Apple has issued another update to its video editing software Final Cut Pro X, which the company describes as "significant" despite the relatively minor version number bump (v.10.0.3). The three major features that Apple is touting as part of this update are multicam editing capabilities, advanced chroma keying, and improved XML support for "a richer interchange with third party apps and plug-ins that support the fast growing Final Cut Pro X ecosystem." The update is free to all current users through the Mac App Store.

Apple says FCPX's new multicam feature can automatically sync video via audio waveforms, time and date, or timecodes in order to create a clip with up to 64 video angles. The multicam clips can include mixed formats (if that's your thing), different frame sizes, and even different frame rates. As for the chroma key improvements, Apple says that the new advanced controls include color sampling, edge adjustment, and light wrap.

Apple has also added beta support for broadcast monitoring that will allow users to connect various displays to check the project against broadcast specs. Waveform displays, vectorscopes, and other high-end monitors that use Thunderbolt or rely on third-party PCIe cards are supported as part of the update.

And although Apple still doesn't provide the ability for FCPX users to import past Final Cut Pro 7 projects directly, the company appears to be confident that its expanded XML support will help with this task. "The new 7toX app from Intelligent Assistance uses XML to import Final Cut Pro 7 projects into Final Cut Pro X," Apple wrote in its press release.

That last point is one of the many reasons Apple has taken a beating from industry critics since it first rolled out FCPX last year. When we recently interviewed a handful of video professionals to get their opinions on where Apple is going with the pro market, many were quite frank about why the video industry seems to be moving to non-Apple solutions. The basic message was that pros are scared about Apple's (lack of) commitment to their industry, not to mention Apple's too-forward-thinking attitude when it comes to leaving out essential (if a bit old-fashioned) features, like tape support.

Will this update be enough to win over some of FCPX's critics? We're sure to hear about it in the coming days—video professionals can be an ornery and opinionated group, we have found—but it's worth pointing out that this is the second update Apple has issued to the software in the last four months or so. The company has promised that it will continue adding features to FCPX in the form of updates—a claim that pros have been skeptical of—but it does look like Apple is at least making an effort to appease its critics a few features at a time.

Update: We spoke again with production systems consultant Jon Alper in order to get his reaction to the latest update to FCPX. Overall, Alper seems to believe that the 10.0.3 update from Apple does have some promising elements, but it's probably too little, too late for the community.

"Reading about 7toX, it doesn't seem to be as high-fidelity a conversion as I'd expect if Apple had done it themselves. Great for third-party and for upgraders to be able to move forward but the cynics will read up on the limitations and, justifiably, complain Apple should have shipped able to open old projects or made sure Intelligent Assistance could have done so with perfect fidelity," Alper told Ars. "Adding Multi-cam and the beta support for scopes seems a pointed nod to the message 'we're trying to show we care about pros.' It's a promising sign."

"This update may not be enough of a 'statement' to overcome the problem, though," Alper said. "People are weird about Apple, they want contrition as much or more than they want the things they need or even take a chance to even discover the potential transoformative power of FCPX's metadata-driven model."