Final Cut Studio Upgrade
As the next major release of the leading video post-production suite, the new Final Cut Studio offers powerful new features, dramatically improved performance, and tighter integration. Its six applications give video editors all the tools they need to edit, animate, mix, grade, and deliver — at a price that’s more affordable than ever.
Applications included in Final Cut Studio- Final Cut Pro 7 for video and film editing
- Motion 4 for motion graphics and animation
- Soundtrack Pro 3 for audio post-production
- Color 1.5 for color grading and finishing
- Compressor 3.5 and DVD Studio Pro 4 for digital delivery virtually anywhere — Apple devices, the web, and disc
Overview
Final Cut Pro 7 
Precision editing tools let you work in real time with virtually any format, including the revolutionary ProRes.
- Edit faster and at higher quality across a wide range of workflows with new additions to the Apple ProRes family.
- Share your projects in one click to your Apple devices, the web, Blu-ray Disc, and DVD.
- Collaborate in real time from anywhere in the world with support for iChat Theater.
- Change clip speeds with ease using redesigned speed tools.
- Enjoy dozens of additional enhancements, including native support for AVC-Intra, streamlined alpha transition creation, improved markers, large timecode window, and more.
Motion 4
Powerful text and compositing tools make it easy to design stunning motion graphics in 2D and 3D.
- Add realism to 3D compositions with dramatic shadows and realistic reflections.
- Create selective focus effects in 3D space with new depth-of-field controls.
- Create and edit credit rolls with ease.
- Camera Framing enables one-click object framing in 3D.
- The new Adjust Glyph tool provides total control for manipulating characters in text objects.
Soundtrack Pro 3
Easy-to-use tools for sound design, editing, and mixing bring professional audio post-production to Final Cut editors.
- Voice-level match lets you seamlessly match dialogue volume across your project.
- The enhanced File Editor makes it even easier to work with multichannel files and edit selections in the Frequency Spectrum view.
- Advanced time stretch lets you stretch and compress audio with unprecedented precision.
- New multitrack editing tools include Waveform Zoom, RMS Normalize, and time-saving shortcuts for adding fades and trimming and extending clips.
- You can work efficiently with new options for playhead scrolling, snapping, nudging, and more.
Color 1.5
Sophisticated color grading tools let you create signature looks in resolutions up to 4K.
- Seamless integration means you can now send long, complex sequences directly to Color from Final Cut Pro without any preparation.
- Grade and render at 4K resolution for maximum quality.
- Work natively in high-end formats such as Sony XDCAM HD 422 (50 Mbps) and Panasonic AVC-Intra, or use the new ProRes 4444 format for grading with maximum color information.
Compressor 3.5
Simplified digital delivery lets you easily export to Apple devices, publish to the web, and burn to disc.
- The new Job Action feature makes it easy to automate a variety of post-transcoding tasks, including web publishing and disc burning.
- Automate end-to-end encoding workflows with customizable batch templates.
- Save time with enhanced droplets, which are like miniature encoding applications that you can use on the desktop without having to open Final Cut Studio.
- Create a setting from an existing file by simply dragging a QuickTime movie into the Settings pane.
DVD Studio Pro 4
The industry standard in DVD authoring brings drag-and-drop ease to the production of fully interactive, studio-quality titles.
- Drag and drop to design menus, choose transitions, and build engaging slideshows with ease.
- Easily develop everything from simple DVDs to sophisticated commercial titles.
- Burn discs using the SuperDrive in your Mac. DVD Studio Pro 4 even lets you create masters for commercial DVD replication.
Most Useful Reviews
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Final Cut Studio Upgrade
Really Dissapointed
Written by EQ from PROVO
Sep 2, 2009
I was extremely disappointed in this years final cut studio upgrade. I have been a Final Cut advocate since back in the days of Final Cut 3 and 4 and DVD studio 1. I religiously upgraded whenever a new version came out.
This year, things were different. Final Cut Studio now ships with just the discs apparently.
No manuals, no quick references charts, no nothing but the discs. I called the apple store to inquire about it and was told "You cant have one and I cant tell you why". And that if I wanted it, I would have to download the manual and print it out myself.
I hope this is not the way of the future for the Final Cut Studio Series …More272 of 398 people found this useful
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Final Cut Studio Upgrade
Not upgrade worthy
Written by RL from Scottsdale
Sep 22, 2009
If you don't have any NLE suite yet then FCS "3" is one of the best all-around editing packages on any platform.
However if you already have Final Cut Studio 2 then there's no compelling reason to make this upgrade. Why?
- DVD Studio Pro has gone without an update for over 2 years now; still no *real* Blu-Ray authoring and all the things they could have done to improve the interface they didn't.
- Live Type is no longer part of the suite.
- Media Manager, which has been one of the biggest weaknesses of Final Cut Pro, is just as weak as ever. Apple has done absolutely nothing to improve the interface or make it more robust and project-savvy. Premiere Pro CS4 does a better job of managing media than Final Cut, even in this latest release.
- Compressor has had some minor upgrades but is riddled with issues that didn't exist before, especially for HDV and AVCHD editors; make sure you read up on the complaints on the forums.
- The new "Blu-Ray" option to burn straight from Compressor to a BR disc barely different than using Roxio Toast. Adobe Encore is far ahead of Apple in the BR arena.
In short, this iteration of FCS is little more than a feature-set tweak and service pack for FCS2 users, but as I said before, if you don't own any NLE then this is absolutely worthy of consideration. …More107 of 117 people found this useful
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Final Cut Studio Upgrade
Perfect
Written by HB from Goose Creek
Sep 7, 2009
Works perfect. Simple as that.
If you own, "Final Cut Studio 2", do yourself a favor and upgrade for $299 and get yourself a copy of, "Snow Leopard" for $29.
I work for a Production Company and using the new iChat Theatre for collab editing is just what we needed, especially if we need to show a client the project in the works.
Everything works so much faster and truly collaborates with any workflow. I give this upgrade 5 stars. …More77 of 102 people found this useful
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Most Recent Reviews
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Final Cut Studio Upgrade
This is not Final, it´s an Start
Written by JM from miami
Nov 1, 2009
I think Final Cut Team have to work more to create a real suit. Every program work´s very different. The interface and layout of each program is very complex. Every program appears to be from different companies. You should study and waste money in courses to learn how to survive with the Final Suit.
Except the couple of things in the ¨what´s the new in FInal Cut¨there is nothing new. So, check this before buy.
It´s true the king of the hill is Final Cut. Soundtrack is not better than other softwares, Motion is a kind of flash with dreamweaver, Color should be a filter in Final Cut.
The only reason to buy this program is Final Cut. Not upgraded. Thank you! …More20 of 36 people found this useful
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Final Cut Studio Upgrade
FCStudio 3 coming of age.
Written by MM from thousand oaks
Oct 24, 2009
Definitely worth the price of admission: I just upgraded, man I can't say enough. Don't let anyone tell you that you don't get good stuff with this upgrade. I just did some stuff and the upgrade paid for it self with these improvements. …More
12 of 21 people found this useful
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Final Cut Studio Upgrade
I love it! Totally worth it for me.
Written by JD from Independence
Oct 6, 2009
I'm a hobbyist so keep that in mind when reading my review. I love the new version. I was able to get a good deal on Final Cut Studio 1 (with Final Cut Pro 5, etc), but never did get Final Cut Studio 2. So the jump to this latest version is quite a dramatic difference for me and I'm very thrilled and impressed.
I'm not a power user, so I don't use DVD Studio Pro or Soundtrack that much, but the upgrade price was WORTH it for Final Cut Pro 7 and Motion. I love the new ProRes codecs and the "open timeline" in Final Cut, and I'm loving Motion, though there's a lot to I need to learn about it.
If I had paid more, it probably wouldn't have been as worth it to me, but since I got a good deal on the upgrade I am totally satisfied. …More22 of 28 people found this useful
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Questions & Answers
Most Interesting
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Is there a student discount for Final Cut Studio?
- Asked by RD from Winston-Salem
- Oct 7, 2009
Best Answer
Yes, BUT, it isn't worth it anymore.
You pay $899 for the academic version or $999 for the full version. On the surface it appears that the $100 would make it worth it to buy the academic version except for the "deal-breaker": You CANNOT upgrade from the academic version.
If you ever plan on buying another version of Final Cut Studio, you'll have to pay full price for the retail version when you aren't a student anymore. If you are still a student when the next version comes out, you can't upgrade from academic to academic either. You would have to pay another $899 to get the next version.
If you buy retail, it is $999 and you can upgrade the next time around for only $299.
I think the extra $100 will be money well spent in the long run. …More- Answered by GG from Murrieta
- Oct 16, 2009
- 21 of 23 people found this useful
- 2 more answers
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How difficult is Final Cut Studio to use and learn for someone who is stepping up from iMovie? Am I better off starting with 3rd party software?
- Asked by RB from CENTRAL FALLS
- Oct 15, 2009
Best Answer
iMovie to Final Cut Studio is a pretty big leap. The approach to editing, the interface, and the robustness of the two are on completely different ends of the spectrum. Final Cut Studio is much more of an investment and a program you have to learn, while iMovie is a non-editors editing program.
Is it impossible to make the jump? Of course not. If you are quick with learning new applications and not opposed to reading a manual for guidance, then I think it is perfectly reasonable to move onto Final Cut, especially if editing is what you want to do as a profession.
I'd suggest testing out Final Cut Express, a much cheaper alternative that you could master the basics of Final Cut editing and then decide if the 1000 dollar investment in studio is worth it. My progression, with taking no classes and having no help, was iMove (older version) for about a year or so, then final cut express for about 2 years, and then Final Cut Studio. I am now an editor by profession …More- Answered by ZB from Hampstead
- Dec 7, 2009
- 6 of 6 people found this useful
- 5 more answers
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Will Final Cut Studio run on the new Macbook Pro 13"?
- Asked by MF from Tarzana
- Oct 10, 2009
Best Answer
Final Cut Pro will likely run with nearly all features on a Macbook Pro 13". Motion and Color require a discreet graphics card to support some features, which means you won't be getting everything that $999 pays for if you're running on a 13" MacBook Pro with the integrated graphics chipset. But if all you need to do is edit video, you should be fine! …More
- Answered by EM from Carbondale
- Oct 10, 2009
- 21 of 23 people found this useful
- 1 more answer
Most Recent
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does Final Cut Studio allow you to import VHS tape and make a digital transfer and then edit ?
- Asked by TG from Emeryville
- Dec 14, 2009
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can I upgrade from final cut 4.5 hd to final cut 7? Or do I need to purchase the full Final Cut 7 software?
- Asked by HL from Little Rock
- Dec 13, 2009
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Does the new Final Cut Studio integrate with Episode Pro?
- Asked by PP from Uckfield
- Dec 9, 2009
