Apple Ships Final Cut Studio 5.1; First Universal Version Runs Up to 2.5x Faster on MacBook Pro

CUPERTINO, California—March 30, 2006—Apple® is now shipping the first Universal version of its Final Cut® Studio video production suite that delivers up to 2.5x the performance when running on a MacBook™ Pro* notebook computer. Final Cut Studio features state-of-the-art tools that complement Final Cut Pro 5 including Soundtrack® Pro, a revolutionary audio editing and sound design application that makes video projects sound as good as they look; Motion 2, the world’s first real-time motion graphics application with GPU accelerated 32-bit float rendering; and DVD Studio Pro 4 for professional DVD authoring.

“Final Cut Studio continues to set the standard in the new era of HD production,” said Rob Schoeben, Apple’s vice president of Applications Marketing. “Now with the incredible performance of Final Cut Studio on a MacBook Pro, customers can work more efficiently wherever they are.”

In February, Apple released Logic® Pro 7.2 music creation and audio production software, the first of the company’s pro applications to ship Universal versions which run on both Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs. Logic Pro 7.2 supports up to 4.5x the effect plug-ins and up to 2x the software instruments per session** on the MacBook Pro along with integrated support for the Apogee Ensemble FireWire® interface and compatibility with Pro Tools HD 7 DAE.

Aperture™ 1.1, the first Universal version of the revolutionary all-in-one post production tool for photographers featuring greatly improved RAW quality and impressive performance gains on both Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs, will ship in April.

Pricing & Availability
The Universal version of Final Cut Studio is available now through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $1,299 (US). Registered Final Cut Studio customers can crossgrade to the Universal version for $49 (US). Existing customers of the standalone versions of Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro, Motion, or DVD Studio Pro® can upgrade to the Universal version of Final Cut Studio starting at just $99 (US). Full details and further information is available at http://www.apple.com/universal/crossgrade/.

*DV and HDV rendering from the Timeline is up to twice as fast on a MacBook Pro with 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo than a 15-inch PowerBook® G4 with 1.67 GHz PowerPC. MPEG-2 encoding from DV and HDV for DVD authoring is up to 2.5x as fast on a MacBook Pro with 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo than a 15-inch PowerBook G4 with 1.67 GHz PowerPC.

**Logic 7.2 can simultaneously process up to 135 PlatinumVerb plug-ins and eight Sculpture software instruments in a single Logic session on a MacBook Pro with 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo compared to 30 maximum PlatinumVerbs and four maximum Sculptures when running on a 15-inch PowerBook G4 with 1.67 GHz PowerPC.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning desktop and notebook computers, OS X operating system, and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital music revolution with its iPod portable music players and iTunes online music store.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple’s PR website, or call Apple’s Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.

Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, Final Cut, MacBook, Soundtrack, Logic, FireWire, Aperture, PowerBook, Apple Store and DVD Studio Pro are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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Christine Wilhelmy

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