Final Cut Server is a scalable server application; it automatically catalogs collections of assets and provides the ability to search across a variety of hard disks and network volumes. The server allows a user to view, annotate and approve content from anywhere via a local computer.

First Announced in 2007

Rob Schoeben, vice president of applications product marketing at Apple, noted that Final Cut Studio is the "choice of editors around the world," and Final Cut Server makes collaboration easier for those who work with Studio. Final Cut Server was originally introduced last spring at the National Association of Broadcasters show.

A user can search from a PC or a Mac. Searches can be conducted with simple keywords or combinations of IPTC, XMP or XML metadata. There are also a range of access controls that can be defined to determine user permissions for a specific asset or an individual project.

Apple said the basic building block of Final Cut Server is a "watch and respond" sequence, in which the system watches for an event, such as a new file in a watched folder, and then responds with one or more actions.

The server software can generate thumbnail images and automatically catalog media, as well as create poster frames and low-resolution clip "proxies" for quick browsing. Content on folders that the user identifies can be scanned by Final Cut Server to identify asset types, obtain metadata, and generate a catalog without assets being moved or copied. Assets in any Final Cut projects that are discovered are referenced and included.

Proposals, Budgets and More

In addition to non-asset file formats such as Final Cut Studio project files, Final Cut Server can also catalog proposals, budgets, project plans, scripts, storyboards, shot lists, video and audio clips, images, and graphics.

Apple said work groups of various sizes can be supported, up to a multinational news organization. A production pipeline can be fully or lightly automated, and an event-based response model, configurable by the user, can track the status of the job or of media changes. Review and approval notifications and sequences of tasks can also be automated through menu selections.

Final Cut Server, which retails for $999 with 10 concurrent client licenses and $1,999 for unlimited client licenses, includes Compressor 3, Apple's encoding and compression tool. Compressor 3 is used for publishing to DVD, broadcast TV, the Web, Apple TV, iPod, iPhone, and other mobile devices.

The Compressor engine can encode to MPEG-2 and H.264 formats, as well as various QuickTime formats, including Apple ProRes 422 and formats for Apple TV and iPods. With a plug-in, it can also encode to additional formats, including VC-1, WMV, GXF and FLV. With batch processing, a user can simultaneously encode multiple formats for the same source file, or from multiple source files.