∞ Avid joins the Final Cut Pro beat down parade

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It just keeps piling on for Apple and its Final Cut Pro team.

[ad#Google Adsense 300x250 in story]After releasing Final Cut Pro X, Apple has been taking it on the chin from its pro users for not providing a high-end application. In an FAQ posted this week, Apple said many of those features are coming in future updates, but that hasn’t stopped the beat down.

Even Apple’s competition has taken the opportunity to speak to its users. Adobe welcomed Final Cut Pro users to Premiere Pro and said in an interview with The Loop that the number of people interested in Premiere has been “striking.”

Not to be left out, Avid stepped up and is offering Final Cut Pro (excluding FCP X) the opportunity to crossgrade to Media Composer 5.5 for $995. Avid is even having an event in Los Angeles to meet with film editors and “talk about Avid’s ongoing commitment to professional editors.”

“For Avid, making great video and audio products to serve the needs of professionals — top editors, whether for film, theatrical, television, broadcasters, major film and music studios, or independent film producers is our lifeblood,” wrote Avid Executive Gary Greenfield. “You can depend on us to be thinking about your needs first.”


  • bobbsybobs

    Such a shame because the best thing that ever happened to Avid was to face stiff competition with FCP. Avid’s recent updates have been great and many are obviously based on a more FCP way of working. Prices have also come down and everybody’s benefitting. If Apple is backing away from the pro editing market then I see Avid getting fat and lazy again like they were for many years previously with no real competition.

    I would love nothing more than FCPX to suddenly spring up and take everybody by surprise – but I very much doubt it.

    • T. Schmelzer

      Bingo. As much as I feel Apple stabbed a lot of people in the back with this FCP X decision, seeing everyone suddenly become so ridiculously, unprofessionally evangelical about Adobe and Avid is making me nauseous. I am currently adapting my workflow to another NLE (was using FCP6 for a while waiting for a true update but now I see its time to abandon ship). What I learned is… never trust a corporation. Even if it dresses like a hippie and has really good design taste. But it’s almost as if people forgot what a nightmare Avid used to be, or how FCP forced them to change to the business model everyone is now applauding. Well now that Apple kicked the professional bucket, whose going to force Avid to not go crazy again? Or to not to tie miniscule feature improvements into expensive updates?  Adobe? The guys who invented miniscule feature improvements tied into expensive updates?