• Adobe changes to new product cycle and announces CS version 5.5

    SAN JOSE, Calif., — April 11, 2011 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the new Adobe® Creative Suite® 5.5 product line (see separate releases), enabling designers and developers to target popular and emerging smartphone and tablet platforms, as the revolution in mobile communications fundamentally changes the way content is distributed and consumed. Substantive advances to HTML5, Flash authoring, digital publishing and video tools as well as new capabilities that kick-start the integration of tablets into creative workflows, anchor the new Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 product family.
    http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pres...eSuite5.5.htmlAdobe News Room: http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/Key new features of CS 5.5 Production Premium listed here: http://www.adobe.com/products/creati...nce%2Bcs5.htmlLooks like there's some improved workflow tools for dual-system audio, audio editing, and native support for RED.And apparently you don't have to buy it!
    Today also sees Adobe debut an affordable and flexible subscription-based pricing plan, attractive to customers that want to get current and stay current on Creative Suite products, have project-based needs, or try the software for the first time. New Subscription Editions ensure customers with active subscriptions are always working with the most up-to-date versions of the software, without the upfront cost of full pricing. Now customers can use Adobe Production Premium CS5.5 for as little as US$85 per month.
    http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pres...onPremium.htmlThe full CS 5.5 Production Premium press release is below:

    Adobe Unveils Creative Suite 5.5 Production Premium

    For immediate release

    Sweeping Productivity Enhancements and New Creative Innovations Boost End-to-End Workflows for Audio and Video Professionals

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — April 11, 2011 Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® Creative Suite® 5.5 Production Premium, the complete software solution for video and post-production that helps deliver content to virtually any screen. Breakthrough performance, workflow improvements, creative innovations, and powerful new audio editing capabilities build upon the huge customer momentum Production Premium is experiencing with broadcasters, filmmakers and video professionals worldwide. New versions receiving major updates include Adobe Premiere® Pro CS5.5, Adobe After Effects® CS5.5, Adobe Flash® Professional CS5.5, Adobe Flash Catalyst® CS5.5, Adobe Story, Adobe Media Encoder CS5.5, and Adobe Device Central CS5.5. New to Creative Suite 5.5 is Adobe Audition® CS5.5, bringing its audio-for-video multitrack editing environment to both Mac OS and Windows® for the first time. Today also sees Adobe debut an affordable and flexible subscription-based pricing plan, attractive to customers that want to get current and stay current on Creative Suite products, have project-based needs, or try the software for the first time. New Subscription Editions ensure customers with active subscriptions are always working with the most up-to-date versions of the software, without the upfront cost of full pricing. Now customers can use Adobe Production Premium CS5.5 for as little as US$85 per month. “Over the past year, we’ve received a phenomenal response to Adobe Creative Suite CS5 Production Premium for its performance, new features and expanded integration with hardware and camera manufacturers that makes metadata, collaboration and distribution a seamless workflow for video professionals,” said Jim Guerard, vice president and general manager for Professional Video, Adobe. “CS5.5 turbo-charges a product that has already taken the industry by storm and gives story-tellers new tools and features to continue to astonish audiences around the world.” Even Greater Productivity Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Production Premium delivers massive productivity enhancements that enable video and audio professionals to dramatically accelerate their workflows. The powerful Adobe Mercury Playback Engine, introduced in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5, broadens its graphics processing unit (GPU) hardware support to include laptops and more supported cards, and allows users to open projects faster, get real-time feedback for more GPU-accelerated features, and work more smoothly at 4k and higher resolutions. Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 boosts performance by providing a smoother editing workflow, enabled by new trimming and editing tools that provide more precision and control. Dual-system sound support from the new Merge Clips command in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 lets users quickly sync video with high-quality audio recorded on separate devices like location recorders, ideal for DSLR or RED workflows. Leveraging an integrated workflow with Adobe Audition, Adobe Premiere Pro users can save time by sending individual clips or sequences, including reference videos, directly to Adobe Audition for audio editing and restoration. Adobe’s lead in file-based workflows widens in CS5.5 with enhanced support for RED and other tapeless cameras, including improved RED Source Settings dialog in Premiere Pro and After Effects CS5.5 and native support for up to 5k media from RED Epic cameras via an extension available on Adobe Labs. Providing a truly native editing solution, CS5.5 saves users time and eliminates the need to transcode or rewrap footage. Building on Creative Suite Production Premium’s industry-leading multiscreen capabilities, the new 64-bit Adobe Media Encoder CS5.5 has been completely redesigned to deliver Adobe Premiere Pro video sequences, After Effects compositions, and Adobe Encore® projects to multiple screen formats quickly, while doing the encoding in the background. Adobe Media Encoder CS5.5 also introduces new format support such as AVC-Intra and DPX, and watch folders so users can encode a single clip to multiple destinations with a simple drag and drop. “When you watch a film, it’s the larger experience that sticks with you, the combination of elements, not the individual details,” said Gareth Edwards, award winning filmmaker and the creative driving force behind the much-heralded 2010 independent film, Monsters. “That’s what I love about Adobe Creative Suite – all of the individual tools interlink seamlessly and blur the line between each part of the process so the focus is creating a cohesive work, not a bunch of different pieces. This interconnectivity coupled with the incredible speed of the Mercury Playback Engine makes for a powerful combination – if we had CS5.5 when we made Monsters, I know we would have finished two months earlier.” Game-Changing Innovations New innovations across the suite continue to help audio and video professionals push the boundaries of their creativity. After Effects CS5.5 introduces new features such as the Warp Stabilizer, Camera Lens Blur and Light Falloff to enable users to enhance footage in post-production. The breakthrough Warp Stabilizer eliminates unwanted camera movement by steadying shaky footage, making handheld footage appear as smooth as a camera mounted on a mechanical stabilizer. The Camera Lens Blur effect mimics the properties of physical lenses offering more realistic depth of field blurs. The Light Falloff effect enables users to simulate natural illumination falloff to mimic how light behaves in a 3D scene and can be used to create other light intensity effects. Already well-adopted in the audio industry, video professionals can now harness the power of Adobe Audition in CS5.5 Production Premium – for both Mac and Windows platforms. The completely re-written audio engine in Audition offers a robust toolset to record, edit, mix, master, and sweeten audio. With its professional editing and multitrack mixing tools, powerful noise-reduction and effects options, audio and video professionals on both platforms can now benefit from Adobe Audition CS5.5 for handling a wide range of tasks quickly and efficiently. Improved Collaboration Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Production Premium continues to drive innovation by enhancing how users collaborate with existing workflows, even if they use a variety of tools. Enhanced project exchange support for Final Cut Pro users provides maximum flexibility for video editors, while new or enhanced OMF support in Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe Audition makes it possible to export high-quality audio projects to Avid Pro Tools, facilitating more efficient collaboration between audio editors, remixers and sound designers. Access to the new version of Adobe Story, an Adobe CS Live online service*†, improves collaboration between users with email notifications of new script edits and a faster method of tracking changes through script elements and filters. The ability to import Adobe Story script data directly into Adobe Premiere Pro further strengthens XML-based metadata support found throughout the Production Premium suite, which is critical for everything from file-based workflows to media asset management. This industry leadership around metadata-driven workflows, plus the ease and flexibility of communicating with Adobe applications with critical third party solutions from news management systems to playback servers, is the catalyst behind many broadcasters and other organizations around the world switching to Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium. Pricing and Availability Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Production Premium is scheduled to ship within 30 days with availability through Adobe Authorized Resellers, the Adobe Store and Adobe Direct Sales. Estimated street price for Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Production Premium is expected to be US$1,699. Upgrade pricing and volume licensing are available. By subscribing to Creative Suite, customers can choose a one-year subscription plan for lower payments or a month-to-month subscription for greater flexibility. For more information about Subscription Editions, visit: www.adobe.com/go/cssubscription. Pricing for the new Subscription Edition starts as low as US$39 per month for Adobe Premiere Pro and US$85 per month for Production Premium. Education pricing for students, faculty and staff in K-12 and higher education is available from Adobe Authorized Education Resellers and the Adobe Education Store at www.adobe.com/education/purchasing/education_pricing.htm. More information regarding education volume licensing for higher education and K-12 institutions can be viewed at www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/volumelicensing/education. For more detailed information about features, OS support, upgrade policies, pricing and International versions, please visit www.adobe.com/go/creativesuiteproduction. About Adobe Systems Incorporated Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Adobe changes to new product cycle and announces CS version 5.5 started by mikkowilson View original post
    Comments 25 Comments
    1. keylight's Avatar
      keylight -
      Ugh. Really? Adobe? Really?

      No thanks.
    1. Fohdeesha's Avatar
      Fohdeesha -
      Yeah....I have never ever seen them charge for a dot release, that is kind of ridiculous.......
    1. Lee Saxon's Avatar
      Lee Saxon -
      pffffffffffft yeah right
    1. scapsinger's Avatar
      scapsinger -
      They have charged for dot releases many times. The Design and Web suites have this pretty much every time a new version of Acrobat comes out.

      Also, there was Premiere 6.5, After Effects 6.5, Premiere PRO 1.5 (when they added HD support, among other things). The Production CS suites, of course, have not had a dot release like the web/design suites have, so we've had CS2/CS3/CS4 without a paid upgrade.

      That being said, I'm not sure there's enough in the new package for me personally to warrant a paid upgrade. The Audition swapout for Soundbooth and the new audio workflows there and with multiple audio sources will be nice, but I'm not sure I can't wait another 12 months when the release CS6.

      If it was a $199 upgrade for CS5 owners, I'd do it. If it was a $299 upgrade, I'd really have to consider it heavily (mainly for Audition). But at $399, I'm not in a big hurry.

      The subscription plan is a great idea. I can think of lots of times I'd want to bring on another/multiple editors who normally work in Final Cut or Avid, and this is perfect for that. If it was $49 a month with 1-year commitments, I'd really consider doing it myself. But with a predictably $400-$700 upgrade each year, it doesn't make sense mathematically.

      At any rate, I think this all moves in the right direction, just not exactly the right pricing. If having prices go up a bit helps to ensure constant development and support of the Adobe apps, well...isn't that kind of what we all want? Ask a current Final Cut Studio if they'd be willing to pay for an upgrade opportunity once a year, and I bet right now it looks pretty appealing.
    1. dregenthal's Avatar
      dregenthal -
      I only just did my CS4 to CS5 upgrade within the past 6 months, accordingly I won't consider another paid upgrade for (at least) another 6 months . . .
      Probably a no brainer for some -- a few of 'em are nice features but I'm "out" for now, although I do agree with scapsinger . . . I'd do it for $199.

      P.S I already have Audition . . . went through that exercise a few versions back.

      Just goes to show though, for some . . . if they put $5 (or more) per gallon on the pump we'd pay it.
    1. keylight's Avatar
      keylight -
      Actually, I've found that upgrading on an every other release seems to work best for me. I went from CS3 to CS5. And unless CS6 has something absolutely earth shattering in it (it won't) I'll wait to CS7 (at least) to do an upgrade. Adding .5 releases and a subscription model won't get me to buy anything.

      Now customers can use Adobe Production Premium CS5.5 for as little as US$85 per month.
      Now compare the pricing schemes:
      - CS3 releases on 4/20/2007 for $599 upgrade
      - CS4 releases on 8/23/2008 for $599 upgrade (14 months later)
      - CS5 releases on 4/10/2010 for $599 upgrade (18 months later)
      - CS5.5 releases on ??/??/2011 for $1020/year (12-14/15/16? months later)

      Wow. What a deal. Can I please have 2? Of course if you're like me and skip a version, then the upgrade from CS3 to CS5 cost you $599, instead of $2720 (which is what it would have cost under a subscription model).

      So, how will the model actually work? Will they still offer full version number entry and upgrade points? Probably yes on entry points, no on upgrade points. I could picture them making people pay to upgrade based on the following rate:

      Number of months since your version released X monthly subscription rate = your price to upgrade. And once the upgrade price is higher than the full price, you'll just pay the full price.

      SO kiss those upgrade prices goodbye.....

      Anyone know of a Gimp like alternative to After Effects? Don't need it today, but tomorrow?
    1. Mike Harvey's Avatar
      Mike Harvey -
      The upgrade from CS5 to CS5.5 is $399. Not sure I'm down with spending 2/3's the price of a full release upgrade for a .5 upgrade a year later.
    1. Elvis Deane's Avatar
      Elvis Deane -
      I've only got AE, so the thought of paying $179 to get the Warp Stabilizer when I've already got the capabilities in Syntheyes is a bit hard to swallow. The camera blur looks nice, but hard to justify that unless it's on par with some of those third party lens blur plugins.
    1. mcgeedigital's Avatar
      mcgeedigital -
      The warp stabilizer has to be seen to believed.

      I saw a prerelease running on a Mac Book Pro and it was ridiculous.
    1. Kindredmachine's Avatar
      Kindredmachine -
      Awesome, got my pre-order in today at Adobe for 5.5 :-) Confirm email says shipping May 3rd.
    1. Jisgren's Avatar
      Jisgren -
      Quote Originally Posted by Kindredmachine View Post
      Awesome, got my pre-order in today at Adobe for 5.5 :-) Confirm email says shipping May 3rd.
      I have to say I am very impressed with Adobe customer service/marketing. I saw the announcement here on the forum and went "Oh Crap! I just bought CS5 PP a week ago" No sooner than I clicked into email I already had a message from Adobe waiting for me with instructions to get the free upgrade! I figured that they would do something for a recent purchase, but I expected to have to root around the website and be on hold for 2hrs to get it. Painless process!
    1. Razz16mm's Avatar
      Razz16mm -
      I like the new subscription model. For about the price of a grande latte a day, you have the use of the full CS5.5 deluxe package with only a 1 month cost up front.
    1. keylight's Avatar
      keylight -
      Quote Originally Posted by Razz16mm View Post
      I like the new subscription model. For about the price of a grande latte a day, you have the use of the full CS5.5 deluxe package with only a 1 month cost up front.
      True, but that way you can't have your Adobe and drink your grande latte too. Stop paying Adobe and you the software stops working.

      Worse still, you end up paying more than double the normal upgrade price. Their normal release schedule has a new version coming out every 16 months on average. So at $85/month x 16 months... you pay $1360 over the life of a full version instead of $599. You are much better off financing an upgrade purchase on a credit card. Here's the proof:

      Assume your credit card carries a high 20% APR. With a $599 charge you'll pay $85 each month for SEVEN months and on the eight month you'll pay off the remaining balance of $47.67. Grand total over 8 months: $642.67. $599 principal, $43.67 in interest. The next 8 months are FREE. But buying on Adobe's subscription (loan shark) model, and you pay the $599 on the principal and then keep on paying another $761 in interest.

      So which is better, $43.67 in interest or $761 in interest?

      This kind of super high interest rate (that's what it is) used to be called usury. Apparently today it's called business.
    1. J Davis's Avatar
      J Davis -
      Great to see Adobe switching things up ... thanks for posting Mikko
    1. Mike Harvey's Avatar
      Mike Harvey -
      Quote Originally Posted by keylight View Post
      True, but that way you can't have your Adobe and drink your grande latte too. Stop paying Adobe and you the software stops working.

      Worse still, you end up paying more than double the normal upgrade price. Their normal release schedule has a new version coming out every 16 months on average. So at $85/month x 16 months... you pay $1360 over the life of a full version instead of $599. You are much better off financing an upgrade purchase on a credit card. Here's the proof:

      Assume your credit card carries a high 20% APR. With a $599 charge you'll pay $85 each month for SEVEN months and on the eight month you'll pay off the remaining balance of $47.67. Grand total over 8 months: $642.67. $599 principal, $43.67 in interest. The next 8 months are FREE. But buying on Adobe's subscription (loan shark) model, and you pay the $599 on the principal and then keep on paying another $761 in interest.

      So which is better, $43.67 in interest or $761 in interest?

      This kind of super high interest rate (that's what it is) used to be called usury. Apparently today it's called business.
      No one is forcing you to go the subscription route, and I could see a scenario where it would make more sense. Say you need to bring in a few freelancers for a short term project, but don't have enough licenses as it is. Right now, you can install CS5 on two computers, but can only use one computer at any given moment. If you need to run it on three or four machines for a couple of months, it makes WAY more sense to go the subscription route, then buy 3-4 more copies of CS5.5. 4 new full copies = ~$6k. 4 copies via subscription = $340/month x 3 month project = $1020.
    1. Andrew McCarrick's Avatar
      Andrew McCarrick -
      The subscription rate makes perfect sense for somebody cutting their own indie films. You only have to keep the subscription active for 1 month every 6 months. So say you start in May, you cancel at the end of May... You'd need to renew by the beginning of November to keep the subscription active for another 180 days. Say you shoot a film in August, and edit in August, September, and October. You only paid for 5 months out of the year, because you only used it for 5 months out of the year. If you don't shoot anything the following year, you only need to pay for 2 months, that following year. 7 total monthly payments over 2 years.

      If you're constantly editing and doing freelance work... sure it makes no sense to do it that way.


      EDIT: Now that I think about, you can actually knock off the November payment, since you had paid for those three months that you actually edited the film (to keep the subscription active)... so 6 payments over two years.
    1. keylight's Avatar
      keylight -
      Quote Originally Posted by Andrew McCarrick View Post
      The subscription rate makes perfect sense for somebody cutting their own indie films. You only have to keep the subscription active for 1 month every 6 months. So say you start in May, you cancel at the end of May... You'd need to renew by the beginning of November to keep the subscription active for another 180 days. Say you shoot a film in August, and edit in August, September, and October. You only paid for 5 months out of the year, because you only used it for 5 months out of the year. If you don't shoot anything the following year, you only need to pay for 2 months, that following year. 7 total monthly payments over 2 years.

      If you're constantly editing and doing freelance work... sure it makes no sense to do it that way.


      EDIT: Now that I think about, you can actually knock off the November payment, since you had paid for those three months that you actually edited the film (to keep the subscription active)... so 6 payments over two years.
      Of course, that's not how it really works. Once subscribed and your account is set up to automatically debit your account, people don't bother canceling. In your scenario, why even start in May if you aren't going to shoot until August?

      And is there a value to restarting a subscription at the 6 month point for 1 month, and then suspending it again? I know about their 6 month suspension rule, but what's the harm in just letting it expire and not re-subscribing until you need it again, say 10 months later for example? I know that this sounds like I'm actually making an argument against myself, but I'm not. Because again, most people will end up never canceling their subscription. There are times when I won't touch a program for weeks, but then need it for a couple of hours. Whoops - did I suspend my subscription? Darn.

      Adding, that the month to month option on the production bundle actually starts at $129. So using your scenario, $129 x 6 = $774. Full version upgrade price is $599.

      And again, reality is that you either won't cancel your subscription, or will end up needing to restart it much more often than you plan.
    1. Andrew McCarrick's Avatar
      Andrew McCarrick -
      Well all your talking about is upgrade pricing... what about people that don't even own a copy of premiere pro yet... like me.
    1. Mike Harvey's Avatar
      Mike Harvey -
      Quote Originally Posted by keylight View Post
      ...Because again, most people will end up never canceling their subscription. There are times when I won't touch a program for weeks, but then need it for a couple of hours. Whoops - did I suspend my subscription? Darn.

      Adding, that the month to month option on the production bundle actually starts at $129. So using your scenario, $129 x 6 = $774. Full version upgrade price is $599.

      And again, reality is that you either won't cancel your subscription, or will end up needing to restart it much more often than you plan.
      You sound like you assume that most operations are like yours. That simply isn't the case. Honestly, for a lot of folks it doesn't make sense to go the subscription route. But you assume it doesn't make sense for *anyone*. I'm pretty sure Adobe did some research into whenther this was a viable option or not before implementing this option. This subscription model seems to me a lot like renting any other piece of equipment. For some folks renting makes no sense. For some folks buying makes no sense. Just because one doesn't make sense to you and your business model doesn't mean it doesn't make sense for anyone else.

      Look, if it doesn't work for you, don't do it. No one is forcing you to. But do don't assume it doesn't work for anyone else. All your numbers are based on upgrades... not everyone has that option of upgrading and need to buy full copies. I can see several scenarios, including the one I already described, where it makes more sense to subscribe the buy new full copies.
    1. keylight's Avatar
      keylight -
      Quote Originally Posted by Mike Harvey View Post
      No one is forcing you to go the subscription route, and I could see a scenario where it would make more sense. Say you need to bring in a few freelancers for a short term project, but don't have enough licenses as it is. Right now, you can install CS5 on two computers, but can only use one computer at any given moment. If you need to run it on three or four machines for a couple of months, it makes WAY more sense to go the subscription route, then buy 3-4 more copies of CS5.5. 4 new full copies = ~$6k. 4 copies via subscription = $340/month x 3 month project = $1020.
      I think your example is probably the closest one can get to arguing in favor of an end user going with a temporary subscription model. (Of course, those are 50% more expensive than the 1 year subscription. The $1020 price tag is actually $1560). But I think it breaks down a bit when you look at what actually happens when you bring in freelancers for a short term project.

      It has been my experience (personally hiring freelancers and producing with companies that hire freelancers) that freelancers hired for a particular job are hired for a particular skill set. Got a big, multi episode show that needs editing? You hire in editors who will edit. They won't do compositing, encoding, illustrating.... They will need editing software (no Photoshop, Illustrator, Encore, After Effects). That stuff is going to be handled by other people. (For a show that needs multiple editors though, you rent turn key Avids and hire Avid editors.) Yes, you can get subscription of PS, IL, AE, PP all on their own. And maybe that's what you would do. In that case the model would work. But I think that's the rare exception really.

      Quality, Speed, Price - pick two for a mid-level budget, pick one for a small budget. For a very small budget work, there's never money to hire multiple freelancers. And when you do get to hire a freelancer, you hire someone who brings their own tools (which of course they already own since that's how they learned them).

      I think it is the rare instance where a subscription model will end up working.

      Still, if it works for you and saves you some money - fantastic. Of course, Adobe is banking on the new model as a way to increase revenue.....
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