Can You Say Final Cut Studio v.6?

David Saraceno

David Saraceno

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Staff member
Apple Computer has acquired Silicon Color, a San Diego, Calif.-based company responsible for developing FinalTouch color correction software.

Following the sale, Apple will be responsible for honoring all maintenance agreements held by current Silicon Color customers until they expire.

Under the terms of the deal, the Mac maker also acquired the rights to all Silicon Color technology as well as its intellectual property.

"We are pleased to announce that all Silicon Color technology and intellectual property, including FinalTouch color correction software, was recently sold to Apple," reads a message on the Silicon Color website. "Maintenance agreements held by current Silicon Color customers will be honored by Apple until they expire."

Financial details about the acquisition were not made public.

Silicon Color had a strong reputation for catering to video professionals through its FinalTouch 2K, FinalTouch HD, and FinalTouch SD packages.

The FinalTouch 2K package, priced at $25,000, was designed for the demanding needs of professional film colorists, offering direct support for 10-bit, log-encoded Cineon and DPX files without requiring time consuming conversion or proxy-generation steps.

A scaled down version of the software, called FinalTouch HD, retailed for $5000 and interfaced with Apple's Final Cut Pro video editing software via XML. The package included direct support for QuickTime media while offering many of the same features as its larger sibling.

The most recent product to come out of Silicon Color was a $1000 software package called FinalTouch SD. Designed for production facilities that have yet moved to high-definition, it offered color correction for users working with DV-CAM, Digi-Beta, or any other SD format.
 
This was posted in a different thread... I'll post the same thing... there was talk of a high end FCP that would cost $25,000 that would be close to the Avid Nitris... wondering if this is a way of getting there...
 
GaryinCalifornia said:
This was posted in a different thread... I'll post the same thing... there was talk of a high end FCP that would cost $25,000 that would be close to the Avid Nitris... wondering if this is a way of getting there...
Click to expand...

I remember the thread.

However, Shake was $5K, and is now $499.00.

LiveType was previously India Titler Pro at about $1200, now part of FCS.

DVD SP was previously DVDirector (Astarte) I believe, and cost a bundle, now part of FCS.

Even SoundTrack was a different app.

Apple is going market share. I believe that these programs will be folded into the stock version of FCS at the same price.

Don't know more, but it is consistent with what Apple has done.


Today I read a review of dual core Xeon processor HP xw8400 workstation in a popular video mag. Dual Core Xeon 5160 3 Ghz processors with a NVIDIA Quadro FX 1500 256 MB RAM video card. FW, USB2, gigabit ethernet, and 2 Gb of on board RAM.

Runs $5995.00.

Apple's MacPro desktop has slightly better features, four easily removable SATA drive bays, 1 Gb of RAM, a similar video card, DL burner, and some decent bundled software. It's got a solid aluminum case, and is virtually silent.

It runs $3599.00 even after more of Apple's more expensive RAM. That's $2K less than the "rip roarin' fast" HP according to the magazine article.

And it runs Windows XP faster than actual PCs according to tests run by PC Magazine.

The company is making some good elections.
 
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don't forget phenomenon the app that will replace Shake. final touch will definitely be intergrated in this app along with fcp
 
It's pretty exiting.

Apple bought high end compositing tools (RAYZ, Charlice) from Silicon Grail, and acquired Nothing Real (Shake, Tremor) in 2002.
Nothing really came from that other than updates to Shake. RAYZ, Charlice, Tremor was discontinued.
Almost 5 years later they buy a high end color corrction suite, with realtime 1080p color correction.
Hopefully they'll announce something at NAB next year....
 
I'm really interested to see what they do with the 2K version and if they go the whole hog and make FCS work all round with Cineon and DPX data and metadata. The DI market is a much more crowded space than the NLE market and they would no doubt price it ridiculously low and make the money on the Macs.

If they go that high then one thing will kill the whole attempt - secrecy and locked doors. People will expect to be able to feed bugs and get direct responses from the lions belly and if they operate like they do with FCP, they will find it hard to win many fans.
 
there was talk of a high end FCP that would cost $25,000 that would be close to the Avid Nitris...

Ok, ok, one last time, let me put this false rumor to rest once and for all. There will not be any $25k FCP package. In fact, I've recently read several articles that those high end/high price systems are on the way out, being replaced by batteries of desktop systems doing the same thing for less money. Apple told us trainers once that the $25k FCP was definitly a false rumor, there was no place for such a package in the market, period.

What you will see is the desktop NLEs such as FCP and Edius get more and more advanced.

And do expect to see FCP 6.0 at NAB, but not sooner, and this is a rumor Apple refuses to comment on. But Apple has officially said the $25k FCP system is very much a false rumor.
 
First thing apple should do is slash prices in half across the board. All Final Touch software 50% off. That would create more buying interest. We are noticing the products but do not feel any sense of urgency. If anything we feel like waiting a year to buy to find out were apple will take this product.
Get some of that money back now apple buy creating that buy now feeling!
At 50% off you will sell at least 3 times the products.

2 ways apple will play it.

1. In the newly recoded shake integrate most of final touch features into it. This would justify a higher priced product separating it from the previous shake. I don't think they will price final touch hd higher than $2000. Maybe they will make a new Shake film version that is $5000 and includes the Final Touch 2k features. But really I don't see New Shake ever costing more that $1499 from now on unless there is some type of hardware attached. Maybe an external graphics card adapter/dongle maybe.

2. Rebrand and rerelease Final Touch products at lower prices. apple knows that they cannot get massive market share this late in the game without lowering prices. What they should do if they take this route is include Final Touch SD
in the Final Cut Pro Studio for free. Offer $199 upgrade to current users. This would create instant users. Also if they are upgrading to hd or film they will buy the paid versions because they already know how to use the software. zero learning curve. SD is slowly on its way out.
So pricing structure should be
free - Final Touch SD in Final Cut Studio
$499 - Final Touch HD
$999 - Final Touch 2K
 
That was because Shake is VERY old oudated coding, and other apps with modern code were catching up. When you see the next generation of Shake, but it under another name, or as Shake 5, it will have been written from the ground up. Apple droped the price on Shake in anticipation of it going away, in it's current form, forever. The coding is just not worth fooling with anymore.

I used to be an IT Egineer and Project Manager, worked for several software companies, and it takes TONS of money to create and continually update software. Apple couldn't survive with an across the board 50% slash in prices. And for what you get now in Final Cut Suite, it's a pretty good bargin.

I won't speculate beyond any facts I have. Will Final Touch get integrated into Shake, Motion, FCP, all, none? Flip a coin.

I am willing to bet that there will be an FCP 6, if not a 5.5 at NAB, and whatever will replace Shake 4 will probably be announced there, too. But that's just based on very little actual info from Apple, and knowing their development and marketing history.
 
So you don't think they will cut prices for Final Touch? You really think Final Touch 2k will remain a seperate product for $25k. Apple wants to sell hardware. They can lock you into their products and gain market share. $5k tops anything more is uncivilized!

If it was selling like hotcakes or being used on MAJOR movie releases then I would agree, but I think they will immediately drop the price before NAB. When is NAB?
 
The product will remain as is for the time being, same pricing, etc. But eventually Apple will "Borg" it into one or more of their own packages, I'm sure. Or do like with Logic after Emagic made it a killer recording app with a sucky interface. They cleaned it up, made it better, and poof, there you have it. Logic is actually about the same price that Emagic had it for. But they also did the watered down version for Logic Express and sold it cheaper.

You never know what Apple will do until they officially announce it. All I'm going to say it, the latest few rounds of rumors proved false. Apple is doing some new things, so as far as I'm concerned, I'm not expecting or guessing at anything, just waiting to see.
 
BenB said:
All I'm going to say it, the latest few rounds of rumors proved false. Apple is doing some new things, so as far as I'm concerned, I'm not expecting or guessing at anything, just waiting to see.
Click to expand...

I can agree with that. By the way BenB I got my Final Cut Pro Certification. :)
 
Last I knew there will be another upgrade before NAB, but not the huge one everyone is buzzing about.
If Apple follows their history with this stuff it will all be part of the standard package. No tiered feature pricing.
Think Secret has also been talking about a dual quad machine in the works for the first quarter 2007. Yay Apple
 
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When I refer to the high end I don't, for one second, think Apple will be pushing products out the door for anything like $25,000. Its more a question of if they will take the 2K version's IP and DPX workflow and actually integrate this into FCP itself, perhaps as a module type system or 'room'.

If they did I imagine the price would probably remain exactly the same for FCS, but more importantly would they actually fully think it through or just market the crap out of it and let thousands of unsuspecting users take their word for it.

Anyone recall the recent "BWF support" announcement in FCP 5.1.2 - its virtually unusable, yet unless you keep an eye on the forums and email lists you wouldn't know this until you started using it. We all know we have to thoroughly test our workflow's before a film starts, but now that we know its mostly useless what can we do; we can't phone anyone in Pro Apps, we could never expect a direct response from them, so we have to look at 3rd party tools.

The DI market will not stomach that kind of product, so if they won't change their approach, I imagine they also know they can't make that work - a real DI workflow looks unlikely as a result IMHO.

FCS is a fantastic product, and continues to get better. Its package simplicity and price has always been its key feature. The FCP application is now however quite old and the interface is lagging. I've no doubt Apple have been working on a complete redesign of every inch of the app for the next release. Making it visually seamless with the other Pro Apps which use NSPro interface palette. Hopefully they won't shrink everything too much and they will expand/open up more of the recent external Apple Events support, as that's very cool. Where FinalTouch fits into this we will have to wait and see.

Ben you have lots of software background, so I'm sure you can shed some light on this, but my understanding is that FCP actually needs to be built around a much more robust object database which would facilitate better media management, complete shared project and media features and overall better performance with large projects. Grading databases are also fairly complex structures, so if they are doing this big upheaval, now would seem an appropriate time to bring the grading tools in too.

Anyway, I've taken us off topic. How does this latest acquisition effect HVX200 users? No idea :-)

--Mark
 
All I'll say is that I very much disagree with Mark on almost all of those issues.

How will the latest acquisition effect HVX-200 users? The same way it'll effect all users. It'll bring new technologies into all the Pro level apps, and maybe some new apps.

I try not to speculate too much with Apple, they've been changing in some major ways lately. I don't pretend to see any trends. It's just wait and see. But I am confident they will maintain their standing in the Film market, if not improve it.

Also, remember that FCP has enjoyed very affordable and very diverse thrid party support. One of the best in the biz, too.
 
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Here's news on the FCP/Film front-

Nevada City, Calif., October 18, 2006 – Telestream, the provider of award-winning Flip4Mac® digital media tools for the Mac, today announced immediate availability of its Flip4Mac Import and Export Components for Grass Valley Profile and K2 media servers. These components provide file compatibility and enable fast, efficient file transfer between Apple Final Cut Pro editing systems and Grass Valley servers.

"Telestream has been a key contributor to file-based media workflows, providing the critical link that enables seamless media exchange between systems," said Barbara DeHart, vice president of Telestream Flip4Mac products. "We are pleased to expand Flip4Mac support for these industry-leading server products from Grass Valley."

The Flip4Mac Profile|K2 Components Now Available from Telestream|K2 components provide file-based import and export of IMX D-10 and DV25/50 standard definition video and uncompressed audio between Grass Valley K2™, Profile®, Turbo and M-Series media servers and Final Cut Pro applications for Mac OS X users. With the new Flip4Mac components, editors can browse, import, edit and export content to and from devices not natively supported by Final Cut Pro. Transfers can occur faster than real time. They also provide additional functionality, like the ability to view keyframes and metadata support, enabling a faster, more efficient, all-digital workflow. These components eliminate the need to return to baseband video in order to move media files between systems.

"We're pleased that Telestream continues to expand its line of import tools for Final Cut Pro users to include Grass Valley servers," said Marc Valentin, president of the Grass Valley business within Thomson. "This tight integration is key to providing a faster, more convenient workflow for transferring media from our file-based Infinity products into Final Cut Pro editing environments."

Flip4Mac Profile|K2 Components Now Available from Telestream|K2 Import/Export Components are available for immediate online purchase from http://www.flip4mac.com.
 
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