With the imminent iPhone launch, the slightly-less-imminent Leopard launch and the rumors a flyin’, you’d think that Apple wouldn’t have time to announce yet more new hardware and software. But you would be wrong. At the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference on Friday, Apple announced its new lineup of video-editing products: huge news for video professionals and enthusiasts alike. The most exciting announcement is, of course, Final Cut Pro 6 and its new sister product Final Cut Server. Paired together, the software will allow for a cross-platform, networked solution for video editing shops. “We’ve been working hard to make this the biggest upgrade we’ve ever seen seen in professional applications at Apple,” said Apple’s VP of applications and product marketing, Rob Schoeben. One of the most exciting features in the new versions of Final Cut is called ProRes, a system that claims to compress HD video into SD file sizes while maintaining HD quality. Apple also announced a new hardware device for video professionals, the IO-HD, which will allow for the direct processing of HD video in Final Cut Pro. The company claims that the $3,495 device contains everything you need to process HD video on a MacBook Pro (and for that price, it had better do the dishes as well).

For more info on the new products:
– see this Ars Technica article
– and relive the keynote at Engadget’s liveblog