The X version of Final Cut Pro was supposed to be all things to all people -- easier and more power for the serious amateurs and yet refreshing and comprehensive for the pros. In reality it seemed that neither camp quite saw it that way, but Apple has at least been listening. Today the company has announced version 10.0.3, which finally adds the one feature everyone's been clamoring for: multicam support. But that's not all. Join us after the break for a deeper look.
With this new version, Final Cut Pro X can now support footage from up to 64 separate cameras, each with different combinations of codecs, resolutions and frame rates. The app can obviously sync based on embedded timestamps, but it can also automatically take a shot at lining up footage by looking at the waveforms of associated audio from each cam, even if that audio isn't used in the resulting production.
There's also a new advanced chroma key feature, which enables better tweaking of green screen-like footage from directly within the app, and the ability to work with layered PSDs right there as well. There's also beta support for broadcast monitoring hardware from the likes of Blackmagic, AJA and Matrox, all of whom are said to have or be working on Thunderbolt-equipped hardware.
Finally, three third-party add-ons are releasing today: Red Giant has a version of its Magic Bullet Suite, GenArts has is Sapphire Edge plugin and Intelligent Assistance has a $10 app called 7 to X that will convert legacy Final Cut Pro projects into the latest and greatest format.
The feature upgrades to Final Cut Pro X are nice, especially given this update is free to those who have already paid the $299 entry fee, but is it all enough to woo back those jilted pros who might have taken their multicam setups elsewhere over the past seven months? That we'll have to wait and see.
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