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April 15, 2007

updates

NAB: Studio 2 on the Las Vegas strip

Posted Apr. 15, ’07, 12:48 PM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Software » Updates

Final Cut StudioNot content with releasing a brand-spanking new server solution for digital content creators, Apple is also revving its flagship professional video product. Final Cut Studio 2 works seamlessly with Final Cut Server and incorporates Final Cut Pro 6, Motion 3, Soundtrack Pro 2, Compressor 3, and a new app called Color (DVD Studio Pro 4 did not garner an update, but is still included).

Final Cut Pro 6 includes ProRes 4.2.2 format which allows uncompressed HD quality at SD file sizes, so 1TB of HD video can be compressed to just 170GB. There will also be support for next gen devices including Sony’s new HDCAM storage system, and the (relatively) inexpensive RED 4K camera. Yes, Final Cut Pro will handle 4K video (that’s pretty much the next step beyond current HD).

You’ll also be able to use Motion templates inside Final Cut Pro, and they’ve added Shake’s SmoothCam functionality, which helps remove camera shaking, to FCP as well. FCP will also have integrated real time playback of filters and effects, using graphics acceleration. An Open Format Timeline allows users to mix file formats, resolutions, and frame rates; no time for transcoding, Dr. Jones!

The marquee features of Motion 3 are 3D capabilities, bringing all of the traditional Motion functionality to 3D space, letting you sync 3D animation to audio behavior and revamps to the retiming tools. Vector-based paint has been added, complete with support for pen pressure and speed sensitivity. Match Moving will vastly simplify the ability to follow the path of an animated object.

Soundtrack Pro 2 adds support for 5.1 surround sound; you can mix stereo and surround audio in the same project. Fade selector tool, waveform editor, frequency spectrum view built in. Remove problems in audio with drag and drop (sounds kind of like what we saw from Adobe Soundbooth a couple weeks ago). There’re also sound effects, the ability to easy sync sound with video via a 3-up display, and a new Conform feature that makes it easy to add or cut material and resync the rest of the project. A new Multitake Editor focuses on compositing different takes for processes like dialog replacement.

In Compressor 3, Apple has integrated presets for the Apple TV and iPod, naturally, and bumped the speed to what they claim is a 3x improvement (on an 8-core Mac, a clip that took 16:45 in Compressor 2 takes 6:02 in Compressor 3 (of course, that’s an 8-core Mac…your mileage may vary). Other format support includes Flash, WMV1, VC-1, H.264, etc. Compressor 3 will spread across all your cores, so we may finally have an app that can really take advantage of the Octo-Mac Pro.

Final Cut Studio 2 will be available next month, for a cost of $1299 or a $499 upgrade from Final Cut Studio 1; $699 upgrade from any version of Final Cut Pro.

[via Macworld, Engadget, MacRumors, Gizmodo]


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