and yet ANOTHER Videomaker Magazine article I wrote...

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a new article I wrote is in this month's VIDEOMAKER MAGAZINE in print and on the web! http://www.videomaker.com/article/15658-staying-current-with-post-production
 
(Adobe) New terms of service agreements are even now stating that if you do not upgrade, you might lose the license to use the software anyway.

That's pretty lame! When did that bs start? :huh:
 
Interesting. I assume Videomaker's target audience is consumer/prosumer level, so there are a few points in there that I wouldn't necessarily agree with, or that I would suggest is erring on the side of incorrect. I guess the target audience is not myself (?) and also considering the format and length of the article hardly lends itself to an in-depth analysis of 'keeping up with the times'.

Overall, a good article and an interesting read
 
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there are a few points in there that I wouldn't necessarily agree with, or that I would suggest is erring on the side of incorrect.

Oh? If we're civil, we can have a discussion without it turning into a flame war or a fight. I'm open to the debate if you are, as long as it stays cool.

Pretty sure this is only with the subscription purchase. I know with it that if you don't upgrade for 12 months you lose the licence because it works month by month

Nope, Adobe Premiere now puts a time limit on the legal usage of all their software, even if you purchase the whole discs. Adobe CS2 is no longer going to validate serial numbers via their server in less than 2 months, so even if you have a purchased, legal copy - you won't be able to register it and use it past 30 days.
 
Nope, Adobe Premiere now puts a time limit on the legal usage of all their software, even if you purchase the whole discs. Adobe CS2 is no longer going to validate serial numbers via their server in less than 2 months, so even if you have a purchased, legal copy - you won't be able to register it and use it past 30 days.

So what's with the whole free CS2 thing going on? Also how long till you lose the licence? CS2 is pretty old.... I suppose it is 7 years old
 
That's what that is about.... if you don't use the serial # and everything from the CS2 link (click here) your own copies will stop working soon, meaning if you reinstall CS2 on an old computer it will not register.
 
Oh? If we're civil, we can have a discussion without it turning into a flame war or a fight. I'm open to the debate if you are, as long as it stays cool.

Nothing major..

I guess my main gripe is the section about 'Broadcasting it' - the 'similar to VHS' format Betacam is still used for broadcast on some networks around the world (and was used quite a lot up until only a couple of years ago).
As well, television networks have had equipment to dub and transcode for a fair while now, but up until a few years ago they did have quality standards. These days it's cheaper to send someone they're already paying out with an iPhone than pay someone for their footage, unless it is some freak event where someone happened to be in the right place at the right time (I've seen entire live crosses done via Skype - wtf?). If you're talking about on-air playout, that's a different story, but most networks (unless you're talking really local stations) have had the equipment to dub files to a suitable playout format, just not the time to sit there and dub in real-time - hence the request that everything be sent in Betacam (up until a few years ago), which I guess also guaranteed a certain level of quality.

The only other place I take some kind of issue is regarding camera types and processing power needed to edit. Of course, extra processing power is always useful when editing anything, but very few of those who aren't simply home editors will use raw camera masters to edit. Most people will (or should!) transcode to a proxy for the offline edit, and then re-link in the online, and for grading etc. If you were going to be editing RED footage natively, you'd need a hell of a computer, and likely a RED Rocket card. But, you can easily transcode for the offline and edit on a standard machine. EDLs and XMLs are still heavily used at the top end (which is why everyone was so annoyed when FCX omitted such features).

The things you've written aren't really incorrect, which is moreso why I said they err on the side of incorrect rather than actually being incorrect - I can't really comment too much without knowing who the target audience is. It might be a perfect article for them.

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On archiving - cloud archival is an interesting option - archiving to Blu Ray is okay, though not my favourite option. I tend to keep a tape and optical master of projects, as well as a copy on a hard drive. I'm wary of optical disks, as I have 5-7 year old CD-Rs that simply don't read anymore.
At the moment, my upload speeds are such that a full HD ProRes 15 minute short would probably take about a year and a half to upload (no exaggeration), but I personally think cloud storage is a good idea because it's relatively low cost and allows you to have an external archive.

Also, that's annoying from Adobe, forced upgrade is not something I like, although it seems to be more and more of a reality these days - especially with the rate at which new formats are released, as well as new software and hardware (Avid MC 6 required the cost of the software upgrade itself, the cost of OS upgrade to minimum of OS X 10.7, and if you didn't have a 32-bit processor, you would've needed to upgrade your processor or computer..)
 
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I guess my main gripe is the section about 'Broadcasting it' - the 'similar to VHS' format Betacam is still used for broadcast on some networks around the world (and was used quite a lot up until only a couple of years ago).

The only thing BetaSP and VHS had in common were that they were both 1/2" tape. This is entirely different than the Sony consumer grade BETAMAX format. BetaSP, the broadcast format never ever released a deck with an MSRP under $6,000 (most were upwards of $20,000) and it was not consumer quality or priced for them to use. I think we are dealing with semantics because BetaSP is a purely professional format and VHS was never broadcast quality, at least to me.

Most people will (or should!) transcode to a proxy for the offline edit, and then re-link in the online, and for grading etc. If you were going to be editing RED footage natively, you'd need a hell of a computer, and likely a RED Rocket card.

I edited RED 4K footage (the R3D files directly) in 2009 with a mediocre machine (dual core, 2 gig of RAM) with Adobe Premiere Pro CS4.2 and it edited okay at 1/4 resolution, sans RED rocket card. I wound up transcoding to a proxy file purely for monitoring in 1080P on a 42" TV.

I agree that most people SHOULD edit with a proxy file, as Cineform and ProRes422 and Avid's DNxHD codecs are much better for editing and color correction.

I don't know how much post production you do, but this is from my practical experience. I stand by my article, and respect your contrary opinions.
 
Nope, Adobe Premiere now puts a time limit on the legal usage of all their software, even if you purchase the whole discs. Adobe CS2 is no longer going to validate serial numbers via their server in less than 2 months, so even if you have a purchased, legal copy - you won't be able to register it and use it past 30 days.

Am I the only one thinks this is ridiculous, an outrage, really? Or is there something I'm just not getting or considering that makes it reasonable?
 
Am I the only one thinks this is ridiculous, an outrage, really? Or is there something I'm just not getting or considering that makes it reasonable?

I have mixed feelings on the matter.

On principal, it is incredibly outrageous. I bought it, so I should be able to run it forever theoretically.

Realistically, I don't have the slightest use for a 7-8 year old copy of the programs and don't have a computer that can even run 16-bit software.
 
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