|
I'm changing this week's webinar to focus on all our latest news. This week's edition will present highlights of my M4 performance tests, along with detailed demos showing how the new features in Final Cut Pro work. (I'll save the "entire workflow" webinar for another time.
Free Registration Link: Larry's M4 Speed Tests & Final Cut Pro Webinar
PERFORMANCE TESTS
I have two detailed performance tests comparing a 2018 Mac mini, M1 Pro MacBook Pro, M2 Max Mac Studio and M4 Pro Mac mini. Some of these results I expected, others I didn't. I also learned a lot about what these new systems can really do.
Link: Performance Tests: 2024 M4 Pro Mac mini & Apple Final Cut Pro
Link: Performance Tests: 2024 M4 Pro Mac mini & Adobe Premiere Pro
Thinking about performance, last week I reviewed the speeds of the Samsung T5 and T9 SSDs. A popular question was whether the new M4 Macs supported the high speeds available from USB-C 3.2 Gen2x2. So, I tested my new M4 Pro Mac mini and updated the article.
Link: Speed Comparison: Samsung T5 vs. Samsung T9 SSDs [u]
TUTORIALS
One of the flagpole features in Final Cut Pro 11 (released last week) is the Magnetic Mask. This, essentially, performs AI-assisted rotoscoping, which, if you've ever tried to do this by hand, you'll appreciate the speed and accuracy of this new feature - a LOT! Here's my tutorial.
Link: The New Magnetic Mask in Apple Final Cut Pro 11
One thought I want to mention. The Magnetic Mask is AI-assisted, but doesn't use Apple Intelligence. The power of machine learning can enable all of us to get more work done without infringing on copyrights, costing jobs or risking security breaches in the Cloud. I continue to be impressed with how Apple is carefully rolling out its AI-enabled features.
The other big new feature is Transcribe to Captions. This is a big step down the road to automatic speech-to-text transcription. However, there's a big gotcha in this process which you need to know. Here's my tutorial.
Link: The New Transcribe to Captions in Apple Final Cut Pro 11
Finally, last week, FxFactory announced an upgrade to FxFactory Pro to version 6. I interviewed Niclas Bahn, head of Business Development for FxFactory, to learn more.
Link: FxFactory Updates FxFactory Pro – An Interview with Niclaus Bahn
New computer hardware is always exciting... even though we know that in a couple of years, we'll be treating it like yesterday's newspaper. (Hmm... that's a bit dated, I guess. How about: "We'll be treating it like a 6-month old social media post?") Still, shiny, new toys are always fun. And these M4 Macs are no exception.
As you read in my performance tests, if you have an Intel system, ANY M-series Mac brings 4X, 5X, 6X the performance of any Intel system, along with support for the latest AI enhancements from Apple.
There's a bigger message here, though. And that is that any M-series Mac is powerful enough to edit any single camera video format up to 12K; subject to the speed of your storage. So, if budgets are tight, look to buy an older, used system. Also, there are system requirement differences between FCP and Premiere. Be sure to read my tests to learn how to specifically customize a computer if you plan to focus on one NLE vs. the other.
I look forward to seeing you at my webinar on Wednesday. Until next week, stay healthy, stay hopeful, and edit well.
| 
