Pro Tools 12 HD subscription question

[flavor32]

I was wondering if the subscription plan to Pro Tools 12 HD includes a license for Pro Tools 10 HD? I am currently on a PTHD TDM rig running 9 and 10 is the limit this rig and the total of my plug-ins will do I'd rather wait to upgrade this 8 core Xeon Mac and PT cards, etc. if I can. I am also running an Omni HD interface currently. I could run 10 software until I am ready for the full system upgrade. Is this possible with the new subscription plan?

[PMF Media]

Yes! You get a 10/11/12 licence when you upgrade, regardless of HD or not.

[flavor32]

Originally Posted by PMF Media

Yes! You get a 10/11/12 licence when you upgrade, regardless of HD or not.

Well that is great news. Did I hear a rumor that I would have to surrender my license of 9 HD? I may need to recall some of those sessions at some point, though 10 may be fine.

[nigelpry]

BE VERY CAREFUL .... flavour32 ...

YOU DO NOT GET a licence for Pro Tools 10 (or 11) with a SUBSCRIPTION to Pro Tools 12. That has been confirmed both by people who have subscribed and by Jeffro, an Avid employee, in this forum in another thread, specifically responding to my question on the subject.

YOU DO GET a licence for Pro Tools 10 (and 11) if you BUY or UPGRADE TO a perpetual licence of Pro Tools 12, which comes with a SUPPORT PLAN. 'Perpetual' is Avid's new name for a permanent licence .... i.e. a licence that does not have an expiry date.

Some people ARE STILL confusing/conflating the licensing terms 'SUBSCRIPTION' and 'SUPPORT PLAN'.

They refer to two very different things.

A SUBSCRIPTION is renting the licence on a monthly or annual basis. If you stop subscribing (renting) at any time, the licence stops working unless and until you start renting again. You get the SUPPORT PLAN included in the subscription price as part of subscribing.

Note: Details of SUBSCRIPTIONS for Pro Tools 12 HD are still awaited, Avid has not announced details as yet. Currently, you cannot subscribe to Pro Tools 12 HD, you can only subscribe to 'standard' Pro Tools 12.

A SUPPORT PLAN is the means by which you get updates and upgrades to your Pro Tools software, whether you own a perpetual licence or rent a licence via a SUBSCRIPTION.

If you upgrade an existing licence to Pro Tools 12 (You say you have Pro Tools 10 HD) it will automatically come with a SUPPORT PLAN valid for 12 months, which you will have to renew each year if you want to retain the ability to keep the software current by receiving upgrades into the future.

In case you are unaware, if you have a perpetual licence you MUST upgrade it to Pro Tools 12 before 31st December 2015 otherwise you will lose the right to ever upgrade it and it will therefore be forever stuck at whetever version it is currently at (Pro Tools 10 HD in your case).

Avid's policy going forward is that if you don't sign up to the SUPPORT PLAN by 31st December 2015, then if you later want to get a newer version, you'll have to buy a completely new copy of Pro Tools, you won't be able to upgrade that older licence.

BUT ... it is not 100% crystal clear whether this also applies to HD licences. Avid's words so far are incomplete, vague and ambiguous. We only know that it costs $599 to upgrade an existing Pro Tools 10 or 11 HD perpetual licence to Pro Tools 12 HD with a SUPPORT PLAN.

Many people are hoping/speculating that Avid will not expect HD Licence owners who fail to upgrade by the end of 2015 to buy a full new HD licence, as currently the only way to do that is to buy a new HD hardware system, and that seems very punitive to existing owners who have already spent large sums of money buying HD hardware.

So these people hope/speculate that Avid might have a more favourable arrangement for existing registered HD hardware and software owners who fail to upgrade by the deadline date.

Indeed Avid MAY have a more favourable arrangement planned, but then again, THEY MAY NOT. There has not been a single word or hint from Avid so far that suggests any such thing, just the speculative hopes of some DUC contributors.

We will not know anything more UNTIL Avid chooses to announce what the arrangements for its new HD 'flexible new licensing options' are. It is now a full six months since the initial 'incomplete' Avid announcement on its new licensing arrangements, and eight months unil the deadline date. The clock is definitely ticking.

[nigelpry]

Originally Posted by flavor32

Well that is great news. Did I hear a rumor that I would have to surrender my license of 9 HD? I may need to recall some of those sessions at some point, though 10 may be fine.

If you current licence is a 9+10 bundle, then you would have lost 9 had you upgraded to 11, which comes with a licence for 10, but not 9.

If you upgrade to 12, you will also lose 9. You will have 10, 11 and 12 licences in a bundle.

There is no mechanism by which you can retain a licence for 9 except by not upgrading your existng licence, unless you can find another 9 licence in the second hand market.

[flavor32]

Ahhh thanks, Nigel! I actually have only 9 HD and wanted to get 10HD and was wondering this monthly subscription would do it. I could then use 10 HD and start using 12 when my rig is ready for that.

[propower]

Nigel - you speak truth!

I was going to correct you but after a careful read... you got it nailed. I was going off the now outdated March FAQ from AVID which still had the much worse message for HD owners... But the latest FAQ has deleted this stuff...
Last Licensing FAQ
http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/e...icensing-FAQ#3
Current licensing FAQ (today at least)
http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/e...2014-Offer-FAQ

FROM the now outdated March 2015 FAQ
Q. I have Pro Tools | HD 11, but am not yet on an upgrade and support plan. Why should I upgrade to Pro Tools 12?
A. Pro Tools 12 sets the stage for Avid Cloud Collaboration and Avid Marketplace, enabling you to collaborate with others and get recognition and payment for your work. This upgrade also includes an annual upgrade and support plan, so you'll also receive all future updates, upgrades, and priority support for one full year, renewable annually. You have until December 31, 2015 to get on a plan to upgrade your perpetual license and stay current for the next 12 months; otherwise, you will no longer be able to upgrade your software. And if you want to get early access to Avid Cloud Collaboration for Pro Tools, you will need to upgrade to Pro Tools 12.

Q. Is Pro Tools | HD software available as a subscription?
A. No, not at this time. Pro Tools | HD software is currently only available as part of a full Pro Tools | HDX or Pro Tools | HD Native system purchase or as an upgrade.

[Amack]

Seems like a lot of the confusion (including mine!) could have been avoided by simply stating that upgrading gets you perpetual licenses (12 as well as your legacy software) on http://www.avid.com/US/products/pro-...ures#licensing

Originally Posted by propower

Nigel - you speak truth!

I was going to correct you but after a careful read... you got it nailed. I was going off the now outdated March FAQ from AVID which still had the much worse message for HD owners... But the latest FAQ has deleted this stuff...
Last Licensing FAQ
http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/e...icensing-FAQ#3
Current licensing FAQ (today at least)
http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/e...2014-Offer-FAQ

FROM the now outdated March 2015 FAQ
Q. I have Pro Tools | HD 11, but am not yet on an upgrade and support plan. Why should I upgrade to Pro Tools 12?
A. Pro Tools 12 sets the stage for Avid Cloud Collaboration and Avid Marketplace, enabling you to collaborate with others and get recognition and payment for your work. This upgrade also includes an annual upgrade and support plan, so you'll also receive all future updates, upgrades, and priority support for one full year, renewable annually. You have until December 31, 2015 to get on a plan to upgrade your perpetual license and stay current for the next 12 months; otherwise, you will no longer be able to upgrade your software. And if you want to get early access to Avid Cloud Collaboration for Pro Tools, you will need to upgrade to Pro Tools 12.

Q. Is Pro Tools | HD software available as a subscription?
A. No, not at this time. Pro Tools | HD software is currently only available as part of a full Pro Tools | HDX or Pro Tools | HD Native system purchase or as an upgrade.

[nigelpry]

Originally Posted by Amack

Seems like a lot of the confusion (including mine!) could have been avoided by simply stating that upgrading gets you perpetual licenses (12 as well as your legacy software) on http://www.avid.com/US/products/pro-...ures#licensing

Note that the topic title includes the word SUBSCRIPTION. The original post talks about a SUBSCRIPTION PLAN and talks about HD.

That's why I made the effort to explain things ... to avoid ADDING to any confusion that might exist on the part of the OP and anyone else reading the thread.

I didn't write all that extra detail to cause confusion, rather it was to dispel confusion. I don't think simply stating what you suggest would have done anything to address the confusion that can easily occur when mixing up the meaning of subscription licences, perpetual licences and support plans.

[Amack]

Nigelpry

I'm so sorry, you misinterpreted the intent of my post! I thought that what you posted was excellent. What I was trying to convey (to AVID) was that it may not have been necessary if they had been more clear in there description of the licensing options.

Amack

Originally Posted by nigelpry

Note that the topic title includes the word SUBSCRIPTION. The original post talks about a SUBSCRIPTION PLAN and talks about HD.

That's why I made the effort to explain things ... to avoid ADDING to any confusion that might exist on the part of the OP and anyone else reading the thread.

I didn't write all that extra detail to cause confusion, rather it was to dispel confusion. I don't think simply stating what you suggest would have done anything to address the confusion that can easily occur when mixing up the meaning of subscription licences, perpetual licences and support plans.