In this brief look of Final Cut Studio 2, we have covered highlights that make this video editing software suite one of the best. Final Cut Studio 2 has a lot to offer any editor or producer looking to engage in all aspects of video post production. Keep in mind that we have yet to review Color, which we'll provide shortly. The Final Cut Studio 2.0.1 release has also improved some early stability issues and added AVCHD support. In the end, the value of Final Cut Studio 2 is amazing, just so long as your computer can meet the recommended system requirements to run these applications.

Platform: Mac
Processor G4 1.25GHz or faster (excluding Apple Color) Note: For Motion, Color and the ProRes 422 video format, additional highly-recommended requirements exist to make the applications run. Check http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/specs.html for full details.
OS: OS X v10.4.9 or later
RAM: 1GB, 2GB recommended for compressed HD, 4GB for uncompressed HD
Video Display: 1024x768 resolution or higher
Graphics Card: AGP or PCI Express Quartz Extreme
Free Hard Drive Space: 4GB for applications, 55GB for optional content
Other: QuickTime 7.16 or later, DVD drive for installation

• Snazzy templates
• Multi-format support in FCP 6
• 3D workspace in Motion 3

• None

Final Cut Studio 2 is a video post-production beast that is capable of doing some heavy lifting, just so long as your hardware is up to the task as well.

Mark Montgomery is Videomaker's Technical Editor.

Apple Computer, Inc.
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
www.apple.com
$1,299; $499 upgrade from Final Cut Studio