TOPIC:

I'd like to see Compressor get a major update, at least a 1-window design. If it does fold into FCPX, I'd hope it would help our current compression workflow and not create a hoop to jump through.

I would love to see an Aperture 4 (X) update, but v3 keeps getting updates. Perhaps there's a new version down the road.

I'm still betting FCPX 10.1 will be a free update or $299 new. Although Alex wants it to be paid, I can't see that working at any level.

Disproportionate wrote:

As long as they can fold Compressor into FCP … .

May I say something heretically?
Most of the settings in Compressor are … obsolete, aren't they?

presets for SD, low-bandwidth, mpeg1 (!!), ....... 'discs' at all!
(yeah, yeah, stone me! )

'custom' settings: select a few 'popular' codecs, bit-rate, resolution - done.
The very few needing more control … 3rd party products?
Goo' ol' MpegStreamclip + x264 = hours of 'fun' .....

If you axe disc-mastering, you can get rid of lots of 'options' ....
If you detour high-end audio mastering (Dolby 7.2, Atmos etc) to LogicX anyhow - no need for more 'knobs&sliders' in FCPX.-

.... sorry, hobbyist speaking here with his narrow sight of the world

Unfortunately for some of us, discs haven't gone away and don't look like doing away time soon.

I just did some jobs where I had to delivery 100 DVDs. They were never going to download them, they were not something that would go on iTunes and in the end they wanted DVDs.

So, please, Apple, while you're looking ahead, don't pull up the drawbridge on discs just yet. Lots of pro's still need them more than you think.

I'm very concerned about Compressor.

While Apple iOS devices can now easily play H.264 High Profile, Compressor can't encode these, nor can it do CABAC entropy encoding. It's about the only commonly used encoder that can't. Apple's H.264 implementation is also about the worst (least efficient) on the market. Most use MainConcept and many now use x264 although there's licensing involved. Compressor just doesn't cut it as a professional encoder even for Apple's own devices.

Folding in to FCPX would be a further problem IMHO. FWIW not all my encode source come from FCPX.

Of course I use Telestream Episode and some may use Sorenson Squeeze.
Note that Avid MC includes Squeeze and Adobe CC includes Adobe Media Encoder.

Apple's Compressor is, unfortunately, the weakest H.264 encoder of the bunch and not improving that and additionally folding it into FCPX would not be a good thing when it comes to price, performance, quality, flexibility.

I can't help but think they have some plan for it. Otherwise why would they have carried it over to the MAS along with FCPX and Motion, while everything else was dropped.

Dave_EP wrote:

Unfortunately for some of us, discs haven't gone away and don't look like doing away time soon.

I just did some jobs where I had to delivery 100 DVDs. They were never going to download them, they were not something that would go on iTunes and in the end they wanted DVDs.

So, please, Apple, while you're looking ahead, don't pull up the drawbridge on discs just yet. Lots of pro's still need them more than you think.

Did you present you client with other options. Please don't confuse discs with DVD video. You can encode an h.264 .mp4 or .mov on an optical disk (even DVD) and the quality in HD will be leagues ahead of standard def DVD video. Just because you need to deliver a file on a disk doesn't mean you have to use poor quality standard def MPEG2 encoded DVD video.

cseeman wrote:

Just because you need to deliver a file on a disk doesn't mean you have to use poor quality standard def MPEG2 encoded DVD video.

It does if your target market includes those who need to play back the content on a set-top DVD player.

cseeman wrote:

Did you present you client with other options. Please don't confuse discs with DVD video. You can encode an h.264 .mp4 or .mov on an optical disk (even DVD) and the quality in HD will be leagues ahead of standard def DVD video. Just because you need to deliver a file on a disk doesn't mean you have to use poor quality standard def MPEG2 encoded DVD video.

Please don't assume that everyone can play all the new formats. Great Grandma of a 4 year old child wants to watch the school nativity play on a DVD disc, using DVD video on her 10 year old TV. What other option would you like me to present her with?

So, yes, lots of clients get other options. I deliver lots of projects online, using H264 or other formats as required. But 'some' clients want DVDs and are going to want DVDs for years to come.

This may not be a market you supply, or even care about, but in contrast to things going on in high end broadcast, I don't have *any* clients asking me to shoot, let alone deliver 4K right now, and many still require DVD. In fact, most of this market never even made it to Blu-ray (and I don't think ever will).

cseeman wrote:

Did you present you client with other options. Please don't confuse discs with DVD video. You can encode an h.264 .mp4 or .mov on an optical disk (even DVD) and the quality in HD will be leagues ahead of standard def DVD video. Just because you need to deliver a file on a disk doesn't mean you have to use poor quality standard def MPEG2 encoded DVD video.

Actually, one more from just a couple of weeks ago…. a corporate client wanted a promotional video supplying for the web HD, H264. They also needed 250 real playable DVDs for clients that don't have fast broadband, may not even have computers, but the vast majority of them have DVD players.

The DVD player is still by far the most ubiquitous means of delivering video today. If you don't need it and your clients don't want it, great! I wish I didn't, but the fact is we still have to author somewhere in the region of 50-75 DVD masters a year.

Hi Dave,

why don't you just use DVD Studio Pro then? Adobe has also stopped with further developing Encore (it's stuck at CS6, which is the last version, just like Apple stopped with DVD Studio Pro, although that last one unfortunately did not have any blu-ray capabilities).

But DVD is a format that isn't being developed anymore. You can do everything for DVD authoring you want with DVD Studio Pro. For ages we have been exporting masters from FCP, encoding them with Compressor and then using those files in DVD Studio Pro. Why would it now be different with FCPX?

We rarely get any questions about DVD authoring anymore at our facility. And although I respect that not everyone has the same needs, DVD Studio Pro hasn't stopped working and it can do everything you need within the SD DVD realm.

sidderke wrote:

Hi Dave,

why don't you just use DVD Studio Pro then? Adobe has also stopped with further developing Encore (it's stuck at CS6, which is the last version, just like Apple stopped with DVD Studio Pro, although that last one unfortunately did not have any blu-ray capabilities).

I have both DVDSP and Encore. how does that change things? I still want full control over the compression stage, which means compressor or Media Encoder. ME has some nasty habits, including adding immeasurable artefacts in to some busy scenes to the point the picture totally breaks down.

Compressor isn't awesome either, but as you said, DVD is hopefully coming to the end so I really don't feel like investing in other apps just to do compression.

I could leave the present compressor installed I guess, but if there are no real needs to delete the capability, why bother? Just leave it in please

But DVD is a format that isn't being developed anymore. You can do everything for DVD authoring you want with DVD Studio Pro. For ages we have been exporting masters from FCP, encoding them with Compressor and then using those files in DVD Studio Pro. Why would it now be different with FCPX?

It won't. I never ever create a DVD within FCPX. Ever. I always export to a ProRes file first. But if you're looking at obsoleting compressor and integrating it in to FCPX then chances are that's where the MPEG2 compression needs to happen.

I think it's a safe bet that, since Motion and Compressor are kind of extensions to FCP now, they'll get updates as well. What will be in those updates is anyones guess though. I suppose they could fold Compressor into X, but that sort of goes against the concept of making FCP a really strong "base" and adding on the extra things you need. The "basic" stuff from Compressor and Motion are already in FCP X. If you need deeper or more specific features, you buy the additional functionality.

One more step closer to Mac Pro and FCPX 10.1:

www.macrumors.com/2013/12/04/os-x-maveri...applecare-employees/

And now this:

www.macrumors.com/2013/12/04/german-reta...ber-16-availability/

daviddelreal wrote:

… www.macrumors.com/2013/12/04/german-reta...ber-16-availability/

Conrad Elektronik is a huge chain of shops selling 'everything electricity driven' - but has absolutely NO track-record being an Apple reseller.- cheap chinese imports of accessories

… PR-stunt, based upon estimation (or reading here ...)

(From earlier Macrumors post)

Update: French site MacGeneration posted a Tweet earlier this week claiming that delivery to customers may come on December 18, which could be in line with December 16 shipping availability.



At this point though, I believe Apple will release the New Mac Pro and FCPX 10.1 on Tuesday December 10th.

I hope they will except payments before the 15th! Then we will have eight of them babies here.

The DVD/Blu-Ray or any other future physical media will be around until every human being that can afford to rent or buy a movie or another entertainment is linked up to the internet. Speed is another issue.
I think the step to 4K (for super sized living rooms) will keep the physical media around a bit longer. Who knows?

Talks about h.264… I wonder why Apple never created there own delivery format like Apple ProRes Mobile. lol
I mean all there content works mainly with there products.

Dave_EP wrote:

I still want full control over the compression stage, which means compressor or Media Encoder.
I could leave the present compressor installed I guess, but if there are no real needs to delete the capability, why bother? Just leave it in please

Ow, I definitely agree with that! Compressor could use a lot of better function upgrades (I have a list myself) and I would really like to keep it as a separate program with all the functions that we have now (and more)

So it seems most people are expecting it to be next Tuesday the 10th and that makes sense, but let me throw this out there. It is pretty obvious that FCP X 10.1 will be released with the Mac Pro. Either when they release it or when they finally open it up for pre-orders. Because this is the case there is a possibility it could come before or even after the 10th on a different day. They may just surprise us one day. Though I see its release after the 10th as unlikely.

All evidence seems to point to putting FCPX and the MacPro out at the same time. While it's difficult to get insider info on when MAS updates will drop, cause no one is involved but Apple; we may get some hints on the MacPro as it's launch gets closer- from dealers, or internal Apple stock sources. I've seen at least one report from the UK backing up my pricing info from last week- so the machine is showing up in Apple's retail systems.

There were some stories today about the MacPro being released the week of the 16th- but the credibility of those sources is spotty. If we hear anything more definitive on that side, that could point to when we'll see it and X finally hit the market.

One thing is for sure, I cannot imaging either of these products launching later than the week of the 16th- after that it's Christmas/NewYear- and NOTHING is happening.