Adobe CS 5.5 Released

M

maxusa

Well-known member
Just a heads-up for the AF100 enthusiasts, Adobe released the new Creative Suite 5.5 for download and/or ordering. Trials (convertible to full) are also available. It has been highly anticipated for much improved Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Media Encoder along with the inclusion of Audition. I am installing my copy as I type this.

For a decent feature tour, check out this must-see video by Jason Lavine [43:38 min]. It is worth every minute of your time.
 
Let us know how it is. My general take is...

- meh

Better to spend the money buying Adobe stock than this upgrade for most of us probably. But do let us know if the improvements actually make a big difference in day to day use.

Thanks!
 
keylight said:
My general take is...

- meh

Better to spend the money buying Adobe stock than this upgrade for most of us probably.
Click to expand...

I am curious to learn what in the new Adobe CS5.5 prompted you to form this opinion. It appears that this release has focused on A/V workflows more than anything else. Do you think that CS5.5 still came up short?
 
keylight said:
Let us know how it is. My general take is...

- meh

Better to spend the money buying Adobe stock than this upgrade for most of us probably. But do let us know if the improvements actually make a big difference in day to day use.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

The many improvements suit me fine and I will use them on a day to day basis. CS5 was game changer and changed my edit workflow ( and efficiency).

CS5.5 is another large leap and I will change workflows again. (eg more dynamic links).

Realtime nesting and DL to AEFX are massively cool

Addition of more real time FX such as Blurs ...that I use a lot ...sure do it for me.

New editing functionality between source and program are awesome improvements.

FWIW...There is a new function in After Effects CS5.5 that should suit many AF 100 users looking for OIS / IS and not finding lenses with that particular capabilty.

....etc...
 
What is unfortunate is for the users who bought the CS5 upgrade for 599.99
on February 24 2011 to get the 10% off if purchased by Feb 28 th.
Then adobe announces CS5.5 on March 11 2011. Now Adobe says I have to pay 399.99 to upgrade CS5.5
when I could have just paid 599.99 to upgrade from CS4.
Not to happy with Adobe right now!

They said if I purchased after the announcement I would have gotten free upgrade!
 
... if you have timecode, you can sync the audio woo hoo! :-)

I think I'll still wait for FCPX .. although the Warp Stabilizer looks really good.

Every CS release they claim "and now it's even easier to go from A to B and back."
I'd rather they integrate the functionality where needed. For example, I'd integrate
Audition and Premiere functionality together.
 
I purchased my update to CS5 on 3/30/11, and the upgrade to CS5.5 is free.
Well it did take a 45min call to Adobe customer care.
 
jmarkham said:
... For example, I'd integrate
Audition and Premiere functionality together.
Click to expand...

Really, why? The only NLE that I know of that is at least pretty good at multitrack audio is Vegas... and it can't hold a candle (audio wise) to Audition. IMO, the return of Audition, VASTLY improved timcode support and the new Warp Stabilizer makes the upgrade price well worth it. Then again, I spend a great deal of time working with VFX and motion graphics, so I really need speed and the integration between packages more than I need a great standalone 'does everything' application... so the CS5 suite seems to be the ticket (for me)... YMMV.


Shawn
 
While contributing to the perception of dealing with a particular vendor, our CS experiences hardly have any bearing on software or product unless CS is an integral part of it. For example, I may dislike some Apple, Inc. policies (many of which do affect their design), but it does not mean the iPhone is a bad product.

I am sure that customer service and policy stories are abound. I have some of my own. Having substantial investment in Microsoft Volume Licensing and Software Assurance, which grants new version rights, several of my customers had their contracts end 15 days before the new Office was released and, therefore, did not get it. Others did. It is unfortunate, but who could predict (and align) one's purchasing with release cycles? If everyone had a crystal ball...
 
jmarkham said:
I'd integrate Audition and Premiere functionality together.
Click to expand...

And they are now coupled in both the Master Collection and Production Premium suites. IMHO it makes sense to maintain the audio competency in its own offering such as Audition, especially when audio has a big life beyond video on its own. In this release, Adobe has looked at the suite from the user's workflow perspective. This contributed to much improved integration in CS5.5, which, I am sure, many of us need more of.
 
keylight said:
Better to spend the money buying Adobe stock than this upgrade for most of us probably. But do let us know if the improvements actually make a big difference in day to day use.
Click to expand...

Regarding the value of the .5 upgrade - someone inside Adobe acknowledged to me that the features added into the programs in CS 5.5 were marginal (even in his/her opinion), except for AE (which I agree with), but that releasing the .5 version adds incentive for people with older (pre 5) versions to upgrade. Such is the mindset in a corporation, of course. Reading between these lines tells me that they did not get the upgrade sales they were hoping for with the release of CS5. I think they may also be trying to beat Apple to the punch, and get as many converts as they can before the next FC release.

The team does seem to listen to feature requests, however. And I understand that many of the recent hires on the PP team were former FCP people, just to indicate where things are headed.
 
Marketing and business sustainability usually plays a big role in product roadmaps. No doubt that Adobe CS is affected. On the feature set, a very interesting insider's comment. Perhaps, for people living day in and day out on the inside, the new features were marginal. But looking at the suite from the customer's perspective, I find many significant new things. For example, new Acrobat Pro v10 vs. v9 in CS5, Audition v5.5 vs. SoundBooth, major AE 5.5 features, improved workflow-based integration among CS members, HTML5 and jQuery in DreamWeaver 5.5, expanded platform/device support across the board, etc. I am no expert in CS5 or CS5.5, but the list appears to go on. I found a good reference to new features since a particular previous release in Adobe website. Go to the CS section, click on Features, and then select "New Since CS5".
 
stevedocmaker said:
The team does seem to listen to feature requests, however. And I understand that many of the recent hires on the PP team were former FCP people, just to indicate where things are headed.
Click to expand...

Jason Lavine, in his CS5.5 Overview video, openly admits that Adobe adopted several things from its friends--namely, FCP and Avid. I do not think it is limited to keyboard shortcuts. We grow in adversity (i.e., when we are challenged). Hope that Adobe can not only innovate, but learn from the competition and improve too.
 
ShawnMi said:
Really, why? The only NLE that I know of that is at least pretty good at multitrack audio is Vegas... and it can't hold a candle (audio wise) to Audition....
Shawn
Click to expand...

Vegas got it pretty much right .. I never got into it as a video editor though. The audio workflow is getting more complicated (at least
it is for me). I would like to be able to access the mixing functionality in-place.

I understand Audition needs to be a separate package .. fine .. but bring the functionality to the user rather than the other
way round.

jeff
 
I am afraid that Audition CS5.5 is too recent for comprehensive reviews just yet. The previous Audition 3 has plenty of coverage online, but it is old (released 11/2007) and very much different. R.I.P. Soundbooth.

EDIT: Here is a recent forum thread on Audition CS5.5 from an Audition development team member. An informative read.
 
Last edited:
I got Production Premium 5.5, because I didn't have 5 yet. It just came in the mail. I am still probably going to cut in Final Cut for most stuff though, once Final Cut X comes out.
 
blackcat said:
I got Production Premium 5.5, because I didn't have 5 yet. It just came in the mail. I am still probably going to cut in Final Cut for most stuff though, once Final Cut X comes out.
Click to expand...

If you have a suitable Mac NVidia card, you really ought to have a good go at CS5.5. The Mercury engine make things happen that are impossible with FCP. Premiere will play multiple streams in real time whilest FCP won't even play a single graphic overlay without rendering. Multiply this by hundreds of times when editing and the time savings are extraordinary. I use both FCP and CS5 on my Mac Pro, but if I want speed and integration with PS and AE, Adobe is unbeatable.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top