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.