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Baburao786 · Sep 18, 2006, 10:55 PM

I currently do video editing in Final Cut Pro 4.5 HD on my dual 1.8...I have finally figured out the Mac PRO that I wish to buy....I know the upgrade to Final Cut 5 is only 199 dollars but Just wondering if Final Cut Pro 4.5 would work without any problems on the Mac PRO..I have no problem getting the upgrade..as a matter of fact I was going to get the upgrade..maybe a little later....

Lastly, there is a possiblity that Intel will introduce its quad core single processor by the end of the year which means the prices for the dual cores will drop....any idea of Mac PRO's will go down in price...

MovieCutter · Sep 18, 2006, 11:06 PM

It won't work very well. and the upgrade price is only $50. Get the upgrade and don't look back.

EFFENDI · 12:06 AM

4.5 performance on a Mac pro will not be much better than your dual 1.8. Performance increases drastically when using FCP 5.1 on a Mac Pro, due mostly to native hardware acceleration, and more system bandwidth.

Unless you are doing HD editing, or ABSOLUTELY need realtime rendering or effects, a dual 1.8 is still a great video editing system.

I always wonder why it is so hard for people to make big decisions....
If you need the performance of Mac Pro TODAY, get it. Don't think about it as a purchase, think of it as an investment. Think about more than just how much the system costs. Think about how much the new system is "worth" to you or your business, what is it's cost vs. value?
Some other questions to think about are; how does it decrease production time, increase efficiency, and increase your bottom line?

Bottom line: If the work you do demands the benefits of a Mac Pro, then you should have a clear decision. Price should be your least concern.

I doubt that we will see a revision of the Mac Pro this year, or even until early next year. My opinion: Since Mac Pro was announced just a little over a month ago. Plus, the performance increases (if any) are probably going to be quite small.

Just because new chips are released, does not mean that the systems will come down in price. And honestly, very few of us video editors (and by that I mean those who strictly edit video) TRULY need 8 processors in one system.

Baburao786 · Sep 18, 2006, 11:46 PM

that means if i get the update for final cut pro 4.5 then i'll have to get one for dvd studio pro 3 and also motion....am i correct?....

EFFENDI · 12:07 AM

If you upgrade. You get everything. The upgrade is $199.99

The crossgrade is (as mentioned below) $50.00. Sorry about the confusion.

brokenjago · Sep 19, 2006, 12:02 AM

I thought the crossgrade was only for users of 5 to 5.1?

I don't know for sure.

Also, Final Cut pro 4.5 will not run at all under Rosetta, or so says Apple. You need Final Cut Studio 5.1 to run any sort of Final cut at all.

Baburao786 · Sep 19, 2006, 12:42 AM

Just a concern....when I first purchased the final studio suite from apple ..in order to get a better deal...the apple rep told me to get final cut express for 199 and told me to get the final cut 4.5 studio upgrade for 799.....this is when Motion was not out...When Motion came out I was a student so I got motion 2 academic version....I am still a student so how would the "upgrade" work on this?...If I get the Final Cut Studio Production Suite Upgrade...will I have to get the Motion 2 Upgrade?

Xyrrus · Sep 19, 2006, 01:49 AM

Originally Posted by Baburao786

Just a concern....when I first purchased the final studio suite from apple ..in order to get a better deal...the apple rep told me to get final cut express for 199 and told me to get the final cut 4.5 studio upgrade for 799.....this is when Motion was not out...When Motion came out I was a student so I got motion 2 academic version....I am still a student so how would the "upgrade" work on this?...If I get the Final Cut Studio Production Suite Upgrade...will I have to get the Motion 2 Upgrade?

What version of FCP are you running, exactly? You mentioned in your first post that you were running FCP 4.5. If you upgrade FCP 4.5 to Final Cut Studio it costs $199 and you get Final Cut Pro 5.1, DVD Studio Pro 4.1, Motion 2.1 as well as all the other smaller apps, Soundtrack, Compressor, Livetype, etc. You don't need to buy seperate upgrades for the old stand-alone apps.

Apple has a page with all the upgrades on it. Apple - Pro Applications Universal Crossgrade

The $199 upgrade from a stand alone FCP 4.5 to the complete studio seems to be an excelent price by all accounts.

-Xy

MaxPower2k3 · Sep 19, 2006, 02:14 AM

Yes, you will have to buy the upgrade. As brokenjago said, FCP versions prior to 5.1 do not run at all on intel macs. $199 to get the complete, updated suite is a great deal, though, so I wouldn't pass it up.

Baburao786 · Sep 19, 2006, 02:55 AM

I am definitely going to get the upgrade...but one more concern....I understand the upgrade gives you Final Cut 5.1, Soundtrack, DVD Studio Pro 4, Motion 2.1.....

I am terribly sorry if I am re-iterating this again ..I hope you guys understand....When I purchased Final Cut Suite 4.5...the apple sales rep told me to purchase Final Cut Express 2.0 and he would give me the upgrade to a Final Cut Production Suite for 699....Back then Motion was not released so I purchased Motion 2 Academic Version later on since I decided to enroll back in school....*the final cut production suite I initially purchased is not an academic version*

My concern is that will the upgrade take care of Motion 2 Academic version?..Thanks and once again my apologies if don't sound too bright.

MaxPower2k3 · Sep 19, 2006, 10:55 AM

the ONLY thing you need for the upgrade is Final Cut Pro. Nothing else matters. That's why it's such a good deal; You only have to own Final Cut Pro and you get the whole suite from the upgrade.

And Academic versions of Final Cut Pro are eligible, too.

OreoCookie · Sep 19, 2006, 11:41 AM

Just another note: If you emulate PowerPC software via Rosetta, the RAM requirements increase a lot -- in particular if you use software which uses a lot of RAM to begin with (opening large images in photoshop, FCPro).

Graymalkin · Sep 20, 2006, 01:50 AM

AFAIK FCP 4.5 will not run on any PCI Express Mac which includes the last revision of the PowerMac G5s. It also is not very likely to run inside of Rosetta. The PCI Express PowerMacs (dual-core) required you to upgrade to at least FCP 5. FCP 5 supports older Macs but 4.5 is not forward compatible. If you get a Mac Pro you will definitely need to upgrade to FCS 5.1.