Upgrading FCE 2 to FCE HD in mid-project--asking for trouble?

Question

I'm in the middle of a couple of FCE projects using FCE 2.0.3, OS 10.3.9, and QuickTime 6.5.
To gain SoundTrack and LiveType (I have no desire to edit in HD), I want to upgrade to FCE HD, OS 10.4.9, and QuickTime 7.
My question is, after I do the upgrades, will I be able to open these FCE 2 projects into FCE HD, and continue to edit them as usual, just as though I had created them in FCE HD? Or will I have problems trying to convert FCE 2 projects into FCE 3.5 projects like that?
Tom
G4 Quicksilver 1 GHz DP   Mac OS X (10.3.9)   1.5 GB of RAM

Answer 1

Well, I went ahead and upgraded everything, and I am now running 10.4.9, QT 7, and FCE HD (v. 3.5).
And nothing drastic has happened; in fact there have been no serious problems at all in editing old projects in the new version. Success!
What I discovered is that the upgrade is only an upgrade in the sense that you end up with a newer version of FCE, because the old version is still sitting right there in the Applications folder beside the new one, and can still be launched and run as before. So, after "upgrading," you can take your pick which version of FCE you want to run.
Apparently the FCE HD installer program detects the earlier version and extracts all the user information from it, since the registration box appeared with all the information already filled in, and the only serial number it asks for is the new one. But it does not preserve and carry over any user preferences, button bar additions, etc. As far as that goes, you are starting out brand new in FCE HD.
Now, when I open an old project into the new version of FCE, a dialogue box tells me that I can save the project as a new version with a new name, while leaving the old version alone, which is just what I have been doing, for backup safety.
However, the old FCE 2 projects seem to run just fine in FCE HD, with no glitches at all. I did receive one complaint from FCE HD, upon opening an FCE 2 project, that a certain clip "had different in and out points" than it was supposed to have, or some such thing, so I just deleted that clip and replaced it with a fresh copy and all has been well since.
So, I guess I can report to anyone else contemplating doing this that there are no serious problems or glitches to be encountered while upgrading FCE projects in mid-stream, so to speak. I have now been doing considerable editing on old projects in the new version of FCE with no problems whatsoever (knocking on my wooden head!).
And I really like LiveType and Soundtrack! The upgrade comes with a tutorial DVD that walks you through FCE HD, LiveType, and Soundtrack, and I have subsequently made my first animated titles and soundtracks, quite easily. Impressive! Gaining those two programs made the upgrades worth the trouble and expense.
My only gripe, a minor one, is that a lot of the Soundtrack loops seem geared to teen or twenty-something boys, since it contains so much trendy synthesized throbbing, and the "people" sound effects consist of a great deal of agonized screaming--just what I would have enjoyed at age 17, but not now, forty years later. I was hoping for a selection of more sedate and melodic-sounding loops. (The tutorial also employs a demonstration project showing athletic boys roller-skating across a vast mud flat at suicidal speeds, while holding large kites or sails for wind-propulsion. A fall or crash under those conditions would be spectacular, and I watched eagerly for one, but amazingly, not a single lad came a cropper--not in the chosen clips, anyway).
Now, can anyone tell me where I might acquire some more classical and mature music loops (symphonic, perhaps) for this wonderful program, Soundtrack?
Tom