Installing Your Software This booklet is intended to get you up and running as quickly as possible and covers the following:  "About the Contents of Your Final Cut Express HD Box" on page 2  "About Onscreen Help" on page 3  "Upgrading Mac OS X and QuickTime" on page 4  "Installing Software, Entering Your Serial Number, and Setting Up Final Cut Express HD" on page 4  "Memory Usage in Final Cut Express HD" on page 9  "Registering Final Cut Express HD" on page 10  "Installing Tutorial Files" on page 10  "Contacting AppleCare Support" on page 11 Be sure to also review the Before You Install Final Cut Express HD document (on the Final Cut Express HD installation DVD). For the latest information on Final Cut Express HD, go to the Final Cut Express HD website at www.apple.com/finalcutexpress. Important: Before you install QuickTime and Final Cut Express HD, connect and turn on your video equipment so Final Cut Express HD can automatically detect your method of video capture. For more information, see the Final Cut Express HD Getting Started book. 1 About the Contents of Your Final Cut Express HD Box Your Final Cut Express HD box contains software and documentation to enhance your video editing experience. DVDs The following DVDs contain software, documentation, tutorials, and additional media.  Final Cut Express HD installation DVD: This is your installation disc. Use this DVD to install all of the application software, presets, and tutorials.  LiveType and Soundtrack content DVDs: These DVDs contain data files for animated fonts, objects, and textures in LiveType and libraries of audio loops for Soundtrack. Printed Documentation You can find the following printed instructional material included in your Final Cut Express HD box:  Final Cut Express HD Getting Started: Provides step-by-step instructions for setting up, acquiring media, basic editing, working with audio, creating transitions, adding effects, creating titles and credits, and sharing your movie.  New Features in Final Cut Express HD: Provides an overview of new features in Final Cut Express HD.  Final Cut Express HD Quick Reference Card: Lists commonly used keyboard shortcuts for menu commands.  Frequently Asked Questions About Final Cut Express HD: Provides answers to common questions about Final Cut Express HD.  Apple Pro Training Pamphlet: Provides information about Apple Authorized Training Centers for Apple professional products. PDF Documentation The following PDF documents are located in the Documentation folder on the Final Cut Express HD installation DVD.  Getting Started: A PDF version of the Final Cut Express HD Getting Started book provides bookmarks and search capabilities for easy onscreen access to information.  Final Cut Express HD Help: Provides information and instructions on capturing, editing, and outputting DV. Final Cut Express HD Help is a complete reference for information related to the application. Refer to this document for information not included in the Final Cut Express HD Getting Started book.  LiveType Help: Provides information and instructions on creating and animating titles for use with Final Cut Express HD projects.  Soundtrack Help: Provides information and instructions on creating musical compositions and scores for Final Cut Express HD projects.  Quick Reference: A PDF version of the Final Cut Express HD Quick Reference allows you to search for Final Cut Express HD keyboard shortcuts onscreen. 2  Frequently Asked Questions: A PDF version of the Frequently Asked Questions About Final Cut Express HD document allows onscreen access to answers to common questions about Final Cut Express HD. Tutorials Tutorials are located in the Extras folder on the Final Cut Express HD installation DVD. Tutorials include media and are accompanied by PDF documentation.  LiveType Tutorial: Takes you through the steps for creating an animated titling element, which you create in LiveType and then add to a sequence in Final Cut Express HD.  Soundtrack Tutorials: Provide step-by-step instructions for creating and saving projects, adding media files to a project, working in the Timeline, editing audio clips, mixing a project, and making roundtrips between Soundtrack and Final Cut Express HD. About Onscreen Help Onscreen help, Late-Breaking News documents, and New Features documents are located in the Help menu of each application included with Final Cut Express HD. Onscreen Help Help gives you access to information onscreen while you're working in the applications. To access the onscreen help for an application: m Open the application, then choose the application name from the Help menu. Late-Breaking News Each application also contains information about issues with third-party hardware and software and known bugs. This information is found in the Late-Breaking News section of the onscreen help. To access Late-Breaking News for an application: m Open the application, then choose Help > Late-Breaking News. New Features Each application has a New Features document describing features that have been added or enhanced since the last version. This information is found in the New Features section of the onscreen help. To access the New Features document for an application: m Open the application, then choose Help > New Features. Note: LiveType does not have a New Features document. 3 Upgrading Mac OS X and QuickTime Before you install Final Cut Express HD, update your system software to make sure that you have the latest versions of Mac OS X and QuickTime. QuickTime is an industry standard for working with digital video and is required to capture, play back, and output video with Final Cut Express HD. To update your system software: 1 Choose Apple menu > System Preferences. 2 Click Software Update. 3 Click the Update Software tab, then click Check Now. When Software Update finishes installing the required updates, you will most likely be prompted to restart your computer. Installing Software, Entering Your Serial Number, and Setting Up Final Cut Express HD When you install Final Cut Express HD, its components are placed in the Applications folder on the hard disk you specify, typically your startup disk. Some additional software components may be installed, depending on the video capture interface you're using. For information about installing and configuring a third-party video capture card, see the Final Cut Express HD Help. Warning: If your system does not meet the minimum system requirements, Final Cut Express HD will not be installed. Refer to the Before You Install Final Cut Express HD document on the Final Cut Express HD installation DVD for a list of minimum system requirements. 4 Installing Final Cut Express HD Before you can install the software, you need to log in to your computer as the administrator using the administrator password. To verify that you're the admin user, open System Preferences and click Accounts. The word Admin will appear under your user account name. To install Final Cut Express HD: 1 Insert the Final Cut Express HD installation DVD into your DVD drive. 2 Double-click the Install Final Cut Express HD icon, then follow the onscreen instructions. 3 Read the introduction, then click Continue. 4 Read the Before You Install Final Cut Express HD document, then click Continue. 5 Read the Software License Agreement, then click Continue and Agree. 6 In the Licensing dialog, do the following: a In the First, Last Name field, enter your first and last name. Entering an organization is optional. b In the Serial Number field, enter the Final Cut Express HD serial number printed on the front of this booklet, then click OK. Note: Make sure to keep this serial number in a safe place. The serial number is proof of ownership and may be required to reinstall the application or install upgrades. 7 Select the destination disk where you want to install Final Cut Express HD and the included software, then click Continue. The destination disk must have the latest version of Mac OS X installed. Warning: LiveType must be installed on the startup disk (the disk or partition that contains the operating system). If it is installed on a nonstartup partition, it will not operate correctly. 8 To perform an easy installation, click Install. 9 To perform a custom installation, click the Customize button, select the applications you want to install, then click Install. Final Cut Express HD and Pro Application Support are always selected. When the installation is complete, you are prompted to install the additional media provided with LiveType and Soundtrack. This is optional and not required to use LiveType or Soundtrack. See LiveType Help and Soundtrack Help for additional information. You are now ready to begin using Final Cut Express HD. See the next section for information on choosing your initial setup. 5 Choosing an Initial Setup The first time you open Final Cut Express HD, you must specify certain settings that determine how Final Cut Express HD works with your particular video setup. You can do this by choosing an Easy Setup, which is a collection of settings Final Cut Express HD uses for controlling your video device, capturing media, editing, and exporting video. Final Cut Express HD comes with Easy Setups for some of the most common video configurations, and you can create your own custom Easy Setups. Choose an Easy Setup based on the system and media you're using and the type of project you're working on. For example, if you have an NTSC FireWire DV camera, choose the Easy Setup that includes those settings, DV-NTSC. The DV-NTSC Easy Setup includes the following settings:  Sequence Preset: DV NTSC 48 kHz  Capture Preset: DV NTSC 48 kHz  Device Control Preset: FireWire NTSC  Playback Output Video: Apple FireWire NTSC (720 x 480)  Playback Output Audio: FireWire DV  PTV Output Video: Same as Playback  PTV Output Audio: Same as Playback To choose your initial setup: 1 Double-click the Final Cut Express HD icon in the Applications folder to open Final Cut Express HD. The Choose Setup dialog appears. Note: This window only appears the first time you open Final Cut Express HD. You can change this setup later if necessary. See "Choosing an Easy Setup," next. 2 Specify the following settings, then click OK.  Setup For: This pop-up menu lets you specify the Easy Setup to use.  Show All: Selecting this checkbox presents a longer list of presets to choose from in the Setup For pop-up menu.  Primary Scratch Disk: This is the hard disk where the clips you capture in Final Cut Express HD are saved. It's also where render files are saved. Final Cut Express HD generates render files when you use transitions and effects. For more information, see Final Cut Express HD Help, Chapter 4, "Specifying User Preferences, System Settings, and Easy Setups." Note: If you reinstall Final Cut Express HD, your settings are cleared and you need to choose an Easy Setup again. 6 Choosing an Easy Setup The Easy Setup you choose becomes your default setup and all projects and sequences use its settings until you change your Easy Setup. You can change your Easy Setup or individual presets and settings at any time; however, you don't need to change the Easy Setup unless you change your video hardware or source media. Changing your Easy Setup only affects new projects that you create. It doesn't change the settings of a project that's already created or that's currently open. For detailed information on Easy Setups and presets, see Final Cut Express HD Help, Chapter 4, "Specifying User Preferences, System Settings, and Easy Setups." To choose an Easy Setup: 1 Open Final Cut Express HD. 2 Choose Final Cut Express HD > Easy Setup. 3 Choose an Easy Setup from the Setup For pop-up menu. A summary of the selected Easy Setup appears below the menu. The summary includes information about the purpose of the Easy Setup, along with a list of the presets and external video settings on which the Easy Setup is based. Note: Make sure your primary scratch disk can accommodate the size of the media files associated with your project. For more information on checking the status of your primary scratch disk, see Final Cut Express HD Help, Chapter 4, "Specifying User Preferences, System Settings, and Easy Setups." 7 About Installing Software and Saving Files Mac OS X provides a multiuser environment so each user has a home directory where he or she can save files that aren't accessible to others. If users are working on some of the same projects, they need to save or place these files in a location where others can access them. When installing or saving files, including project files, custom Easy Setups, and custom presets, consider who needs access to these items. Use the following to help determine where to place files:  Shared folder within the Users directory: All users have access to this folder, making this a good location to save and stor ...