Final Cut is Reliable Again!

I recently got my sweaty mitts on the latest Final Cut Pro Studio — which includes, among other things, Final Cut Pro 5, DVD Studio Pro 4, and Compressor 2 — and had the opportunity to run it through its paces on a fairly long and involved project. The project involved cutting about five hours of vacation footage down to somewhere around an hour-and-a-half. There was also a 3 minute music video section for the grand finale. Finally, I had to author a DVD around all this content, complete with chapters and a slideshow of stills from the video. Oh, and did I mention, this all had to be done in four days?

Final Cut Pro
Some background first: I've been using FCP since the golden days of version 1.0. Okay, the golden days didn't really start until v.1.2.5. But suffice to say, that version of the program was rock solid. I could use it on my beige G3 for hours with nary a crash. It was easy and reliable and worked like a dream. And I fell in love. Subsequent versions of the app saw gradual decreases in stability. Version 2 was okay. No real problems, I guess, but the occasional crash, to be sure. This was the version in which they implemented the "Autosave" feature, which I remarked to my class that year, was indicative of the fact that Apple pretty much knew the app would crash at some point, and that my students should bear this in mind for obvious reasons. Version three was increasingly buggy and crash-prone, and it only got worse in version 4. Version 4 was an abomination. With that version I saw my beloved Final Cut go from rock-solid, wonderful video editor to a time and troubleshooting black hole. It was horrid. So much so that — after participating in every user-group survey I could find — I finally, for the first time ever, submitted feedback to Apple. It was that bad. In my post I pleaded with them to bring back the qualities that made Final Cut the app to use (or, in many cases, switch to) for video editing: ease-of-use and stability. Fuck features, these things come first.

Well, it looks like it worked.

I'll say up front, over the course of four days of straight editing — on a system that most likely needs a new motherboard no less — Final Cut Pro v.5.0.4 did not crash once. Not. One. Single. Time.

That's what I'm talking about.

There was still the occasional bug or two. There's that pesky bug where pasting into the timeline sometimes puts the pasted clip into track one, and sometimes into track two, even though track two is the only paste-enabled track. A few years ago, Apple changed the default paste-to-track behavior, so that now you have to disable pasting in the tracks you don't want to paste into, rather than enabling the ones you do, which seems ass-backwards and totally counter-intuitive, but whatever. And I could live with it if it worked predictably, but it doesn't. Still. What's up with that?

Fortunately, we see some bug fixes in this version as well, though. The most annoying (and as-yet-unfixed) bug in version 4 was the text rendering bug that, about 50% of the time, caused text to be "smeared" or "doubled," both in preview and in render. I've actually seen this on TV when editors were clearly using FCP v.4 and just didn't catch it or couldn't figure out how to fix it. It's incredibly annoying, and thankfully, it's totally fixed in FCP 5. Or at least it didn't happen to me once during this whole project, and I did lots of text.

DVD Studio Pro
Other Pro Apps saw appreciable gains in stability and overall usefulness. DVD Studio Pro has gotten a bit peppier in the UI. My main complaint in previous versions of DVDSP was that it was dead slow at times, even on a G5, but this version performed quite nicely. There were some minor glitches with chapter markers and slideshow timings that showed up on builds of the disc, but these were usually rectified by resetting the properties of the element in question, and other than that, the application worked great, stayed out of my way, and allowed me to rapidly author, test and build my DVD.

Compressor
Compressor has seen some improvement too, though still not enough that I could recommend it. Compressor is now the default way Apple expects you to encode your media to MPEG2 for DVD authoring. In fact, the MPEG2 Export Component included with previous versions of FCP is strangely absent from this release. After installing FCP Production Suite 5, you will no longer have the ability to encode MPEG2 movies from Quicktime Pro. This would be fine except that, at least in my experience, Compressor sucks ass at encoding video. Let me be a bit more specific: Compressor takes for freaking ever to encode movies to MPEG2. Wanna know why? Well, apparently, Compressor is not multiprocessor aware. To wit: I took my movie to encode into Compressor (directly from FCP, which is pretty sweet integration, I must say) and began encoding. When the encode was taking way longer than I thought it should (four hours for a ten minute movie? Dude, I'm on a deadline here!) I decided to check Compressor's resource usage with the ever-useful top -u command. top showed Compressor running at 70% max. After replacing my MPEG2 Export Component, I used Quicktime 7 to encode the same clip, with the same settings, and it used around 190% of the two processors. Not too shabby, and much faster!

The other problem with Compressor is that, when you access it via FCP, it takes over the FCP interface and locks you out of your project. So, if you use Compressor to encode your movie, you can't continue editing in FCP. Hey! Did I mention I'm on deadline here?

I'm sorry, Compressor is a great idea, but it's just not ready for primetime, and it's really not ready to be the default encoder for MPEG2 material. It's just too slow and it completely locks you out of your FCP project.

Hmmm... Maybe I should send feedback...

Overall, I'd say this is a very good year for Final Cut users (unless you're getting a new Intel Mac before March). The suite is working better than it has in years, and there are lots of new features to play with that I won't even bother talking about. 'Cause the best new feature in this year's FCP release, in my opinion, is stability.

Really, what better feature is there?

ADDENDUM:
An intrepid commentor asked how to get back the old Quicktime MPEG2 component. Here's how to get it from your original DVDSP install disc:

1. Insert the DVD Studio Pro install disc
2. Control-click on the "Install DVD Studio Pro 3" alias and select "Show Original"
3. In the resulting window there will be a folder called "Packages" which contains all of the individual installers for the DVDSP app, including the one for the QT MPEG Component
4. Open the "Packages" folder and run the package installer called "QuicktimeProMediaComponent.pkg"

ADDENDUM 2:
It looks like you can also run into serialization issues when trying to restore MPEG2 functionality to Quicktime, as one reader points out. See the comments for a number of additional solutions to this problem.

Endlessly Underwhelmed by Software Updates

Here is my peculiar list of observances of the latest spate of Mac updates, specifically: Mac OSX 10.4.4 (which includes a 2.0.3 version of Safari), iTunes 6.0.2, and Quicktime 7.0.4.

Mac OSX 10.4.4:

• The bug wherein the Finder's "Inspector" (command-option-i) — which is supposed to dynamically update it's properties based on the selected file — does not update the view of the file's ownership and permissions, is still not fixed. Unbelievable. I'm pissed.
• The update, unsurprisingly, overwrote my "kill metal" Finder mod. No big, I guess. Just something I noticed. And for the record, the mod still worked after I reinstalled it.
• iChat active-window inconsistencies, I'm happy to say, seem to be fixed in the latest version included with 10.4.4.

Safari 2.0.3:

• Safari seems the same to me. I'm not sure what, exactly, is different, but it's nothing that affects me. The window placement bug is still there. And I still can't use the web apps I need to use with it. I'm sticking with Firefox 1.5 (I'm now on the G5 version).

Quicktime 7.0.4:

• Quicktime 7.0.4 features a new visual effect. When going into full screen mode, as the window grows, everything behind it gradually dims, much like the dimming of the background that happens when you use Exposé's "All Windows" function. It happens when you toggle out of full screen as well. It's pretty. I like it.

Quicktime 7.0.4: Nice Effect
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iTunes 6.0.2:

• Honestly — and this could totally be my imagination — but iTunes seems to open a bit faster for me. Who knows? Maybe I'm just desperate for some kind of improvement here.
• The "multiple speakers" option is nice. But guess what? Doesn't work with videos; just audio. Still, better than nothing, I guess. We likey.

Really, so far, that's all I've noticed. There are some nice little touches, but all-in-all, considering we have updates to four fairly major applications here, and considering we have some rather longstanding bugs (the Finder Inspector is particularly glaring) still hanging around after several months, I guess I'd say I'm underwhelmed. And a bit disappointed.

Oh well.

Night of the Living Betas

So recently I found myself in the Land of the Beta Software. It all started with my post comparing Transmit and Yummy FTP two excellent FTP utilities from two excellent, small Mac developers, Panic and Yummy Software, respectively.

The day after I posted the review, I got a note in the comments section from Cabel Sasser of Panic software. He said, exactly this:

We at Panic are definitely pro-consumer-choice, so we're very glad that you found an FTP app you like -- even if it isn't ours. :)

On the other hand, we're anti-bugs! So, since we're putting the finishing touches on a new update to Transmit, we'd love to know if the new version fixes your issues with symbolic links, because we largely suspect it will. Please drop me an email [cabel at panic dot com] -- if you're at all interested -- and I'll send you the latest build. I'd love to see if it's an improvement, regardless of if you wind up returning to our ever-welcome, loving arms. :) Thanks in advance!

-Cabel / Panic

I thought it was pretty cool of Cabel to step up like this, and I had happily used Transmit for a long time once, so I really wanted to help out. I offered my assistance and we had a friendly correspondence. It was nice and I felt flattered to even have my opinion matter to someone, 'cause hey, let's face it, low self-esteem runs in my family.

Next day I got and email from Jason, of — surprise, surprise — Yummy Software.

Thanks for the plug :)

Following up on Cabel's post, I'm also working on a new version, with lots of very nice new things. I can't promise to give you a hug, but I can assure you that the update will be free to registered customers and it will provide the trouble-free FTPing you're accustomed to. You're more than welcome to give the beta a try :)

-Jason
Yummy Software

Wow. I'm stunned. A similar correspondence followed this comment. Very friendly on both counts. Both companies gave me beta copies of the latest builds of their software. It was cool.

I don't mind admitting I'm a big sweaty fan of the large majority of the Mac development community. But especially small companies that make great products that I use or have used. And I'm deeply flattered to have registered on these guys' radar at all, let alone to have been given an opportunity to sneak a peek at their latest wares. This recent contact has affirmed my sweaty fandom even more. The thing I like about these companies is that, despite the fact that they have the talent to make amazing software, they're small enough to care about a tiny blog like this one, and they're actually nice people who really want to do good work. And I, for one, truly admire and appreciate that work.

Thanks, guys. Keep it up.

List Mania and a Plug for Yummy

This seems to be one of those months in which everyone and his brother is hawking some kind of "Best Of... for the Mac" list. We've got MacWorld's picks. There's one from TUAW. Another from Paul Stamatiou, whoever that is. One from madsenblog. The list goes on and on. Frankly, I think these lists are dumb. The fact that there are so many, and that they never agree with one another—and the fact that I hardly use any of the listed apps though I'm constantly on one Mac or another—proves that there are no "must-have" Mac apps for everyone. Everyone is different.

But what's really gotten my goat is that fact that some of my favorite apps have been left off these lists entirely, often in favor of inferior software. For instance, they often mention Quicksilver, when Butler is, in my humble opinion, a superior product in many ways. And Transmit seems to make nearly every list, despite the fact that there is a superior product known as Yummy FTP. I'm not knocking those products. They are very good. But it's about time someone mentioned some alternatives, particularly ones that might be better for some folks. I'd hate to see them die for lack of exposure. I'm not going to start my own list. ('Cause I think they're dumb, remember?) But I do want to give a shout out to the under-represented. Today I'll be comparing Transmit and Yummy FTP. Soon I'll do a face-off between Butler and Quicksilver. If you haven't checked out these apps, do yourself a favor and forego the conventional wisdom. You'll be happy you did.

I've been a Transmit user for years now. And I've been none too shy about singing its praises. But lately it's had its problems. Don't get me wrong; I like Transmit. It's a great product and a very competent file transfer utility. I even paid for the upgrade from version 2 to version 3. Boy was I jazzed when I saw all those new features: column view, in particular, struck my fancy. Finally I could move a file up one directory without doing a "move" operation. I also liked the way Transmit matched the functionality of the FInder. So I bought it.

But after some use, I found some problems with Transmit. My main difficulty is that Transmit has problems with symbolic links. Particularly in column mode. Sometimes it follows links just fine. Other times I get this error:

Transmit Error: Dude, It's Right There
(click for larger view)

Or it just doesn't follow the link at all. When this happens, symlinks just stop working, and the only fix is to log out of the server and log back in. Refresh doesn't do it. Also, following symlinks, when it does work, takes me inside the linked folder but obliterates the file path—I can no longer see the folder that contains the symlink once I've navigated into it.

Transmit Behavior: Help! I've Followed a Symlink and I Can't Go Up!
(click for larger view)

There were also weird inconsistencies with file downloads, which I honestly can't remember as it's been some time since I've used the program. I have to admit, these problems have gotten better in the latest iterations of the software. Transmit was, and continues to be, a wonderful application, but it really has some serious, long standing problems with symlinks in column mode.

Now there is a contender.

Yummy: Follows Links; Less Filling
(click for larger view)

Yummy is the same kind of program, and despite my long-term relationship with Transmit, I've switched to Yummy. For some reason, Yummy hasn't gotten much hype, but if you read the reviews on VersionTracker, people who use this program absolutely love it. Many are former Transmit users. Many switch for the features it offers. I switched simply because I found that Yummy was quite capable of handling symlinks properly and had all the other goodness found in Transmit. I have found Yummy to be extremely stable, and, though I don't use this sort of program a whole lot, I've never had a single problem with it. And one last thing: apparently Yummy's customer support is fantastic. I've only read about it as I've never needed any help with this trouble-free app.

If you're happy with Transmit, that great. Bully for you. But if you're in the market for a new file transfer application—or if you've become dissatisfied with your current one—Yummy is a great choice, and one that folks, unfortunately, don't mention nearly enough.

View Mail Threads Across Multiple Folders

I organize my mail in Mail.app in folders named for the sender. So all email sent to me by Jim, for instance, goes in the "Jim" folder, and all email sent to me by Gina goes to my "Gina" folder. Sometimes, however, I want to view a thread that involved both Gina and Jim, but now, since they've been filed away in separate folders, the thread is broken. Or so it would seem. Actually, if I command-click the Gina and Jim folders, they are presented as one, and as long as "Organize by Thread" is ticked, I can view my Gina/Jim thread. A bonus: if I command-click my sent folder, my responses are included in the thread as well.