Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 (2)

Macintosh Users

Although Premiere Pro CS3 now comes in a version compatible with Intel-based Macintosh systems, the Windows and Mac versions differ. So, for example, OnLocation, although included in the Macintosh retail product, works only in a Windows environment. To use OnLocation, Apple addicts will have to run a program like Apple Boot Camp or Parallels Desktop. It's doable but clunky.

Other differences are globally less significant, but may concern experienced Windows users who cross over to the Macintosh only to discover that favored tools are not available. For example, for keying, because Adobe ported only the color-key effect over from the Windows version, not the chroma-key filter. And while the color key and the chroma key both do more or less the same thing, on my tests the chroma-key method has always worked better. My standard test suite includes two chroma-key examples. On the Mac, the color key did well on one test clip but poorly on the other. Note that if you bought the entire CS3 bundle, you can use just After Effects' excellent Keylight plug-in (using Dynamic Link to minimize rendering time), but if you purchased only the standalone version of Premiere Pro CS3 for the Mac, your chroma-key results may not be optimal.

Mac users will also have to do without the Levels Settings dialog—always my first step when adjusting exposure with my clips. This dialog offers only Premiere Pro's histogram view and lets you visually bracket your black-and-white exposure levels to maximize contrast in a video, as well as adjust gamma values via the black, white, and gray triangles beneath the histogram. The Mac Levels filter does contain all the numeric entries, just not the visual dialog that lets you apply them in context. To be fair, Adobe offers a range of Auto Effects (Color, Levels, Exposure), as well as manual brightness, contrast, and gamma controls that get you to the same place. Still, if you've grown accustomed, as I have, to using the Levels Settings dialog in Windows, you'll miss it.

Adobe reps say that the company has decided against porting redundant filters and effects, which certainly seems reasonable given the scope of the project. I'm disinclined to pile on effects in video, but even to me the numbers seem startling: The Windows version has 131 effects and 75 transitions compared with 110 and 20 for the Mac release. Other filters missing in action from the Macintosh build include Camera View, Lens Distortion, and Color Replace. In addition, you can't export to tape when working with HDV—a capability that can serve an important archival function—and you can't import from or export to AAF (advanced authoring format), a file-exchange standard for video editing. This could be a problem for users who need project compatibility with other editors, such as Avid Xpress.

On the rendering front, the Macintosh version of the Adobe Media Encoder can't produce Windows Media audio or video, any RealNetworks formats, or MPEG-1 files. Though the latter two are probably excusable, Windows Media still comprises a substantial chunk of Web content. The necessary third-party solution generally costs at least $500.