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It has been more than two years since Apple released Final Cut Studio 2—but today, a new version of Apple's marquee pro video editing package has arrived. Most interesting is that this release comes just a step or two ahead of the planned debut of Snow Leopard, Apple’s hotly anticipated OS X update, in which the stated focus is less on sexy new features and more on stability, speed, productivity, and bug fixes. Not surprisingly, that approach seems to have been the driving force behind this new version of Final Cut Studio, which includes Final Cut Pro 7, Motion 4, Soundtrack Pro 3, Color 1.5, and Compressor 3.5. Also released is Final Cut Server 1.5 (which is not reviewed here).
Customers using earlier versions of Apple Pro Apps—including Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Motion, Compressor, or MainStage—need to update their apps to be compatible with macOS High Sierra. These versions of Apple Pro Apps are compatible with macOS High Sierra: Final Cut Pro X 10.3.4 or later; Motion 5.3.2 or later; Compressor 4.3.2 or later.
The good news: significant new features are available across the suite, including new flavors of the ProRes codecs (Apple's HD video compression format), a new Easy Export feature that allows direct encoding and burning to DVD and Blu-ray from Final Cut Pro and Motion, as well as direct export and posting to MobileMe or YouTube. All the apps feature upgrades and have significant bug fixes. Apple has clearly been listening well to customer requests. What's more, the price for the suite has dropped to $999 with a $299 upgrade price, from $1,299 and $499, respectively.
The bad news: This release works only on Intel Macs, with a minimum operating system requirement of OS X 10.5.6, so if you haven't upgraded and updated your workstation to meet those specifications, it’s time. The really bad news is that all this comes with no significant upgrade for DVD Studio Pro, which means the direct encode and burn option, nice as it is, is your only Blu-ray creation option. At this late date in the high-definition disc game (Blu-ray won the format war in February, 2008), that is a glaring omission.
Despite that, the new Final Cut Studio (Apple has dispensed with version names for the overall suite) is amazingly powerful, and a solid improvement on its industry leading toolset. Most apps have been streamlined and updated for ease of use and increased productivity.
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Get help
Final Cut Studio (2009) includes Final Cut Pro 7, Motion 4, Compressor 3.5, Soundtrack Pro 3, DVD Studio Pro 4, and Color 1.5. View documentation, tech specs, and more by clicking the links below.
Final Cut Studio (2009)
Final Cut Pro 7
- Read Final Cut Pro 7 documentation and the Cinema Tools 4.5 user manual
- View Final Cut Pro 7 tech specs
- Resolve common Final Cut Pro 7 issues
- See Final Cut Pro 7 supported cameras
- Learn which versions of Final Cut Pro 7 are compatible with OS X Lion and OS X Snow Leopard
Motion 4
- Read the Motion 4 user manual
- View Motion 4 tech specs
Compressor 3.5
- Read Compressor 3.5 documentation and Apple Qmaster 3.5 documentation
- View Compressor 3.5 tech specs
- Resolve common Compressor 3.5 issues
Soundtrack Pro 3
- Read Soundtrack Pro 3 documentation
- View Soundtrack Pro 3 tech specs
DVD Studio Pro 4
- Read the DVD Studio Pro 4 user manual
- View DVD Studio Pro 4 tech specs
- Resolve common DVD Studio Pro 4 issues
Color 1.5
Final Cut Studio Pro
- Read the Color 1.5 user manual
- View Color 1.5 tech specs
Have more questions?
Search the Apple Support Community discussion boards.
You can also search for additional articles. Most Final Cut Studio (2009) articles are no longer updated by Apple, but remain available. To find archived articles:
- Click the search button at the top right corner of this page (or any page on support.apple.com), enter the application name or a few words about a feature in the search field, and press Enter.
- On the search results page that appears, click the Filter button and select the “Include archived content” checkbox.
The search results update to include archived articles.
Update to Final Cut Pro X
Learn about Final Cut Pro X and what to expect when you upgrade.