Easy to learn (even w/ no experience in non-linear post) Flexible Very stable

Expensive Could use some extra "shor-cut" keys in the tool pallete More filters and real-time effects would be welcome

Having learned on Avid's Media Composer while studying at the Art Institute of Dallas, it was my dream to own a proffesional non-linear system at home. Well, last year after deciding between Final Cut and Avid DV Express, I bought Final Cut Pro. Except for a few occasional "unexpected quits" Final Cut is a great program, though a bit expensive. The user interface is great. Everything is laid out logically as it should be. I only wish the tool pallet was a little larger with some short-cut buttons for a quick and easy video or audio dissolve and for other editing features such as lift, close gap, split edits and ripple delete. A minor inconvience though, as Final Cut does alot of things and offers you flexibility. Don't let the appearance of lack of some more advanced buttons fool you, this thing is loaded! I love the key frame graph, which you can expand each graph seperately if need be. Another great feature is the media management which allows you to do alot of stuff if you have a complicated project -- nesting sequences to marking media files off-line for recapture later. Compositing is another very strong point of Final Cut though a few more filters and real-time effects would be welcome (perhaps this will be addressed in Final Cut 4). And finally customizing your work-space is easy, fun, and great. You can choose among pre-set layouts or create, modify AND save your own. The learning curve to Final Cut can be steep at first, but like riding a bike it becomes second nature.

Customer Service

Excellent support

Similar Products Used:

Avid Media Composer