Update FCP, OS, and QT?

[Paul Cronin]

I am between big editing projects with a two week window of shooting and no real editing so I am looking at updating my editing system.

Currently I am running.
Mac Pro quad core 3.0 with 16GB ram with Dulce Raid 3
FCS2 (FC 6.0.6)
OS 10.5.8
QT 7.6.2

All is running well but just checking if there are features that are worth updating? Look forward to input from people who have updated and are happy or disappointed.

Always better to check first and update later in my opinion. Not interested in chasing problems just interested in better features that help my editing experience.

[Robert Lane]

If you were running consumer apps then I'd suggest updating to Snow Leopard only, however if you're happy with what you have then don't rock the boat. Updating your system further isn't going to be worth the time.

Wait until early next year when *supposedly* Apple is releasing a true update to FCS; if that happens then it will be time to make a change, not now.

[Andy Wilkinson]

Hi Paul,

I'm in a similar situation - 3 big edits nearing completion and a few little projects on the go (which I can handle easily on my MBP rather than my Mac Pro if I decided to update it and take a risk) but, on balance, I've decided to wait for the "true" FCS update. Sure FCS "Three" has a number of brilliant features I'd like, as does Snow Leopard, but all is running well (so very well!!!) in 10.5.8 and FCS2 that I'm happy to sit tight for now...

[Paul Cronin]

Thank you very much Robert I was hoping you would respond.

I will take your advice and update to Snow Leopard only and not break a well running ship. That is not a problem to update Snow Leopard with my current FC and QT versions correct?

[Robert Lane]

Paul,

There are 3 caveats with upgrading to SL (other than making sure you've got a solid backup of your entire OS/apps in case of the unthinkable):

QT "X" is strictly a consumer-version of Quicktime and does not have the pro features; during the install process make sure you opt to install QT 7 to keep what you're used to. You'll end up with 2 distinct versions of QT installed: "X" and 7 concurrently. FCP doesn't get confused with this at all.

Be sure you install Rosetta as well; many pre SL apps still require this code to be installed to run properly - or at all.

Some printers and scanners will require installing newer drivers to work properly however even after installation they may not communicate well. Do yourself a favor and prevent the long hassle of troubleshooting old vs. new: BEFORE you install new drivers go into your preferences and in the printer setup menu, right-click (option click) on the current listed printer/s and select "reset printing system" (see pic). This will dump all old driver code and force-refresh a new capture process. THEN install the updated SL drivers as needed (in some cases you might not need new drivers after the forced refresh).

Outside of that and you're good to go; you'll notice right off the bat that some things happen much faster such as file browsing, shut-down (like blistering fast shut-downs) and some QT operations. Encoding and renders unfortunately seem unaffected by SL slimmed-down code.

[Paul Cronin]

Thank you Robert great information as always.

I am waiting on G-Safe drives to be caught up in the market so I can have proper back up. Talked with them yesterday on the phone and they are running behind. I use G-Safe for my backup of projects and will use the new G-Safe 2TB to back up my 250GB working drive and my two 750GB internal drives. My Dulce RAID 3 is backed up with each project on the G-
Safe 500GB. So once they are in my hands and backed up I will go to SL.

Thank you again for helping me out when it come to my MAC's.

[Robert Lane]

You don't need to backup your entire database prior to making the OS upgrade, just backup your OS. You don't even need a special drive enclosure. Just use either Super Duper, Carbon Copy Cloner or follow the sticky I posted about saving your system. Then you can get right back to work and worry about backing up your projects/data files when your preferred drive shows up.