Just prior to the start of NAB ’99, Avid Technology altered its Avid Assurance technical support program, which had angered many in the editorial community when it was originally unveiled a little more than a year ago (SHOOT, 3/6/98, p. 1). But Avid editors responded to the latest program change with praise, saying the Tewksbury, Mass.-headquartered developer of Media Composer listened to its customers and responded to their needs.
The original Avid Assurance program came under fire last year for two primary reasons: It eliminated site licenses for multiple Avids by establishing per-system pricing; and it unbundled feature upgrades. Avid still does not intend to bundle feature upgrades. However, the new program does reestablish discounts for multiple Media Composer, Avid Xpress and Symphony systems. The essence of the new program is that it offers a 20% discount for support of two to five Avids; 30% discount for six to 10 systems, and a customized package for more than 10 systems.
In another show of interest in reaching the commercial community, Avid chairman/CEO Bill Miller made an appearance at the AICE annual meeting during NAB. At the meeting, Miller and Avid’s VP of worldwide customer support Jim Boutin discussed the new technical support plan and received kind words of thanks from customers. Miller and AICE emphasized the value of the improved dialogue between Avid and the trade association.
While the goodwill meeting was clearly a step forward for Avid and the editorial community, it also opened the next big debate. That is, Avid’s shift toward the NT platform for Media Composer.
As previously reported (SHOOT, 4/23, p. 1), Media Composer version 8.0 will be available for the Mac and NT platforms; version 9.0 will only support NT. Avid said it would continue to support the Mac. But Avid director of product marketing Tom Corn said users could expect upcoming Mac releases to offer maintenance and workflow improvements, not additional finishing tools.
Separately, Miller indicated that Media Composer R&D-representing about half of Avid’s annual R&D budget which exceeds $100 million-is increasing for NT and decreasing for the Mac. Miller explained that the Apple platform is a key reason for this shift of investment and cited numerous technological limitations. These announcements fueled speculation in the spot community that Avid would soon abandon the Mac platform, on which Media Composer has operated since it entered the market in the late ’80s.
Reactions
Of the revamped Avid Assurance program, AICE/East president Nitza From, who is president of Salamandra Images, said, "The discounts are very good. … I’m very happy because they started talking to us and listened to us. They responded in a very positive way."
Avid’s Boutin explained that the company had received complaints about the original Avid Assurance program from AICE as well as individual contract holders. He said the general feeling was that the price was too high for multiple system owners who know the technology and do not burden Avid support with frequent calls.
"We agreed," Boutin said. "We are acknowledging a set of Media Composer customers who understand the system." Boutin added that while offering discounts, Avid is also making improvements to the support services.
In the commercial community, Avid’s Media Composer is respected as the de facto standard for editorial. But it is that very commitment to the popular system that caused many emotional and mixed customer responses to the NT announcement.
"[Avid’s] pushing very hard for the NT [platform], but I think most of the editors would like to continue to work with the Mac," From said. "It’s expensive to change everything. The editors are happy with what they [currently] have."
"I’m happy. I’m disappointed. I’m encouraged. I’m discouraged," admitted AICE/East VP David Friedman, editor at djm Films, New York. "It’s ironic that we resolved the Avid Assurance issue and now have another huge investment [in NT] that we are going to have to make."
AICE board member Bob Friedrich, controller at New York-based First Edition, added, "from a financial point of view, it becomes a very costly proposition." Meanwhile, Avid’s Corn maintains that the cost of switching to NT would be "almost the same" as upgrading an existing Mac’s hardware.
But other editors, like New York-based Moving Pictures VP of postproduction Alan Miller, have no complaints about the NT platform. "It’s faster and just as or more reliable [than the Mac]," he commented. And having heard Avid’s explanation, AICE president John Palestrini acknowledged that it sounds like NT is now a better platform for the Media Composer.
"The cynical person in me still thinks Microsoft and Intel’s investment in Avid had some [influence]," commented Friedman. To that reasoning, Avid’s Miller responded, "Neither company has ever said anything to dissuade us from developing on the Mac."