[Craig Seeman]

From Avid with cost comparison breakdowns.
https://www.avid.com/static/resources/common/documents/datasheets/Media_Composer/Media_Composer_License_Comparison_Guide_cs_A4.pdf

Note that subscribers get Symphony.

[Craig Seeman]

More details from Studio Daily.
https://www.studiodaily.com/2014/04/avid-adds-subscription-options-to-media-composer/

Users will also be able to buy Media Composer 8 outright for $1,299

[Craig Seeman]

Keep in mind that Avid’s position and business model is different than Adobe’s.

Currently one buys MC and may not upgrade when the time comes.

Now they offer a monthly rental option which, for some, might feel like a low price point of entry or a way to add a few extra seats shot term for a facility already using Avid.

For those who had been previously reluctant to upgrade to the next version due to cost, that cost may have dropped (assuming Avid upgrades annually) because it’s now only $299.

None of this is “coercive” like Adobe but if Avid brings in more revenue by adding a monthly rental option and subscription upgrades they’re better than before.

Ultimately what Avid now has:
A low point of entry competitive to Adobe.
A subscription for those who only avoided upgrades due to previously steeper pricing.
Flexibility for the Avid facility to “grow seats” for short term use. Maybe that’ll have impact on storage needs which is where Avid makes “real” money.
A program you still can use if you drop the subscription for a time. Something Adobe doesn’t offer.

I think this is a very good competitive response to Adobe and very good for Avid users and Avid itself.

[Craig Seeman]

As far as the numbers game go….
With Adobe stating 1.8 million CC subscribers, there’s an unknown portion who may actually be using Premiere Pro CC.
With Apple stating 1 million separate installs of FCPX there’s an unknown portion of who may actually be using it.

Even if both were at 50% (and we have no idea) that would be 900,000 vs 500,000 regular users. I think it may well speak to the small size of the industry.

Of course I can make wild conjecture that since Adobe has a significant DTP and Photo base that maybe the percentage of Premiere users as part of CC subscriptions might be smaller and there may be many AE users who are otherwise using Avid but, one can equally argue that a large number FCPX install kicked the tired and didn’t go further.

From Apple’s business perspective though, if there are a significant number of FCPX users who are regular users that might be a worthwhile pool of people to continue to push their more powerful Macs to.

[Craig Seeman]

[Franz Bieberkopf] “To continue receiving upgrades and support after the first year, perpetual licenses must be renewed annually for $299.”

So this would mean even if you buy the software you’d still need to renew for updates. While some might grumble about that, it’s still better than Adobe CC because if you decide not to renew you keep what you have.

[Franz Bieberkopf] “Software starts at $1,299 USD;”

Which would seem to be purchase price plus that first year of updates (sort of).

[Franz Bieberkopf] “Software subscription licensing starts at $50/month;”

So it would seem there’s either monthly or buy and annual subscription but no annual only subscription. Offhand I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

This could have been a model Adobe considered. I suspect Adobe felt that too few people would subscribe for the following year after a perpetual license purchase. I do think it makes sense for Avid though.

One thing not clear. Once you buy and you’re on the $299 subscription getting future upgrades, if you terminate do you keep the upgrades you’ve reached. My guess would be yes, unlike Adobe.

[Craig Seeman]

Too many possibilities without complete details… just as I didn’t know where your source was sitting in your first post. Please read the sticky at the top of this forum and describe as if you wanted me to build a matching system. Otherwise I can make a score of blind guesses ranging from memory issues, drive issues, file corruption, etc. Sorry there’s many possible reasons for this slow response.

I can only suggest some routine trouble shooting.
Repair Disk Permissions.
Create a New User Admin account so all user and app preferences are fresh.
Make source and destination on Desktop to avoid an external drives and/or file paths.
Test in Compressor and, if still not working, test in Quicktime Pro and/or MPEGStream (to eliminate Compressor as the problem)

[Craig Seeman]

No.

[Craig Seeman]

As a test try using Quicktime 7 Pro and/or MPEGStreamclip.
That might confirm if it’s a Compressor issue, a source file issue, a Compressor settings issue.

[Craig Seeman]

Apple Compressor 4.1.1 can encode and burn Blu-Ray disks (very primitive menu) but has settings that are easy to control. Changing the bit rate will change the size.

[Craig Seeman]

Sometimes I think it’s best to be the “Master of one’s own fate.” You could host with a server that gives you enough space. What you lose is the “social media viral” possibilities of the two biggest hosting sites but that may not be important.

There are other OVP companies but I can’t speak to their quality. IMHO if you want the best quality control do it yourself or a professional compressisonist if that’s not within your skill set.

You may want to look at VIdCompare OVP comparisons.
https://www.vidcompare.com