With the release of the iMac DV line, Apple brought the power to the people by releasing iMovie 1.0. iMovie came preloaded (free of charge) on the iMac DV line of computers. iMovie borrowed on many of the features developed in Final Cut Pro, but it made them more basic and easier for users new to video to understand. And, just like Final Cut, iMovie was capable of recording and editing full screen video at 30 frames per second. iMovie features a much more basic interface than Final Cut, but also makes it much easier to edit video while adding professional transitions and high quality text effects to video.

Just as the iMac line developed, so did iMovie. With systems currently running at 600MHz, all iMacs now have FireWire ports standard. iMovie is now up to version 2.1 and has seen some major improvement in the short time since its inception.

With the release of the iMac DV line and the addition of iMovie to the lineup, Apple was selling computers faster than ever. And just as it had brought digital video to the masses with iMovie, Apple worked hard to develop Final Cut as the professional video-editing package.

In January 2001, Apple released the Digital Audio line of G4’s. In its high-end configuration, the 733Mhz G4 came equipped with the industry’s first consumer based DVD-R drive. Apple called this drive the SuperDrive because it was able to write CDR-W discs as well as DVD discs. But just as Apple had offered powerful new hardware options in the form of FireWire, then offered Final Cut Pro to take advantage of the technology— it now offered users the ability to write DVDs with the release of the SuperDrive and DVD Studio Pro.

Prior to the release of 733Mhz G4 with SuperDrive, DVD writers were not readily available and still carried price tags in the thousands of dollars. In fact, when Apple released the 733MHz system, DVD writers were still selling for $10,000. Apple sold its high-end system for $3499, and it included the SuperDrive.

DVD Studio Pro gave professional users the ability to author professional looking DVDs on the Mac. Prior to the release of DVD Studio Pro, software for authoring DVDs had only been available on proprietary systems, and ultra-high-end PCs with proprietary hardware. Now DVDs could be authored on the Mac with the traditional ease of use the Mac is know for. DVD Studio Pro carries a Price tag of $999, and is designed for use with Final Cut Pro.

In July of 2001, Steve Jobs announced the new line of G4s codenamed Quicksilver. They sported a chassis similar to the Blue & White series as well as the Digital Audio series, but came in a sleek new silver color. The new line used the moniker “Pro Create,” as the mid and high end configurations both now sported the SuperDrive.