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Apple releases new Final Cut Studio

New version of the high-end video production suite includes Final Cut Pro 7 and Motion 4.

Jim Dalrymple Special to CNET News
Jim Dalrymple has followed Apple and the Mac industry for the last 15 years, first as part of MacCentral and then in various positions at Macworld. Jim also writes about the professional audio market, examining the best ways to record music using a Macintosh. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. He currently runs The Loop.
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Jim Dalrymple
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Apple introduced on Thursday a new version of Final Cut Studio, the company's high-end video production suite.

The suite comes with six applications in all, including Final Cut Pro 7, Motion 4, Soundtrack Pro 3, Color 1.5, Compressor 3.5, and DVD Studio Pro 4. Most of the work in this release was spent on the flagship app of the suite, Final Cut Pro.

In Final Cut Pro 7, editors have the ability to edit faster with the help of three new ProRes versions. Users can now choose ProRes 422 (Proxy) for offline editing; ProRes 422 (LT) for projects that require reduced file sizes at broadcast quality; and ProRes 4444 for compositing and digital workflows that require the highest-possible quality.

The new Final Cut Studio includes these apps. Apple

Final Cut also includes support for iChat Theater, giving editors the ability to collaborate with clients in real-time. You can output your video to iChat Theater and talk while your client watches the clips with you.

A redesigned Change Speed window lets you make speed changes without rippling the sequence, and a new Share window gives you more control over exporting your content for Apple devices, the Web, a Blu-ray disc, or a DVD.

Apple's 3D application, Motion 4 allows you to add reflections and shadows that respond to lights and objects as they pass through the 3D space, according to Apple. Motion also includes new text and titling tools, including an Adjust Glyph tool that lets you distort a single character.

Compressor 3.5 comes with a new Job Action features that gives you the ability to have Compressor open a file, publish it to the Web, or send it to your iTunes library. You can also use job actions to burn a Blu-ray disc or a DVD, or trigger Automator workflows.

Final Cut Studio is available for $999 and requires an Intel Mac. Current Final Cut Studio owners can purchase an upgrade for $299.