[This article was first published in the June, 2008, issue of
Larry's Final Cut Pro Newsletter. Click here to subscribe.]

Last week, Apple released QuickTime 7.5.

It was less than 24 hours later that I got an email from an editor who upgraded to the latest version of QuickTime and started experiencing problems.

According to MacFixit - http://www.macfixit.com/ - there are reports of choppy playback, degraded audio/video quality, loss of audio sync. There are also reported issues of problems with iTunes and Safari.

The MacFixit website provides more details and workarounds.

Apple's release notes indicate about a half-dozen security fixes in the new upgrade. Generally, however, those would not be enough to cause a significant change in the version number; it would be more likely to be called 7.4.6, rather than 7.5. I find the version number puzzling.

This update, and its attendant problems, gives me a chance to restate some general cautions regarding updating:

1. If your system is working, don't upgrade immediately
2. Never upgrade in the middle of a project
3. Upgrading QuickTime does not provide any new features inside Final Cut
4. Upgrading the operating system does not provide any new features inside Final Cut
5. Never upgrade QuickTime without upgrading Final Cut at the same time.

Final Cut Pro is, at it's heart, a QuickTime editor. To change one, without changing the other, will generally cause problems.

Whenever a new software version comes out, you MUST ask yourself the following question: "Which is more important, keeping my system running smoothly or the features in this new upgrade?"

Systems which already have the operating system and QuickTime installed, to which you are installing a fresh copy of Final Cut Studio, have the least problems.

Systems which are being upgraded from an earlier OS to the latest OS, along with upgrading QuickTime and Final Cut, have the most problems.

The best way, though not the fastest, to upgrade to the latest operating system is to totally erase your hard disk and start clean. Apple calls this a "Clean Install." Yes, it takes a long time. Yes, it's a pain to reinstall all those applications. But this is a WHOLE lot easier than trying to fix what went wrong after upgrading the operating system without first erasing your hard disk.

I'm always torn with how to balance upgrading to the latest software with system reliability. So, here are the upgrade rules I generally follow:

Larry's Upgrade Philosophy
On systems on which I can afford to have problems, I upgrade immediately. This allows me to learn what's good and bad about the latest software.

On systems which I can not afford to go down, I use the following schedule:

• Dot release upgrades to current software -- wait a minimum of 30 days after release to make sure the release does no harm.
• Releases of major software - wait a minimum of 90 days, ideally until a dot one update is released.
• Releases of operating system software - wait a minimum of a year after release

Key question: When was the last time a client came to you waving a checkbook and demanding that you edit their project using the latest version of anything?

Larry Jordan is a post-production consultant and an Apple-Certified Trainer in Digital Media with over 25 years experience as producer, director and editor with network, local and corporate credits. Based in Los Angeles, he's a member of both the Directors Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America.

The information in this article is believed to be accurate at the time of publication. However, the author assumes no liability in case things go wrong. Please use your best judgment in applying these suggestions.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. This newsletter has not been reviewed or sanctioned by Apple or any other third party. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are mentioned here for editorial purposes only.

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