Apple updates Final Cut Pro X, Motion & Compressor in push to win back pro users

Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Alongside a new marketing push from Apple to promote its professional-grade video editing software, the company also pushed out a trio of software updates on Thursday for Final Cut Pro X, Motion, and Compressor.



The new updates are free for those who have already purchased the applications, bringing the version numbers up to Final Cut Pro X 10.0.8, Motion 5.0.7, and Compressor 4.0.7. While the updates for the latter to are comprised mostly of bug fixes, the additions to Final Cut Pro X are more substantial:
  • Support for Sony XAVC codec up to 4K resolution
  • Option to display ProRes Log C files from ARRI ALEXA cameras with standard Rec. 709 color and contrast levels
  • Resolves an issue where some third-party effects generated green frames during render
  • Resolves performance issues that could occur with certain titles and effects
  • Time reversed clips render in the background
  • Ability to use key commands to adjust Clip Appearance settings in the timeline
  • Ability to view reel number metadata located in the timecode track of video files
  • Mono audio files in a surround project export with correct volume levels
  • Drop zones no longer reset to the first frame of video after application restart
  • Fixes a performance issue which resulted from selecting multiple ranges on a single clip
  • Fixes an issue where the Play Around function did not work properly on certain clips when viewed through external video devices
Final Cut 1


As for the changes to Motion, the following items are included in the latest update, according to Apple:
  • Resolves an issue where some third-party effects generated green frames during render
  • Resolves performance issues that could occur with certain titles and effects
  • Fixes a stability issue when splitting layers in the timeline
  • Fixes an issue where launching a plug-in with a check box could require multiple clicks
  • Fixes a stability issue with CoreMelt plug-ins
Finally, the following are what Apple has listed as new in the latest update to Compressor:
  • Removes 1GB file size limit for uploads to Vimeo
  • Fixes a stability issue when playing back certain MPEG-2 files
  • Fixes a stability issue in Qmaster when processing multiple jobs
The updates coincide with a new campaign that Apple kicked off on Thursday aimed at winning back video editors to Final Cut Pro X. Video professionals were quite vocal with their dissatisfaction when Apple released the "X" update to its video editing software, as they believed it was inferior to its predecessor.

Thursday marks the eighth update to Final Cut Pro X over the last two years, as Apple has continued to incrementally restore features that were removed in the latest update, as well as add entirely new ones. The last major update came in October and added RED camera support.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 133
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    From Scoopertino, the most relevant (and non-joking) part of an article:


     


  • Reply 2 of 133
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member

    Did Steve Jobs really state that or what some Fake Steve Jobs wannabe? To me, that sounds a bit grinding -and- verbose even for Steve Jobs.
  • Reply 3 of 133
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post

    Did Steve Jobs really state that or what some Fake Steve Jobs wannabe? To me, that sounds a bit grinding -and- verbose even for Steve Jobs.


     



     


    image

  • Reply 4 of 133


    I guess no Aperture love for us pro shooters... Looks like Lightroom is the way to go from now on...

  • Reply 6 of 133
    fyngyrzfyngyrz Posts: 61member
    Apple lost me when they tied raw camera updates to the OS level and Aperture 3 couldn't support my camera -- because the RAW update won't install under 10.6.8.

    Not everybody wants to be on the bleeding edge of OS updates. Last time I upgraded (10.5 to 10.6), it took me days to fix all the things Apple broke. Not interested in doing that again.

    Fortunately, Adobe has a more sane support policy, so it was out with Aperture and in with Lightroom and back to work without any further ridiculousness.
  • Reply 7 of 133


    I'm not a high end all out videographer, I have a FCX on my rMBP here more for hobby fun and because my closest friend shoots stuff all the time. I've always thought it was fine and actually pretty intuitive. However in my professional life, the agency our Marketing department works with dumped FC7 a few months after release for Avid and doesn't plan on looking back. Apparently there was a bunch of stuff that was flat out missing and couldn't get redone without large numbers of hours of work against deadlines for other clients. The cost of migrating was faster and easier and seen with better peace of mind for future upgrades. I'm more puzzled if that's true why Apple would have pushed out X only to add features of back in time. Costs aren't cheap, I'm not sure how fast many will run back that have moved. 

  • Reply 8 of 133

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by fyngyrz View Post



    Apple lost me when they tied raw camera updates to the OS level and Aperture 3 couldn't support my camera -- because the RAW update won't install under 10.6.8.



    Not everybody wants to be on the bleeding edge of OS updates. Last time I upgraded (10.5 to 10.6), it took me days to fix all the things Apple broke. Not interested in doing that again.



    Fortunately, Adobe has a more sane support policy, so it was out with Aperture and in with Lightroom and back to work without any further ridiculousness.


    Agreed... Aperture is about 18 months behind Lightroom... The inbreeding between Aperture and iPhoto libraries was the killer for me... Why combine a pro app with a crappy consumer app...Stupid in my opinion...

  • Reply 9 of 133
    jlanddjlandd Posts: 873member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by thataveragejoe View Post


     I'm more puzzled if that's true why Apple would have pushed out X only to add features of back in time. Costs aren't cheap, I'm not sure how fast many will run back that have moved. 



     


    As an Apple fan this is was what was annoying to me as well.  You don't win back people by putting the features in years later.  They either jumped aboard at the start or are (for the most part) not going to.   You get the niche who the product is right for and the others, I would think, are not going to jump in years later when the feature they live and die by (multi cam, broadcast output, whatever) suddenly shows up.


     


    Can't deny Apple is doing what's best for them.   It's just a harder sell a an environment for someone who needs the major tools to buy into than it used to be.

  • Reply 10 of 133
    drblankdrblank Posts: 3,385member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sapporobabyrtrns View Post


    I guess no Aperture love for us pro shooters... Looks like Lightroom is the way to go from now on...



    I'm sure Aperture is waiting for a new update, just like the Logic users are waiting for Logic X.   It seems that they are changing the names and adding a "X" to the end of the product name.


     


    Remember, they might be re-writing everything from scratch. 


     


    I wouldn't freak out.  


     


    People just have to be a little patient.

  • Reply 11 of 133
    After waiting for an update where FCPX will work in a production environment where more than one person can get access to the same FCPX file on a NAS, the wait is over. Have no choice but to seek another avenue where the software allows you to save to any network drive you choose.
  • Reply 12 of 133
    drblankdrblank Posts: 3,385member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jlandd View Post


     


    As an Apple fan this is was what was annoying to me as well.  You don't win back people by putting the features in years later.  They either jumped aboard at the start or are (for the most part) not going to.   You get the niche who the product is right for and the others, I would think, are not going to jump in years later when the feature they live and die by (multi cam, broadcast output, whatever) suddenly shows up.


     


    Can't deny Apple is doing what's best for them.   It's just a harder sell a an environment for someone who needs the major tools to buy into than it used to be.



    If you go to Apple's App store, there are users that give the app high marks that were originally Video Editors that didn't want to switch, but after they got used to the new UI, they like it a LOT better.   I think people are waiting for the Mac Pro to get their update, which I'm sure is any month now.

  • Reply 13 of 133
    jlanddjlandd Posts: 873member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by drblank View Post


    If you go to Apple's App store, there are users that give the app high marks that were originally Video Editors that didn't want to switch, but after they got used to the new UI, they like it a LOT better.   I think people are waiting for the Mac Pro to get their update, which I'm sure is any month now.



    Oh, no doubt.  But I wasn't referring to people who didn't like the UI but rather those who couldn't make the move with missing features and functionality.


     


    The new update looks strong.  Though I have to admit I was amused by the "mono audio files in a surround project export with correct volume levels".  Ooops.  We though no one noticed!

  • Reply 14 of 133
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    fyngyrz wrote: »
    Apple lost me when they tied raw camera updates to the OS level and Aperture 3 couldn't support my camera -- because the RAW update won't install under 10.6.8.

    Not everybody wants to be on the bleeding edge of OS updates. Last time I upgraded (10.5 to 10.6), it took me days to fix all the things Apple broke. Not interested in doing that again.

    Fortunately, Adobe has a more sane support policy, so it was out with Aperture and in with Lightroom and back to work without any further ridiculousness.

    Yes, except Adobe comes with a whole new set of problems: namely extremely bloated and buggy software.
  • Reply 15 of 133
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    drblank wrote: »
    I'm sure Aperture is waiting for a new update, just like the Logic users are waiting for Logic X.   It seems that they are changing the names and adding a "X" to the end of the product name.

    Remember, they might be re-writing everything from scratch. 

    I wouldn't freak out.  

    People just have to be a little patient.

    That is what some people don't get, when Apple ditched its Carbon development environment in favor of Coco it had to rewrite its programs written in Carbon from scratch.

    Some high end programs like Shake we're abandoned, others like Final Cut took years to develop so it isn't an easy undertaking to rewrite. Apple also publicly said it plans to release Aperture updates.
  • Reply 16 of 133
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by jlandd View Post


    Though I have to admit I was amused by the "mono audio files in a surround project export with correct volume levels".  Ooops.  We though no one noticed!



     


    Couldn't possibly have been a bug¡ They obviously decided to purposely cut corners¡ Now Apple is being called out on it and forced to make it right¡ image

  • Reply 17 of 133


    Except for a few features, FCPX is said to be a robust and reliable NLE solution.  Most of the features missing from the initial release have been added in 0.x point updates.  Things like MultiCam in FCPX is said to be the best implementation in any NLE.  


     


    The fact that Apple was able to push out 8 updates in less than 2 years appears to support the reimplement-from-scratch philosophy.  The prior FCP app (FCP 7 and earlier) is long in-the-tooth, hard-to-maintain Carbon code -- and was lucky to get updates every 18 months.


     


    Certainly, there are still a few major features missing from FCPX -- such as NAS/Collaboration.  But, FCPX is built using SQLite Databases -- and I suspect when Apple adds NAS/Collaboration to FCPX that it will be much more usable (granular) than any current solution.


     


    What I am hearing more and more is the speed and productivity advantages that FCPX offers over other NLEs will likely be the deciding factor for many...


     


    Simply stated:  If you want to be competitive (get editing jobs) FCPX is hard to beat!

  • Reply 18 of 133

    Quote:

    People just have to be a little patient.


    It's hard to be patient when your projects, and therefore your money, depend features that no longer exist. Did Apple think people would stop needing to edit until they got their act together?

  • Reply 19 of 133

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by UrbanVoyeur View Post




    Quote:

    People just have to be a little patient.


    It's hard to be patient when your projects, and therefore you money, depend features that no longer exist. Did Apple think people would stop needing to edit unitl they got their act together?



     


    FCP 7 (and earlier) did not stop working the day FCPX was released.  Apple EOLed FCP 7 and discontinued sales -- A mistake IMO!  Then they backtracked and allowed new sales of FCP 7 direct from apple.


     


    In the mean time Apple has released FCPX support for XML, and 3rd-parties have written inexpensive apps to move "projects" between FCP and FCPX and other non-Apple apps.  So, if you were using features in FCP 7 (or earlier) you can continue to use them and export to FCPX if you want to use features/capabilities in FCPX.


     


    While, today, FCPX may not be able to do everything you were/are doing with FCP 7 -- it is still a valuable tool in the tool bag -- and at $299, a bargain.

  • Reply 20 of 133

    Quote:


    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post


    So, if you were using features in FCP 7 (or earlier) you can continue to use them and export to FCPX if you want to use features/capabilities in FCPX.



    The topic of missing features has been covered exhaustively here and elsewhere. No reason to resurrect the list of them here.


     


    Quote:


    today, FCPX may not be able to do everything you were/are doing with FCP 7



    And that is the point, 2 years on.

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