"Subject: Final Cut Studio 3 and non-Pro (intel graphics) Macbooks
Despite being unsupported, Final Cut Studio 2 ran amazingly well on my Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz Macbook (Late 2006 or Mid 2007, shared vram is 64MB on this model and was updated to 144MB in Late 2007). It shows Core Image as Hardware Accelerated. However the Final Cut Studio 3 installer pops up a warning saying 64MB of video memory is unsupported, and it won't proceed with any installations without at least 128MB of video memory.
(The (2009) Final Cut Studio 3 Install requirements (no longer online) lists "ATI or NVIDIA graphics processor (integrated Intel graphics processors not supported)" and "128MB of VRAM". They also list a higher minimum res (1280x800) display recommendation than FCS2 did (1024x768 min). And there's higher "requirements" listed for some apps like Color.-Mike)
Do you know if anyone has found a workaround for this?
(I replied with the usual tips on installer script edits, paficist, installing to the drive from a 'supported' mac and a link to an old article here (from 2003-2004) with Tips for Installing Final Cut Pro on PCI/Pre-G4 Macs that had info on copying the DVD's installer to the HD and removing "InstallationCheck" scripts from the pkgs, other tweaks, etc.-Mike)
Thanks for your help... I can report success with getting Final Cut Studio 3 to install on my white Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz (Intel graphics/64MB shared VRAM) Macbook.
I copied the entire installation disk to my hard drive and deleted the installation check file from the FinalCutPro.mpkg file. (right click/"show package contents", etc.) Then the installer ran normally. After it was installed, I had to open up the applications' packages and remove "MRCheckPro.bundle" from the respective Contents/Resources folders (this is slightly different from older versions).
I should note that many newer Macbooks have more than 64MB shared VRAM, so people may not have to jump through these hoops on those models. (If anyone knows if the installer check is keying on vram or just Intel GMA graphics let me know.-Mike) Big thanks!
(I asked if he had ran/used every app after the install, even if just for a simple/sample project.-Mike)
I unfortunately won't be able to put all the apps to the test for another
couple of weeks, and so far have only opened FCP and Compressor.
By the way, my experience with FCS 2 on this Macbook was that "almost" everything ran perfectly -- there were one or two filters (like "Bloom") that wouldn't render, but other than that, it was virtually indistinguishable from a Macbook Pro (and I should mention I have seen Mac Pros that couldn't render the Bloom filter either). I suspect this version will be similar...
-Graham"
