Apple releases Final Cut Studio v5.1 (incl. Universal Binary)

Apple is now shipping the first Universal version of its Final Cut Studio video production suite that delivers up to 2.5x the performance when running on a MacBook Pro* notebook computer. Apart from Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Studio includes Soundtrack Pro, Motion 2 and DVD Studio Pro 4.

The Universal version of Final Cut Studio is available now through the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $1,299. Registered Final Cut Studio customers can cross-grade to the Universal version for $49. Existing customers of the standalone versions of Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro, Motion, or DVD Studio Pro can upgrade to the Universal version of Final Cut Studio starting at $99. Full details and further information is available here.

* DV and HDV rendering from the Timeline is up to twice as fast on a MacBook Pro with 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo than a 15-inch PowerBook G4 with 1.67 GHz PowerPC. MPEG-2 encoding from DV and HDV for DVD authoring is up to 2.5x as fast on a MacBook Pro with 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo than a 15-inch PowerBook G4 with 1.67 GHz PowerPC.