So in surmation. for about $13000, $10K for DS and $3K for a kona card i can have a high end finishing tool would have cost me $75K just two or three years ago. Not including a cpu and all the fixings of course. Very interesing. I think I need to have a talk with my boss

tonyjover:

I think we need some clarification here.

Firstly, DS doesn't (currently) support Long-GOP source media.  Therefore, any format that uses Long-GOP (like XDCamEX HD) must firstly be transcoded.  MC is a good tool for performing this transcoding and the transcoded media will then play natively in DS.

DS natively handles DPX, Red, Cine, and many more high-end file formats, all the way up to uncompressed 4:4:4.

True, but not all users are working in the high end.  And I don't think it is good to marginalize DS to only the high end.  The more users, the more development.  Features like AMA are bringing some people back to MC.  DS needs that kind of love also.  And the new software version of DS is a big step in the right direction.  I just wanted to make sure potential DS buyers understand why they are getting a copy of MC.

tonyjover:

Secondly, the copy of MC bundled with DS is exactly the same as anyone would buy for $5k direct from Avid.  I don't know what you mean when you refer to it as being "not as portable" or "normal license"; it's a fully-functional extra seat of Media Composer which can be installed on any computer within (or indeed outside) your facility.

I stand corrected.  I went back and found an email where I thought I got that and I see now how I mixed up.  I am sorry for the confusion there.

tonyjover:

Because I've kept it dongle licensed, it's easy to 'steal' the dongle for 5 minutes

Since new MC systems do not get dongles, I would be surprised if DS system would provide dongles with this MC license.

tonyjover:

Why?  I do so every day of my working life.  Okay, I had to purchase BCC for DS, but that's only possible because Avid worked closely with Boris to achieve a high-level of conform from MC with BCC to DS with BCC.

Sorry, I should have said "Unless you spend the money on Boris CC for DS".  It is not the capablility but the cost I am talking about.

In a way this is like the time when Symphony and MC had Fluid Motion timewarps.  The "lower end"  product is being sold with a feature that the "higher end" product does not have.  Yes, yes, yes, I know I can buy it.  Boris CC raises the cost of the DS system.  It does not raise the price of MC.

tonyjover:

I do wish that Avid FX (basically a version of Boris Red that's been ported to MC) was available for DS, because if that's been used in the offline, then it's a pig to recreate on DS. Sometimes impossible.

Avid Pan and Zoom is my pet peeve.  Just spent a couple of hours rebuilding moves on stills in DS because the offline editor used that.

Once again - Advance Conform saves the day.  Well at least it is not Total Conform.

Glans:

So if you get Media Composer 5 for free when buying DS, will there be a discount for those who already own Media Composer 5 to lower the price with the sum of the cost of Media Composer 5?

Feels kinda weird that I payed alot of money for MC and then you get it for free with DS.
Is it just me?

It certainly isn't me. What you can do is sell your MC license, which will net you probably very close to what any "fair" discount would have been anyway.

Glans:

I think lightworks open source is a good alternative to DS?

That was a joke, right?

Tony

Doc_Holiday:

So in surmation. for about $13000, $10K for DS and $3K for a kona card i can have a high end finishing tool would have cost me $75K just two or three years ago.

Yes, but your home-built system won't carry any Avid support on the hardware.  I guess a better comparison would be that for $59,995 (current price of a turnkey system) you can buy a system that would have cost you $75k a couple of years ago.  With advances in technology that also means that today you get a 16TB drive array instead of 2TB, and a Z800 instead of a 9300.

If you're not bothered about Avid hardware support then you can get a suitably specced Z800 for around $5k, plus of course you need some SAS storage.

Tony 

Doc_Holiday:

So in surmation. for about $13000, $10K for DS and $3K for a kona card i can have a high end finishing tool would have cost me $75K just two or three years ago.

You are forgetting the CPU, though.

Glans:

if Media Composer 5 is worth $5K

Media Composer sells commercially for nowhere near 5K. Not even half that.

Job ter Burg:

You are forgetting the CPU, though.

not if they already own a z800 / 8600 / MacPro with MC on it already.....

Am I the only one disappointed by another stagnant no feature DS release?

For what you get, $10k is a steal. Ill give it that. But they haven't added a single major feature in years.

The 3d DVE is still unusable, the color corrector and keyers are still tedious to use and years behind the competition.

DS has a lot of great things going for it. It was the perfect machine for a crazy political season for me this past year. The flexibility of the timeline and trees are wonderful.

But with smoke closing the price gap quickly, and adding actual real features with each release, I worry that DS's days could be numbered

Hi,

And the cost of the upgrade from DS v10.2 ?

Thanks,

Laurentiu

ummmm...

-or-

One could say the port to w7, open hardware & platforms ensures the future..

And there's a ton of new features in the last year and change... including keyers - a new 3D keyer in 10.2 for example.

So yea, we need a control surface for the CC, layers directly insde the CC module, and the ablity to import 3D camera data... but DS seems to be heading forward... and the open hardware and modern OS may make it easier to get to the drivers for say - the euphonix control surface...

d/

I'm really excited by the new pricing. I was actually a little confused that so few seemed as blown away (as I am) by what is offered!

...and until hell freezes over and Batch gets dropped into Smac I can't see any real compition for DS going forward.

This is really going to make a massive difference to our Post capability.

Michael L

Michael16oz:

I was actually a little confused that so few seemed as blown away (as I am) by what is offered!