[Moogs]

According to TS, Apple will announce Final Cup Pro 6 the week before NAB...

http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0702finalcutpro6.html

Anyone remember if the studio was introduced along with FCP 5 last time, or did that come later? I am very keyed up to see what the new studio will offer. In particular what Motion 3 will be like / if the responsiveness has been ratcheted up a notch. Also curious to see what Soundtrack Pro will offer. DVDSP could use a little GUI streamlining but the black art of mastering DVDs is by itself a non-streamlined sort of task (or rather set of tasks). Anyway, sorta jazzed up to see what's next.

[BFG]

Hot diggady. If we finally see apples 'Avid Adrenaline' FCP Xtreame i think i might just need to go change my trousers.

Question is will we be seeing apples aquisitions of Final touch and the media managment and archive software make its way into version six?
Can't wait to see whatever it is they cook up!

[709]

Originally Posted by Moogs Anyone remember if the studio was introduced along with FCP 5 last time, or did that come later?

You mean all the other apps? Then yeah, they all got updated along with FCP5 last time. If you're asking when the 'studio' got introduced, that was back a half-version (4.5 or HD...whatever) when they packaged the then-existing versions together in the the Production Suite. I'd imagine the whole shebang will get updated this time as well, given that you can't buy FCP as a stand-alone app anymore.

The hardware/software solution sounds interesting. I wonder who they worked with in producing the capture card. Aja? BlackMagic? Could be a whole new game this year.

[Moogs]

Yah that Extreme version -if it pans out- looks like a pretty uber-upper-echelon piece of software (and hardware). 10 large is a little out of my league, given what you can do with just the standard suite and a souped up Mac Pro / Power Mac. I want to do some cool stuff / some HD stuff, but I won't need broadcast quality workstations / graphics cards to do it (I don't think). Sony has an amazing new high-end prosumer HD camera out that's under $3000, that when combined with an new Mac Pro and FCS, should provide more than enough power to do what I need.

My question with regards to the suite introduction was only if they introduce all the other new apps on the same day as Final Cut, or if they are introduced separately. IOW, is it possible FCP 6 will be introduced and available on day 1, but not the rest of the suite updates? That would suck but I think you're right / everything will be released all at once.

[BFG]

The studio apps will all be updated together - its a package now, so i can't seem them releaseing FCPS6 with an updated Final Cut and say Motion, but not soundtrack or DVDSP!

Like you say it will be very interesting to see what the rumoured FCP Xtreame will offer that you cant achive say with FCP, a Kona3 and a super charged MacPro etc. Whether FCP Xtreame will infact be more of a effects grading package - making use of Final Touch aquisition i think could be a possibility?

I've read a few bits and pieces about what to expect. www.hdforindies.com has a bit of commentary about this post and I think Mike is probably pretty spot on.

Additionally, we've posted a look at what we feel might hit and why. I would expect hardware to come just prior to NAB, we've all heard rumors that new hardware may hit next month. 8-core!

Also check out the post here:
http://shoot-edit.com/index.php/vide...e_at_nab_2007/

[Moogs]

I really doubt the 8-core thing unless Apple has re-done the architecture to include great improvements in memory bandwidth and speed. Existing 4 core systems are already data-starved in a lot of instances even though the software is supposedly "MP optimized". Apple would have to go with the fastest DDR memory available, and widen the pipes as well (at least as I understand it), in order to get 8 Core systems to perform anywhere near their potential.

As for the other comments about TS' report, thanks for posting alternative views on ship dates and other items. Pretty much their reliability as a product indicator has gone south the last year or two. Particularly with Apple's pro stuff. I think you're right though that Apple will need to make some noise with the new Adobe Production Studio that was announced. That's the full monty: world class motion graphics, pro video editor, audio editor and DVD production app. Competition = teh win.

Blu-ray authoring would be nice...

[Wyatt]

It looks like something's in the pipeline:

http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/03...vent/index.php

I'm calling Final Cut Pro/Studio, 8 core Mac Pros, and Blu Ray (BTO-only).

[Moogs]

Apparently the 8 core thing is on everyone's list so maybe there's something to that. Will be interested to see the price and benchmarks vs. similarly clocked 4 core machines...

Some are also thinking Shake 5 will be bundled with the next FCS. Doubting that. I don't know about you guys but I don't think the next Shake is going to cost $500 like the current version. I think it will go back up to $1000+.

[hmurchison]

My thoughts

Leopard announced April 10th comes with faster encoding of h.264 in QT
iLife 07 bundled with Leopard. At NAB Apple demos all apps running under 10.5


Final Cut Pro 6 (support for Red CODEC at 2k)
DVD Studio Pro 5 with Blu-ray/HD DVD support (HD DVD with HDi support)
Motion 3 with Z Axis (big speed increase in Leopard)
Soundtrack Pro 2
Shake 4.5 bundled with improved integration (phenomenon coming)
Compressor Pro with AVC and VC-1 Encoding
XSAN Client built in and improved Xgrid support.
Dolby DD+ and TrueHD encoding (optional)
Core Animation support in leopard on most apps.
Media Management across all apps with shared/networked Media Manager
roundtrip support is stellar amongst all apps<hopefull>

Apple Artbox- Media Management for Broadcast industry and video professionals
Apple Final Touch HD demoed with gonzo performance via the GPU

Logic Pro 8 with peer integration with FCS workflow announced at Musikmesse March 28-31st

[Squadra T]

Speaking of Shake and Final Cut Studio.

Yesterday I was at an apple event in Brussels (phofilmusigner). After a great demo of Final Cut Studio one attendee asked the apple guy about the future of Shake, "since Apple has stopped development of Shake". The Apple guy ofcourse responded that they don't talk about future products but that we could, since he had just demoed Shake, you know, not expect it to be a completely discontinued product...

All that stuff, plus the strange UI of Shake, which is totally not Apple style made me wonder about Shake. How come the UI is so "different". Was Shake developed from the ground up at Apple? Or is it based on a product of a company they bought in the past?

[chucker]

Originally Posted by Moogs Some are also thinking Shake 5 will be bundled with the next FCS. Doubting that. I don't know about you guys but I don't think the next Shake is going to cost $500 like the current version. I think it will go back up to $1000+.

Apple has already made it clear that there won't be a Shake 5 anyway. They're working, instead, on a replacement for 2008.

Originally Posted by Squadra T All that stuff, plus the strange UI of Shake, which is totally not Apple style made me wonder about Shake. How come the UI is so "different". Was Shake developed from the ground up at Apple? Or is it based on a product of a company they bought in the past?

Shake was Nothing Real's product. Apple bought the entire company in Feb '02. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nothing_Real

[Moogs]

Originally Posted by chucker Apple has already made it clear that there won't be a Shake 5 anyway. They're working, instead, on a replacement for 2008.

No what I mean is, the replacement (what I'm calling Shake 5 because I don't know what else to call it) will not be a $500 product. At the very least I think it will be in the After Effects ballpark, price-wise. And Adobe's not standing pat. Apparently they've created some sort bundling discount with Ultra, a professional keying and compositing software package. The new Production Studio has already been announced to include AE (8?), Premiere Pro, Soundbooth, and Encore DVD... this way they're including even more (presumably to compete with the fact that Apple mind bundle Shake 4.x this time around).

Point is, this is now a serious battle for the under $10K AV production space in software. I freakin love it. There is going to be so many cool things that arise out of this.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by Moogs No what I mean is, the replacement (what I'm calling Shake 5 because I don't know what else to call it) will not be a $500 product. At the very least I think it will be in the After Effects ballpark, price-wise.

Ah, yes. Agreed.

Motion is their sub-$1k product in this field. Shake 5 (wasn't it codenamed "Revolution" or something?) will be high-end.

And Adobe's not standing pat. Apparently they've created some sort bundling discount with Ultra, a professional keying and compositing software package. The new Production Studio has already been announced to include AE (8?), Premiere Pro, Soundbooth, and Encore DVD... this way they're including even more (presumably to compete with the fact that Apple mind bundle Shake 4.x this time around). Point is, this is now a serious battle for the under $10K AV production space in software. I freakin love it. There is going to be so many cool things that arise out of this.

Well I don't know about now, but when I looked at Encore DVD 1.0, I was not exactly impressed. It was ridiculously far behind DVD Studio Pro at the time. So for the sake of competition, I hope it has improved considerably since.

But yes: I, too, am enjoying this new competition a lot.

[Moogs]

I don't think Encore was ever made for the Mac; this next version will be the first, no? Either way your point is taken. Thing about DVDSP is that the workflow and interface are a little convoluted in some respects. It doesn't have to be iDVD, but a little streamlining wouldn't hurt.

[autodata]

The PC Mag/ThinkSecret report worries me, though, because of the possibility of 64-bit only. Hopefully Logic 8 (or whatever they end up calling it) won't follow suit.

[hmurchison]

If rumors are correct Shake in its current form is done.

"Phenomenon" is supposedly Shakes replacement and I've an inkling that they will take the guts of

Motion, Shake (Nothing Real acquisition) and RAYZ (Silicon Grail acquisition) plus some new stuff and
voila! The do everything Motion Graphics/Compositing application. If the UI is solid the two types of application
don't need to be seperate. I've read from some compositors that they still haven't seen some of the standout
features of RAYZ so I don't think Apple ever added any RAYZ code into Shake.

I don't think Apple will make a 64-bit only app for a while but even the G5 will handle 64-bit code cleanly I believe.
Should be little problems there.

Count me as a third person that is pumped about the competition in this space. Now that Adobe is back Apple's going to have
to crank things up a bit. The Macromedia purchase is going to bring some nice opportunities for Adobe in the video space as
well.

I went to see a local demo of Logic Pro 8 and the Apogee Ensemble (drivers finally out of beta and it's performing well) and I was
just stunned by how much that app can do. But at the same time the UI needs a good once or twice over. If Apple can knock a new
UI out of the park for LP8 and add more power to the app (delay compensation everywhere, sample accurate editing in the arrange window etc) they
will be right back in the thick of things in the DAW world.

What also will be interesting is if Apple plans to keep the assets of Final Touch and Proximity's Artbox acquisitions seperate items or will they
fold that technology into perhaps a higher end version of Final Cut Studio.

I think they should have two versions of FCS.

FCS 2.0
FCP 6
Motion3
DVD SP 5
Compressor 3
Soundtrack Pro 2

Then there should be a high end version that adds:

Shake 4.5/5
Final Touch based CC
Proximity based Media Mgmt
Logic Pro 8
XSAN Client


Holy smokes that Ultra demo was pretty slick. Adobe made a good purchase there.

[Moogs]

Yah I was wondering at first if it was a purchase too, or just a collaborative thing.

[Kusakun]

I hope they release a Macpro Soon since I need to get another computer to work

[Moogs]

I don't know but all signs point to a bunch of pro hardware and software updates over the next 6 weeks or so. Keep your fingers crossed.

[Wyatt]

NAB Invites, baby!

Nothing terribly spectacular, really. In fact, the Showtime invites last year were much more interesting. Still, it means were closer all the time to the next special event!

[Fahrenheit]

Congratulations also to our own Neiltc13 for getting his digg about it front paged!