Final Cut Pro Gets a Speed Boost with the 10.4.7 Update

Metal Powered Performance

Alongside with the new MacOS Catalina, Apple released the 10.4.7 update for Final Cut Pro. This FCPX update is an “incremental” update, and takes advantage of Apple’s Metal API that delivers performance gains across a wide range of Mac systems. With a new Metal-based engine, the updated Final Cut Pro X improves playback and accelerates tasks like rendering, real-time effects and exporting on Metal-compatible Macs. According to Apple, users may see up to a 20 percent editing speed increase on the 15” MacBook Pro, and up to 35 percent speed increase on the new Mac Pro. Mark Spencer from Ripple Training put this to the test in Ripple Training’s latest video, with noticeable performance boost.

Sidecar Support with Catalina Mac OS

The latest FCPX 10.4.7 update also enables support for the Sidecar feature of MacOS Catalina. This feature allows editors to use an iPad as a secondary display for Final Cut Pro, with full support for Apple Pencil. Users can connect an iPad with a cable, or connect wirelessly for even more flexibility. The Sidecar feature of MacOS Catalina enable editors to use a Dual Display Editing Setup on the go, a huge benefit if you have to edit video on the road.

HDR Editing with Pro Display XDR

Final Cut Pro users who purchased the 32” Pro Display XDR can now view, edit, grade and deliver high dynamic range video with 1,000 nits of full screen sustained brightness, 1,600 nits peak brightness and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. The Pro Display XDR connects to a Mac through a single thunderbolt cable, and editors using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Pro can use up to three displays simultaneously. Two displays used for the Final Cut Pro interface, and one set up for AV Output as a reference monitor

Additional New Features in Final Cut Pro 10.4.7

Grade high dynamic range video with enhanced color mask and range isolation tools.
View high dynamic range video tone-mapped to compatible standard dynamic range displays when using Final Cut Pro, Motion or Compressor on macOS Catalina.
Select which internal or external GPU is used to accelerate graphics processing.
Click here for full FCPX 10.4.7 release notes

Alongside with the new FCPX update, Apple has also released updates for the companion Compressor and Motion 5 apps. Motion 5.4.4 and Compressor 4.4.5 are also available now as free updates for existing users, and for $49.99 each for new users on the Mac App Store. Education customers can purchase the Pro Apps Bundle for $199.99.