Adobe has quietly added some features to Premiere CS4 I would consider really huge. Adobe Updater is normally the little app that delivers Acrobat Reader updates what seems like every other weekday, but imagine my surprise when I opened it today: a little New Year’s present.

• AAF support (Advanced Authoring Format, an attempt to create a more intelligent interchange format that’s open to developers, backed by Adobe)
• OMF export (Open Media Framework, as used by various apps including Cubase, SONAR, Pro Tools, and notably as an alternative in Final Cut … not to be confused with the fantastic early 90s One Must Fall PC game … heheh)
• Final Cut Pro import (yes, that’s native, not via OMF)

And this isn’t just about wooing current Final Cut users: fully supporting OMF and AAF is an essential prerequisite to making media production more open and standards-based. Apple, of course, already helped create a world that isn’t strictly Avid-based, which is why they’ve also been backers of some of these initiatives.

Nothing against Final Cut, necessarily, but having alternatives is good – particularly when Apple’s flagship doesn’t even run on all Macs (sorry, non-Pro MacBook). Now, I had largely looked to Sony Vegas in the past, but Adobe has been busily updating Premiere and so far, CS4 looks far, far snappier performance-wise. Dealing with these file types is tricky, but if Adobe actually has nailed some of the import/export options, it’ll be very good news. And, anyway, if it works for you in your editing workflow, that’s really the main test, isn’t it?

Adobe is back with another Creative Suite update, and touting (accurately) “bigness”:

Adobe’s biggest software release to date includes Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design editions, Creative Suite 4 Web editions, Creative Suite 4 Production Premium, Creative Suite 4 Master Collection, as well as 13 point products, 14 integrated technologies and seven services.

So, what’s in there? The big pluses for me, certainly for the kinds of people who read this site, are real motion tools and inverse kinematics in Flash, badly-needed editing tweaks and format support in Premiere, 3D and 2.5D improvements in After Effects, and smarter Photoshop editing. Unfortunately, while companies like Apple and Sony have slashed their prices, Adobe still seems to be betting on a now-burst bubble economy for digital artists, with suite upgrade prices around $600, and confusing, over-complicated bundling (Premium? Web? Production?), despite editorial calls for them to slim down their offerings. (Hey, if it’s making them money, I can’t really argue.)

Here’s a look at some of the feature highlights, which I couldn’t resist following with a word on the Joy of Simplicity — a bit like wanting to stare at a green wall after looking at absurdly bright sunlight:

On the eve of Macworld Expo, Adobe has announced it’s finally restoring feature parity between the Mac and Windows versions of its Production Studio suite. That means Premiere Pro, its video editing app, and Encore DVD, its DVD authoring package, will both be available as part of the Mac suite.

That makes three Intel-native (and Intel-only) Mac releases:

1. Premiere Pro: First Mac release since its completely-rebuilt, Windows-only 2003 upgrade. (see original Adobe announcement)
2. Encore DVD: First time on the Mac since its 2003 introduction.
3. Soundbooth: New product; first major Adobe-developed Mac audio app ever and the first “Macromedia” audio app since SoundEdit 16 sales were discontinued in 2004 (after a long, slow death).

Macworld News: Adobe brings Premiere back to the Mac (Official Adobe announcement due later today)

Intel-only Soundbooth development caused a bit of a stir in the Mac community, but it’s clear that Adobe has decided they can develop these products for two platforms if it means developing for only one processor architecture. After a difficult year of making the Intel transition, in other words, 2007 will be the year Mac users can reap the rewards. I’ll be especially interested to see what video performance is like in the OS X release of Premiere, as the Mac has some very nice optimizations for video.

The response so far from Mac users seems to be very positive; a lot of Mac advocates are (rightfully) seeing this as real momentum — long lost momentum — for the Mac platform. Some will continue to question Adobe’s Mac commitment, but it’s important to note that Adobe didn’t really “drop” Premiere support on Mac. They re-built Premiere almost from scratch in 2003, and decided it didn’t make sense to make that version run on the Mac, partly because Apple made it clear they wanted to own the whole platform. Don’t get me wrong: I love Apple’s pro apps, both on the music and visual side. But I love multiple vendors and competition even more.

Ironically, the biggest challenge facing the Mac release may be that Mac users just aren’t very familiar with the package. I’ll talk this weekend about some of the integration features, but as good as Final Cut Studio is, my own feeling is that Adobe’s suite has both better, more comprehensive integration, and a more complete suite to integrate in the first place. Motion, while a powerful tool, isn’t comparable to After Effects, and Apple has no equivalent of Photoshop or Illustrator.

But whichever suite you choose — or if you use a combination of both — for the first time in a long time, the Mac will have some real competition. And Mac creatives won’t have to go buy a PC just to run the full suite. Windows just won my 2006 platform pick. The Mac may dominate 2007.

Now, about a Mac release of DV Rack to complete the picture. (Hey, at worst you can boot into Windows on Boot Camp.) (Jaymis: Your wish is their command: Previously mentioned ScopeBox was released recently and is the subject of an extensive review and comparison with DV Rack. Of course, Adobe have purchased Serious Magic, so the future may indeed hold a Production Suite bundled tethered shooting tools.)

Adobe will have demos of Premiere next week at Macworld; we’ll be there to cover it.

It seems that Sony didn’t really want us to know about the new stuff coming in the next version of their editing suite Vegas. Apparently the information was posted on the Sony site long enough for Videoguys to scribble down some points on a napkin.

Vegas 7

• XDCAM SD/HD support
• Improved HDV playback performance
• Enhanced hardware support for Blackmagic Design DeckLinkâ„¢ and AJA
• Improved workflow tools
• Cinescore software plug-in support
• Enhanced video monitoring

DVD Architect 4

• Scripting support
• Random playlist playback
• Keyframeable transformations, crop, and effects
• Buttons on video
• 4:3 and 16:9 preview settings

Vegas is a great NLE. I spend most of my time in Premiere but I still love Vegas for its incredible speed and small footprint, which make it perfect for mobile editing on my ageing Thinkpad. Being able to make edits, drop in new clips and tweak transitions while the project is still playing rocks me every time.

I can’t really say the new feature list looks revolutionary, but Premiere Pro 1.5 - 2 didn’t look that amazing on paper and it melted my face off It will be interesting to see what “Improved workflow tools” means. Ditto for “scripting support” in DVD Architect. Perhaps they’re getting ready for Blu-Ray?

via FresHDV