Re: Article: Real World Editing: From Avid to FCP and Back Again

This is Avid's target market if it's going to survive its financial problems.

Avid must sell Isis and/or Unity hardware based on their current business model.

I think making sales like this are far more important than a bunch of "single seat" switchers since MC sales, by itself, probably doesn't bring in enough revenue, especially when one considers the software development costs.

This is also a good example of where Apple's silence hurts them. It's one thing to be silent about "exclusive features" (and there's a cost to that as well, unfortunately), but to be silent about features that competitors already have means there's little motive for a facility to wait (if they can wait at all).

If Apple plans on integrating shared media management features, they could certain say as much without revealing details if they feel there would be a cost to a competitive advantage. Otherwise one can interpret Apple's silence as "they have nothing to say or offer" on a feature.

Ultimately, I think, Apple should be concerned about how this impacts sales of their computers. While 50 - 100 seats of FCPX may mean little to Apple. 50 - 100 sales of Mac (MacPros?) vs Windows has to begin to weigh. The domino effect goes beyond the facility computer purchases as editors, assistants make their home and mobile computer choices (the loss of MacBookPro and iMac sales).

Apple is the third leading Computer maker in the USA now (behind HP and Dell). This is COMPUTER, not iOS devices. It was the only major manufacturer to have a significant increase in sales last quarter as it turns out the holiday shopping season saw a decline in computer sales. I can't help but think if FCPX fails, the ripple effect will impact on MBP and iMac sales as well. I'm not predicting doom at all but a small pea down a mountain can turn into an avalanche.