I have a question about using two systems.

I am working with version5 and considering upgrading before midnight.  I am working on a perpetual project with no downtime, and I will probably do the actual upgrade in a month or two.  My 2010-era Mac Pro 2.66 Ghz Quad-core Intel Xeon currently running 10.6.8 will probably need to be replaced to be fast enough to run the new software.  During the transition, I would like to be able to revert back to my version 5 system if there are any bugs or complications  (Oh, there WILL be bugs). No time to mess around when there are deadlines.

QUESTION:  Will I be able to de-activate version 8 and fire up version 5 on the old system if I have problems, or does the new license shut me out of my old Avid?

Also, I am currently using Photoshop CS4 version 11. 

QUESTION:  Will a new Mac make this software version obsolete?

 

Barry

The Electric Wallpaper Co.:

I am working with version5 and considering upgrading before midnight.  I am working on a perpetual project with no downtime, and I will probably do the actual upgrade in a month or two.

You can just order the contract and not upgrade your dongle or software license for as long as you like. No need to do the actual upgrade today at all.

The Electric Wallpaper Co.:

QUESTION:  Will I be able to de-activate version 8 and fire up version 5 on the old system if I have problems, or does the new license shut me out of my old Avid?

If you do upgrade your dongle or license, you will be limited in which older versions you can launch. See: http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/compatibility/Using-a-Media-Composer-8-0-Symphony-Option-or-NewsCutter-Option-license-to-activate-a-previous-version for details.

The Electric Wallpaper Co.:

Will a new Mac make this software version obsolete?

It is highly unlikely that you will successfully run v5 on a brand new Mac, mostly because the new Macs will run Yosemite, and that is nowhere near qualified for MC5.

Finally, do take into account that upwards compatibility with MC is generally very good. So you could even consider just moving forward and complete your ongoing project in a newer version of MC. Biggest caveat would be plugins. Your older AVX plugins in MC5 are 32-bit and won't work in MC v6 or later. Some AudioSuite effects have not been ported to AAX (the new audio plugin format since v8.1).

Job ter Burg:

You can just order the contract and not upgrade your dongle or software license for as long as you like. No need to do the actual upgrade today at all.

That I understand clearly.  The question is:

The Electric Wallpaper Co.:

QUESTION:  Will I be able to de-activate version 8 and fire up version 5 on the old system if I have problems, or does the new license shut me out of my old Avid?

The Electric Wallpaper Co.:

The question is:

The Electric Wallpaper Co.:

QUESTION:  Will I be able to de-activate version 8 and fire up version 5 on the old system if I have problems, or does the new license shut me out of my old Avid?

And my answer still is:

Job ter Burg:

If you do upgrade your dongle or license, you will be limited in which older versions you can launch. See: http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/compatibility/Using-a-Media-Composer-8-0-Symphony-Option-or-NewsCutter-Option-license-to-activate-a-previous-version for details.

The spreadsheet there shows that once your dongle (if you have one) is blasted to v8, you can no longer use v5.x, but you can still use 5.5.4 or 6.0.5.1 or 6.5.4.2 or 7.0.4. If you have a SW license for v8, that won't let you use v5.x, but it only lets you run 6.5.4.2 or 7.0.4.

Sorry, Job ter Burg.

Your response got truncated on my screen and I only saw the top half of it for some reason.

Thanks for the info.

Based on the fact that upgrading to version 8 effectively shuts down my version 5 Avid, I'm going to pass on the upgrade.  I can't take the chance that version 8 won't work properly right out of the gate and I have no option to fire up my old system to meet a deadline. Not worth the risk.

Barry

Your choice. But you CAN upgrade your license without activating it, and that allows you to do the actual software upgrade whenever you want. In the meantime, you can still run v5.

Job ter Burg:

It is highly unlikely that you will successfully run v5 on a brand new Mac, mostly because the new Macs will run Yosemite, and that is nowhere near qualified for MC5.

Oh, just to be clear, I would not try to run MC5 on a new Mac.  I would be keeping it on the old Mac Pro as a back-up system, and de-activating 8 in order to re-activate it in case of emergency.

Barry

OK, in that case, if you don't want to lose the right to upgrade your license in the future, get the upgrade, and upgrade your old system to 5.5.4. You can then always revert to that. 5.5 was a popular version, 5.5.4 is its most up-to-date version. No hassle with AVX or AudioSuite, both would still be the same as in v5.

Job ter Burg:

Your choice. But you CAN upgrade your license without activating it, and that allows you to do the actual software upgrade whenever you want. In the meantime, you can still run v5.

 

To add to that and re-emphasize... if you do not  upgrade your license TODAY it will cost you an extra $1000 to do so later.

 

smrpix:

To add to that and re-emphasize... if you do not  upgrade your license TODAY it will cost you an extra $1000 to do so later.

Or to use any current version in the future you COULD change to Subscription but that would cost you $300 more annually than keeping your Perpetual licence with an annual Support contract starting today