Old Plans or “Avid Assurance”

Standard = business hours phone support, software upgrades. (Renew at “ExpertPlus” level.)

Priority = business hours phone support, software upgrades and standard access to hardware exchange. (Renew at “ExpertPlus” level plus the optional hardware coverage.)

Limited Uptime = 24/7 phone support, standard access to onsite support and hardware exchange. (You’ll have to choose between “ExpertPlus + hardware coverage,” or the “Elite” plan. Call us if you need guidance!)

Uptime = 24/7 phone support, rapid access to onsite support and hardware exchange. (Renew at the “Elite” level.)

New Plans or “Avid Advantage Support”

Expert = 24/7* phone support, next-day web support. NO SOFTWARE UPGRADES. (A new minimalist plan for those just seeking tech support.)

Expert + Hardware Coverage = 24/7* phone support, next-day web support, 2-Day access to hardware exchange. NO SOFTWARE UPGRADES. (New minimalist plan + hardware warranty.)

ExpertPlus = 24/7* priority phone support, web support with 4-hour response, and software upgrades. (The new version of “Standard Assurance.”)

ExpertPlus + Hardware Coverage = 24/7* priority phone support, web support with 4-hour response, and software upgrades. Next-day access to hardware exchange. (Falls between “Priority Assurance” and “Limited Uptime Assurance.”)

Elite = 24/7* highest-priority phone support, web support with 1-hour response, and software upgrades. Includes next-day hardware exchange and proactive support with system monitoring and complimentary health checks. (The new version of “Uptime Assurance” — which very few of our customers would require.)

*Non-English speakers will only have business hours access to support in their local language.

Avid has also added some cool new support features such as “Code Blue Escalation,” Customer Advocates, Health Checks, and System Monitoring. Read the Avid Support Plans PDF for more info. Give us a call if you have questions, or need help deciding which plan makes sense for you!

Download the full Excel file here.

Download the full Excel file here.

Download the full Excel file here.

Download the full Excel file here.

Download the full Excel file here.

In the meantime, here is a great evaluation video with some really nice footage and lots of good insight from Andrew Young – who doesn’t work for Sony, but must have known a guy… It really highlights the overcranking capabilities which could be the new ‘Kiki-wipe’…

Adobe CS6 is here. There have been hundreds (maybe thousands) of improvements, but here are some of the major ones, in our opinion:

• Prelude, is a new application that helps you organize your production with shot lists, rough cut editing, and a whole lot more.  It is only available in the Production Premium or Master Collection bundles.
• SpeedGrade, is a color grading application with special stereo-3d capabilities.  It is available as a standalone product or in the Production Premium and Master Collection bundles.  Adobe acquired when it purchased the Dutch company IRIDAS last September.  Click here to read a story in Studio Daily about that.
• Finally, there is a new version of Photoshop!
• The whole video suite has a new, less ornate look and Premiere is now resolution independent

You probably don’t have to be sold on the benefits of upgrading this essential software, but sometimes it is a little confusing to figure out your upgrade path, so we are hoping to make upgrading to Adobe CS6 easy.

Take advantage of their Transactional Licensing Program (TLP). For no extra cost you get:

• Immediate electronic downloads to both Mac and Windows versions of your product
• An online account that allows you to easily track and manage your Adobe licenses

Most of our customers are going to want either the Production Premium or Master Collection, but you can also purchase individual products as well, with the exception of their new Adobe Prelude®, which only comes in those two collections.  There is no discount anymore for upgrading an individual product to a ‘collection’ or a bundle.  You can often upgrade one collection to another, however.

Click on this Adobe_Suite_Selector_CS6_050412 if you don’t know which collection is best for you.

To help you figure out what is the cheapest/best path for you, we’ve put together these charts.  Just click on the pricing links to be taken to our e-commerce site for more information or to purchase.  If you don’t see the product you want, just call us – there are hundreds of choices.

• Adobe CS6 Master Collection   Overview
  • New License – $2469 ($2599 list)
  • Upgrade from CS5.5 – $498 ($525 list)
  • Upgrade from CS5 – $997 ($1049 list)
  • Upgrade from CS3 or CS4 – $1329 ($1399 list)

These are download licenses.  For a DVD media set, it is $20 for Windows, or $20 for Macintosh. You may wish to purchase a 2 Year Upgrade Plan for $780.  It will save you money and guarantee that you are always up to date.

• Adobe CS6 Production Premium   Overview
  • New License – $1804 ($1899 list)
  • Upgrade from CS5.5 – $356 ($375 list)
  • Upgrade from CS5 – $712 ($749 list)
  • Upgrade from CS3 or CS4 – $902 ($949 list)

These are download licenses.  For a DVD media set, it is $20 for Windows, or $20 for Macintosh. You may wish to purchase a 2 Year Upgrade Plan for $780.  It will save you money and guarantee that you are always up to date.

Individual Adobe CS6 Products:

• Adobe CS6 Premiere Pro   Feature Chart
• New License – $759 ($799 list)
  Upgrade from CS5.5 – $142 ($149 list)
  Upgrade from CS3, CS4, or CS5 - $284 ($299 list)
  
• Adobe CS6 After Effects 
• New License – $949 ($999 list)
  Upgrade from CS5.5 – $166 ($175 list)
  Upgrade from CS3, CS4, or CS5 - $332 ($349 list)
• Adobe CS6 Photoshop
  • New License – $664 ($699 list)
    Upgrade from CS3, CS4, or CS5 – $189 ($199 list)
• Adobe CS6 Photoshop Extended (3D)
• New License – $949 ($999 list)
  Upgrade from CS3, CS4, or CS5 – $379 ($399 list)
• Adobe CS6 SpeedGrade
• New License – $949 ($999 list)

These are download licenses.  Media sets are available for $20.

“Avid System Recommendations for Feature Performance” states the increased performance needs for a given special feature that you may use. It reinforces the concept of minimum system requirements and reminds us that certain features will need a beefy computer.

These new software updates include:

• Mac OS 10.7.3 Support
• Software fixes that address customer reported issues
• Interplay workflow fixes (NOTE: Avid Customer Success recommends this as a mandatory patch for all editor installations in Interplay PAM or NRCS environments)

Mac OS Compatibility Update

Mac OS 10.7.3 has been qualified for both the v6.0.1/10.0.1 editors and the new v6.0.1.1/10.0.1.1 patches. This is in addition to the currently supported Mac OS 10.7.1 and 10.7.2 versions.

Software Fixes

These issues have been resolved in the latest 6.0.1.1 and 10.0.1.1 patches. There are over 100 fixes in the release.

Interplay and NewsCutter Issues Resolved

The following issues have been reported with Media Composer 6.0.1. Symphony 6.0.1 and NewsCutter 10.0.1 and are now resolved in this latest software update.

• Interplay window and effect editor can crashes the application:

–       Checking out an item from the Interplay window while another checkout is in progress

–       Switching to Segment Mode in NewsCutter while the Effect Editor is open

–       Using the Effect Editor in NewsCutter after dragging clips in the timeline

• NRCS Tool Sluggishness (NewsCutter):

–       Longer stories will cause the application to hang while loading the story. Stories of 75 lines or more may hang the application for several minutes