NEW Final Cut Pro X - Hmmm...Interesting...

So far, I have heard mixed reviews about the brand new Final Cut Pro X. It sounds pretty exciting but I am hesitant to jump on the first round of software. I would like to wait until the prices go down with my school discount and also I would like to wait until all problems and glitches are resolved.

The New X-Factor

64-bit architecture

No longer restricted to the 4GB limit of 32-bit applications, Final Cut Pro uses all the RAM in your system to handle larger frame sizes and keep more frames in memory. You can now create more extensive projects and work with deeper, more interesting multilayered effects.

GPU utilization

Final Cut Pro uses the high-speed GPU on the graphics card for effects previews and rendering. Because tapping the GPU core speeds up processing, you can work with richer, more complex effects that play in real time during the creative process.

Background processing

As you edit, Final Cut Pro takes advantage of unused cycles in the background to execute a range of tasks, so you can be creative without interruption. Background processing includes rendering, transcoding, and moving media.

ColorSync-managed
color pipeline

Final Cut Pro is designed to use Apple’s ColorSync color management for display and processing, producing accurate and consistent color from import through render and export. Colors look the same whether you’re playing back media in Final Cut Pro, Motion, or QuickTime.

Shared Render Engine

Final Cut Pro shares a render engine with Motion and Compressor for consistent speed and quality. The shared engine allows Motion templates to play back in Final Cut Pro without rendering. The engine renders in linear-light color space for exceptionally realistic results.

Ultrafast data transfer

Final Cut Pro is the perfect match for Thunderbolt I/O technology, which provides two channels on the same connector with 10 Gbps of throughput in both directions. This ultrafast connection means you can use high-resolution displays and high-performance data devices. And Thunderbolt video devices let you send audio and video from Final Cut Pro X to an external
broadcast monitor.

Cocoa foundation

Final Cut Pro is an OS X–native application built with the Apple Cocoa framework. Using intuitive, familiar interface elements and technologies like Core Animation, Cocoa makes Final Cut Pro more responsive, interactive, and fun
to use.

Grand Central Dispatch

Final Cut Pro utilizes Grand Central Dispatch in OS X to harness all the processing power of multiple cores on the Mac. For even more speed, Final Cut Pro also uses the new AVX capabilities of Intel’s “Sandy Bridge” processors.

Background process monitoring

Easily monitor the progress of background processes from the dashboard, so you always know what your multicore processors are doing. Or click to open the Background Tasks window and get a detailed display of active processes along with their progress. For complete control, you can manually pause or cancel any background process.

High-quality rendering

The high-quality rendering in Final Cut Pro makes it possible to compute realistic effects with extraordinary precision using floating-point, linear-light color space calculations. You get the same superb results for blurs, scales, and lighting effects as you would from high-end compositing software.

Broadcast monitoringBeta

Output video to an external monitor using third-party PCIe cards or Thunderbolt I/O devices.¹ Connect to waveform monitors, vectorscopes, and calibrated, high-quality broadcast monitors to ensure that your final project meets broadcast specifications. Or send video to large HD screens and projectors so everyone in the edit suite can see the creative process at work. You can even arrange your Final Cut Pro X interface across two displays and also connect an external broadcast monitor.

Intelligent Import

Start editing before you’ve finished importing your media. Final Cut Pro X offers support for a wide range of popular native formats and creates proxies in the background as you work.

Import XML

Import media and metadata from third-party developers that use the new XML format in Final Cut Pro X. Export basic color information. Import and export audio keyframes and intrinsic effects parameters such as opacity and scale. This improved XML support saves time and reduces creative rework when moving projects and media between applications.

Increased native format support

Final Cut Pro natively supports more formats than ever, including AVCHD, H.264 from DSLRs, and a range of professional formats. Resolution independence lets you mix and match formats and frame rates all the way up to 4K. Final Cut Pro also supports compressed audio formats — including MP3 and AAC — so it’s easy to use iTunes as your built-in music library. For video blogging, capture video from the built-in camera on your Mac or Apple LED Cinema Display.

Camera Archive

Easily create a single-volume archive for any collection of media. When you create a Camera Archive, Final Cut Pro adds a unique identifier to every clip to ensure that it’s tracked accurately throughout the editing process.

Import layered Adobe Photoshop graphics

Import and keep all the object layers from a   Photoshop file in a single Compound Clip so you can animate, colorize, and add effects to individual layers while editing in Final Cut
Pro X.

iMovie import

Start in iMovie and finish in Final Cut Pro. This is the perfect workflow for those who want to do a quick rough cut and then move to Final Cut Pro for full-featured editing. Or take a project to the next level by graduating from iMovie to Final Cut Pro. All your iMovie Events and Projects transfer seamlessly, so you can keep cutting without a break in the action.

File-based import

Import a wide range of codecs and formats from popular cameras that record to memory cards. Start editing instantly by inserting a card directly into the SD slot in your Mac. Final Cut Pro copies the media from the SD card and gives you the option to edit natively or transcode to ProRes in the background while you continue to edit.See all supported formats

Tape-based import

Final Cut Pro supports streaming DV capture through FireWire. Or capture video from tape using third-party video cards and software. Let the capture run in the background at your workstation or use a dedicated capture station.

Proxy creation

Create proxy media in the background, so you can work outside the edit studio without copying large original files. Import once using high-quality master sources, then transfer lightweight proxies to your notebook for editing on the road. When you’re back in the office, just reconnect from proxy to original media and keep working at high resolution.