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Avid Perpetual License
Alright, so can anyone explain to me why the perpetual license is even an option from Avid anymore, other than to get extra money out of suckers like me?
I picked up the perpetual, thinking that it made more sense to buy one time and own and then come back and buy back into the upgrade plan every few years or so – after significant version jumps – and upgrade the software then.
Turns out you can’t do that, once you let your upgrade plan expire (which you have to pay for yearly at $299) you can NEVER update that license, you have to go back and buy a whole new license (on whatever plan you prefer). Admittedly, they do clarify (pretty well hidden though) that this is the case on the website (which is impossible to navigate in the first place because its like 50 different sites) but in my opinion that should be made far more clear. It just feels skeezy, and it really upsets me that they are’t upfront about it.
Just wanted to post here since I didn’t see much else about this online. Given today’s climate where OS jumps are pretty much essential to keep up with security threats, and since the perpetual license needs an annual payment (which is somehow more expensive than a yearly Avid license plan) if you would like to EVER update again, I would say never buy the perpetual.
Just my PSA, from an idiot who isn’t quite comfortable with the ‘lease me a license’ model and didn’t quite look close enough before purchasing.
Learn from me.
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8 Replies
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I have the perpetual, and pay the annual fee, and update when I want. OR…you can do the subscription model. What I like about the perpetual, is that if you stop paying, it keeps working…it doesn’t STOP working. Adobe…if you stop paying their monthly fee, the apps stop working, period. With Avid, you won’t be left up a creek.
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
I have a perpetual license and prefer the yearly service fee and upgrades during that year. And as said if I decide to stop that I can continue to run that version for ever (well as long as I have hardware and an OS that are supported)
But tge real gain for me is I have a hardware done with Symphony under that perpetual license I can take that to any Avid and gain Symphony option.Pat Horridge
Broadcast & Post Consultant, Trainer, Avid Certified Instructor
Free online Tutorials at VET digital media academy online https://vimeo.com/channels/752951
pat@vet.co.uk -
I agree with Shane. Ask a group of Adobe users how many of them would prefer a perpetual license. I’ll bet a lot would raise their hand.
I still have CS6 on a laptop and will never give it up…as it is the best/cheapest way for me to use Photoshop, encoder and illustrator without paying their monthly fees.
For Avid, I have two dongles with the same idea as Pat. One has symphony. I also have the script sync and phrase find options that can float between the two.
I did think the same thing when everything changed last year…”It looks like the subscription is cheaper than the maintenance” I guess they would like us to switch, to subscription but if we don’t want to, we pay a small premium.
Glenn
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I think it boils down to your usage. If you continually use the product, then perpetual makes the most sense for most users. However, sporadic users are better with subscription.
Let’s say you are a company that came together for the purpose of doing an indie feature film. You might be in post for 6 months and then be done. Maybe you don’t do this again until months later. In that scenario, subscription might be a better option.
The downside of the Avid mechanism is that frequent updates through App Manager are flaky, while Abobe’s Creative Cloud has been running pretty smooth. Same for FCPX through the Apple App Store or even the App Store version of Resolve/Resolve Studio.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters – oliverpeters.com
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You don’t have to update when app mangers shows an update available. As always a wise editors checks what’s new and what’s broken and keeps an ear on the early adopters.
I read if Creative cloud users equally moaning of updates causing issues.Pat Horridge
Broadcast & Post Consultant, Trainer, Avid Certified Instructor
Free online Tutorials at VET digital media academy online https://vimeo.com/channels/752951
pat@vet.co.uk -
[Pat Horridge] “As always a wise editors checks what’s new and what’s broken and keeps an ear on the early adopters.
I read if Creative cloud users equally moaning of updates causing issues.”Obviously, it’s all anecdotal. But I’ve had a lot more issues with App Mgr than CC. I’ve been admin on 7 workstations for more than 2 years running CC flawlessly (plus a couple of personal machines). OTOH, I currently have an App Mgr issue that’s been going on for over a week, with it unable to access the Avid server (support is in the loop).
– Oliver
Oliver Peters – oliverpeters.com
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Love that this sparked a discussion on it. I do understand the benefits of a perpetual from a fundamental standpoint, its why I purchased it in the first place. I guess my frustration stems more from the lack of transparency surrounding how that annual update plan worked. I got the perpetual along the same lines of logic, that it made more sense since I could use it until a significantly new OS or system dictated upgrading, then re-pay the 300 and upgrade. It just seems that systems last shorter and shorter amounts of time nowadays, so saying “you can use this version as long as you want” doesn’t mean in 2018 and onward what it would have meant in 2003, in terms of how long your OS is likely to function from a security standpoint (which is what really concerns me with outdated OS).
Again, it just seems strange (to me) that the annual update fee on top of the one-time purchase is actually higher than a month to month subscription. As you have all pointed out, a large chunk of this opinion is preference. I more just wanted to see how the community felt about it as well as offer a warning to any users that had my plan in mind.
As to the updater, I would agree that despite all of the headaches some of the updated versions of CC apps can cause when they update them (current version of Premiere is a joke of bugs) the update process itself has worked better for me than Avid’s as well. But that won’t matter for me anymore since I don’t have anymore updates ☺
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[Nick Mars] ” I guess my frustration stems more from the lack of transparency surrounding how that annual update plan worked. I got the perpetual along the same lines of logic, that it made more sense since I could use it until a significantly new OS or system dictated upgrading, then re-pay the 300 and upgrade”
No disrespect intended, but you misunderstood. Avid has been very clear all along, that if you skipped an annual renewal, you were locked into the last version in effect during your support period. But I suppose it depends on how closely you follow their pricing info. It certainly hasn’t always been that way in this exact same manner, but close.
[Nick Mars] “It just seems that systems last shorter and shorter amounts of time nowadays, so saying “you can use this version as long as you want” doesn’t mean in 2018 and onward what it would have meant in 2003, in terms of how long your OS is likely to function from a security standpoint (which is what really concerns me with outdated OS).”
Also, you don’t have to update the OS version every time. In fact, with Avid, it’s less useful than with other NLEs. But also, it’s going to depend on when you replace/upgrade your computer, since a new machine will come with a new/current OS version.
[Nick Mars] “current version of Premiere is a joke of bugs”
Hmmm…. Don’t see that at all. I’m running 7 systems at work, plus my own machine at home. Not to say that it’s bug-free, but I certainly don’t encounter anything major. Anything in particular you are running into?
– Oliver
Oliver Peters – oliverpeters.com
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