Following all the uncertainly of the support plans and what would be included, or not included, Avid have today released the upgrade plans. In addition they have announced at there will be a package to be able to buy Pro Tools 11 software with standard support coming soon.
Upgrade or Crossgrade to Pro Tools 11
For $199 per year you can upgrade to Pro Tools 11 with 1 year of Avid Standard Support from any of the following versions of Pro Tools…
- Pro Tools 11 - to get the benefits of the support plan
- Pro Tools 9 or 10
- Any version of Pro Tools Express either from Avid or InMusic
- Any version of Pro Tools LE
- Pro Tools M-Powered 6 to 8
- Pro Tools MP 9
Please note if you own Pro Tools Express, Pro Tools LE, and Pro Tools M-Powered/MP you must complete the upgrade before December 31st 2014. After that the only way to get Pro Tools 11 will be to buy a full version.
Upgrade to Pro Tools 11HD
For $599 per year you can upgrade to Pro Tools 11HD with 1 year of Avid Advanced Support from any of the follwing versions of Pro Tools…
- Pro Tools 11HD - to get the benefits of the support plan
- Pro Tools 9HD or 10HD
- Pro Tools 9 or 10 with Complete Production Toolkit (CPTK)
If you place your upgrade order for Pro Tools 11 or Pro Tools 11HD before December 31st 2014 Avid will extend your support plan through to March 31st 2016.
Avid are claiming that these prices offer savings of up to 60% over previous upgrade pricing and include a support plan as well.
Buy Pro Tools Software
For $899, soon you will be able to buy a copy of Pro Tools 11 software with 1 year of Avid Standard Support. Avid will be phasing out the $699 versions of Pro Tools that don’t include a standard support plan, so that in the future you will only be able to buy or upgrade to Pro Tools with standard support.
What Do You Get With Standard Support?
- Unlimited billing and admin cases with a one business day response time
- Software upgrades for the duration of the support plan
- Unlimited numbers of troubleshooting incidents reported on line with a one business day response time
- One troubleshooting incident reported on the phone per month
- You can buy additional phone based support incidents at $40 per case
What Do You Get With Standard Support?
- Unlimited billing and admin cases with a one business day response time
- Software upgrades for the duration of the support plan
- Unlimited numbers of troubleshooting incidents reported on line with a one hour response time
- Unlimited numbers of troubleshooting incidents reported on the phone per month with a one hour response time
Observations On The New Upgrade Schemes
It is very clear from the pages on the Avid site and the updated FAQ pages that Avid want all users to join the support plans. They talk about “perpetual licenses with support plans” and requiring users to sign up to a support plan or one of the yet to be announced “flexible support options” before the end of 2015.
If you buy a hardware package that doesn’t include a support plan like the new Duet or Quartet or Pro Tools HD Native for example then before the end of 2015 you will also need to buy the appropriate support plan package as well if you want to keep upgrading your Pro Tools software to the latest version.
Any Pro Tools license currently available will continue to work, hence the phrase “perpetual license”, but if you don’t sign up to a support plan you won’t be able to keep it up to date.
It would appear that you will be able to buy back into a support plan if you allow it to lapse but currently it is not clear now this would work.
Any Pro Tools LE user wanting to upgrade to Pro Tools 11 will need to provide the hardware serial number for your Pro Tools interface. Providing an LE software authorisation code won’t be enough. They clearly want to make sure you own the appropriate Pro Tools hardware as well.
Key Upgrade FAQs
Q. Will my Pro Tools license stop working at the end of the one-year support period?
A. No, you can continue to use Pro Tools after your upgrade/support period expires. However, if you want to continue receiving upgrades, you will need to renew your upgrade/support plan. Customers will have through the end of 2015 to get on an upgrade/support plan.
Q. Will I have to surrender my old license when I upgrade to Pro Tools 11?
A. Yes. However, when you upgrade, you will receive a single bundled license for both versions 10 and 11 from Avid.
Q: If I upgrade to Pro Tools HD 11 with this new plan, can I still run Pro Tools HD 10 on my TDM hardware?
A. Yes. Avid will continue to include a perpetual Pro Tools HD 10 license in this offer until at least the end of 2016.
Q: How does this new offer affect education versions of Pro Tools?
A: The new Pro Tools Academic license will include the same upgrade/support plan as the new version of Pro Tools 11. Academic users will need to verify their status through Identit-e.
Q: I have an academic version of Pro Tools with 4 years of paid upgrades for $99. How does this affect me and can I get the upgrades in 2015?
A: You can upgrade for $99. This will include the 12 months of standard Avid Support including all upgrades that will be available in 2015. Academic users will need to re-verify your EDU status through Identit-e.
Q: Will there be any changes in Pro Tools 11 Academic Upgrades from 9, 10, LE etc?
A: Yes. The upgrades/crossgrades include the 12 months of standard Avid Support, including all upgrades and cloud collaboration features that will be available in 2015.
Q: I purchased an older Academic version of Pro Tools with 4-years of no cost upgrades, what happens now?
A: If you fall within the 4-year free upgrade window, you will continue to receive upgrades at no cost until your 4-year period is over.
So there you have it, the brave new world of Pro Tools software that will keep working but you can only keep up to date if you have a valid and current support plan.