World of Apple

Apple has today released an update to Final Cut Studio with over 100 new features and brings new versions of  Final Cut Pro, Motion, Soundtrack Pro, Color and Compressor.

Final Cut Studio features Final Cut Pro 7 which expands Apple’s ProRes codec family to support virtually any workflow and includes Easy Export for one step output to a variety of formats and iChat Theater support for real-time collaboration. Motion 4 includes enhanced tools such as 3D shadows, reflections and depth of field for stunning motion graphics and visual effects, and Soundtrack Pro 3 features new multitrack audio tools to streamline audio post production. Color 1.5 includes better Final Cut Pro integration and support for full color resolution, and Compressor 3.5 adds new features that make it easy to set up and customize your export options. At $999, the new Final Cut Studio is $300 less than the previous release and is also available as an upgrade for just $299.

“With 1.4 million users and 50 percent of the market, Final Cut Pro is the number one professional video editing application,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The new Final Cut Studio includes more than 100 new features and dramatically expands Apple’s ProRes family of codecs so editors can work in the studio with the highest quality video or on location at low bandwidths.”

Apple today also introduced Final Cut Server 1.5, the asset management and automation tool for Final Cut Studio. Final Cut Server 1.5 includes powerful new features like lightweight, offline editing with ProRes Proxy, production hierarchies to organize media, and support for still sequences to easily view and manage image sequences for graphics and effects workflows. Final Cut Server now includes unlimited client licenses and is available for $999 or as a $299 upgrade for existing users.

Final Cut Pro 6.0.6 – 19.15MB

This update fixes problems with real-time playback in Final Cut Pro with Mac Pro (Early 2009) models and Xserve (Early 2009) models.

Further information on this update is available in the accompanying release notes.

9 to 5 Mac reports today from its “favourite Apple source” that Apple will offer a minor update to both the MacBook and MacBook Pro at WWDC as well as updates to Pro Apps.

9 to 5 Macs source gave very few details regarding the rumours stating that the notebooks may be accompanied by speed bumps and/or 3G data cards built-in. Admitting that it is just speculation 9 to 5 Mac adds that non-removable batteries could filter down into smaller Apple notebooks.

After the publication of 9 to 5 Macs rumour The Register noted that an LG staff member has revealed that Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Pro will appear with OLED displays “within months”. Although The Register adds “It’s worth taking the claim with a big pinch of salt.”

The source goes onto specify that Final Cut Pro, Aperture, Logic and Shake would all see significant updates despite Apple specifying back in 2006 that Shake will no longer be supported or updated.

Hardmac.com has posted a handful of short concise rumours. Despite not looking entirely confident in any of these rumours the site publishes them anyway.

• Snow Leopard looks like to be ready sometime after September. Apple will tell us more in May but has much work to do on Open CL, QuickTime X and Grand Central.
• New Xserve models will arrive in June.
• New Mac Pro will be introduced packing a 3.2GHz Xeon and Quadro FX 5800.
• Notebooks will move to “Nahalem” platform in November.
• Updates to Final Cut Studio, DVD Studio Pro, Shake and Logic in the pipeline.

AppleInsider refutes a claim made earlier this week that Final Cut would see an update at the March 24th special event rumoured by World of Apple.

AppleInsider reports that although Apple appears unlikely to attend this years National Association of Broadcasters event in Las Vegas, the company will release a new version of Final Cut Studio “near the event.”

Although the rumour site reveals no details on what could change in the software it does add that alongside a Final Cut Studio update a Final Cut Server update is also expected.

Following World of Apple’s original report that a March 24 event would concentrate on desktop hardware Apple promptly revamped the entire desktop computer lineup. Now rumours suggest that the event is still on but will instead focus on software.

Sevenmac.de is reporting that an anonymous tip suggests that the March 24 will be used to new Apple pro video applications. The German rumour site goes onto write that a “buggy” version of Final Cut Studio is currently in internal beta which could cause the event to be delayed.

The site offers no further information on what other applications could be updated at the same time.

From Apple’s Release Notes:

Pro Applications Update 2008-04 Release Notes

Pro Applications Update 2008-04 addresses general performance issues and improves overall stability.

Applications included in the update:

* Final Cut Pro 6.0.5
* Compressor 3.0.5
* Color 1.0.3
* Shake 4.1.1

The linked page gives more details on the specific updates.

Final Cut Server Update 1.1 – 50.1MB

This update addresses issues with the check in/check out process for Final Cut Pro projects, fixes issues with double-byte character sets, and improves the general reliability of the software.

Pro Applications Update 2008-02 – 138MB

Pro Applications Updates improve reliability for Apple’s professional applications and are recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Server, and Logic Studio.

Pro Applications Update 2008-02 addresses installation issues, compatibility updates, and general performance issues and improves overall stability.

MacBook Air Bluetooth Firmware Update 1.0 – 1.2MB

No details provided

Pro Applications Update 2008-01 – 63.7MB

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.

Detailed release notes available here.

Apple has today announced that Final Cut Server has begun shipping, almost an entire year after its introduction at NAB 2007.

Final Cut Server is a powerful software solution for media asset management and workflow automation. A scaleable server application, Final Cut Server automatically catalogs large collections of assets, allows searching across multiple disks and SAN volumes and enables viewing, annotation and approval of content from anywhere using a PC or Mac.

“Whether producing a 30-second spot, the nightly news or a major motion picture, Final Cut Studio is the choice of editors around the world,” said Rob Schoeben, Apple’s vice president of Applications Product Marketing. “With the introduction of Final Cut Server, collaboration just got a whole lot easier for millions of editors, producers and clients who work with Final Cut Studio.”

“For the past few months we’ve been using a beta of Final Cut Server to manage our entire workflow pipeline, 24/7, and it held up beautifully,” said Evan Schechtman, CTO of Radical Media. “Best of all, Final Cut Server integrates seamlessly with our home-grown solutions so it’s actually adding new value to systems we’ve relied on for years.”

Final Cut Server automatically catalogs media and generates thumbnails, poster frames and low-resolution clip proxies for quick browsing in user specified formats. A cross-platform client enables a PC or Mac to use Final Cut Server’s broad search capabilities, which extend from simple keywords to complex combinations of IPTC, XMP and XML metadata. Final Cut Server also configures a range of highly specific access controls that define user permissions on an asset or project basis.

Final Cut Server scales to support workgroups of different sizes, ranging from a two-person post house to a multi-national news organization and can automate as much, or as little, of the production pipeline as needed. A configurable event-based response model tracks job status, monitors media changes, and automates review and approval notifications and complex sequences of tasks—all through a series of simple menu selections.

Tightly integrated with Final Cut Studio for a seamless extension of the workflow, Final Cut Server includes Compressor 3, Apple’s industrial strength digital encoding and compression tool, which delivers pristine format conversions for publishing to DVD, broadcast television, the Internet, Apple TV, iPod, iPhone and other mobile phones.

Final Cut Server is available for a retail price of $999 (£699) for one server and 10 concurrent client licenses, and $1,999 (£1399) for one server and unlimited client licenses.