Really ?

[K Roche]

Originally Posted by thin ice

I'm not sure anyone is reacting quite as you describe. The latest Pro Tools version works on the Silicon Macs very well.

It was fairly easy for me, being as I have only recently updated from HD9 to 2021.12 with a reinstatement package and feel I have got great value for my new computer. Someone paying a yearly or monthly subscription or renewal might have a different idea of their value for money.

We all have different needs, so best not to speak for others.

While obviously "best not to speak for others", BUT who was actually doing that ?
Did you read the first two pages ?
I was not speaking "for" anybody ...I simply observed some of the posts in the first two pages, which are pretty much exactly the self proclaimed "outrage" and the labeling,,, I described .. Not really sure what exactly you are talking about

I pay the yearly renewal fee. Would I like it to be less money ? of course..
Would I like it if Avid was completely native on Apple silicon ? of course, given I have a 14" MBP M1 Pro chip, machine.. BUT note the machine in my sig line


And I have chosen to be be the one that decides who controls my perspective, my choices, and my outlook . I have chosen not to allow any individual or any company , enough control over my life, to be a source of outrage for what amounts to my own personal choices ..

[gnjlee]

Heh...

"come across as shill-ish" is not equal to calling someone a shill. Seems like an outrage issue to me if you aren't taking the time to read the messages, in a thought-full manner. You are, in a way, exhibiting the very behavior you are blaming others for. Recommend some introspection.

[gnjlee]

Originally Posted by ChrisBové

Hi everyone,

I know this is a topic everyone is passionate about, especially a lot of perpetual license holders. As a long-time user and customer myself, I fully understand.

Please permit me to give a little context.

Software development isn’t like putting a hammer to a nail. It takes time and people -- good people. There are multiple teams of people who are tasked with many things to do, large and small. Whether our releases of Pro Tools happen at a cadence of every 5 days, every 55 days, or every 155 days makes no difference when you look at the physical quantity of bugs, features, and workflows that get added. From a software development stance, it is the exact same number of steps to create and to fix the things we need to create and fix.

In fact, the process of releasing in higher quantities actually reduces the number of things that can get fixed and added because the delivery time itself takes time and resources. (It's no different than a television producer standing over my shoulder, asking for a new set of exports that'll take the better part of the day, only to give it all a listen a few days later and ask for a whole 'nother round of changes and exports.)

Sometimes a series of bugs and features can get worked on and released in a very short amount of time because they are what you might consider low-hanging fruit. Other times, larger things get tackled, and become all-hands-on-deck for weeks in order to make brand new things happen that (we hope) our customers will love. Sometimes we even rearrange engineers and managers from one task to another, simply because the tasks themselves need more hands to get things done.

Schedules are also affected by factors we can’t control.

For a long time now, but especially after COVID hit, we’ve all been working remotely, and in multiple countries around the globe.

Plus, for those of you who don’t know, Avid has had many beloved staff members from Ukraine working as engineers and as significant contributors to our production process. These people are key to our success and involved heavily in the processes and schedules for how we are able to get things done. As you can imagine, we are getting constant updates on their safety. Their contributions to all of our apps – from Pro Tools to Sibelius to Media Composer to name a few – has been a real inspiration.

The statement we put out a little over a month ago:
avid.com/press-center/an-open-letter-of-support-for-ukraine

We have incredibly hard working people here at Avid. I'm on my tenth straight 16-hour day. I just watched the Media Composer team pull a straight two-week sprint with no breaks getting version 2022.4 out the door, and it is loaded with new stuff people have been wanting for a long time. Same with Sibelius. Same with Pro Tools. I've been in months and months of Pro Tools development meetings, watching an intense amount of development getting done. These people have one completely solid goal in mind -- your workflows. Every single one of them is a Pro Tools user. They eat and sleep the app, and are completely and actively working towards getting as COMPLETE as possible of a release out to you, rather than a FAST release.

All of that effort – very shortly now – is going to hit the streets. Everyone is going to see the results of what we’ve been working on. Very... very... soon.

That’s all I can say for now. Please stay tuned.

Thank you Chris. This is the exact thing that we have been asking for. No more than that. As a customer service expert, I can say with some authority that there is no winning with upset customers, no matter what is delivered. ***You have to fix the customer first***. You know better than anyone that customer service =!= marketing. I see a lot of marketing by AVID. I recommend spending more $$ on customer service. Your best marketing is happy customers.

It is a bit disappointing that this was allowed to fester on the DUC, however it isn't the first time. Hopefully we can put that behind us. FWIW I am a programmer as well and understand and can appreciate the constraints you are under, as well as how Brooks Law limits your ability to deliver. I send my best to you and your friends and co-workers who are under assault in the Ukraine, by a brutal dictator.

[gives]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

When was the last time Avid communicated anything about schedules for Pro Tools? There is nothing unusual about them being silent on stuff like this. It should be no surprise to anybody who uses Pro Tools. I'm not defending that, but that is just how Avid operates.

If you think I'm an Avid apologist you must be new here.

Relax, you are not suffering a lot from not knowing stuff now. And again if you have no idea at all about Avid and the Ukraine and Global Logic you can Google about that and find out more.

YUP-:)

[K Roche]

Originally Posted by gnjlee

Heh...

"come across as shill-ish" is not equal to calling someone a shill. Seems like an outrage issue to me if you aren't taking the time to read the messages, in a thought-full manner. You are, in a way, exhibiting the very behavior you are blaming others for. Recommend some introspection.

Ok shil-sh then,,,does not change the accusatory tone .. just like "The AVID apologists"--and "Must own stock" -- all ad hominem like attack
No not exhibiting the behavior I was (observing not blaming) Where exactly in my post did I use derogatory name calling about those who are upset with Avid ? Oh ya that would be absolutely nowhere...and also no blaming either ... Observation is not blame

You might want to take your own advice and take the time to read in a thoughtful "introspective" manner.

I agree Avids communication could be better but being outraged is a waste of energy.. And you are wrong, some of us observing the reality, does not let Avid off the hook, or encourage a lack of communication . Sorry but reductio ad absurdum is a logical fallacy, and not a valid argument .

[Justin1524]

Thank you Chris and to those developers in Ukraine, our hearts are with you.

No doubt these last years have been incredibly difficult on so many. As one of Avid's biggest critics, even I understand patience during these times is needed.

Having said that, a robust discussion has been going on now for years about the following Avid issues:

1.) Pro Tools product innovation is woefully behind other DAWs like PreSonus Studio One.
2.) Avid's subscription/perpetual license policies do not serve customers well. Simply put, we pay a lot and get too little in return for our investment.
3.) Avid's customer communication is absent. Think about those times when cool tutorials about hot new VIs or DAW features were out there (prior to 2010). Remember when Avid used to respond to customer feature requests. The conversation is nil and that's a big problem.

So let's for a moment talk about how to solve the above three problems.

1.) Innovation - Avid needs to look at features other DAWs (like Studio One) have and adopt them. Examples: Real timeline-based ARA2 integration with Melodyne and VocalAlign Project, zooming the timeline with a mouse on the ruler, import files like FLAC, console emulation, new, cool integrated plugins and VIs. Update the old, now stale plugins with fresh zoomable ones, better plugin management. I'd love a feature where I could print out a clean list of all installed plugins and then easily turn on/off the questionable ones from within Pro Tools. Heck, in Studio One I can prep and burn a CD. Not so in Pro Tools.

2.) Pricing - first off, one version of Pro Tools for everyone no more Ultimate and Vanilla versions. Next, a reasonable yearly subscription price - Slate charges $149 a year. Avid should do the same. Next, zero penalties, cancel any time, comeback any time. Done. Even better, do what Studio One does, no subscription, pay one price for every major version with free bug updates and you can use on up to 5 computers. Done.

3.) Communication - Avid be active on the DUC, people still come here (thank you Chris for your response). Weekly live engagement on YouTube and Facebook, hire/use real enthusiasts to join like the fine folks at Pro Tools Expert with answering live Q&A, make it fun and exciting.

[arche3]

Calm down people. Nobody is outraged. Or is it people outraged about others being outraged?

Sent from my SM-F711U using Tapatalk

[K Roche]

Originally Posted by arche3

Calm down people. Nobody is outraged. Or is it people outraged about others being outraged?

Sent from my SM-F711U using Tapatalk

Wait, What ? If "no one is outraged" ,,,then how can people be outraged about others being outraged Kinda a contradiction don't ya think ?

Personally I am more concerned about the people and the situation in Ukraine than self inflicted outrage over software Obviously others milage may vary.............................................. .................................................. .................................

[Eric Lambert]

Originally Posted by K Roche

REALLY ? Lets see ....

Some one is frustrated that having gone ahead and made the unilateral personal "CHOICE" to purchase an unqualified machine or update to an unqualified OS

Then has issues ( for which the frustration is understandable BUT are in reality SELF INFLICTED issues )
Then proceeds to CHOOSE to be "outraged" and blame Avid for their own personal choice of moving ahead unsupported, and being angry when not getting qualified, in the time line that they want....
And also often being resentful of the fees Avid charges, even though it is they themselves, who have made the "CHIOCE" to continue to pay those fee's

Then becomes offended when others do not also choose to become "outraged" and resorts to labeling them as "apologists" "shills" or "must own stock".

So have I misstated something or do I have that essentially correct ?

I realize it has become fashionable and even PC to blame anyone and everyone ELSE (but ourselves) for our own personal choices ..But "REALLY ?"

I realize Avid's communication could be better and may not be at a disclosure level that some may desire. But seems few if any big companies are forthcoming about supply or production issues . I had to google the fact that Apples main factory in China is under a Covid lock down.....juss sayin'..

It appears that you've observed this thread correctly. It would be a good read for an anthropologist.

[ChrisBové]

Hi again everyone,

Just following up with some minor details...

In mid-September of 2021, Marianna Montague headhunted me to replace her, running all of the Avid Communities -- Pro Tools, Media Composer, Sibelius, NEXIS, etc, etc, and to run the Community Support Team. She's been promoted to a whole new position in Avid that is still totally active in all Avid-related things, and still monitoring the pulse of the Community heavily, but taking it one step further, and thinking about ALL of the high-end customer needs. I'm a nearly 30-year Media Composer user, having run ALL of my broadcast Pro Tools mixes for National PBS broadcast through Shaun Mullins (Propellerhead Media in Buffalo). Fantastic sound work. He and I have spent a lifetime (it seems) sitting in his Pro Tools sessions. He's spent years tolerating my dual-mono mixes, but I've made up for it by getting him the best roomtone out of all his clients.

I've been a moderator for Avid since Marianna started the program. Now I'm here.

Now that I'm up to speed on everything, Avid-wise, I'm happy to start (and continue) posting here regularly. I'm not going to just jump in every 3 years with a small update. If you need to know something, and I'm able (and allowed-haha) to help everyone understand things, I am totally glad to do so. Just ask. I'll do my best. If there's something I don't know the answer to, I'll ask around. Also, if there's something I don't want to answer, I hope you'll all understand.

Avid has had a long history, where certain periods of time seemed to be more transparent than others. This is one of those. While I'm here, I'll do my best to make you all a well-informed group of forum members. Everyone on my staff will do the same. (Jeffro will keep me in line if I start rambling too long about the good 'ol film days.)

Anyway...

Do me a favor -- if you have ANY new questions, please put them into a new forum post. There are a total of 154 forums and social media channels that I am monitoring, and if this thread keeps growing the way it is, then your questions might get lost. Sound OK? (Pun intended.)

Thanks everyone.