After Apple released Final Cut Pro X in June, they immediately EOL’d (end of life’d aka discontinued) Final Cut Pro 7 and Final Cut Studio. FCS itself was comprised of Color 1.5, Compressor 3.5, DVD Studio 4, FCP 7, Motion 4, and Soundtrack Pro 3. FCP X however had been rebuilt from the ground up and lacked many of the features already available in FCP7.
One of the biggest issues for video professionals though was the inability to bring their vast library of FCP 7 projects into FCP X. As a result, the new software was met with a tepid response by portions of this customer base.
Apple in response posted a FAQ to address some of the growing negative customer feedback about the new software being useless for their post production needs. The company did say a few of the missing features would eventually be added back in future updates (being vague on actual dates and whether or not these updates would be free). This however did little to appease the growing discontent over Apple’s decision to immediately EOL FCS and FCP 7 considering the incomplete nature of FCP X and the lack of a smooth transition path with the immediate discontinuation of the previous version. Apple indicated at one point they would consider selling additional licenses to current larger customers but that too did little to appease long time customers.
Apple seems to have relented just a little, by once again placing Final Cut Studio on sale again albeit with some caveats. First, they only can be purchased via phone (part number MB642Z/A) and according to an Apple spokesperson, it seems to based on limited quantities which the company has on hand. The price is as before, $999 (or $899 educational). Unfortunately for some shops, this move is seen as too little too late as they had already made the decision to move on and not be reliant on Apple for their video post production needs.
This panel of Final Cut professionals presented an informative indepth look at Final Cut Pro 7 versus X and reasons why Apple screwed up in their handling of the situation.
