Preference Manager 1.0.7 released

This is a maintenance release of Preference Manager, bringing it up to version 1.0.7.

Only minor changes this time around - there were some icon tweaks and the Sparkle updater framework has been upgraded. The main reason for releasing this update, however, was to include a comprehensive user manual for people who may have difficulty using the software, and to let them know of the support options available.

Preference Manager is a tool for managing Final Cut Studio preference files. It allows you to trash, lock, backup and restore these files. It is suitable for troubleshooting, and also for transferring user preferences from one machine to another.

It is completely free and is available here.

Web tool "Link to Calculation" misunderstandings

Just got some feedback from one of our web tools about the little "Link to this Calculation" link at the bottom.

I thought it best to explain what the feature is for and how to use it. If you just want to put a general link on your blog, just copy and paste the link at the top of your address bar as normal. Link to this Calculation is for linking to the tool with certain settings pre-set. So, for example, if you use the Film Rate Calculator to work out how much film you'll need to buy, you can use the Link to this Calculation send a link to someone else with those options already entered into the form so they don't need to enter them themselves.

The feedback poster thought the feature wasn't working but in fact it is. When you click the link, it changes the link in your address bar to the new format. Consequently, the page reloads but everything remains the same except the address bar. You can then copy + paste that new link and send it to someone else.

I'll try to make this clearer in future versions.

Replacing the CRT

Broadcast Engineering has a great article called Replacing the CRT. This details some of the existing and upcoming technologies looking to resign CRT broadcast monitors to the grave. They are:

* Plasma
* DLP
* SED (which looks very promising - not out yet though)
* OLED
* FED

This article is well worth checking out.

Upcoming Snow Leopard features you should know about

Snow Leopard is the name of the next version of Mac OS X, due next year. The idea behind Snow Leopard isn't to add a lot of features but instead to overhaul and optimize the OS for maximum performance. Developers are already receiving pre-release versions - here are some of the biggest features:

* No PowerPC support - This operating system will be Intel-only I'm afraid.

* Full 64-bit support - This was somewhat rudimentary in previous versions and consequently developers didn't really take advantage of it.

* New default display gamma - This one is very important for editors. With previous versions of Mac OS X, the default gamma was 1.8 which was great for print work. The default display gamma in Snow Leopard is now 2.2, which brings it closer to most TVs and Windows computers.

* Cocoa rewrites for all applications - "Almost all" of the visible applications (including Finder) have been rewritten in Cocoa. Cocoa and Carbon are two different application programming interfaces (APIs). Basically, Apple has decided that it wants to transition developers away from Carbon (which is more convenient if you are also developing for Windows) and towards Cocoa instead. Consequently, Cocoa tends to get all of the new features (such as 64-bit support) while Carbon gets left behind.

Ars Technica speculates that Carbon applications in Snow Leopard could be "wrapped" in Cocoa. I imagine this would affect performance and it should be noted that Final Cut Pro is currently written in Carbon. A Cocoa rewrite of FCP is inevitable (and much appreciated) but of course, no-one knows when that will occur.

* And then of course, all the features mentioned in the original press release - Grand Central for more efficient multi-core processing, OpenCL for using the GPU as another processor (must be why the new MacBook Pros have two GPUs) and QuickTime X which offers "optimized support for modern codecs and more efficient media playback" which would imply some kind of acceleration.

So all in all, this looks to be a promising update for people in the film and TV industries.

FCS Remover 2.0.0 released

We've just released a major new version of FCS Remover. This is a complete rewrite of the application that incorporates many of the features you have been asking for.

The biggest of these is the UI overhaul that now allows you to choose which components to remove and which components to keep. It's also a lot better at removing files that are in use or require admin privileges, and it can also remove content such as Motion templates and LiveFonts even when they are not in the default location.

Final Cut Server users will be pleased to hear that this version now removes the Final Cut Server database - but only if you want it to. There are also presets for common actions such as removing only content. The Maximum Compatibility preset in particular is useful if you have another ProApp such as Logic or Shake on your system and don't want to interfere with it. This preset will remove all of the Final Cut Studio files except for the ones shared by other applications.

FCS Remover is free and can be downloaded here.

We are always trying to improve our software so we appreciate any feedback we receive. We'd be very interested to know what people think of the new release.

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Preference Manager 1.0.6 released

This is a minor update to Preference Manager, bringing it up to version 1.0.6. It's mainly just tweaks and optimizations with the aim of making the software easier and faster to use. To do this we've added shortcut keys, removed the Lock button in the Lock tab (selecting/deselecting an item immediately locks/unlocks it) and the application now remembers which options you last selected so that you don't have to keep selecting everything over and over in order to perform a backup. Also, the Select All buttons now toggle between Select All and Select None.

Preference Manager is an application designed to trash, backup, lock and restore Final Cut Studio preference files. These files save your user settings, window positions, etc and can cause problems if they become corrupted. Preference Manager allows you to back these up, restore them if a problem occurs, and then lock them to prevent further changes. You can also use these backups to transfer your user preferences onto a different machine.

Preference Manager is completely free and is available here. We are always looking for ways to improve our software so let us know if you have any suggestions.

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Solving Logic Studio installation issues

I just bought Logic Studio so expect more posts on this in the future. Upon trying to install the application, I had the problem many people have been experiencing - Compressor is grayed out and refuses to install. I also noticed that upon completing the installation, Soundtrack Pro would crash when launching, citing a missing framework (ProFX.framework) as the cause. I don't know what causes this as I don't have Final Cut Studio installed on my Logic machine to conflict with it, and there were no receipts related to Compressor on my system. However, there is a simple workaround.

1. Install all the other components and let the installer skip Compressor for the time being.

2. On the main Logic installer disc, ctrl-click on Install Logic Studio and select Show Original.



3. Click on the Packages folder.



4. Double-click Compressor.mpkg and complete the installation process.



5. If you also got the same error as me about the missing ProFX framework when launching Soundtrack Pro, double-click the file PluginManager.pkg and follow the installer.



6. I was then able to launch Compressor but upon performing a test render, I noticed that Batch Monitor was missing (why, I don't know). So if you get that problem too, install Qmaster.mpkg.



This finally solved all of my problems and I was able to operate the Studio fully.

P.S. In case you were wondering, the difference between .pkg and .mpkg is that .mpkg (meta-packages) are containers for sub-packages (.pkg). The .pkg files only install one set of files whereas the .mpkg files can install a group of related packages.

Is this the death of FireWire?

One of the biggest things making the rounds this week is the fact that Apple's new MacBooks have had their FireWire 400 port removed. Now why would Apple do this when they were the company that popularized it in the first place?

Someone posted an email purportedly from Steve Jobs onto Flickr in which Steve states that most modern consumer camcorders nowadays operate over USB 2. That may well be the case but as we all know, FireWire is the superior standard and it seems silly in my eyes to phase it out in favor of an inferior format. It seems like a case of Betamax vs VHS in which the most convenient format and not the best format actually won, with the best format relegated solely to the professional market. It's a great shame in my eyes.

Advertising may also play a part too - USB 2 is advertised as operating at 480 Mbps vs FireWire's 400 Mbps which looks good on paper but as we all know, FireWire is capable of sustaining 400 Mbps whereas 480 Mbps is just a theoretical limit for USB 2.

FireWire still hasn't achieved mass adoption among PC users. Apple is its primary proponent so if Apple lets it go, it will most likely die (as a consumer format at least). It's good to see it remain on the professional side - where I think it will stay for some time - but it's a little more inconvenient to now need an adapter to use FireWire 400 equipment. This is inconvenient because there seems to be considerably more 400 equipment out there than 800.

The most troubling thing for me isn't the demise of FireWire, it's the lack of a suitable replacement from Apple. eSATA would be great for hard drives but Apple seems to be shunning it for reasons unknown.

Blu-ray is a "bag of hurt" says Steve Jobs

This was something I missed on Tuesday as I didn't see the actual keynote address, only what Apple posted on their web site.

According to Engadget, Steve Jobs is blaming licensing issues for the current lack of Blu-ray on the Mac.



It's good to finally hear something from Apple on this subject. I guess, much like when Apple introduced DVD burners, they are waiting for larger consumer adoption and significant falls in the price of media before committing. Unfortunately that's not so helpful for Pro App users.

New laptops and Cinema Displays

Apple today released complete redesigns of their laptop line and, unexpectedly, they are offering a new Cinema Display. The new designs are in the black and aluminum style of the new iMac.

Cinema Displays
* 24" screen
* Price: $899
* ONLY the new design is available in black and silver. The old designs (20", 23" and 30") are still available on the store but we don't know for how long.
* LED backlight (easier on both the eye and the environment at the same time)
* Built-in iSight camera, mic and speakers
* Internal MagSafe power adapter that allows you to charge a MacBook
* Built-in USB ports, NO Firewire
* Connects via MiniDVI
* Max resolution 1920x1080
* Glossy glass screen
* Contrast ratio 1000:1 (massive increase from 400:1)
* 14 ms response time (same as previous gen)

My thoughts - Seems to be aimed at consumers due to the lack of FireWire, relatively low resolution (the old 23" offered 1920x1200), glossy screen, Mini DVI connector and the fact that every single photograph shows a MacBook tethered to it. Looks nice for watching HD iTunes movies on though.

And it gets bonus points for a huge increase in contrast ratio. I wouldn't advise it for color-critical work though.

Read more...

MacBook
* One-piece aluminum cases (this is the "brick" everyone was referring to)
* The original white plastic MacBook remains but lowered to $999
* GeForce 9400M graphics chipset (256 MB shared memory) delivers a significant boost in graphics performance over the previous Intel on-board graphics
* Ultra-thin LED display
* All-glass multi-touch trackpad
* 5 hours of "wireless productivity"
* USB-only, NO Firewire

Low-end model ($1299):
* 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo
* 3MB L2 cache
* 2GB of RAM (expandable to 4 GB)
* 160GB HD (or upgrade to 320 GB HD or 128 GB SSD)
* 8x Superdrive
* 2x USB

High-end model ($1599):
* 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo
* 3MB L2 cache, 2GB of RAM (expandable to 4 GB)
* 250GB HD (or 320 GB HD or 128 GB SSD)
* 8x Superdrive
* 2x USB

My thoughts - The graphical upgrades are much-appreciated but there is no FireWire which makes it of limited professional use. Also, there is no indication as to whether or not these machines can boot into Target Disk Mode (which makes the machine behave like an external hard disk which is great for backing up data if the machine fails).

Read more...

MacBook Air
* Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics chipset
* Identical form factor to previous model
* SSD doubled in size from 64 to 128 GB
* Faster CPU

Low-end model ($1799):
* 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 6 MB L2 Cache
* 2 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 Memory
* 120 GB SATA hard drive

High-end model ($2499):
* 1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 6 MB L2 Cache
* 2 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 Memory
* 128 GB solid state drive

My thoughts - Could be good if a lightweight machine is important. Speed is now less of an issue than with the previous model but still a significant factor. No FireWire so storage options are limited.

Read more...

MacBook Pro
All the features of the MacBook above, as well as:
* 256 MB GeForce 9600M GT graphics in addition to the GeForce 9400
* Only 15" models available

Low-end model ($1999):
* 15.4" LED-backlit display
* 2.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo (3MB L2 cache)
* 2GB DDR3 RAM
* 250 GB 5400 RPM hard drive (or 250 GB 7200 RPM or 320GB 7200 RPM or 128GB solid-state drive)
* Slot-loading Super Drive
* FireWire 800 replaces FireWire 400

High-end model ($2400):
* 15.4" LED-backlit display
* 2.53 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo (6MB of L2 cache) (with 2.8 GHz upgrade option)
* 4GB DDR3 RAM
* 320 GB 5400 RPM hard drive (or 250 GB 7200 RPM or 320GB 7200 RPM or 128GB solid-state drive)
* Slot-loading Super Drive

My thoughts - Out of all of the new products unveiled today, this is the only one geared at professional users. It's faster (2.8 up from 2.6) and has faster memory and front side bus. It also has a 128 GB solid-state disk as an option, which will give a further speed boost. It's not a must-buy for previous MacBook Pro owners as the main selling point is the visual redesign, but it's good if you're in the market for a new machine.

It's worth noting that this machine does not have FireWire 400 ports so you will need a FireWire 800 to 400 adapter in order to use FireWire 400 equipment with it.

Read more...

Conclusion
It is interesting to note how Apple seems to be separating its professional lines from its consumer lines. The new graphics chips in the MacBooks make them much better for Final Cut Studio but the lack of FireWire now cripples them in that regard. I think this is deliberate.

There's nothing here to make pro users sit up and take notice but if you're in the market for a new MacBook Pro, you'll benefit from the speed bump and the (hopefully) more rugged design due to the new one-piece construction of the base.

Blu-ray unfortunately wasn't a feature in these new machines but then again, OS X 10.5.6 wasn't released either and there's no way they could introduce Blu-ray drives without OS support. But it does complicate the issue because if Apple were to, for example, release OS X 10.5.6 in two weeks with Blu-ray support in the OS, their laptop line would probably not be updated for another 3-4 months, whereas they could have just waited if Blu-ray support was just around the corner. I'm sure Apple must be working on this somewhere in their facility but when it will materialize remains to be seen. The next big event is Macworld in January so fingers crossed it will appear then.

Edit: One thing I didn't realize at first is that Apple is ONLY offering the MacBook Pro in a glossy screen configuration - the matte option previously offered is no longer present. The thing about glossy screens is that when calibrated properly, they are fully capable of reproducing accurate colors in a perfect environment. The gloss on the screen tends to reflect the environment which makes it virtually useless for professional work in most environments. I'm sure a third-party will create a matte screen cover for the MacBook Pro but for a machine supposedly targeted at professionals, they really shouldn't have to. This is disappointing.