Best Explanation I Have Heard for Subscription/Support Model

[upscaps]

The subscription software model has worked in other industries and will probably be the norm in just about all fields soon. Like it or not. Avid just has to reveal the policy for HD/HDX perpetual users who lapse.

For facilities subscription, support plans, no subscription, whatever. It doesn't really matter. All we care about is stability and turning in projects on time. If there are any major bugs, we need them fixed asap. The biggest bugs seem to revolve around midi and VI's. We don't have anyone here (at this facility) who uses PT to compose and I don't know any other composers/producers I have dealt with in fifteen years who has ever used PT to compose. Always been better and cheaper daws for that.

Trying to compete in the home studio/midi world of reaper, logic, etc. with a crippled PT Vanilla, that costs double the other options is a big reason for Avid's fall off. While the home/midi users may out number the large post/music studios the margin of profit is miniscule in comparison. Avid already showed their hand by getting rid of the low end brands like m-audio and grabbing up high end euphonix. They have shifted to a high end concentration and there will be growing pains as witnessed by the comments on this board. The home studio/midi cats are being ignored in favor of Post, high end music, and the new exploding market of indy audio for picture. That's where the $ is at. The embedded cloud features in 12 simplify the process in post for remote editors and such.

Yes, Avid needs money as does any other company to survive. So what. So do all of us. Marketing blah blah blah. Hurt feelings, they don't care. They want to survive. Playing where reaper and logic plays has hurt Avid. So if you feel they don't care about you, they probably can't afford to anymore. Time to find another daw for your home studio and midi needs. Or continue to pour your guts out online.

[KV626]

Originally Posted by upscaps

We don't have anyone here who uses PT to compose

um, yes we do.

[upscaps]

Originally Posted by Morph

um, yes we do.

here as in HERE, this facility.

[JCBigler]

Originally Posted by upscaps

The subscription software model has worked in other industries and will probably be the norm in just about all fields soon. Like it or not. Avid just has to reveal the policy for HD/HDX perpetual users who lapse.

The only way a subscription works for HD is if they separate the software from the hardware and start selling it alone. Then the HD hardware will have to stand on it's own without bing tied to the HD software, which is what people are really interested in.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Josh Voyles

When Adobe released their subscription plan a lot of people were upset. However, I was on that plan the the support and updates were industry leading. I always felt like I was like I was on the cutting edge and everything was rock solid.

Now enter Pro Tools. I pretty much agree with the posts above. PT12 seems more like a 11.4 update rather than a new software version and PT in general is not as rock solid as Avid would like to think it is. I've had PT11 playback engine errors during rehearsal and it's always embarrassing playing back the song for the band with a chunk missing.

Remember that Adobe has a longer track record in the computer world than Avid and cares about their customers. They also have more money to spend on development than Avid does and that helps. That being said I froze by Adobe Audition install at what it was when they introduced the subscription deal across the board; ditto for Photoshop and that really hurt me.

[Fidelis]

How much a HDX system is worthy without a current valid subscription license? That's the one million dollar question. If I refuse to go into the subscription, and later decide to sell my HDX system, how much could I sell it for, if the new owner can not buy a new HD license?!?!?

[TimNielsen]

I would buy into the subscription method if they upped the track count from 256 to 512. That would be the feature that would get me to buy in.

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by TimNielsen

I would buy into the subscription method if they upped the track count from 256 to 512. That would be the feature that would get me to buy in.

Everyone has their own opinion. Mine is that if you really cannot create a mix with 256 tracks you have a problem that is not the track count.

I can imagine some movie may need tons of tracks for many kinds of effects, but still I've become so used to voice stealing I have never even imagined I'd need more tracks.

But sure, bigger number is a bigger number. Eventually they might double it, but let's be sensible now -- doubling something means your hardware has to be twice as capable as it is now. If the software doubles a number, your hardware cannot take the stress, what do you do? Buy better hardware or complain that the software has a fault?

Yep.

[nst7]

Originally Posted by Fidelis

How much a HDX system is worthy without a current valid subscription license? That's the one million dollar question. If I refuse to go into the subscription, and later decide to sell my HDX system, how much could I sell it for, if the new owner can not buy a new HD license?!?!?

That is a major issue. Not only that, but if you already upgraded to a support plan with your HD system, they are not allowing license transfers at all. Another hidden gem in the FAQ.

[Bill Denton]

It's like I've heard since I was a kid...

There's folks out there that if you gave the a million dollars, they'd b*tch about it being the wrong color of green...