Final Cut Pro X Tidbits: Software Add-Ons, Graphics Card Requirements, Supported Cameras

by

fcpx banner
With Apple having released Final Cut Pro X and associated Motion and Compressor versions today, more details are starting to come out.

We previously pointed to Macworld's "First Look" feature that outlines many of the new functionalities in Final Cut Pro X, and a full review from Macworld is set to be posted soon. Other users who were given early access to Final Cut Pro X have also been speaking out to fill in some of the blanks now that they can speak publicly about the release.

While Apple is offering Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5, and Compressor 4 through the Mac App Store, where they have quickly become the top grossing applications, the company has also pushed out some ancillary updates via Software Update for users who have already installed the core applications. Among the add-ons:

- Final Cut Pro X Content (637.5 MB):

- Sound Effects: Over 1300 rights-free sound effects installed into the Audio Browser of Final Cut Pro X.
- Audio Effect Presets: Additional preset effects for the Space Designer plug-in.

- Motion 5 Content (1.15 GB)

- Motion Templates: A variety of professionally-designed, customizable templates.
- Motion Library Content: Animated vector graphics, backgrounds, template media, sample Motion projects, and royalty-free still images.
- Motion Sample Media: Clips and images for use with Motion Help examples and tutorials.

- ProApps QuickTime Codecs (1.2 MB):

This update adds the following video codecs for use by QuickTime-based applications:

- Apple Intermediate Codec
- Apple ProRes
- AVC-Intra
- DVCPRO HD
- HDV
- XDCAM HD / EX / HD422
- MPEG IMX
- Uncompressed 4:2:2

Apple has also released details on graphics card requirements for Final Cut Pro X, noting that at least 256 MB of VRAM on an OpenCL-capable graphics card or Intel HD Graphics 3000 or later integrated graphics package are required. The support document also lists a number of graphics cards and their corresponding machines that are not compatible with the release.

Finally, Apple has also published a database of cameras that are supported on Final Cut Pro X. In addition to a wide variety of still cameras and camcorders, the iPhone 3GS/4, iPad 2, and fourth-generation iPod touch are also supported.

Update: Apple has also posted online user manuals for Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5, and Compressor 4.

Popular Stories

apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

iPhone Driver's Licenses: These 17 U.S. States Offer Them or Will Later

Thursday June 19, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
Read Full Article • 101 comments
iPhone 16 Battery Life Feature

iOS 26's New Battery Life Mode Available Only on These iPhone Models

Saturday June 21, 2025 9:02 am PDT by
Last week, we reported that iOS 26 introduces an opt-in Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode. Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make "small performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to "take a little longer." The full description of...
Read Full Article • 52 comments
ios 26 call holding

iOS 26 Beta is Hiding a New Ringtone — Here's What It Sounds Like

Thursday June 19, 2025 7:25 pm PDT by
Apple is hiding a new ringtone within iOS 26. The new ringtone is an alternative version of the existing Reflection ringtone, which has been the default ringtone since the iPhone X was released in 2017. It was discovered within the code for the first developer beta of iOS 26, but it remains hidden, so you will not find it in the list of ringtones available in the Settings app for now. It...
Read Full Article • 74 comments
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
Read Full Article • 217 comments
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
Read Full Article • 120 comments
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Wednesday June 18, 2025 10:24 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a few days after Apple provided the betas to developers. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. When the...
Read Full Article • 14 comments
General Spotify Feature

Spotify Preparing to Launch Long-Awaited Lossless Audio Tier on iPhone

Thursday June 19, 2025 1:46 pm PDT by
Spotify appears to be gearing up to launch its long-awaited lossless music tier. Chris Messina (via TechCrunch) and Spicetify (via The Verge) spotted new lossless references within the code for Spotify's desktop app and web player. With assistance from Aaron Perris, MacRumors has confirmed that the latest beta of the Spotify app for the iPhone also contains new lossless-related code....
Read Full Article • 103 comments
airpods 4 blue

Apple Offering Free AirPods — Here's How to Get Them

Tuesday June 17, 2025 6:33 am PDT by
Apple is running a new promotion that offers free AirPods to qualifying customers. Now through September 30, college and university students in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Singapore can receive free AirPods 4 when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. AirPods Pro 2 are also available at a discount. If you do not want AirPods, the promotion also offers various other...
Read Full Article
Craig Federighi No

John Gruber Reacts to Apple Declining His Interview After His Criticism

Wednesday June 18, 2025 8:10 pm PDT by
Every year between 2015 and 2024, at least one Apple executive agreed to be interviewed by Daring Fireball's John Gruber for a special WWDC episode of his podcast, The Talk Show. Last year, for example, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi, marketing chief Greg Joswiak, and top AI researcher John Giannandrea joined Gruber on stage at the California Theatre in San Jose to discuss...
Read Full Article • 252 comments

Top Rated Comments

Aiwaz418 Avatar
Aiwaz418
183 months ago
A Disaster

The increased speed in some regards (i.e., playback, transcoding, etc.) is amazing, but the complete lack of support for basic features such as the export of XML and EDL files for professional finishing in other software is criminal. The changes to the interface and workflow are frustrating, but can be learned, however...

I've been cutting feature films and television programs for years with FCP, and without the ability to export files for use in third party software for color correction and other finishing, the latest version is utterly useless in a professional environment.

This is simply NOT a professional piece of software at this point in time.

I am vastly disappointed in Apple, and our company may have to look to an alternative software for editorial purposes moving forward.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
H. Flower Avatar
H. Flower
183 months ago
This is such nonsense, as are most of the tantrums I am seeing in here. Firstly, Apple's made it quite clear we are on a journey. There's a bigger picture here and we've been explicitly told that.

Regardless. I find it laughable that self-styled "Professionals" are complaining they can't switch their work flow on day 1 release of an application that's core to their revenue stream. No professional would do that, even if feature X that they wanted was in there. You transition a work-flow, you take the opportunities to tune and refine it. Apple didn't uninstall older versions from your machine.

If you want to switch to Adobe because you are a long term malcontent, then switch. Do so professionally without throwing a hissy fit in a public forum. Perhaps write a blog about the experience afterwards to explain to others how you did it so they might learn from it and make the transition themselves if they want to.

I'm comfortable with this as an R1 application, the promise oozes out of every pore. I won't be using it for some time to come, but I knew that yesterday, and the day before, and the week before, and the months before. So did you. However, despite not being able to use it on production projects I can see what doors this application opens, and I look forward to stepping through them as the right projects come up and the software develops.

Let's be clear, if you are posting here as a professional who is disappointed you can't switch today, or even this year... you're not a professional.
I agree that FCP X will probably eventually become a pro app, but you're missing the point: FCP 7 is SEVERELY behind the technology and many of us have to move on or will lose work to competitors.

One or two years worth of being behind in our profession (waiting for features that quite frankly should have been delivered in 2011) IS a big deal and a lot of money lost.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aiwaz418 Avatar
Aiwaz418
183 months ago
Let's be clear, if you are posting here as a professional who is disappointed you can't switch today, or even this year... you're not a professional.
Being in the middle of two different feature projects at the moment in FCP 7, I had no desire to switch today, but I DID have a desire to test the functionality of FCP X and it failed in a professional environment.

This 'journey' of which you speak seems so far to be one of dumbed-down interfaces and features, more suited to experienced amateurs wishing to post polished videos on YouTube rather than the pros who have supported this product for years and have utilized it on features and in television.

If the software was not ready to be utilized in a pro environment TODAY, it should not have been released, period, or should have been named 'iMovie Pro' or 'Final Cut Amateur'.

It's a slap in the face, plain and simple.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
osxhero Avatar
osxhero
183 months ago
I have to say, based on the 1 star reviews on the App Store, I'm very thankful I waited to read before buying. I absolutely hate iMovie with a passion, and will never pay for a professional product that emulates it in any way.

Least of all "face recognition" that eats up HOURS of useless time for something I have no use for.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NY Guitarist Avatar
NY Guitarist
183 months ago
The increased speed in some regards (i.e., playback, transcoding, etc.) is amazing, but the complete lack of support for basic features such as the export of XML and EDL files for professional finishing in other software is criminal.

+1 It was a real shocker for me, not because of a few missing extra features, but that a professional editor can't use it!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CIA Avatar
CIA
183 months ago
So my experience so far. I downloaded it this morning from my 2007 iMac (2.8 C2D 4GB). I didn't launch it there, but it did let me download it. I think it only has 2600HD graphics inside though.
Screen shared into work and started the download on my MacPro (2008 3.2Ghz, 16GB, 8800GT card).

Got into work (Small TV station) and fired it up (after running software update for the other updates that went with it. I'm the guinea pig for the station to see if this transition will work.

Right now as I type this I'm importing some footage shot in HDV from a Sony Z1U camera. It shows in Final Cut as a Sony HDV device, so I'm guessing all our HDV decks and camera's will work for import. Once I'm done importing I'll start the edit and report back. So far it won't let me launch FCP7 while FCPX is running.


Update... I can get FCP7 to open while capturing in FCPX. But a window pops up on FCPX saying I must quit FCPX to continue using it. Capture (in X) does continue in the background, but I probably won't be able to edit in FCPX until I quit 7. Sure enough when I quit 7, the window in FCPX went away. I could edit in FCP7 while capturing (from tape) in X though.

Update 2... It just dawned on me that I can no longer do batch captures, it'll just take whatever's on the tape. Granted with cheap hard drives that's not a big deal, but that feature is gone. So much for logging footage pre-ingest.

Update 3... Capture complete, but I can't figure out how to tell FCPX to put captured footage in my capture RAID, and not default to my internal HD.

Update 4... A little confusion about the new "Events" feature. It's very iPhoto-esque. I created a new "Event" on my video Storage RAID, and was able to move all the clips into that from my internal movie folder. The "reveal in finder" option shows the clips are now in that location, but only as Alias's.

Update 5..... I have launched (but not edited anything) FCPX on my Core 2 Duo 2007 iMac 2.8 (4GB) with Radeon 2600HD graphics, even though Apple says that machine won't work with FCPX.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments