, but do yourself a favor and look in to an apple solution if your going to buy tools to work in video.
"Stuff... In my home!? NEVER!" - Zim on Invader Zim
"I want the toilet seat!" - Little Dog on Two Stupid Dogs
FWIW, you can also get a 3 year warranty (+ 3 years telephone support) on the Powerbook. That doesn't cost a small amount however, though I don't know how the cost compares to that from Dell.
Donate free food here