Clarification on Protools licenses that come with Carbon

[nst7]

I am getting ready to buy a Carbon, and I am still somewhat confused on the whole Protools license situation surrounding it, even after reading the updated (March 23) FAQ, possibly because it's changed over time.

So if I buy a new Carbon now, I know it comes with an Ultimate perpetual license. But I thought somewhere along the way it also came with an option for either regular Studio Protools, or an option to renew an existing perpetual license (1 year of support, etc.).

I believe that it originally came with just the regular license and/or renewal option. Then they added Ultimate as a special. Then they decided to include Ultimate permanently.

So now, do you ONLY get the Ultimate license, and that's it? Or is there still ALSO a separate serial number that can be used for renewals, or a second license, or a subscription, etc.?


So that's the first thing I'm wondering.


Secondly, I'd to be clear on the limitations of the Ultimate license that it comes with. I know it can't be sold, but is it for all intensive purposes just like a regular Ultimate license, so I can keep using it down the road with other interfaces (Avid or otherwise), even if I were to get rid of the Carbon hardware down the line?


Tying in with that, the FAQ mentions that the Ultimate license is deposited in your Avid account upon registering the Carbon. Is it a serial number? I assume that the license still needs to get on your Ilok somehow. How does that happen? Or is it some weird thing where the Carbon acts as a dongle, like back in the 002/003 days?

And finally, tying in with that, assuming it is Ilok based, how would it be differentiated between my existing Ultimate license that is also in my Ilok account? I would probably want to sell my existing Ultimate license, and I guess I would need to know how that is differentiated from the Carbon Ultimate license, so I don't accidentally attempt to sell the wrong one (which can not be sold).

Thanks guys!

[albee1952]

I thought it was a 1 year subscription. In any case, why not give Sweetwater a call and see what they have to say(after all....they sell this stuff every day)

[K Roche]

Unfortunately Avid has in typical fashion once again put ambiguous wording on it's own web site and with different dealers saying different things. no wonder people are confused

First I (think) choosing an additional year of update and support plan is no longer available

And I (believe) that the Ultimate license that comes with the Carbon is tied to that specific Carbon, and will not work with any other interface Even a different Carbon ( but I am not certain)

I just checked both Vintage King and Sweetwater

VK says it comes with a 1 year SUBSCRIPTION for Ultimate with a frozen " perpetual parachute" if you stop subscribing..

SW says it comes with an Ultimate Perpetual with 1 year of upgrade and support plan.

So who the F**K knows what is actually going on,,,, if even the dealers do not ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????

[dominicperry]

Originally Posted by K Roche

Unfortunately Avid has in typical fashion once again put ambiguous wording on it's own web site and with different dealers saying different things. no wonder people are confused

First I (think) choosing an additional year of update and support plan is no longer available

And I (believe) that the Ultimate license that comes with the Carbon is tied to that specific Carbon, and will not work with any other interface Even a different Carbon ( but I am not certain)

I just checked both Vintage King and Sweetwater

VK says it comes with a 1 year SUBSCRIPTION for Ultimate with a frozen " perpetual parachute" if you stop subscribing..

SW says it comes with an Ultimate Perpetual with 1 year of upgrade and support plan.

So who the F**K knows what is actually going on,,,, if even the dealers do not ?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????

I agree licensing with Carbon is a total mess and every time Avid touch it they make it worse.
But this bit... "And I (believe) that the Ultimate license that comes with the Carbon is tied to that specific Carbon, and will not work with any other interface Even a different Carbon ( but I am not certain)" doesn't make any sense. I don't think PT Ultimate can be locked down in this way. Carbon is a generic AVB interface and will work with any DAW. And likewise, PT Ultimate will work with any core audio interface. So I don't think the restriction you talk about is possible.
What IS true (even though I've been proven wrong in one specific case) is that the PT Ultimate license is associated with the hardware, meaning you can't sell it separately from the Carbon, and you can't sell the Carbon without transferring the license too......except clearly both of these things have happened in the past. I mean, if you agree to part with just the hardware for £2000, what can Avid do? Nothing. However, preventing you from selling the license as a separate entity is something they have a bit more control over.....but clearly not complete control.
I think Avid's intention is that getting PT Ultimate is a bonus associated with the Carbon, and that the two should be considered a bundle. But there's no real way to enforce that.
Back to the original point - I think the recommendation to talk this through with Sweetwater is a good one, assuming the OP is in the States.

Dominic

[K Roche]

Originally Posted by dominicperry

I agree licensing with Carbon is a total mess and every time Avid touch it they make it worse.
But this bit... "And I (believe) that the Ultimate license that comes with the Carbon is tied to that specific Carbon, and will not work with any other interface Even a different Carbon ( but I am not certain)" doesn't make any sense. I don't think PT Ultimate can be locked down in this way. Carbon is a generic AVB interface and will work with any DAW. And likewise, PT Ultimate will work with any core audio interface. So I don't think the restriction you talk about is possible.
What IS true (even though I've been proven wrong in one specific case) is that the PT Ultimate license is associated with the hardware, meaning you can't sell it separately from the Carbon, and you can't sell the Carbon without transferring the license too......except clearly both of these things have happened in the past. I mean, if you agree to part with just the hardware for £2000, what can Avid do? Nothing. However, preventing you from selling the license as a separate entity is something they have a bit more control over.....but clearly not complete control.
I think Avid's intention is that getting PT Ultimate is a bonus associated with the Carbon, and that the two should be considered a bundle. But there's no real way to enforce that.
Back to the original point - I think the recommendation to talk this through with Sweetwater is a good one, assuming the OP is in the States.

Dominic

Yes I could be mistaken I suppose the license could be tied to one's ilok account so maybe you could use it with a different interface ? I may have just been remembering it can't be sold separately form the Carbon HW unit ??