Why is FCP so wimpy?

[William Hohauser]

For small operations, Avids and Media100 are a serious decision. There must be an overwhelming reason to get involved with these systems especially if it isolates you from potential business. Recently I picked up a new client project that was abandoned by the previous editor. Fortunately everything was in FCP and I was able to transfer the files and get going within an hour. When I was using the Media100 nobody was impressed, that is if they had even heard of the system. Avid has a great name and they made a tactical decision to focus on very high-end clients with enormous production overhead. Daily shows, feature films, news. Sure, you could somehow cram FCP into a high pressure workflow (I wonder if I could figure it out) but Avid has already got this down and they make sure you pay for it. Media100 is floating around the NLE universe and hasn't made it's purpose clear. Back in the days before FCP, Media100 could rightfully claim the best image quality of the three NLEs that were around; Avid, Media100 and the VideoCube. (Remember that?)

[Mike Chandler]

Originally Posted by Shaun Roemich

in a recent EXTREME case, just deleted a sequence I had just finished building. POOF - Gone! .

It might not be gone. In what I think is an fcp7 bug, when I reconnected some media, the sequence got renamed to the media name--still there, but renamed. How does one report bugs to apple?

[Robert Lane]

Originally Posted by Mike Chandler

How does one report bugs to apple?

There are 2 "official" methods:

1. Use the "Provide Feedback" link in the main application menu to send commentary;

2. Call Apple customer care, use the "pro applications" option and open a new tech-support case. You get free tech support with any new pro app up to 90-days (I think, they might have shortened the period). That's the most effective method since it will generate a trouble-ticket internally to the software engineers and this information gets used to create patches and bug fixes in later software updates.

[Peter Moretti]

In terms of speed and not needing rendering, I think it's pretty fair to say that Avid Media Composer is ahead of FCP. Avid has a 30-Day free trial, if anyone wants to check it out.

That said, FCP has a lot of excellent features, Color being one of them.

[Robert Lane]

...and Avid has "real" educational pricing: $295 for a full version of Media composer. That's the same as Apple's upgrade price for FCS3. No contest for students/teachers.

[Shaun Roemich]

Originally Posted by Robert Lane

...and Avid has "real" educational pricing: $295 for a full version of Media composer.

Yeah, now if only we could get the software to DE-authorize when no longer being used in accordance with the SLA... There are LOTS of "producers" in my town that are working on "educational" versions of FCP (and I would ASSUME AVID, Premiere et al...) LONG past their college experience.

[William Hohauser]

Originally Posted by Mike Chandler

It might not be gone. In what I think is an fcp7 bug, when I reconnected some media, the sequence got renamed to the media name--still there, but renamed. How does one report bugs to apple?

Hey that happened to me last night! Every clip I put into a sequence renamed that sequence to the name of the clip! Other sequences it did not happen to.

[William Hohauser]

Originally Posted by Robert Lane

...and Avid has "real" educational pricing: $295 for a full version of Media composer. That's the same as Apple's upgrade price for FCS3. No contest for students/teachers.

There are so many pirated copies of academic FCS licenses floating around but $900 is a bit steep versus the old price of $300. I've set up many a research department with FCP at that old price and funding is not getting better these days. Is there an upgrade path for the Academic version now? The previous academic versions had no upgrade options but at that old price, who cared?

[Robert Lane]

No, with Apple there's never been and still isn't an "upgrade" path for Academic versions; you pay full E-pricing each time you want the next version. Adobe also follows that same path although it wasn't always so.

[William Hohauser]

Then they are telling the "academics" to pay full price and buy upgrades like the rest of us. That'll be cheaper in the first upgrade then buying the next academic version.

[Peter Moretti]

FYI, the Avid $295 academic version includes four years of free upgrades. I believe you have to prove your academic status to Avid to qualify for the upgrades, so I think they are pretty on top of it.

Also, while the software is exactly the same, your dongle or registration info includes that it is an academic install. So Avid could neg you if it seems unlikely that you're still a student or teacher. & I believe their academic pricing applies to non-profits as well.

That said, I don't want to sound like some Avid troll. FCPS is an amazing system. I drool every time I see Color.