Game Over, Adobe

[excited_Genie16B8]

With the release of DaVinci Resolve 14 and the full version price drop from $999 to $299, along with Premiere Pro's inability to handle CinemaDNG Feature Request I'm very hard pressed to renew my recently expired subscription.

DaVinci Resolve 14 What's New - YouTube

DaVinci Resolve 14 Editing - YouTube

DaVinci Resolve 14 Color - YouTube

I will miss Photoshop, and the familiarity of Premiere Pro.  I don't often use the other tools in the box.  But the new features in Resolve 14 and it's lower cost make those losses very easy to handle.

I bring this up here because competition is good for the consumer.  I encourage anyone sticking with Adobe to keep filing those feature requests, because Premiere Pro suddenly has a loooong, uphill battle just to keep up, let alone pull ahead.

Feature Request/Bug Report Form

[Trevor_Asq]

Resolve14 not released, only public beta and very buggy - fairlight is really only there as a tab so far, barely any functionality.

I downloaded it on my laptop to see what's new. The facial tracking feature in Colour tab is fantastic. Havent much looked at the Edit tab though. Did try a multicam sync by audio, 4 x 50' clips. Took about 8 seconds!

Hopefully the speed improvements will make R14 usable as an editor, to the stage where BMD start getting useful feedback from the quantity of editors that Avid had from about 1992 and Adobe have been getting in more recent years. Only then are the editorial tools likely to improve significantly. The price will help that penetration though.

Having been an advocate for an 'all-in-one' solution for a long time, I do worry that it may be very tricky for BMD to keep development going on so many fronts. I see there isn't a Fusion/VFX tab yet, and TBH the interchange workflow (Avid or PP <-> Resolve, Resolve <-> Fusion) is pretty sweet at this stage.

Completely agree that competition is good (how long until Avid promise a ProTools tab?) and good luck in your brave new Resolve world, thanks for your help here in the past.

[excited_Genie16B8]

TBH the interchange workflow (PP <-> Resolve) is pretty sweet at this stage.

I didn't care for it, myself  Found it less than ideal and better overall to stick with one or the other for the full pipeline.

[SiliconPixel]

I've been using Premiere Pro since the very first version, so a very long time user. I must say that I'm completely underwhelmed by this release - it feels so half-baked and just something to release before NAB. Putting aside the bugs and crashes I've already seen in Premiere, Resolve does look more and more tempting. I'm glad there's serious competition as hopefully this will spur Adobe on rather than resting on their laurels like they seem to be doing (given how much money their making from subs).

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hello SiliconPixel,

Putting aside the bugs and crashes I've already seen in Premiere

Can you be more specific? Let us know here.

Thanks,
Kevin

[shooternz]

I would like to think that Resolve (EDITING)  works as well as advertised and I have trialed the progress of the releases  from the start.

None of them have got near Premiere...which for me.. always works.

[excited_Genie16B8]

None of them have got near Premiere

That was my experience as well...until Resolve 14.

[shooternz]

None of them have got near Premiere

That was my experience as well...until Resolve 14.

I will be trying it on my current project.  Will cut it in PPro first so that I have a valid comparison.  The learning curve will be fun!!!

[excited_Genie16B8]

Will cut it in PPro first so that I have a valid comparison.

Not just a comparison, but an actual product.  Like Trevor said earlier, Resolve 14 is very beta software.

But the change list is also very exciting.  BMD really stepped up their game and handled the deficiencies in 12.5.

[Dave Merchant]

Until Adobe starts supporting compressed cDNG, many of us are firmly glued to Resolve no matter what the future pricing models may be. Resolve is switching from HSMs (dongles) to license keys and there's uncertainty whether they will be version-specific, perpetual or subscription. Unlike the vitriol that flowed when Adobe announced subscriptions, on the Resolve forum there are people asking for paid upgrades so they can support the company in rolling out more features.

Oh, in case the graybeards missed their press release, Avid Media Composer is now free.

Realistically if someone's starting out in video (personally or in school) I don't see a reason not to use one of these packages. Their manufacturers have hardware sales to make money, but the user's don't need to buy any of it - if the free software edits a cellphone video and uploads something with a cat in it to InstaToobFace™, they're winning.

Maybe one day Premiere Elements will be free, and students can use it to edit their cellphone videos of all those flying pigs.

[Warren Heaton]

Dave, you got me a little excited about using Media Composer again, but it's a scaled down version that's free, called Media Composer First (Media Composer | First - Get Notified ).

Although, Media Composer at $49/month is still great compared to the $120,000 price tag of the 1990s, $60,000 price tag of the 2000s and software only version at $3,000 just five years ago or so.

-Warren

[excited_Genie16B8]

Resolve is switching from HSMs (dongles) to license keys

You sure about that?  Thought I read somewhere that 14 will still use a USB dongle.

[Dave Merchant]

Resolve 14 will be license-key-based when released. The public beta still uses dongles because the licensing servers aren't running yet. At this time no details on how floaty (or not) the licensing will be and how often it pings the servers - the advantage of dongles over Adobe's 'talk to the cloud' model is that you can install and activate Resolve on any machine without an Internet connection, which is pretty essential on location. Resolve, for reasons nobody has explained, will not just revert to the free version if your license is missing.

BM have confirmed that everyone with a USB will be issued a free key for R14. More info on their forum, can't post links to "competitor" websites here.

[excited_Genie16B8]

Thanks, Dave.

[Greg Popp]

Been appreciative of your support here, Jim.  And I hear you loud and clear.  I'm a TV commercial director, and on set I find myself forever drooling over the work that's quickly done on Resolve by DITs huddled away in their black tents.  But I put my faith in SpeedGrade (software I still love) and believed Adobe would do everything in their power to make it a decent 2nd place option to Resolve for pro grading (sorry, the essential color panel doesn't cut it).  The learning curve and price point for Resolve Studio (I need 4K) kept me away. 

But no longer.  At $299, I'll dip my toes in for color finishing if nothing else.  And then I'll start to play with the sound and edit functionality.  Unlike you, I won't be able to abandon ship quite so completely.  But who knows, with time, I might not be far behind.

[Media Editor]

Sorry to see you go.  As you ride off into the sunset, I am sure that you have some great memories!!!

[Alan_Craven]

You amaze me, Jim!

I have always viewed you as being Adobe to the core.

When I  read down the thread and see ShooterNZ wavering as well, it looks as thoiugh the end of the world as I have known it is upon us.

For myself, I shall stick to CS6 for the time being, but advancing years and infirmity mean that lugging my EX3 and a couple of big Nikon telephotos around is getting to be beyond me.  I have been looking at the new Panasonic GH5, and whilst CS6 will accept the more limited codecs available, if I want to use  the one that I would wish, I shall be forced to move on from Premiere CS6.  Adobe may rest assured that my move will not be to the Creative Cloud!

Michael, 6.5 brings back happy memories - Adobe did not need the wild horses to drag us to update to the latest version back then!

[excited_Genie16B8]

I have always viewed you as being Adobe to the core.

I like the company, but at the moment, their products do not serve my needs.  (Which is ironic, because I need software that will properly handle Adobe's own CinemaDNG format.)

It looks very much like Resolve 14 will serve my needs. So, off I go.

Adobe could win me back, but honestly, I'd be shocked if they were able to catch up to Resolve 14's color and audio power even within the next two years.  BMD hit the turbo button with Resolve's development, leaving Adobe choking on their dust.

[Alan_Craven]

Jim, your voice will be missed on these forums.  I hope that Resolve works well for you.  I suspect I shall be making the same move shortly.

You may recall that I was amoing those who held out against this move to perpetual "upgrades" from the start, believing that it would inevitably end this way - dodgy bells and whistles, rather than solid development of needed features.  I reckon that I use only 10% of the bells and 5% of the whistles provided by CS6, but it has the features that I do want, and they work day in, day out.

Happy editing!

[RoninEdits]

hopefully blackmagic can keep improving resolve at a good pace, its a very exciting time for resolve. i have been using resolve for some time now, even with its nle limitations, and i don't see adobe changing their behavior to get my attention back.

if you are looking for an alternative to photoshop, this program is a popular choice.  Affinity Photo - Professional image editing software  

[excited_Genie16B8]

Thanks for the tip.