Avid License... yet more confusion?

License changes - does it affect you?

I lnow I'm a little slow getting this out there but here's my take on the announcement from Avid at NAB and its new licensing proposal.

As you know Avid licensed all of its system via the use of a physical 'Dongle' This is a USB device (I assume nobody still has the parallel dongles used on the Meridien based systems from many moons ago.) which licenses the machine that it is attached to. With the arrival of later versions of MediaComposer (as well as Symphony and NewsCutter for that matter) came the software license. This license required a user to license the MediaComposer software to a specific machine over the internet (the licenses is tied to the machines MAC address) Deactivation is also carried out online when the software needs to be moved between machines. Both these license types are perpetual, meaning that the system can continue to be used indefinitely, unless the user wish to upgrade to a later version whereby an upgrade could be purchased.

With Avids 'Avid Everywhere' message from NAB 2014 new license models were announced.

The floating license option, which was previously only available within education, will now be released to large houses needing a 'first come, first served' model where a large number of systems are in use.

The NEW license type is something that brings the idea of the license closer to that of Adobe with a subscription license. From Avid press release...

Media Composer | Software subscription licensing--With new monthly and annual Media Composer subscription options (available in Q2), Avid has significantly lowered the cost of entry to the industry's most trusted editing tool. Customers can now gain access to the latest Media Composer toolset, support, and upgrades on a low-cost monthly or annual basis, or own the software outright for $1,299 USD and get one year of Avid support and upgrades, with additional upgrades available thereafter through annual support plan renewal. .  

...To continue receiving upgrades and support after the first year, perpetual licenses must be renewed annually for $299.

On the face of this all is well, but it transpires that Avid may well be saying that if you have a dongle that is blessed for version 5.5 and you do not take out annual support contract on it by the end of the year. When you wish to upgrade your dongle version up to the imminent Media Composer 8 you may well have to pay for a full license again?

I'm going to be speaking with my reseller just to make sure I get clarification on this, I would suggest you do the same.

As I find out more I'll post it.

Its also worth noting that NewsCutter will also be saying fair well as the NRCS (News Room Computer System)  tool becomes a software option for MediaComposer.

The Root6 blog also explains the new licensing in great detail too.