FCP 7 and El Capitan?

" and figure I'll need to upgrade my OS sometime before I'm finished,"

You only need to upgrade if software you need to run only runs on the latest OS. Otherwise, no, you don't. Especially if you have an older computer with old software that you are relying on...DO NOT upgrade that. At all. Especially mid project. Only upgrade the OS when needed, not just because "well, it's out, and I'll need to sometime."

I'm still running OS 10.9.5. I haven't even gone to Yosemite, and I'm not going to El Capitan. Because I have no reason to. And actually, I have more than one reason NOT to. I run Avid and Adobe (and FCP 7) on my computer...both Avid and Adobe say "do no upgrade to 10.11, El Cap, just yet. It's not compatible with our software." So I'm not. But I'm usually a couple versions behind...and I only update when needed. I only went to 10.9.5 about 6 months ago because I needed EditReady to work...

Garrett, I couldn't agree more with Shane's post...especially if you in the midst of a big project. I so glad that John and others are having success with FCP7 in the new OS world, but I believe that they are the exception and not the rule.

Bottom line...if what you have is working...and it's what you use to earn a living...there is nothing to be gained in doing the upgrade.

All the best to you...

Syd Rodocker

SRVideo Media Design

I want to use FCP 7 as long as I feel a need, or as long as it works. But, I believe that keeping FCP 7 running (or any other legacy software) by fundamentally relying on ageing, obsolete hardware and OS, is more 'dangerous' than risking upgrading the OS as and when available, or hardware when prudent (E.g. The introduction of Thunderbolt.)

Should you want to buy, or more importantly are forced to buy, a new Mac, the older your existing hardware and OS, the more extreme the switch to the new OS will be, and the more likely and daunting the effect of loosing your legacy software and projects will be.

I think this period of being able to run both FCP 7 and FCP X is a godsend, providing the opportunity to do a soft transition to FCP X with the security of having FCP 7 to fall back on.

I can understand the need to 'keep on running' but computing is the one field where 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it', has never, and will never apply - computers just keep on getting more powerful. Those who, for very good reasons, resist change, are the very ones that suffer the most when change is forced onto them. Not a situation anyone should put themselves in.

Having said all of that, If you really still do not want to leave FCP 7 behind, but need, or want, to invest in new hardware, I believe you can install FCP 7 on OS X 10.6 (etc) running inside a Parallels Virtual machine, on OS X 10.11 - I'll be trying this ASAP on the MacBook Pro - I will post the results....

Sent from my iPad

AFAIK, the only things in FCS that the most recent OS X upgrades have broken are the Qmaster preference pane and Motion 4. (The first is not a very big deal since the new Compressor is faster than the older version. However, without Motion 4, Send to Motion no longer works; Motion 5 is not compatible.)

Russ

Just to answer a question on having both FCP7 and FCPX on the same machine...

It is possible. I work with FCP7 as my main NLE system but occasionally bounce an XML or ProRes LT file into FCPX. Install FCP7 and update it as far as 7.0.3 Then change the app name to "Final Cut Pro 7" instead pf Final Cut Pro. Once you do that, FCPX won't write over it upon installing.

hi guys,

i was using final pro 7 pefectly fine on Yosimite but when i upgraded to El Capitan mac osx my final cut pro 7 stop working. Every time i open it quits unexpectedly. Does anyone having the same issue ? please advise i will really appreciate the help from anyone.

Final Cut Pro 7.0.3 still works for me. Only Qmaster stopped working.

After upgrading to El Capitan, the following prompt appeared:

Incompatible Software

The following software was found during upgrade and is incompatible with this version of OS X. It has been moved to the Incompatible Software folder.

Qmaster Preference

Qmaster Preference: this version of Qmaster Preference is not compatible with this version of OS X.

The upgrade moved the files to the Incompatible Software folder rendering Qmaster nonfunctional.

Qmaster Preference Pane has been incompatible since 10.10 (or maybe even since 10.9).

Russ

FCP7 was as reliable as ever on Yosemite, but it's been a little funky for me on El Capitan. The most notable issue being delayed playback audio sync issues when using USB speakers. It plays and fine with headphones and line-out from my tower. Also, on occasion footage will open in the viewer as solid green, and everything in Quicktime Player 7 appears as solid yellow with no audio. I've trashed the preferences, but my attempt to reinstall. Has anyone else noticed weirdness like this?

I have just tried to use Motion and it wont work with 10.11

hey bennyM , im running a FCP7 on my macbook pro retina 15" mid 2014 and i have a plm using it like in the graphic of the programme looks so pixillized even the footage and i dunno what to do in this case !!! do u have same issue ?

my system is on el capitan. fcp 7 is on a separate partition with mavericks, so i live in both worlds.

but fcp7 does not really run stable in mavericks either. i have bad audio render issues sometimes which did not occur before.

Hey, could you explain how you got FCP7 running on 10.11. I am using Mac Pro 6,1. Fresh install no other FCP on it yet. It goes through installation and then fails right at the end. Any hints to get it going? Thanks

I'm having issues with my final cut pro 7 with El Capitan. I can not key my background on my video file. It's changing to weird colors other than keying it from green. Is anyone else having this issue?

I've been playing with a clean install of 10.11.2 and FCS3 installs as normal and everything opens except Motion (4.0.3). I'm going to boot into my Yosemite test volume to check what runs there but don't hold your breath. That was migrated from a Mavericks build that was migrated from my old 10.6 install.