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Adobe 50% Discount Offer for Final Cut Pro Users (Plus Avid and others)

Adobe has responded quickly to the kerfuffle over the new Apple Final Cut Pro X (see previous post) with a new switcher / upgrade program offering 50 percent off on the Premiere Pro CS5.5 video editor or the Creative Suite CS5.5 Production Premium bundle (see previous post on CS 5.5).

This is something of a culmination of Adobe's strategy to return its suite of production tools to the Macintosh platform starting with CS3 in 2007, after the Mac's transition to the Intel architecture. CS3 also saw the integration of Flash and other tools from the Macromedia acquisition.

The key features in Premiere Pro that Adobe is promoting to FCP users include:

  • Tight integration to import native Photoshop and Illustrator files complete with layers, and to move directly between After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Encore without delays for intermediate rendering using Adobe Dynamic Link.
  • Native editing, especially for tapeless and advanced formats including RED, DPX, P2, AVCHD, and XDCAM, without requiring format transcoding or rewrapping.
  • Open workflow for projects using other tools, including roundtrip editing with files from Avid Media Composer, Avid Pro Tools, and, yes, Apple Final Cut Pro.
  • Native 64-bit Mercury Playback Engine for multicore optimized and GPU-accelerated real-time effects, color correction, and rendering.
  • Plus higher color fidelity, and real-time 3D editing with CineForm.

In addition, Premiere Pro also includes the revamped Adobe Media Encoder for batch background encoding, OnLocation for direct-to-disk recording and on-set monitoring with associated metadata, and Encore for Blu-ray Disc authoring with motion and multipage menus plus interactive web DVDs.

The offer is good for owners of any version of Apple Final Cut Pro or Avid Media Composer, and ends September 30, 2011. And previous Adobe users are not left out -- the 50% deal also is available for owners of various earlier versions of individual products and suite editions, even going back to Adobe CS 2 and Macromedia Flash.

See my article, Summary: Adobe Creative Suite 5.5, for a breakdown of the tools and suites, and highlights of what's new with the CS5.5 applications.

See my Video Editing Software Gallery for more on consumer and professional video tools.

Find Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5, Adobe CS5.5 Production Premium, and Adobe CS5.5 Master Collection on Amazon

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This entry posted on July 2, 2011.

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