Hi:

I have yet to have an opinion on NLE tools, but I have more or less settled for a MacBook, so no the question is which kind of program I should get: There seems to be no upgrade from Final Cut Express to Studio, so I am thinking, will FCE suffice or will I eventually have to purchase FCS?

I'm a newbie on this, I do expect to take footage from my new Canon XHA1, cut it up and make a DVD. I expect that I need to design a cover, add and edit sound track, add subtitles, credits etc. As far as I can see, FCE can do this.

What is the most used feature(s) of FCS that is missing in FCE? That is, what is it that justifies the extra $/€1000?

Thanks, Erik

Well you get the whole suite of applications with FCS, not just an NLE. Motion and Color are two very powerful programs with lots of uses. DVD Studio Pro will give you more features for creating DVD's - you would have to use iDVD or a third party program if you go the FCE route.

I am in the same boat as Erik. Same setup and questions.

Will IDVD work or is there some great advancements in DVD studio?

Hi Tobin.

iDVD works well and is very simple to use.

But if you want more control on the quality of your final DVD then Final Cut Studio (FCS) is the way to go.

Not only for DVD Studio Pro (DVD SP), but you get Compressor as well.

Compressor will encode your DVD "assets" for you and gives you a fantastic array of quality options so that you can obtain the very best quality results for your final DVD. (And Compressor will also make top-quality movies for the web, if you have a need to make these.)

And the same goes for authoring your DVD in DVD SP. DVD SP gives you the tools to make a unique "Hollywood-quality" (if you really know what you are doing) DVD and you can use Motion in conjunction with it to make DVD menus which really "zing".

Also, FCS contains an application called Soundtrack Pro, which has (amongst many options) the ability to remove unwanted background noises from your audio tracks. It's an extremely useful tool!

It all depends on what your needs are (and your budget, of course).