Alright then, here we go.

.

CUPERTINO, California-June 21, 2011-Apple® today announced Final Cut Pro® X, a revolutionary new version of the world’s most popular Pro video editing software which completely reinvents video editing with a Magnetic Timeline that lets you edit on a flexible, trackless canvas; Content Auto-Analysis that categorizes your content upon import by shot type, media and people; and background rendering that allows you to work without interruption. Built on a modern 64-bit architecture, Final Cut Pro X is available from the Mac® App Store™ for $299.99.

.

Let’s be clear on this for a minute, there may be an X in the name denoting 10, but this is a Line-0 rewrite. Meaning it’s a brand new code base, and with that comes many exciting possibilities and also many shaky feelings, at least on first glance. The feature list is sure to please the line item junkies among us, it just keeps going on and on, see for yourself here.

EDIT: Apple also posted the manuals online, find the links after the jump.

.

.

So what’s the verdict? Well we haven’t as yet gotten our mitts on it, so we are of course reserving judgment, but we will and we’re really looking forward to what Apple is positing as the next big thing in video editing, finishing, and so on. Now we will be the first to tell you we don’t agree with everything Apple does (or doesn’t do) like no Blu-Ray or more importantly USB 3.0 support. It’s as if Jobs and Company really aim their products these days at single Mac owners, or new Mac purchasers, with no older gear, or a desire to go between PC’s and Macs, burn (or even watch) Blu-Ray discs, and we still think those were two bad choices. Even with Thunderbolt, why not make all ports USB3 with 2.0 backward compatibility? It would be no big deal, and would let the Macs have the latest and greatest of everything. Shouldn’t they?

.

Back to Final Cut Pro X, which now seems to have dropped the Studio moniker, and the other apps, Motion and Compressor being the only ones, are also available now on the Mac App Store. This brings the total cost of the suite up to $399.00 which is still far less than the $999 Final Cut Studio 3 price tag. Still not cheap, nut this is definitely not iMovie either.

.

So what’s the response so far? Surprising actually, surprisingly bad. At least Apple was honest enough not to wipe the initial reviews frpm the App Store, but just take a look at this screenshot and I think you’ll be a little shocked.

.

.

 

 

Now to be fair, this is basically a 1.0 release, and I expect the updates to come hot and heavy. As to the issues people are raising like no Multi-Cam support and others, we’re not sure what’s right and just who it is that’s complaining. Sometimes people who shouldn’t be using a word processor start complaining about things they are totally unfamiliar with, so we will make up our own minds as soon as we can and let you know.

.

Apple’s Final Cut Pro X page is here, and if you’re planning on taking the plunge, you might as well click the link below to take you right tot he App Srore. We get a couple bucks and I personally get to show my wife why I do this for almost no money and why I will be persona non grata for a month or so while I attack this new release, many plugins, and maybe even a new iMac to test with and some cool peripherals as well. Stay Tuned, it’s going to be fun and interesting no matter the ultimate outcome.

.

And Apple, I applaud you for not censoring the reviews, but over 50% with 1 star? Time to get some pros checking this out. The Final Cut User’s Group meeting in Vegas seemed to like it, so we want to give it a fair shake. Or a fair cut as it may be.

.

To get started, Apple now has a Best Practices KB page live.  To access the user manuals click following links:

.

• Final Cut Pro X User Manual
• Motion 5 User User Manual
• Compressor 4 User Manual

.