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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

"Apple scaling Final Cut Studio apps to fit prosumers"

what makes more money? selling one million ipads in three months or 10 000 macpros in 3 months?

the answer dictates the way i guess.

i have no problem to leave fcp.
But if the apple Macpro doesnt come back to life i will switch to PC again.
 
Jay Gannon said:
I saw that they cut an already crippled Pro Apps support team.
Support is very very important in a Professional Application.
Click to expand...

Support may be important, but also having a program that, while being very powerful, being cryptic to understand makes the need for a larger support base.

Making their software more intuitive is going to mean people who just don't know how to use something won't be bogging down the support infrastructure.

Even further, many companies are supporting user support groups like here. If I have a problem with ProTools, I go to the DUC if I have problems first (http://duc.digidesign.com/). Likewise, with Digital Performer or Logic Pro 9 or even Ableton Live, I do the same.

I've never used Apple support in the past because of the pain I've heard from others in using it. I hope with these firings they are rethinking the way they interface with customers in need.
 
Rick I think you hit a good point there. FCP troubleshooting, Apple Support them generally doesn't know enough about the software to give you adequate support. There are just so many variables, variations in setups and hundred's of workflows, that 1 person on the phone may not be able to help you with anything. Generally in a broadcast environment anyway there is IT person or software professional to help with all the major troubleshooting. And the only major benefit of calling Apple Support is to merely state what the bug or issue is in hopes that it goes up the chain for a patch.

On the Avid side, if you didn't have Avid Assurance, there was a whole year where they made several updates throughout the year, and you had a short opportunity to get your free upgrade, and if you didn't you lost out and had to pay for a new version that fixed a lot of issues, and made a lot of improvements. I bought media composer 3.05 software edition and was on a feature film when 4.0 came out and I was told i was no longer eligible for the free upgrade by the time I found out about it. I probably clocked in only 2 projects in media composer and decided to stay with FCP for good, cause I was really that pissed off. If anything, Avid needs to come up with a better patching/update program right up there with Final Cut.
 
Rick the problem is when your the support guy and it is too much for you, there such be a batch of highly qualified support experts on tap for when I run out of ideas. And just in general Apple needs to get on top on its issues, when they did their last pirated serial numbers blast we got caught up in it (2 of our serials had been duped) and it took 48 hours for Apple to reassign us new serials. That was 48 hours of work that we lost. It was sheer luck that we didn't have clients in at the time.

I'm not talking about the consumer level support, which has always been sketchy as a business. I'm talking about the Level 3 business to business support that most companies offer when dealing with installations like this. Or if Apple don't want to do it offer an outsourced high level support contract.

The community around ProApps is fantastic, but sometimes you cant wait for the morning to roll around sometimes you need to get in touch with the manufacturer support agent and get it solved there and then. RED knows this in my experience and is fantastic in doing so. What other company offers custom builds of Apps for users in trouble. I'd like to see more of that ethos from Apple instead of essentially being left in the dirt once you've made your initial software purchase.
As for hardware, I love it, don't find it underpowered at all once its tricked out by us in house. Lacking in slots maybe but I am happy to buy 2 and have the redundancy in hardware to be honest, makes it easier to justify. Roundabout thinking I know but true none the less.

Cüneyt Kaya said:
i have no problem to leave fcp.
But if the apple Macpro doesnt come back to life i will switch to PC again.
Click to expand...

I also feel this way in some ways, my investment is in hardware not software. If the software doesnt make it I want something that will take advantage of my hardware investments.
 
Tom.Wong said:
If anything, Avid needs to come up with a better patching/update program right up there with Final Cut.
Click to expand...

Don't get me started on Avid, or their Digidesign products (although the name Digidesign is going away).

The price I have paid for a ProTools Native 9 system that can edit 5.1 sound and have 128 tracks is absolutely a rip off. It's a rip off because I can use Digital Performer or Logic Pro 9 out of the box and pay 1/4th the price.

The *only* reason I have ProTools is because I can give the files to people using ProTools TDM systems and not have to use some buggy inbetween format that never seems to translate properly.

They did add in ProTools 9 that it autochecks for updates. That said, I have not used MC yet. I have FCP and like it. I am also picking up the CS5 bundle and will play with Premiere just to see what it could offer me in addition to FCP.
 
Jay Gannon said:
Rick the problem is when your the support guy and it is too much for you, there such be a batch of highly qualified support experts on tap for when I run out of ideas. And just in general Apple needs to get on top on its issues, when they did their last pirated serial numbers blast we got caught up in it (2 of our serials had been duped) and it took 48 hours for Apple to reassign us new serials. That was 48 hours of work that we lost. It was sheer luck that we didn't have clients in at the time.
Click to expand...

I'll be the first to admit that Apple needs better support from a professional business level when it comes to their software. I can add a multitude of other software companies to that list as well. But given that no one here knows any of the people (or have said they know) any of the support staff that was let go, we have no clue why. Also, I've not heard any evidence that support from Apple at a professional level has changed any. Probably cause nobody I know counts on them for support either.

And let's be honest, just because you are a professional (not you persay) doesn't mean you don't invoke support because something didn't make sense and it ended up being a mistake on your part. Maybe because the software was too confusing as to what it was supposed to be doing. The harder and more confusing the software, the more people are going to have problems with it.

Reminds me of the time one of my professors in school was complaining his computer didn't work. I was looking at it and realized he didn't have it plugged in. The cranium the size of a mountain (this guy was REALLY smart intellectually) and he didn't even think to check the plug.

The real point being, who knows what apple is doing support wise. I imagine it will stay the same as it always does. "Submit a bug report"
 
I am an Apple Certified Systems Admin, Media Admin and Tech Coordinator. I would (tooting my horn) class myself as about as trained as you can get with official apple training and have been on numerous other training courses. I have about 6 years experience in apple and networking. I like to think if I cant figure it out its gonna be as issue from the vendors side.
When that happens I expect to be given a support rep to deal with (Or an account rep) who will solve the last 10%. Or in the case of the serials issue I expect it to be fixed in minutes not days. From a support POV its unacceptable in my eyes.

And yes I know I'm ranting but its a tetchy point for me, I expect to have some professionalism in the support business, just like I have to be professional to clients when they come to me with an issue. I don't see that in Apples ProApps, not just FCP but Xsan also.
 
Jay Gannon said:
And yes I know I'm ranting but its a tetchy point for me, I expect to have some professionalism in the support business, just like I have to be professional to clients when they come to me with an issue. I don't see that in Apples ProApps, not just FCP but Xsan also.
Click to expand...

COMPLETELY AGREE! :) Add to that all Apple professional software products.
 
Jay Gannon said:
Rick the problem is when your the support guy and it is too much for you, there such be a batch of highly qualified support experts on tap for when I run out of ideas. And just in general Apple needs to get on top on its issues, when they did their last pirated serial numbers blast we got caught up in it (2 of our serials had been duped) and it took 48 hours for Apple to reassign us new serials. That was 48 hours of work that we lost. It was sheer luck that we didn't have clients in at the time.

I'm not talking about the consumer level support, which has always been sketchy as a business. I'm talking about the Level 3 business to business support that most companies offer when dealing with installations like this. Or if Apple don't want to do it offer an outsourced high level support contract.

The community around ProApps is fantastic, but sometimes you cant wait for the morning to roll around sometimes you need to get in touch with the manufacturer support agent and get it solved there and then. RED knows this in my experience and is fantastic in doing so. What other company offers custom builds of Apps for users in trouble. I'd like to see more of that ethos from Apple instead of essentially being left in the dirt once you've made your initial software purchase.
As for hardware, I love it, don't find it underpowered at all once its tricked out by us in house. Lacking in slots maybe but I am happy to buy 2 and have the redundancy in hardware to be honest, makes it easier to justify. Roundabout thinking I know but true none the less.



I also feel this way in some ways, my investment is in hardware not software. If the software doesnt make it I want something that will take advantage of my hardware investments.
Click to expand...

Apple has a certification program designed specifically to train people to provide just the kind of support you are looking for. In Boston I think Tech Superpowers offers onsite support contracts. That must come with phone support. Have you looked in your area for a similar outfit?
 
C'mon! Do you really think Apple is capable of providing a professional support structure at the prices of these applications? If you want support, buy Smoke-Mac and pay the $2K/year subscription fee. Or buy Media Composer and add an optional annual maintenance contract.

- Oliver
 
Wow. A ton of speculation here. Taken at face value, it looks like we could get a much better UI out of this. Which, to me, simply means that the things I want to do could very well be easier and more intuitive. Maybe there will even be some slick new capabilities and more power.

IMHO, Apple is unlikely to forego pro apps, especially FC Studio, when they have so much invested (money and egos) in courting the likes of FF Coppola and Walter Murch.
 
Everybody/user wants every feature in every other product. Smoke users want an FCP editing interface, FCP users want native editing and an Avid system with Adobe AE, Adobe users want FCP's Color, and Smoke style integration, Avid users want, I don't know what Avid users want, the rest of us just want an intermediate working Xml type universal fucntion so we can use any or all these apps when they best suit us.
 
As I posted on another thread, I have some info regarding Final Cut Studio's future. I have a blog, Mac Soda, which I've created for Apple fans focused on the professional side of Apple's offerings with consumer info sprinkled in.

What I've heard, both from my source, once, and then twice, from Steve Jobs, is that Final Cut Studio is not dead. In fact, Final Cut Studio 3 wasn't the real update, but a rushed half-release that was only released because the real version was running late. Apparently the new FCS is a real crowd pleaser for the video professionals is slated to come sometime this year. While a few minor features geared towards consumers might be added in, in no way is Final Cut Studio going to suffer the iMovie 09 syndrome. I feared this would be the case at first, but I heard first hand today that it's not.

In short: the rumor is pertaining to Final Cut Express, not Final Cut Pro.

Hope this helps. Not to be blog spamming (after all, I don't make money on the site), but I see a ton of interest regarding Final Cut Studio's future here. If you want to read a blog focused on Final Cut Studio, I try my best to cover it in my free time as a service to the community of video professionals.
 
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