MacWorld Expo: Adobe Premiere returns to Mac

Adobe's Premiere Pro video-editing suite is now Mac-friendly once again

Adobe is to make its Premiere Pro video-editing suite compatible with Apple Macs again, it said today. The company will demonstrate the program at MacWorld Expo in San Francisco next week.

In 2003, Adobe stopped making its popular Premiere Pro video editing suite for Macs. Premiere Pro was more or less pushed out of the market by Apple 's popular Final Cut Pro software , in one of the hardest decisions the company ever had to make, according to spokesman Simon Hayhurst.

"It was always our intention to bring [Premiere Pro] back, and Apple's move to Intel [processors] made it easier," he said.

Besides Premiere Pro, the new Adobe Production Studio integrated video and audio post-production suite will include Adobe Encore DVD , Adobe Soundbooth , as well as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator .

It's the first time the whole editing suite has been available for Macs. Its strength, according to Adobe, lies in how the various programs work together. The editing suite has been rebuilt from scratch, says Hayhurst, and the result is a fast performer. "I believe we can help Apple sell a lot of Intel Macs."

The Adobe Production Studio suite will work on Intel-based Macs only and is expected to be launched mid-2007. Prices and availability dates are to follow during the next few months.

The first UK public demonstration of the Adobe Production Studio suite is due to take place at the Video Forum at Earls Court in London from 6 to 8 February.