The New AVID Plan

[Mitch Griffin]

By my calculation, since January, there have been 5 "updates", I put that in quotes, because some were downright fixes to correct a previous "update", not always an enhancement. AVID now wants us to pay $600, sorry $599 per anum, to pay for their misses, sometime, hits, but while they play, we pay. One solution is to avoid being sheep, if we don't play the game, they would be wise to change the rules. Just sayin'. As to the muddled website regarding this mess. Really? It is the most convoluted mishmash of confusion. I read it one time and felt I understood, but read it again as something else and another, well........you get my meaning. AVID management, let me introduce you to an old standard in clear and precise writing. "The Elements of Style", by
William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White. It was an essential in advanced high school English and Jouranlism School. Yes, Pro Tools is the standard in most fields of audio production, but nuthin' is written in stone.

[JCBigler]

There have not been any new Protools upgrades released this year. Just bug fixes which they have said will remain free even with an expired Support Plan.

The only one that may have counted as a feature upgrade was 11.1 (?) when they included the new Pitch II plugin. But that was still a free upgrade for owners of 11.

[K Roche]

Right now there is so much wild speculation going on over at GS
I decided to post this question here.

After reading the FAQ on the the new support plan there are some questions that is not answered specifically
One the specific difference between "up grades" and "up dates"
So do I understand this correctly?

#1 "Up grades" are to completely new versions (like 10 to 11 ) or now the next one will be (11 to 12) Correct?

# 2 And "Up dates" are called " Dot releases" are successive improvements within a version (like 11.0 to 11.2 ) Correct ?

#3 and "Up dates" will still be available for free plan or no plan Correct? OK I just re read the other thread and it looks like dot releases are still no charge even with no plan Goooooood news


#4 If we do not opt for a support plan period will we still be able to download to simply purchase and "Up grade" version of PTHD in the future just like we have been able to all along ?
Would Bruce or somebody from Avid please answer these questions. Because not having this perfectly clear is doing so has created a free for all or accusations over on GS about extortion etc.

[Mitch Griffin]

Semantics! Tricky. In AVID corporate speak, will a bug fix count as an upgrade! No, trust us, the .2 to .3 is not a bug fix, but an upgrade. The rabbit hole.

[K Roche]

Originally Posted by Mitch Griffin

Semantics! Tricky. In AVID corporate speak, will a bug fix count as an upgrade! No, trust us, the .2 to .3 is not a bug fix, but an upgrade. The rabbit hole.

Actually it seems this is not the case, if it is a DOT (.) release it is included with out a plan. From the other thread page 1 post #8
http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=359466

Perhaps wild speculation is not helpful ? So it seems the only question unanswered is will PTHD be available to be purchased in the future if someone chooses not to opt for the subscription support plan ?

[Mitch Griffin]

So my question, is this, I, a an owner of PT HD 11.2.1 on 1/1/2015 pay $599 for a, whatever AVID is calling it, never sees a major upgrade during 2015, then what? Does my upgrade service plan not kick in until AVID has a major upgrade? Or is it only good during the calendar year?

[Bill Denton]

Originally Posted by Mitch Griffin

So my question, is this, I, a an owner of PT HD 11.2.1 on 1/1/2015 pay $599 for a, whatever AVID is calling it, never sees a major upgrade during 2015, then what? Does my upgrade service plan not kick in until AVID has a major upgrade? Or is it only good during the calendar year?

This should work the same for both "native" and HD...

Your "service contract" will run for a specified length of time. It runs from an "activation date" for the specified period.

The concept of "versions" will be pretty much going away.

Your "service contract" will include a license to use the then-current "version" of Pro Tools (and probably one or more previous "versions") while the "service contract" is in effect, along with a perpetual license to use the version that is current when your "service contract" expires.

[FilterDecay]

There is no doubt in my mind they have some bones in the pipe to get people on this thing. Worth $600 a year? Hard to tell.

[JCBigler]

Originally Posted by Mitch Griffin

So my question, is this, I, a an owner of PT HD 11.2.1 on 1/1/2015 pay $599 for a, whatever AVID is calling it, never sees a major upgrade during 2015, then what?

Well, there in lies the gamble.

Avid is gambling that their engineers will be able to get a set of worthwhile feature upgrades out the door during 2015. And we as customers are gambling that our subscription fees will be rewarded with worthwhile feature upgrades.

Avid has basically a single subscription term to prove that they can make this thing work. If they don't release any new features during 2015, then I doubt anyone will renew their subscription and Avid, along with Protools will be dead in the water.

[cyborgssc]

Originally Posted by JCBigler

Avid has basically a single subscription term to prove that they can make this thing work. If they don't release any new features during 2015, then I doubt anyone will renew their subscription and Avid, along with Protools will be dead in the water.

This statement is absolute truth.