As a first experiment (with how well or not FCS3 would run), I installed the upgrade to a new machine.
Groundless concerns:
- There is no hassle over installing it on a second machine. The license allows it and there is no Deactivation etc required. Only if both machines are on the same network will it complain.
- It was not necessary for the target machine to have the previous version of FCS installed.
The update physical form was a cardboard box measuring about (by eye) 5x5x1.5 inches. Its main contents were 7 data-DVDs, a nice concise booklet and some formal documentation, one of which had the serial number printed (twice). Installing the system took a few hours.
The main installation disk additionallycontained electronic documentation. I copied it to :
- Boris Calligraphy User guide
- Makes fancy text.
- Exploring Final Cut Pro 7
- Same as the booklet that came in the box.
It also contained “Extras”, as follows:
- AppleQmasterNode.mpkg
- Allows a computer to act as a node in a render-farm, in support of Compressor. If you are unsure which role each computer will play in your network, just install the Apple Qmaster software on each computer in your network. You can sort out the details later. [http://documentation.apple.com/en/appleqmaster/distributedprocessingsetupguide/index.html#chapter=2%26section=2%26tasks=true]
- I started its installer but it asked whether I wanted to let this computer be used as a rendering node. I had already been asked that question when loading the main FCS3. So maybe it was loaded already. Decided that FCS was probably best left alone in this respect, so I aborted the install.
- CORRECT: While following QMaster tutorial [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTrxEAPGY5Y] I checked existing System Preferences for QMaster and they were already there, it was already enabled for sharing.
- In contrast, when I checked the same for my older machine running FCP6, its QMaster was not enabled for sharing. Of course I fixed that immediately.
- CORRECT: While following QMaster tutorial [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTrxEAPGY5Y] I checked existing System Preferences for QMaster and they were already there, it was already enabled for sharing.
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- BUT in both cases (both machines) the options were greyed-out.
- For the newly-installed FCP7 machine, Options for selected service (Compressor) said “Selected Service On (2 instances). Sounds like it’s using both cores OK.
- For the older FCP6 machine, it said “Selected service On (1 instance)”. But its an 8-core machine. So maybe something is not quite right…
- Then again it might be a “feature” of no significance, just run a render and check Activity Monitor to see if all cores are being used [http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7315551]. The discussion (like some others) also suggests not using all the cores available.
- DVX-100 Audio Sync Tool
- DVX-100 is a camcorder by Panasonic. Broadly EX3-like and film-ish e.g. 24P)
- I don’t need this, so I won’t install it.
- Head Leaders for Cinema Tools
- Countdown etc.
- A number of prebuilt QuickTime clips have been included to use as head leader in your edited sequences. Using these head leader clips is preferable to selecting the “Start with 8 seconds of leader” checkbox in the Export Film Lists dialog because these clips also contain Picture Start, countdown, and an audio pop at the 2-second mark. [‘Head Leaders Read Me’ file]
- I guess they’re intended to be copied somewhere (?). I put them at […/Documents/Final Cut/FCS 07]
- Countdown etc.
- Spotlight Importer
- Spotlight importers should be provided by all applications that support custom document formats. A Spotlight importer parses your document format for relevant information and assigning that information to the appropriate metadata keys. [http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/DOCUMENTATION/Carbon/Conceptual/MDImporters/Concepts/WritingAnImp.html]
- In other words, it allows Spotlight to search withinapplication-specific files.
- But when I tried installing it, it said “The domain/default pair of (com.apple.dock, loc) does not exist”. Don’t know what it means but it sounds broken… Either way, I can’t install it, so must abandon it.
- Template Intro Movies for DVD Studio Pro
- Blocks, corporate, mosaic, stripes, smoke…
- I guess they’re intended to be copied somewhere (?). I put them at […/Documents/Final Cut/FCS 07]