Adobe Premiere

[Mike Harvey]

... and the fact that i'll be dead if my internet has a problem the same day they have to check the licensing.

From the sounds of it, they give you a few days warning that you need to connect. It sounds like you initiate it within a few days of a deadline, so if their servers crap out or your internet is down, you can do it later. I'm pretty sure they've thought of the scenario you described, where something goes wrong when you need to connect, so you're not SOL.

 

[WesScog]

I really hope so. I have read complaints about people having errors come from the licensing software, where it messed up and gave them an error that their software wasn't licensed even though they were good.

That kind of wigged me out.

 

[Michael Schrengohst]

I echo all this. I went to their booth and asked some questions like this.

Me: Do I need to be connected to the internet to use the newest version?
Adobe: No. This is a great deal for $29 a month. (a small sales pitch)
Me: Well my NLE computer lacked internet access. How do I get the latest version?
Adobe: you download it.
me: Wait I just told you I lack internet access for my computer.
Adobe: do you have internet access on any other computer?
me: yes
Adobe: Well download the software and transfer the file to your NLE and just install it.
me: this sounds great.
--Pause for me to think--
me: What if I cancel my subscription?
Adobe: no problem
me: So I can continue to use the software?
Adobe: It will stop working completely.
me: How will it stop working? The computer is not connected to the internet so it won't know I cancelled.
Adobe: The software needs to access Adobe on the internet to verify every month.
me:wait you just told me my NLE does not need to be connected to the internet.
Adobe: It doesn't, it just need to be connected once a month.
me: so you lied to me about needing to be connected to internet?
Adobe: no response
(I dropped their handouts and left)

As another poster mentioned it's a great deal -- assuming -- your buying it new verses getting an update version price.
Other note is I often skipped versions since most updates lacked any valuable difference for me.

OK, I admit - I tried going to the Adobe Cloud….
I dicked around with Adobe all day….
Finally they admitted….you have to be hooked up to a LAN
in order for their server to check your computer.
I have an iMac and have been wireless since 2008.
I tried to hook this iMac up to a LAN - never could get
it to work. Never have had a problem being wireless.
With PC's it was the opposite.
Anyway - I canceled the subscription - which was an ordeal
in and of itself…
Adobe is starting to remind me of microsoft…..

 

[NC17z]

This thread is histarical!
I am an Adobe Fanboy... an will always be... No matter what they thow at me I'm on board...

If your still using CS4,... Give the 64bit CS5.5 a go at the very least. Aquiring a licensed CS5, 5.5, or 6 will pennys on the dollar come May and June...
So please don't sweat it...

I can't afford a RED,.... however, I'll rent, steal an cheat and use what I need to until I can afford one.

For goodness sake.

 

[alaskacameradude]

If some of you want no Internet how do you plan on moving to FCPX which can only be purchased from the Mac App Store and updated from the Mac App Store? How do you do system updates? I think some people are making way too big a deal of the five second need for Internet access once a month. It only connects to adobe to make sure your account is current. Once it does that you can remove the Internet access again for 30 days.

The guy from Adobe did not lie. He may not have articulated it very well but he did not lie. Basically yes it is true you don't need to keep the system on the Internet but once a month you have to quickly turn on wifi or plug in a cable for five seconds to make sure you are still paying for the software. Honestly I fail to see how this is such an evil thing.

You pay monthly for the Internet, electricity, cell phone, web hosting and other things so why is it so bad to do the same for great software that helps you pay your bills. If you stop paying your cell phone don't you lose the ability to make calls or use 4g service? This is a new reality and someday all software may switch to this method.

I've explained this before once or twice, but I'm sure a lot of people didn't see my explanation, and it IS a long story.
I am lucky to live in a town, that although it is small, has internet and so on. I grew up in rural Alaska which is kind of similar to
living in a third world country. Outhouses, cut your wood, carry your water, kerosene lanterns, hunt and fish for your food and so on.
My family stills owns a place where I grew up. It is stunningly beautiful there. I like to go there in the summer, and pack
my FS100 and laptop. I do a fair bit of shooting and editing when I am there, stuff I cannot get anywhere else. But to get there,
you must fly in a seaplane, land on the ocean and take a small boat an hour up the inlet. There is solar power and a generator,
so I can plug in and edit. Care to guess what I can't get there? I am planning another show that I am hoping to do in the
next two years. It will entail being on a fishing boat for longer than 30 days. Again, even if it is 'just for 5 seconds' there
will be no access to a pretty key component to keep a Creative Cloud subscription up and running. And there have been plenty
of other times I have spent longer than 30 days 'off the grid' in Alaska. As for your examples, as long as I pay my cell phone
bill, they do NOT disconnect me!!! Creative Cloud would disconnect me simply because I did not connect to the internet for
them to 'verify my status as a non pirate'. They are not cutting me off for lack of payment, but for lack of connecting to the
internet. Totally different situations there!! Sorry but I'm not playing that. Everyone else is welcome to support Creative
Cloud as the greatest thing since sliced bread. I refuse to support it with my dollars. I don't like the software rental idea in
the first place and it doesn't work for me in the second.

I have no doubt that plenty of people will pay for it and it will be a smashing success for Adobe. I will NOT be one of
those people and will be switching software if Adobe moves to only give updates to Creative Cloud members. As of yet, they
have NOT done that, and hopefully they won't! But I keep hearing rumors from well connected people about how much more
profitable Creative Cloud is and how 'everything is moving that way' and so on. That's fine, it is their business and they can
do what they want, I just will not be staying with them if they do. End of story.

 

[Wesley Byram]

If some of you want no Internet how do you plan on moving to FCPX which can only be purchased from the Mac App Store and updated from the Mac App Store? How do you do system updates? I think some people are making way too big a deal of the five second need for Internet access once a month. It only connects to adobe to make sure your account is current. Once it does that you can remove the Internet access again for 30 days.

The guy from Adobe did not lie. He may not have articulated it very well but he did not lie. Basically yes it is true you don't need to keep the system on the Internet but once a month you have to quickly turn on wifi or plug in a cable for five seconds to make sure you are still paying for the software. Honestly I fail to see how this is such an evil thing.

Well, let me give a hypothetical scenario. Remember when FCPX came out and there was such a huge backlash? A lot of people rightly said things to the effect of "Apple's not taking your copy of FCP7 away, just keep using that." Well, suppose that Apple had been using this sort of license enforcement in FCP7 and decided, for what ever reason, to stop supporting it. Your copy of FCP7 would have indeed stopped working. If you think that this is just a contrived hypothical (well, it is, to a point), do a Google search on Microsoft's "Plays for Sure" or the recent release of the new Sim City game for examples of how this sort of thing can bite you.

To put it another way, by using software that has to call home regularly, you're effectively giving the keys to an important piece of your workflow to a third party with no benifit to you. Adobe could decide "ok customers, time to upgrade" and pull the plug. Or, they could have technical issues that crash the activation server. This sort of "Internet required" restriction just adds an extra, completely unneccessary, point of potiental failure.

You pay monthly for the Internet, electricity, cell phone, web hosting and other things so why is it so bad to do the same for great software that helps you pay your bills. If you stop paying your cell phone don't you lose the ability to make calls or use 4g service?

Poor analogy. Those are all commodities that inherently require regular service from your provider due to their very nature, and always have. There's no inherent need for an NLE to call home and ask "is it ok if so-and-so keeps using me?"

This is a new reality and someday all software may switch to this method.

Doesn't mean that we should just take it laying down.

Anyway, I don't have a dog in this particular fight as I'm not an Adobe customer, but I hate this trend.

 

[dregenthal]

I was a huge CS6 advocate and fan, the only thing that's turned me off Adobe as of late is the fact they are releasing new versions every 6 months. If they don't slow that down, they will lose their fan base who would rather spend less more often in my opinion.

I've also been on the Cloud (subscription) since it came out . . . after years of paying massive amounts for upgrades. I was able to sub in for $29.99 per month due to having a past licensed version.
But, what I'm saying is that, for ME, the faster pace of updates, upgrades, and *point* versions is exactly why I went that way . . . it was a no-brainer (for ME).

**Having read more of this thread I need to add a couple of things here . . .
1st of all, if the concept doesn't work for you then you have many options.
I've read a couple times about CS4 . . . Having owned a licensed copy of every version since the 1st Creative Suite, I can tell you that thirty bucks a month is a deal (I'll leave it to you to do the math).
I read where a couple folks object because, "blah blah blah, my NLE . . ." You get EVERYTHING, not just Premiere (I'd recommend checking out what's included before reaching a final decision).
Another guy said something about having the old version on "all his laptops" or words to that affect . . . By Adobe's EULA you can install the Cloud version on TWO computers (in my case a desktop and my traveling laptop). This practice (2 computers) does not represent a change . . . the practice is long standing.

And perhaps the thing I read most here was Adobe's servers checking your computer . . . wrong!
Adobe doesn't check anything on your computer.
If you sign up for a subscription, you do it through their online store and agree to permit them to debit your credit card monthly (much like a lot of other services or bill I have).
As long as you credit card isn't denied, expired, etc., your monthly service (that you pay monthly) continues . . . it's transparent.
I don't know exactly how it works but I'd suspect a key is sent at around the time the software interrogates Adobe during a routine check for updates (which is a normal process whether you have a subscription or bought the box, and has been for years).
If your credit card is expired (or whatever problem exists at your end), there is a grace period, and you will receive an e-mail notice before they switch you off.

It's technology gentlemen, not a scam, but as I kinda said in the beginning there are other options (which I see as a good thing in a world that's not "one size fits all"). Oh pardon me . . . I see I've received a notice while typing this (really) from Apple advising an update for the iCloud Control Panel, ver 2.1.2

Peace.

 

[Wesley Byram]

... then i'll be switching to an Open-Source editor.

There aren't any really good ones that I've found yet. Blender comes the closest, in that it can run for more than 5 minutes without crashing, but it isn't really designed as an NLE. It gets the job done, though, and in principle, can do anything that you would want. It just requires you to do a lot manually.

I've heard Kdenlive is getting better. It looks good, but every time I've tried to use it in the past it's always been too unstable. If they get the bugs worked out, it could be a contender.

 

[WesScog]

There aren't any really good ones that I've found yet. Blender comes the closest, in that it can run for more than 5 minutes without crashing, but it isn't really designed as an NLE. It gets the job done, though, and in principle, can do anything that you would want. It just requires you to do a lot manually.

I've heard Kdenlive is getting better. It looks good, but every time I've tried to use it in the past it's always been too unstable. If they get the bugs worked out, it could be a contender.

Yea, but if it's the choice between NO NLE access because I refused to switch over to a subscription service, or a 2nd rate Open-Source editor, i'm going to pick the 2nd rate open-source alternative every time.

I would prefer to stay with Adobe, since I like the cross-software support, and the integration, and it's always been a really stable editor. BUT if they switch to Cloud-Service only, I'm migrating to Avid or FCP, if those go subscription-only too, I'd rather deal with Blender.

 

[paul31003]

If some of you want no Internet how do you plan on moving to FCPX which can only be purchased from the Mac App Store and updated from the Mac App Store? How do you do system updates? I think some people are making way too big a deal of the five second need for Internet access once a month. It only connects to adobe to make sure your account is current. Once it does that you can remove the Internet access again for 30 days.

The guy from Adobe did not lie. He may not have articulated it very well but he did not lie. Basically yes it is true you don't need to keep the system on the Internet but once a month you have to quickly turn on wifi or plug in a cable for five seconds to make sure you are still paying for the software. Honestly I fail to see how this is such an evil thing.

You pay monthly for the Internet, electricity, cell phone, web hosting and other things so why is it so bad to do the same for great software that helps you pay your bills. If you stop paying your cell phone don't you lose the ability to make calls or use 4g service? This is a new reality and someday all software may switch to this method.

This is correct.

I've been subscribed to the Cloud since it first came out. $30 a month for the ENTIRE ADOBE SUITE. Easily downloadable apps. Easy to keep updated. Once a month I have to re-sign in to verify my subscription. That's it. Otherwise I can take it to the middle of nowhere and do my work without issue. And I have. There haven't been any crazy Adobe crashes or any other nonsense to worry about. I pay for a service and I get it. It's like my cell phone or my cable. It's quite simple. I don't understand where the fear towards this comes from.

I get Premiere, Photoshop, After Effects, Lightroom, Muse, Flash, Dreamweaver, Encore, etc. etc.....for $30 A MONTH!! I use it EVERY day. I'm using it RIGHT NOW. Along with my MacBook Pro, it's been the BIGGEST blessing for my business, allowing me to earn so much this past year because I have everything I need software-wise at my fingertips. DID I MENTION I PAY A MEASLY 30 BUCKS A MONTH FOR THIS?!

 

[GavinAbe]

I echo all this. I went to their booth and asked some questions like this.

Me: Do I need to be connected to the internet to use the newest version?
Adobe: No. This is a great deal for $29 a month. (a small sales pitch)
Me: Well my NLE computer lacked internet access. How do I get the latest version?
Adobe: you download it.
me: Wait I just told you I lack internet access for my computer.
Adobe: do you have internet access on any other computer?
me: yes
Adobe: Well download the software and transfer the file to your NLE and just install it.
me: this sounds great.
--Pause for me to think--
me: What if I cancel my subscription?
Adobe: no problem
me: So I can continue to use the software?
Adobe: It will stop working completely.
me: How will it stop working? The computer is not connected to the internet so it won't know I cancelled.
Adobe: The software needs to access Adobe on the internet to verify every month.
me:wait you just told me my NLE does not need to be connected to the internet.
Adobe: It doesn't, it just need to be connected once a month.
me: so you lied to me about needing to be connected to internet?
Adobe: no response
(I dropped their handouts and left)

As another poster mentioned it's a great deal -- assuming -- your buying it new verses getting an update version price.
Other note is I often skipped versions since most updates lacked any valuable difference for me.

This is a problem for many users in other countries around the world outsides te EU and USA with bad internet and very slow down loads, which Adobe are the only place that matters. If you are in Africa or other countries working, shooting , editing a doccie there is no access for the cloud, this is one reason why you will find a person will that will find a way around this by usesing cracked and hacked software.

 

[alaskacameradude]

This is a problem for many users in other countries around the world outsides te EU and USA with bad internet and very slow down loads, which Adobe are the only place that matters. If you are in Africa or other countries working, shooting , editing a doccie there is no access for the cloud, this is one reason why you will find a person will that will find a way around this by usesing cracked and hacked software.

Well they don't have to do that. Lots of other options. Adobe still offers the 'buy it' version of
CS6, they haven't discontinued it or even announced any plans to. I hear rumors and get nervous
that they might, but hopefully they will keep offering a full license for those who want to buy it
outright. And if they don't, I have no need to use hacked software. FCP X cost less than 10 months
of the 'Creative Cloud' and they have issued 8 updates since it was released. For FREE. Yup, no
monthly fees involved, just a free upgrade waiting for you when you get back to where there is
internet. Adobe may have stolen me from FCP 7 but service like that from Apple is threatening
to steal me right back.

 

[dregenthal]

I'd bet that Adobe has had an equal number of updates over the same period, probably more (also at no cost).
In fairness (and I say this as having been a very brief FCP X user), I'd bet that some of the Apple updates were more along the lines of adding functions that should have been in the initial release rather than enhancements.

The subscription (IMHO) is simply another way of paying for the software . . . Only you are electing to go with an installment plan. You are paying for a license to use the software, you never really own it...exactly like the boxed version.

If there were never going to be version upgrades it would not make any sense to go that way . . . but as we know CS7 is on the near horizon it makes quite a bit of sense (for some). My recollection is that the past few version (or "dot") upgrades ran in the vicinity of $550-600.

 

[Jay Birch]

Creative Cloud is the best thing I ever signed up for, in the creative industry. It is amazing.

 

[GavinAbe]

Well they don't have to do that. Lots of other options. Adobe still offers the 'buy it' version of
CS6, they haven't discontinued it or even announced any plans to. I hear rumors and get nervous
that they might, but hopefully they will keep offering a full license for those who want to buy it
outright. And if they don't, I have no need to use hacked software. FCP X cost less than 10 months
of the 'Creative Cloud' and they have issued 8 updates since it was released. For FREE. Yup, no
monthly fees involved, just a free upgrade waiting for you when you get back to where there is
internet. Adobe may have stolen me from FCP 7 but service like that from Apple is threatening
to steal me right back.

Well here is the start :
[h=1]Adobe announces plans to stop boxed sales of its Creative Suite software[/h] Posted on March 26, 2013
Adobe announces plans to stop boxed sales of its Creative Suite software
Adobe announced today that it plans to stop offering boxed versions of its Creative Suite software. Instead, the company will follow the growing trend of only offering its professional software via online download.
“As Adobe continues to focus on delivering world-class innovation through Creative Cloud and digital fulfillment, we will be phasing out shrink-wrapped, boxed versions of Creative Suite and Acrobat products,” an Adobe spokesperson informed TechHive vial email earlier today.
Retailers have reported May 1 will be the cut-off date for boxed sales of Adobe’s Creative Suite software.
Consumers will be able to choose either the download any of Adobe’s Creative Suite apps from their website or access them via a monthly subscription.

This entry was posted in Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere

 

[Jay Birch]

So you can still buy the software and install it on a non internet computer. Problem solved.

 

[Wesley Byram]

Yea, but if it's the choice between NO NLE access because I refused to switch over to a subscription service, or a 2nd rate Open-Source editor, i'm going to pick the 2nd rate open-source alternative every time.

.

Agree 100%. I've already switched to open source, for as much as I can, under the expectation that commercial software will mostly be doing subscriptions, or other "you don't control the software, we do" things in the future. Also, because I'm cheap...ok, mostly because I'm cheap. The free tools certainly work, though, and they're getting better.

Others have pointed out, if you don't like the subscription model, you can just buy the boxed version. But I ask, how long will that option be around? The writing is on the wall. Software companies (not just Adobe, and not just for NLEs) want to more tightly control our use of their products. Sooner or later, if enough people are hooked on the subscription, the stand alone versions will be discontinued or will "call home" just like the subscription version, and that choice will be removed.



Edit: Now that I think about it, in some ways, Blender is to CGI, VFX, and editing software what Blackmagic is to cinema cameras. Both are unbelievably powerful for the price, but there are some rough edges.

 

[bosindy]

Well here is the start :
[h=1]Adobe announces plans to stop boxed sales of its Creative Suite software[/h] Posted on March 26, 2013
Adobe announces plans to stop boxed sales of its Creative Suite software
Adobe announced today that it plans to stop offering boxed versions of its Creative Suite software. Instead, the company will follow the growing trend of only offering its professional software via online download.
“As Adobe continues to focus on delivering world-class innovation through Creative Cloud and digital fulfillment, we will be phasing out shrink-wrapped, boxed versions of Creative Suite and Acrobat products,” an Adobe spokesperson informed TechHive vial email earlier today.
Retailers have reported May 1 will be the cut-off date for boxed sales of Adobe’s Creative Suite software.
Consumers will be able to choose either the download any of Adobe’s Creative Suite apps from their website or access them via a monthly subscription.

This entry was posted in Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere

you mean, here is innovation that everyone company on the planet is doing. If you buy a mac you no longer get disks for the software and update the operating system and all the software via the internet. I can't remember the last time I actually installed disk for anything. None of this is proof Adobe is going to a subscription only service.

If they do for business reasons down the road, and they misjudge the blowback, then it's on them, just like it was for apple with FCPX and now they are back playing catch up.

In the meantime, how about that feature set for CS7?

 

[Finster]

In the meantime, how about that feature set for CS7?

+1

 

[Thomas Smet]

Look I get the concerns over the license function. Perhaps Adobe should also allow a phone in activation when people are off the grid. Although I am going to take a guess and assume being off the grid may also include no phone access. I just don't understand how somebody can blame Adobe for an off the grid lifestyle. It is your choice to do that. I'm sorry the cloud doesn't work in those situations but how else should Adobe verify people are actually paying for the software? If they got rid of the monthly checks a lot of people would download the software pay for one month and then cancel and keep using it. Perhaps Adobe could sell three month buckets so it would have to check after 90 days. Have any of you ever thought to call Adobe and ask them what you can do if you are off the grid for three months? I would like to get suggestions from people as to how Adobe verify current payment. Maybe they could be convinced to come up with a better license system.

If you don't like it either buy the boxed version while you still can or please move on and stop complaining about Adobe. These handful of situations compared to the thousands that greatly benefit from the cloud are never going to change the mind of Adobe. Is the license a perfect system? No it isn't but for 90% or so of the users out there it is a much better option than what we had before. It has been a win win situation for both parties. Adobe gets a steady cash flow which means they can pump that into development. Users get amazing software in an easier to pay system that makes more sense for a lot of people.

My whole point about cell phones was that if the cost wasn't broken down per month and treated like software people would have to walk into a store and pay $2000.00 up front for a year of use. Nobody could afford that and cell phones would have been the worse selling technology ever invented. By breaking the cost down into months it makes it easier for customers to afford a cell phone and it helps companies actually sell the things and stay in business.