A recent Final Cut Pro support article from Apple mention s that Final Cut Pro 4 is not supported on OS X 10.5 Leopard. No reason is given, however, version 5.1.4 and latter do appear to be supported under Leopard. The support article can be found on Apple’s site.
Issue
Final Cut Pro 4 and earlier versions are not supported on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.
Final Cut Pro 5.1.4 and later are supported on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.
The current version of Final Cut Pro is included with Final Cut Studio. You can learn more at the Final Cut Studio product pages.
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This really sucks. I have just purchased Leopard and the latest version of Logic Pro (8- or Studio as it is now known), and I am finding all that doesn’t work.
I can”t get Logic working under Leopard, as it doesn’t see my MOTU PCI-424x Soundcard.
MOTU claim a ‘Leopard Patch’, which I have installed countless times over a week and still nothing works. All this time I have been in contact with MOTU support in Australia and MOTU HQ, wherever that is.
Now I find out that my version of Photoshop won’t work, as it is a OS 9 version and OS 9 support has been removed from Leopard.
And then Final Cut Pro 4.5 HD.
We users are at the bottom of the food-chain in the digital world. But our money keeps it going.
We deserve more respect and require high-profile announcements of such matters so we can make educated decisions as to what we spend our money on. Or how much money already spent will be wasted by giving big business even more of it.
Simon Binks
Unfortunately we don’t get to pick and choose which software/hardware configurations will work. That would just be silly. Manufactures have to keep up with development, and in this digital world there is about 18 months before things are out of date.
Sure it hurts the pocket book, but we should also be happy that technology is advancing as quickly as it is. And while the users do suffer, and manufactures reap the benefits of this advancement, we have to also keep in mind a few things. If you buy a system with one OS and hardware to complement it, chances are it will not be able to be upgraded and work as well. Modern OS’ are developed for modern computers.
It was easy to find documentation stating that Leopard would loose support for OS 9, which has not been updated in nearly 10 years. So I think that the fact that it has been that long, take the blame away form the user. If you want to be on the bleeding edge, it gong to cost, and things are going to be buggy. If you you want to be rock solid, stay behind the curve and don’t expect to upgrade without a complete overhaul.
While I agree with you for the most part, the consumer has to take the responsibility to know what they are purchasing. Apple is more than willing to help you with any questions, even if the answer is not what you want to hear.
I have found that FCP 4.5 HD will work under Leopard. Might have some capture issues with QT 7.3 , but other than that, FCP seems to work without any issues.
FCP 4, however, will not work. I couldn’t even get the update to 4.5 to run. I did find a work around. In case anyone else encounters the same situation, here’s the fix:
Run the FCP installation on your machine. Once you have installed everything, copy the following onto a non-Leopard system: (1) The FCP application file; (2) Library\Application Support\Final Cut Pro System Support; (3) Library\Application Support\ProApps\Final Cut Pro System ID
Go to Apple’s website and download the update to FCP 4.5 HD. This is a free update if you have a valid serial number for FCP 4. Run the update.
Now copy the above 3 directories back to your Leopard machine. You should be up and running now.
And if you want to run FCP 4 or 4.5 on an Intel Mac, check out this fix from geekymac.com: http://www.cyclizing.com/geekymac/?p=243
It’s the easiest “hack” ever. Change 3 characters of code and you’re up an running!
I am trying to follow your instructions on installation of FCP 4.5 to Leopard. I cannot find (1) The FCP application file; (2) Library\Application Support\Final Cut Pro System Support; (3) Library\Application Support\ProApps\Final Cut Pro System ID which is what you say needs to be copied into another system. Where do I find it. I am going to copy this 3 directories into MAc osx 10.0, will this work?
This is how I made it work:
1.) After installing FinalCutPro4, go to your Applications/Programs folder (I don’t know what name it exactly has for I’m using the german version)
2.) Right-click/CTRL-click on the “Final Cut Pro HD” icon and select something like “show package content” or “show folder content”
3.) Edit “Info.plist” by deleting following lines:
AELRequiredCPUType
G4
AELMinimumCPUSpeedSingle
350
AELRequiredIOPCIDevice
AGP
Now it should work…
But my problem was a missing AGP-graphic card – maybe you should also try deleting:
AELMinimumOSVersion
10.3.2
Let me know if it worked.
And also delete the braces around (“Key” and “String”)
@Tinu
Your directions worked! I just installed FCP4 on my intel Mac. I deleted the parts you said and it loaded up. I haven’t tried editing anything yet, but it looks good so far.
Thanks!