Slow down the release cycle

[Sterphy]

I get Adobe changed to this annual release cycle when it moved to a subscription model and they wanted to make it seem like we're getting our money's worth - but we've accepted that the subscription model is here to stay, so we don't need this ridiculous rushed out cycle any more.  It's not helping anyone or anything, it's actually a hinderance and I'm actually quite sick of being a beta tester for a product I pay for annually. Let's go back to the days of stable software and features that have the kins worked out before release. 

Thanks

[R Neil Haugen]

Rants are fine, especially if they actually have a suggestion in them ... and I've certainly posted epic ones here.

Although one of my main things to do here is help & learn, and from basic rants, can't do either. So naturally I'm curious which of the current several issues you are having.

If it's the problems with the 50 series Nvidia cards, that is not an "Adobe" issue, but one across all video post apps. A rep from Nvidia has posted on this forum that they hope to have those problems fixed with a new studio driver to be released (current schedule) on September 30. Only how many months after initial release of those cards? Sheesh.

There is apparently a memory issue on some Macs I've seen posted, but we're total PC in our shop, so no experience there.

Of the several other things I would note ... there are far fewer users with painful issues after most releases now than say back in 2019 or so. This forum used to explode for posts every patch update ... and it isn't just that more people are posting on other things, I'm on Facebook groups also.

There aren't as many users hitting most of the 'main' problems now. As a percentage of course.

But the total user base has had a truly massive jump, so a small percentage is still a decent number of people.

And as someone who's daily in Resolve ... and teaches that app to colorists ... since BlackMagic went after adopting Adobe's one thing for all users/hardware/media/workflow concept, they've now run into far more 'buggy' behavior than they used to.

I think that is inherent in trying to cover all bases. Ah well.

[Sterphy]

It's not a rant at all, it's a genuine request.  It's not just the bugs and the random changes they introduce, it's a far bigger issue when you're not working alone.  Part of my job is coordinating various teams of editors across the company, between the UK and the US, and the freelance editors that come and go.  Adobe arbitrarily churning through versions because they still think it's needed to justify their subscription model is making my life so much harder.  So not a rant, it's what I think would be objectively better. 

[MarekMularczyk]

My guess is it just follows what all other companies do. All subscription-based software I know gets a new major release every year. And it's the same with ther stuff like phones, a new phone model every year 😉

[R Neil Haugen]

There is merit in what Marek says, of course. 

But Life always moves on, ever, and always. If Adobe wants to stay in business and be relevant continuously into any future, they must update, modify, and change.

There's a new release of all pro video post apps every year, Resolve, Baselight, you name it.

And they all have updates and patches through that yearly cycle. Managing that is simply a normal and expected part of this industry.

Unsettling as it can be.

[Sterphy]

Off the top of my head Pro Tools doesn't release annually, VS code doesn't, Reaper doesn't, Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, Affinity Publisher, C4D has started moving away from it - so it doesn't HAVE to be annual, and more to the point Adobe has poor compatibility and they're just bad at it.  I don't have the same headaches with any other software provider - and as I pointed out, Adobe believes that it's in their interests as a business to release annually, I would argue that releasing at a cadence they can manage and spending the time actually innovating would make for a better user experience. 

[R Neil Haugen]

Understood. I'll note that there are several million daily users of Premiere. Most of whom are just working away. The percentage of users with troubles at any one time is not high, not even as much as several years ago.

If you're one with issues though it's a major problem. Been there done that.

And Avid is getting a bit of a rep for being long in the tooth. ProTools is still a major thing, but almost more of habit and tradition than anything else. Many of the Avid people i know would appreciate some updating. As long as it didn't muck their workflows naturally.

[Sterphy]

I don't particularly care about the millions of users. Most of them aren't going to be doing it daily for their job, and every production company I have worked for the editors have complained about Premiere. Have millions of people got to post in here before they address their own failings? 

[R Neil Haugen]

They have addressed many things, I'll give them that. As a company that naturally needs to make customers happy, given their user numbers keep going up, well, most users are at least not incredibly bothered. 

Do they have things that could or should be different? Of course. I've got ny own list of things that are wrong and should have been changed long ago, and of things I'd like to see. I assume everyone does.

As an also daily user of Resolve, I've got even more things i think should be changed there than Premiere. I know some of the major episodic and long-form colorists based in Resolve, and they all have their list of issues that haven't been fixed since R12, and things for which they have their recommended work-arounds.

In the past Resolve at least had fewer crashes and hardware issues. But those days have mostly gone.

These are nothing but fancy hammers, imperfectly created by imperfect humans. Use what works to get the work out the door.

And push for changes you think should happen. I wish more users did. We'd all be better served.

[Sterphy]

Sure, but at a certain point there's no point letting a massive company like Adobe off the hook for their continued downward spiral. I only keep my CC subscription going because AE has no real competition at the moment for what I do.  Were you unhappy before they settled on an annual release cycle? I wasn't. I am now. Lots of people are. They'd make a better product if they didn't rush it out - they made a rod for their own back

[R Neil Haugen]

I didn't see any difference between quality in the pre-CC era to after. Except they actually have fewer issues blanking out large sections of the users now than 3-4 years ago.

Back in days of Yore, "we" would pay the $650 or so for a new box version with no idea how it would work on our machine. That was always ... exciting, shall we say. It's far more flexible now for using a build that works on your machine.

And if you don't find it usable, go to another app. I use both Premiere and Resolve, although I really dislike Resolve's UI. But some good friends LOVE that UI so cool.

I personally don't see getting emotional about large corporations. They build tools. That's all.

[real_5081]

Ignorant comment. Phone companies don't release a broken phone every year, promise to fix it in the next version and then just release the same thing again but worse and now your apps don't work. 

Honestly, Adobe needs fewer people shilling for them in these forums and maybe they can address their obvious decline as a company. The share price is where it's at for a reason. 

[real_5081]

I don't care what other companies do. We're talking about Adobe and they suck at it. You have to admit that AE has become a joke 

[R Neil Haugen]

Fascinating comments, such insight. 

I personally am not omnicient, like some seem to be, nor do I shill for companies. I've posted epic rants here on occasion, and other places. 

But I've never understood those who get emotionally involved with a company, for crying out loud. They make tools ... and every one of them is simply a group of humans with all the foibles that come with that. In my experience, each app has its strengths and its issues.

Use what works for you. In my rather nice woodshop, I've got several hammers on the wall in various places. I've never paid any attention to the brand, they're a tool.

I use several apps daily ... and am in contact with a faily number of pretty advanced through begginners in all of them. I do what works with that tool. And move on.

[real_5081]

Do you have any hammers in your workshop that you are forced to have because your employer insists you and your colleagues use that brand of hammer, but the people who make that hammer come and replace it every year with a worse hammer that they promise can do all sorts of new things, but is objectively worse at the things it used to do? And that hammer company is run by marketing execs who really don't care about the obvious and rapid decline of the hammers they make because you're locked into a subscription for the foreseeable future, and even though the hammer company's stick price is also tanking they will not admit (even to themselves) that they need to change course and listen to criticism? Meanwhile half of the nails no longer work because they were designed for a previous version of the hammer? 

Sounds ridiculous doesn't it? Well this is exactly why I hate getting up and doing my job in recent years 

[R Neil Haugen]

Hey, I totally understand your frustration. It's largely why I chose to become my own employer many years ago, and always have been since.

Neither you nor I can fix bad choices by others. We can, however, choose what we do with our futures.

And people have been posting here continually since the first CC apps came out that "Adobe is tanking" ... and it's larger than ever. Ah well ...

[real_5081]

Sure, and what have decided to do is to voice my frustrations at the people who are, in my opinion and in the opinions of countless users, failing to deliver a paid for product to a reasonable standard. And given that this is a subscription service I should be able to voice that whenever I want. That's the point of a capitalist society. 

Also after 15+ years of using Adobe products I wouldn't say they have ever been this bad. Years ago for me it was more "it would be nice if they did x", but that has turned into genuine anger of "HOW HAVENT THEY FIXED THIS YET? WHY IS THIS WORSE? OH, MY PAID PLUGINS DONT WORK IN THIS NEW VERSION?!"  You can say they are bigger than ever, but there's a reason why their share price is lower than it was 5 years ago...