HD Process to Accel exchange is back

[Vaphoron]

I didn't see any mention of it so I thought I would let everybody know.

http://www.digidesign.com/exchange/accel_price.cfm

[jepmus]

Thanks Digi!
For all the discussion about Digi leaving early HD adopters out in the cold, this is good news.
Congratulations Digi, and thanks again.

[Lee Blaske]

Thanks Digi!
For all the discussion about Digi leaving early HD adopters out in the cold, this is good news.
Congratulations Digi, and thanks again.

This is good news for those who still want this deal, but I must say I'm extremely disappointed with Digidesign's dishonesty. There were strong statements that the original program was to be a limited time offer that would not be repeated. Lots of sales were undoubtedly made because of that sales pressure.

I guess the moral here is to NEVER feel pressured by any of Digidesign's limited time offers.

BTW, I remember that statements from Digidesign regarding the one-time nature of the Accel exchange program were made in some of the extremely long threads that surfaced when the original offer was made. I don't have time to search the DUC archives, but it would be interesting to see if the one-time statements from Digidesign representatives remain in the archives. My guess is that they've been purged.

Here's where Al Franken needs to step in and say: "LIIIAAARS!!!"

Lee Blaske

[syra]

I guess the moral here is to NEVER feel pressured by any of Digidesign's limited time offers.

Lee, Digi is known for their "limited-time" offers...I didn't think this would be any different...you shouldn't be so surprised...

peace, syra

[Dutchmuzik]

I am VERY surprised, this was different than any other limited offers before. There were many threads were Digi admins responded and said this offer would NEVER be repeated. I know Lee caved at the last minute and purchased one, I remember giving him a hard time about it cause he said he wouldn't give in I guess the June 30th deadline can not be taken serious at this point. Maybe if they throw in ReVibe I'll get one They more research I have done on the Accel cards I just can't justify them at this point. Eventide Reverb and Princeton Digital 2016 both take up 1 Chip on Process or Accel. Any Eq plug will be double the count but since most of them are on Audio tracks I can always use many RTAS versions on a G5. Upgrading my 2 Process cards would be $4490. That's one nice Dual G5 3GHZ with a 10,000 rpm SATA drive and some new plug-ins.

[Lee Blaske]

Thanks for backing me up, Dutchmuzik. It's good to know I'm not losing my mind.

This is almost like an X-Files episode. I wonder if all those Admin posts actually HAVE mysteriously vanished. Oh oh, there's a strange light outside my window...

[mike connelly]

Digi is known for their "limited-time" offers...I didn't think this would be any different...you shouldn't be so surprised...

Amen to that. Plenty of us were saying that was just salesspeak at the time, should have listened.

[1m1]

I think Digi just made a bad decision last time about the hardware exchange cutoff deadline and is rectifying it now. The software wasn't really ready for prime time yet when the original deadline came, so it didn't make sense for me to upgrade to Accel and be forced into Pro Tools on OS X. Now the software is much more mature, stable and has most of the issues worked out.

I for one am glad the exchange is back.

[PastaViking II]

I must say I was pretty surprised to see HD->HD Accel upgrades coming back so soon. Whatever the reason, I was under the CLEAR understanding as it's written in the mail that the offer from last Xmas was a one time offer (whatever the reason for such a statement might have been) and ended up buying five (5!) upgrades from my distributor. Now it looks like a panic attempt to boost 2003 Digi sales figures and doesn't do justice to a company trying to sell top end recording hardware.

I think it's time for Digi to focus on what they want to do with the company.

[John McDaniel]

I must say I was pretty surprised to see HD->HD Accel upgrades coming back so soon. Whatever the reason...

Pure speculation about the reason:

--the fundamental economy of the studio business is weak
--middle income hobbyists are as strapped as the next guy (if not out of work) and have to be satisfied with what they've got
--high income hobbyists are tired of the upgrade treadmill (OS, plug-ins, hardware, software, 3rd party software, etc.)
--pros are tired of the same treadmill
--anecdotal evidence suggests that there are A LOT of working MIX systems out there
--anecdotal evidence suggests that there are A LOT of HD systems without Accel upgrades out there
--supporting two Mac OS's and a long line of hardware is probably straining things; time to trim the compatibility grid

Given that Digi has clearly been working VERY hard to woo Mix owners over to HD, and that they've revived the Accel hardware exchange for HD owners, one would think that hardware sales have not met expectations.

Great software sells the hardware needed to run it.

The years of clamor for Automatic Delay Compensation have been loud and steady. Now Digi's got it. What better way to sell Accel hardware (and its greater DSP power) than to come out with a "killer app" for it? Do you think it's coincidence that v6.4 with ADC and the exchange offer are announced in close proximity?

? I dunno ?

IMHO, Digi needs to sell more hardware. They're doing what it takes to get it off the docks. $150 a pop for the 6.4 software upgrade isn't going to make them rich --or even pay for the development.

j mcd