What can't be said about Final Cut Pro? In recent years it has replaced Avid as the industry standard in non-linear editing software due to its relatively low cost and high octane performance accommodating folks in all walks of production… from DV to REDCode to Film. Everything needed for a professional editing job is right here. With the latest Final Cut Studio bundle (technically this is Final Cut Studio 3, although Apple has decided to drop the number now), you'll get Final Cut Pro 7, Motion 4, Soundtrack Pro 3, Color 1.5, Compressor 3.5, and DVD Studio Pro 4. Be warned though, if you're running an older Mac that isn't running on Intel chips, you won't be able to run the new version (same goes for the new OS).
A quick export to ProRes 4444.
Final Cut Pro 7
The first thing you'll probably notice right off the bat, and probably my favorite subtle improvement, is drastically improved render times, and the ability to preview more instantly when you've selected "Unlimited Real Time" playback. Working a lot with HDV, I used to fear the dreaded "Conforming HDV Video" message in Final Cut Pro 6, but things seem to move a lot faster here.
You'll get three new Apple ProRes codecs, which ultimately will help save you even more render time for HDV or AVCHD projects, although you must first convert your video files to this format. ProRes 4444 is the highest quality and great for high-end productions or preserving a final cut of your project, though beware of gigantic file sizes, as it encodes around 220 mbps at the max size of 1080 60i. It also includes an alpha channel for any graphics needed later. Also new in this version are Apple ProRes 422 (LT) which encodes around 102 mbps and ProRes 422 (proxy) which encodes around 45 mbps at 1080 60i. Both work great for HDV or AVCHD productions.
Another great organizational tool in the new version is the ability to color code your timelines, bins and markers, making things easier to find, and helping you easily separate rough cuts and early versions of your project from the final.
Color coded sequence tabs help you organize those massive projects.
