By Katie Marsal

Published: 10:00 AM EST

Apple late Thursday issued the first maintenance update to its non-linear video editing application Final Cut Express 4, and separately released a plugin for QuickTime that allows the media software to play back files in Apple ProRes format.

Final Cut Express 4.0.1

The 122MB Final Cut Express update resolves an issue where the software would sometimes fail to open projects that included media that a user did not have the proper permissons to access.

It also includes AVCHD Easy Setups to support ingesting AVCHD footage using the Apple Intermediate Codec, meaning users no longer need to use the HDV-Apple Intermediate Codec Easy Setups when ingesting AVCHD footage.

Additionally, Final Cut Express 4.0.1 now includes an HDV-Apple Intermediate Codec 720p25 Easy Setup to support ingesting 720p25 HDV footage. The software update is available via the Software Update mechanism built into Mac OS X.

Apple ProRes QuickTime Decoder 1.0

Separately, Apple released its ProRes QuickTime Decoder 1.0 for both Mac [369KB] and Windows [273K].

The decoder software allows users to play Apple ProRes files through QuickTime. Apple ProRes is a visually lossless format that provides uncompressed HD quality at SD data rates.

"It is an excellent choice for mastering and can easily be transcoded to distribution formats like H.264," Apple said. "With new support for playback on both Mac and Windows computers, Apple ProRes can also be used for review and approval of Final Cut Studio sequences."

For additional information on Apple ProRes, see AppleInsider's detailed report on the new HD video standard from last April.