In Response to Pro Tools HD 10 Feedback

[Max Gutnik]

There’s been a lot of great feedback from the community on the launch of Pro Tools 10 and HDX. There’s also been a lot of discussion on the price of the Pro Tools HD 10 software upgrade. I’d like to address some of those concerns here, and also want to revisit the $599 Avid Support Contract details I spoke about earlier in the week. We have some updates that should clear up some of the confusion around that.

Pro Tools HD 10 Upgrade Pricing -

First, let’s talk about the Pro Tools HD 10 upgrade. We believe strongly in the value of Pro Tools HD 10. It represents a significant step forward for our professional customers. The workflow improvements in Pro Tools HD 10 are substantial, and when added together, dramatically reduce the time required to deliver your best results. And while it may be difficult to put a specific price tag on features like Extended Disk Cache, Clip Gain, our premium AAX Channel Strip plug-in, and many other additions, if sold separately they could easily add up to much more than $999.

More importantly, we’ve witnessed customers who’ve experienced Pro Tools HD 10 instantly see and feel just how powerful it really is and how much value the upgrade adds to their business. They believe it is an incredible value. A couple examples:

Russ states on the Air Users Blog:
"My advice if you are thinking about Pro Tools [HD] 10 is don't believe anything Avid say about it in their marketing; they are playing it down - it's better! Pro Tools [HD] 10 may have 50 new features, but it is for a hundred and one reasons that I'm giving Pro Tools [HD] 10 my Editors Choice Award. It's a no brainer." link

Marti Humphrey, CAS and owner of The Dub Stage states on Gearslutz:
"We at "The Dub Stage" have been on PT HD 10 for quite a while and it rocks! Currently using it on a Huge Feature Film and its rock solid!! The Disc Cache rules! HDX is gonna be amazing for those of us pushing our systems to the hilt. The new AAX plug ins are awesome along with the new channels strip from system 5. Now we can have up to 12 systems to link with the new PTHD10. I'M LOVING IT!!" link

Pro Tools 10 14 Day Trial -

The best way to understand the value of Pro Tools HD 10 is to use it. Currently, that’s hard to do, unless you buy it, so we’re introducing a 14-day trial for Pro Tools and Pro Tools HD 10 starting next week on the Avid website. With the 14-day trial everyone will be able to experience the speed, power and capability of Pro Tools 10 first hand, and with no risk.

Avid Standard Support Plan for $599 -

Now, back to the Avid Standard Support plan. I spoke about this last week and we quickly saw there was a great deal of confusion. We really want to clear this up because this program is great for our customers. So currently, if you are on an Avid support plan, you receive a year of maintenance (tech support, etc.) and free upgrades from the time of purchase. So if you were on this plan when you originally purchased Pro Tools HD 9, you would be eligible for a complimentary upgrade to Pro Tools HD 10. What we realized quickly was that very few of our audio customers knew about it and therefore could not take advantage of it. Based on this, we wanted fix the problem and create an opportunity for you to get on this retroactively.

So here’s the deal: Any customer who currently owns Pro Tools HD 9 is eligible to purchase the Standard Avid Support Plan for $599 until the end of the year. Once you purchase this from your dealer, you will be eligible to receive your Pro Tools HD 10 upgrade as part of the program. You will also have 12 months of maintenance, and any future upgrades within the 12 months will be included.

At the end of the 12 months, you can renew the program and get future upgrades and support. It’s a great program. For around $50 a month, you never have to worry about software upgrades or support pricing again.

To sum up, we believe that professionals deserve the best tools that help you be more creative and get your projects done better and faster. We’re confident that once you experience the giant leap in performance and capability of Pro Tools HD 10, its value will be self-evident.

Looking forward to your feedback.

[Darryl Ramm]

Max

What about customers who purchased a PT 10 HD upgrade as soon as it came out and would have preferred to take the support option?

Darryl

[Max Gutnik]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

Max

What about customers who purchased a PT 10 HD upgrade as soon as it came out and would have preferred to take the support option?

Darryl

We will of course refund your money and get you on the support plan. Contact your dealer and/or Avid Sales Rep.

[LukeHoward]

Originally Posted by Max Gutnik

We will of course refund your money and get you on the support plan. Contact your dealer and/or Avid Sales Rep.

This sounds good. Are you saying that I should contact my local dealer to arrange a refund even though I bought online the upgrade through the Avid store?

[Directx]

Originally Posted by LukeHoward

This sounds good. Are you saying that I should contact my local dealer to arrange a refund even though I bought online the upgrade through the Avid store?

No, I think what he was saying is contact your seller. In your case it's fairly easy:

http://shop.avid.com/store/cms.do?cm...undsAndReturns

[gives]

Originally Posted by Max Gutnik

We will of course refund your money and get you on the support plan. Contact your dealer and/or Avid Sales Rep.

If I bought an HD IO less that 3 months ago, is there any kind of deal I can get on the PT HD10 upgrade from 9.0.5? It would be appreciated.. If not, I will probably get it when I can as I upgraded a lot in my studio this year including construction and Tuning. Not sure I really understand the rest.. Will re-read when I am not working tonight ..

P.S. I also just had upgraded to Protools 9 on 5.13.11 from Avid's Download site, so am wondering it that helps me out at all.?
Regards, G

[gives]

Originally Posted by gives

If I bought an HD IO less that 3 months ago, is there any kind of deal I can get on the PT HD10 upgrade from 9.0.5? It would be appreciated.. If not, I will probably get it when I can as I upgraded a lot in my studio this year including construction and Tuning. Not sure I really understand the rest.. Will re-read when I am not working tonight ..

P.S. I also just had upgraded to Protools 9 on 5.13.11 from Avid's Download site, so am wondering it that helps me out at all.?
Regards, G

Thnx, I'll cc my Avid Rep tonight. Best, G

[bad jitter]

Dear Max. Is Avid Standard Support Plan for $599 offered to all (like you say), no matter where you live?

[Max Gutnik]

Originally Posted by bad jitter

Dear Max. Is Avid Standard Support Plan for $599 offered to all (like you say), no matter where you live?

Yes.

[lampmusic]

Glad to see that people are listening at avid - - it also looks like there were a lot of beta testers for PT10 / PTHD10.

I personally have not been vocal about the original upgrade path for PTHD, although I, like many others were shocked at the 1K upgrade price.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this support direction really is Avid's version of WUP. right?

Bottom line - I'm not interested in switching to another DAW, but I've found myself for the first time wanting to hold off rather than test driving the latest greatest new features.