Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

sensorfreaky · Mar 4, 2003, 11:20 PM

Whoa!

Just found out one can buy FCP3 at Apple's Online Education store for a measly $299.

And I paid the full $999 + tax at CompUSA not long ago!! This totally sucks.

WTF!?!!

Why doesn't Apple tell students things like this? $999 doesn't come easy and I could've bought a nice new DV cam with the $700 savings I could've saved.

Anyhow, the $299 version is referred to as "Final Cut Pro 3 Academic". Is this actually a different version with limitations in a similar way Final Cut Express has some limitations? Or is this "Final Cut Pro 3 Academic" indeed a full real version? I'd fell bettter if it actually lacks something.... consolation for all the coin I dropped on this stupid hobby justifying my biggest software purchase of all time. Anyone know? The education price for FCE is $249 (regularly $299) while the education price for FCP3 is $299 (regularly $999). For $50 more, FCP3 is a no-brainer if you're a student and sounds too good to be true.

Or did I really just get screwed? Uninformed = screwed. CompUSA doesn't accept software returns nor price adjustments for education discounts that they claim doesn't exist.

Demonhood · Mar 4, 2003, 11:32 PM

they're exactly the same version. sorry.

i believe that you're not supposed to use the academic version for any for-profit ventures. but that's not something the software controls.

you just have to know about the education discount. some pretty sweet deals on the hardware too (even more so if you're buying for a school).

buddhabelly · Mar 5, 2003, 01:02 PM

>>i believe that you're not supposed to use the academic version for any for-profit ventures. but that's not something the software controls.<<

that is correct. the software doesn't control it. however, you do have to register with Apple, so there is potentially a trail, especially if you make a big profit.

CompUSA, AFIK, and I've asked several times, do not sell academic priced software. period.

sorry.

SirCastor · Mar 5, 2003, 05:05 PM

Yup. The Academic price is just a $600 cheaper situation. The Software is identical, the only difference is the licensing agreement.

Here's a kicker though. You can find someplace that sells old copies of FCP 1 for $99, and then upgrade to FCP 3 for $199, and there's your $300-legit-for-all-uses FCP3.

sensorfreaky · Mar 5, 2003, 06:47 PM

That's not what I wanted to hear at all.

Does anybody want to buy my (now discounted) full license version of FCP3 that you can use for profit purposes?

This is just a hobby and I use it to edit home movies of friends and family and car stuff. None of which are for profit. I don't need the full license of the $999 version.

I only need the $299 version... waaaaaa...

SirCastor · Mar 6, 2003, 10:49 AM

Originally posted by sensorfreaky:
That's not what I wanted to hear at all.

Does anybody want to buy my (now discounted) full license version of FCP3 that you can use for profit purposes?

This is just a hobby and I use it to edit home movies of friends and family and car stuff. None of which are for profit. I don't need the full license of the $999 version.

I only need the $299 version... waaaaaa...

Sell it on eBay for $850, take the hit, and buy a cheaper copy. Better yet, you may want to pick up Final Cut Express rather than FCP and save another $50.

sensorfreaky · Mar 6, 2003, 09:54 PM

Originally posted by SirCastor:
Sell it on eBay for $850, take the hit, and buy a cheaper copy. Better yet, you may want to pick up Final Cut Express rather than FCP and save another $50.

Somehow, saving $50 to get FCE over FCP doesn't make sense to me.

While FCE is a powerful package in its own right, I feel that it is missing some high-end features that I may need when I gain more experience and become more proficient in video-editing. And by missing some of these features, it doesn't seem like FCE is really gaining any interface improvements that make it easier to use than FCP. Things like 3-way color correction, motion and filter key-framing, timecode display, DV tape logging, batch capture, and the presence of a media manager are all features I don't use now but will probably miss when I get into more compositing, animation, and work with larger projects. FCE doesn't have these and for $50 more with FCP, it's nice to know I'll have such features in my pocket when I begin to expand my creative horizons.

I've never sold anything on ebay before but that sounds like a great idea. Looks like a $150 hit is really a $550 gain in this case.

In summary:
$999 FCP = full version with full license
$299 FCP = full version with limited not-for-profit license
$249 FCE = limited version of FCP but can you use this for profit purposes? Curious.

SirCastor · 05:41 PM

Originally posted by sensorfreaky:
Things like 3-way color correction, motion and filter key-framing, timecode display, DV tape logging, batch capture, and the presence of a media manager are all features I don't use now but will probably miss when I get into more compositing, animation, and work with larger projects. FCE doesn't have these and for $50 more with FCP, it's nice to know I'll have such features in my pocket when I begin to expand my creative horizons.

I've never sold anything on ebay before but that sounds like a great idea. Looks like a $150 hit is really a $550 gain in this case.

In summary:
$999 FCP = full version with full license
$299 FCP = full version with limited not-for-profit license
$249 FCE = limited version of FCP but can you use this for profit purposes? Curious.

The $50 savings may not be worth it. You can use FCE for whatever you want. The education license for FCP doesn't just limit you to non-profit, I would expect that it also limits the setting in which you can use it, but neither is really enforced. Just the law.

[EDIT: I took out the other suggestion, doesn't look like it's doable any more.. just aren't any old copies of FCP]

sensorfreaky · Mar 11, 2003, 06:47 PM

Originally posted by SirCastor:
The $50 savings may not be worth it. You can use FCE for whatever you want. The education license for FCP doesn't just limit you to non-profit, I would expect that it also limits the setting in which you can use it, but neither is really enforced. Just the law.

[EDIT: I took out the other suggestion, doesn't look like it's doable any more.. just aren't any old copies of FCP]

woohooo!

Sold my full license copy of FCP to a local videographer. He doesn't even own a Mac but has been using Media studio pro something or other for his PC-based setup. I guess he'll be buying a Mac soon. Good to see that people are starting to open their eyes.

Anyhow, FCP Academic version is on the way... same software but somehow I'm still excited. I wonder if it still comes with a printed manual. Does it? Regardless, it still saves me a good $500. Cool beans.

buddhabelly · Mar 11, 2003, 11:13 PM

4 printed manuals. same as retail. same box, just a sticker added.

SirCastor · Mar 13, 2003, 11:34 AM

Originally posted by buddhabelly:
4 printed manuals. same as retail. same box, just a sticker added.

That sticker associates the academic license of course... no physical difference though, that's correct.

SirCastor · Mar 16, 2003, 02:22 PM

Originally posted by buddhabelly:

that is correct. the software doesn't control it. however, you do have to register with Apple, so there is potentially a trail, especially if you make a big profit.

Of course, unless they take you to court, you don't have to do anything. There's no signature on a videotape which says something has been created with FCP. Once it's on a format, you could say your spliced it all together by hand (some would be hard-pressed to believe you...)

You're not required (I don't think) to say that you used Apple Software and hardware in the creation of the art.