DVD Studio Pro - Final Cut X

Question

Level 1

8 points

DVD Studio Pro - Final Cut X

so, if one purchases final cut x and sells off their final cut suite 3 with DVD Studio Pro, how does one do a professional DVD authoring? that is, what is everyone doing to author DVD's that they make in Final Cut Pro then compress using Compressor or just import right into DVD Studio Pro?

i actually didn't like this product (DVD Studio Pro) when it came with my Final Cut Studio 3, preferring to keep with my former Avid based product, but after someone showed me how to use it, i fell in love with the thing and DON'T want to be without it although I'd like to sell my MacPro with FCS3 included in the purchase price when i put it on eBay.

hope i can get some help because this is ALL that is holding me up from doing the APP store puchases of the new FC products and getting my new MacBook Pro i7 machine.

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Feb 7, 2012 1:28 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 8, 2012 12:32 AM in response to Penn-Ohio

Have you tried iDVD which is quite a fantastic app?

Otherwise if you want to stay legal you will have to keep FCS3.

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Answer 2

tjwaido

Level 1

23 points

Feb 8, 2012 1:25 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

No, iDVD is not a fantastic app. It's a consumer app. I don't understand the concept that if a client received DVDs from all sorts of video editors with the same theme how that could possibly be considered professional? All my videos and DVDs are custom made, and that is why my clients choose me over the generic guy. Apple's train for professionalism has derailed with the release of FCPX.

Penn-Ohio, you'll have to keep FCS3 to maintain your copy of DVD SP on your computer, the "legal" way. DVD Studio Pro is very customizable and offers plenty of professional features. I would stick with it!!!! I would have loved to see a true upgrade of all the apps that were offered in FCS3 in a FCS4 update, but that dream was crushed by FCPX.

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Answer 3

Feb 8, 2012 1:47 AM in response to tjwaido

If you knew anything about iDVD you would realise that it in addition to the numerous preset menus it can also be used to produce your own custom made menus.

Even the preset menus can be infinitely modified to alter their appearance and include your own elements.

So, yes, it is an excellent app and also happens to be free!

Admittedly it is not quite as flexible as DVDSP but can nevertheless be used to produce excellent individually styled DVDs.

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Answer 4

tjwaido

Level 1

23 points

Feb 8, 2012 8:04 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

I am fully aware of all of iDVD customization, and not convinced it is a better alternative to DVDSP. It's free because it no longer exists, as well as DVDSP. So there is no viable alternative from Apple. Just another way Apple has said they don't care what you want.

Penn-Ohio, keep your FCS3 suite and keep using DVD SP.

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Answer 5

Feb 8, 2012 8:16 AM in response to tjwaido

I never claimed it was a better alternative to DVDSP . . . just that it was a very good app and is present on every Mac.

I too agree that he should keep FCS3 just as I have done.

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Answer 6

Penn-Ohio Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 8, 2012 8:17 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

QUOTES...

Ian R. Brown wrote: Have you tried iDVD which is quite a fantastic app? Otherwise if you want to stay legal you will have to keep FCS3.

tjwaldo wrote: No, iDVD is not a fantastic app. It's a consumer app. I don't understand the concept that if a client received DVDs from all sorts of video editors with the same theme how that could possibly be considered professional?.....

RESPONSE...

so far i would have to agree that iDVD is a neat app, great for family video's, some customization maybe, but the few times I've tried it AND the DVD's ive gotten from competitors or collaborators who use it exclusively, i guess in part i know why people have picked my performance result with DVD SP. ive had clients even tell me, "i hate your delivery and your continual excuses and delays in delivery, but your qualty is two heads above everyone else so we have to keep using you, can't you do something about better delivery?"

so admittedly im a procrastinator but in the end, the result ive found in DVD SP is heads above anything ive personally tried BUT admittedly also, i don't look around a lot for other products when i find a winner.

now on fcp x, if it delivers as good an output as final cut pro 7, and with all the bells and whistles in fcp x, i have to say i WANT all that ease, magnetic performance, and built in GREAT looking titler and color grading, let alone auto motion control. im sold on fcp x ... NOW THAT ... it has multicam, importing of fcp 7 projects, and well . . im just sold BUT without DVD authoring its a bust for me. 99% of the projects i do are DVD delivery and now fastly BluRay delivery (about 5-10% at the moment) and thus i HAVE to have not just a DVD authoring program but one with all the bells and whistles that do almost anything and everything that i want . . and . . together with Compressor, i'm just shy of in editor heaven. however, i AM going to go to fcp x if for no other reason (now that multicam is included) rendering, ease of turning down the rez for editing only then render out full rez, and ease of importing canon 5dm2 and 7d footage as compared to final cut pro 7's ... hmmmmmm ... 3 different ways (or more) and even then not knowing if i picked the right one.

so as "tjwaldo" indicated, unless there is some other totally professional option, i guess i'll keep my fcs3 whether i want to or not just for ONE APP ... DVD SP because i won't take anything less than that kind of control and customization :-(

my appreciative thanks to both "Ian R Brown" and "tjwaldo" for the great input . . any others??

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Answer 7

Feb 8, 2012 8:26 AM in response to Penn-Ohio

I think you'll find that FCX (still no P) is not the panacea that you expect. You will want to keep FCS handy and operating for as long as possible...

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Answer 8

Feb 8, 2012 8:29 AM in response to Penn-Ohio

The main reason that DVDSP and iDVD have been effectively discontinued is that the world is heading away from DVD and Blu-ray.

I know a lot of people are still using them but their days are numbered as new web-based delivery methods are gaining ground.

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Answer 9

Penn-Ohio Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 8, 2012 8:31 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

BTW . . ian r brown and tjwaldo,

do you have both fcs3 and fcp x on the same machine and if so any issues? also, what kind of machine do you have them on?

at current i have a macpro dual xeon quad core macpro with hot video card, lots of ram, and lots of storage (3tb) and a macbook pro of the previous model/version to the one that is out now. my thinking is to go to the new generation macbook pro with the maxed memory, maxed video card, of the 2.4ghz i7 quad core genre (hmmm why is there a 2.5ghz? avaiable?) then get a thunderbolt display and plug my external fw800 drives into it as i need them and/or external usb drives. . thus getting rid of my current macbook pro and macpro and having the one machine for my now fewer projects (1 a week as opposed to 2-3 per week until 02.01 when i sent all the broadcast, event, and commercial projects to our buttler location)

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Answer 10

Penn-Ohio Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 8, 2012 8:35 AM in response to Paul Cuciti

Paul Cuciti wrote:

I think you'll find that FCX (still no P) is not the panacea that you expect. You will want to keep FCS handy and operating for as long as possible...

really paul? why so? please tell me all you can because im about to sell off all my gear to make the switch to a whole new profile as noted above.

(btw while i agree with the "going away from DVD/BRD" comments above, i don't think it will be anyways overly soon as some expect.)

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Answer 11

Feb 8, 2012 8:37 AM in response to Penn-Ohio

Yes, I have FCS 3 and FCP X together with FCE 4 on the same machine, an archaic 2008 iMac with 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo and 4GB RAM.

No conflicts and all apps work well.

As Paul hints, there are some people who don't think FCP X is a good move.

Scour the forums to see why.

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Answer 12

tjwaido

Level 1

23 points

Feb 8, 2012 8:40 AM in response to Penn-Ohio

Ian, I don't want to sound like I am mad at you, I am just mad at the system I have depended on for 10-years. So I apologize if I have come accross that way. I hope that FCPX can keep chipping away at all that I demand to get it up to speed. Multi-cam has been a huge success. I have tried switching to Adobe CS5.5, but just can't get a grip on it, and I trust Apple will eventually get FCPX right--soon I hope. I had to step away from FCP7 as the engine that drives FCPX is powerful--just wish it was under the hood of FCP8.

It takes me a long time to get clients their video too, but in the end, I am always praized for the quality of work I produce. I have a yearly gig, but I was overlooked in 2010 for a video shoot becuase I was considered too expensive, but in 2011 the clients came back because they said the quality of video, sound and DVDs I produce are outstanding.

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Answer 13

Penn-Ohio Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 8, 2012 8:41 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

Ian R. Brown wrote:

Yes, I have FCS 3 and FCP X together with FCE 4 on the same machine, an archaic 2008 iMac with 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo and 4GB RAM.

No conflicts and all apps work well.

As Paul hints, there are some people who don't think FCP X is a good move.

Scour the forums to see why.

ian r brown, do u ever do multicam and if so any mutlcam issues? prob to early to ask about multicam fcpx on a single processor huh?

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Answer 14

tjwaido

Level 1

23 points

Feb 8, 2012 8:49 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

Ian R. BrownI know a lot of people are still using them but their days are numbered as new web-based delivery methods are gaining ground.

I find it hard to believe that I will be delivering a wedding video via YouTube. As for promotional videos for corporate clients, yes, they like their video on their web site. I could potentially see flash based media as a form of delivery in the future.

I offer wedding video to clients as a Blu-ray/DVD combo and a short online recap of the wedding. I use Adobe Encore to create the Blu-ray discs, but I wish it had the features and user friendliness of DVD SP.

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Answer 15

Feb 8, 2012 8:51 AM in response to Penn-Ohio

I will freely admit that I don't have tons of experience on FCX; I have used the trial version for a month and now I have purchased 10.0.3. But all you have to do is browse this forum for a list of headaches with FCX. Here's one thread for starters:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3704468?tstart=0

At this point, I wouldn't try anything beyond a certain length and simplicity in FCX. I want to know X and I expect that some day it will be a professional app (God willing!), but I would not stake my livelihood on it yet.

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