Compressor 4.0.4 Has Terrible Reviews. What Gives?

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Level 1

5 points

Compressor 4.0.4 Has Terrible Reviews. What Gives?

Several reviews in the App store mention crashing at startup. Really? seems hard to believe.

If i do purchase this app, should i run a Final Cut Pro uninstaller to try to avoid some possible errors? I really want to upgrade, but the reviews are just so bad. I don't want to have a bad experience and get behind on projects because the software doesn't function well enough. I really just want to know if this software is still considered BETA, or if it's ready to use.

I have a 2011 15" macbook pro 2.3GHz quad-core i7—currently running FCP studio 7.

Just need some helpful advice. In the meantime, I've downloaded the FCPX trial and will be testing it against FCP7 and Adobe Premiere. I'll switch to Adobe if that's what it takes, but i'd rather not if i can help it.

MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.4)

Posted on Jun 27, 2012 9:05 PM

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Answer 1

Russ H

Level 7

22,432 points

Jun 28, 2012 5:05 AM in response to evan.mcnair

I don't think C4 is unstable. And it is by no means a beta. But unless you do a lot of Web site work, or need to have the latest, greatest ATV preset, there isn't a lot of justification for choosing C4 over C3.5.

Obviously some people have had problems – sometimes operator error – other times the way their system is set up – or some combination of the two. I'm use both 3.5 and 4. (a lot) on two different OS's and it's worked as advertised. I have not posted any reviews on the App Store and there are no doubt many like me.

Good luck.

Russ

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Answer 2

2dman

Level 1

0 points

Jul 1, 2012 5:29 AM in response to evan.mcnair

One suggestion, if you are trialing FCPX, download 7toX for Final Cut Pro. It's $10. I even have used it with FCP6.06.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/7tox-for-final-cut-pro/id496926258?mt=12http://

It will help with that transition.

I have an issue with Compressor projects failing from FCPX, when using Send to Compressor option. However if I use share option, DVD, it has no problem. Then I can use the .AC3 & m2V files to create project in DSP. But I cannot use some Compressor presets I made for different bitrate settings,etc. So I am not happy with C4.04 version. But I am on MPB4.1(2008) 17", 6GB, my secondary system.

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Answer 3

Jul 4, 2012 7:42 PM in response to evan.mcnair

FCPX is very different from FCP7, but I think it's a big improvement. It's pretty stable also. I've been learning video editing with FCPX, and when I tried using FCP7 in one of the labs at school, it felt very clumsy. I expect that the learning curve is quite a bit steeper than with a less radical shift in UI, but it's worth trying, because you might find that you like it a lot more than FCP7's interface.

It's been pretty stable for me, and for general exports (DVD, Youtube, e-mail) you don't actually need Compressor, which I haven't tried yet because I keep seeing pretty poor reviews of it, and I haven't really needed it yet.

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Answer 4

evan.mcnair Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 4, 2012 8:00 PM in response to rakeshfromlynnwood

I downloaded the Trial of fcpX and have really liked it so far. It is a pretty steep learning curve transitioning from fcp7 simply because of the structure and location of tools and effects that I'm so used to using; so i can understand why some people could get turned off by it. It's not something you want to switch to in the middle of a big project. But learning curve or not, it is way better than fcp7. X has crashed on me a few times while working with the multicam functions, but I think it's just the fact that i'm not used to how things work yet, and doing something in a way that's awkward for fcpX to handle. I'm sure i will figure it out though.

I went ahead and bought the new motion and comressor. They are pretty great as well. I haven't had any problems out of them. When the fcpX trial expires (and if i have the dough, of course) I will definitely be buying it and leaving a detailed 4 - 5 star review for each of the apps.

I think most of the people who have a pleasant experience with an app don't take the time to rate or comment, but when those 8 out of 1000 people see something they don't like, they jump on the App store and slap down a one-star rating with an over-simplified comment about how bad everything is.

My favorite part about X is just how fast and efficient it is. It actually utilizes all of the cores. So fast.

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Answer 5

Jul 6, 2012 6:31 AM in response to evan.mcnair

HHMM, you don't work for Apple by any chance ?

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Answer 6

evan.mcnair Author

Level 1

5 points

Jul 6, 2012 7:38 AM in response to peter stephen

Haha. No, i don't work for Apple. Never have, and probably never will.

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