Perhaps more like a Cadillac Cimarron?
Not all expansion of product lines are good things. Some actually hurt the
brand.
One look at the drop down menu on Avid's Knowledgebase suggests they already
have enough separate products to manage. Hell, they barely list DS anywhere.
Symphony has separate marketing, separate distribution disks, separate
installers, separate documentation, separate support entries, separate
forums,etc. This is a lot of added corporate expense and real pain in the tail
for users. For what?
A product which has more in common with its siblings than not. More than the old
1000/8000/9000 line did.
If Symphony must exist at all, its features should be dongle or license unlocked
from the same core set of disks or downloads as Composer. It should share
documentation, support databases and knowledgebase entries. Since it is 90%
Composer, it is just too confusing to do it any other way. Many issues that
users have are with the common code.
While you are at it, just change the name to Composer Plus.
The savings could go into development.
But I contend Symphony should not exist. It has no individual merit.
I've come to resent every one of them we have bought. They are in essence forced
purchases, not items which are coveted or wished for. Metaphorically, my nose is
not pressed up to the showroom glass longing for the day I can buy an S-Class
Mercedes.
I barely see the value in what we buy. I am not excited about it. But I know we
need whatever advantage we can get via the increasingly meek color corrector and
down convert options.
Every time I reposition a graphic, deal with soft edged effects, work with
simple keys or attempt to deal with 10 bit material I am reminded that Symphony
is no S-Class. (this is the short version of the list)
I see Symphony for what it is a spit shined Chevy Cavalier with Recaro seats,
BBS Wheels and a fugly grill. That my friend is a Cadillac Cimarron. One of the
worst cars of all time.
The Cavalier isn't on the all time worst list because it knew what it was and so
did those who bought it. It may seem odd but the Cavalier met expectations and
had many more happy customers than the fancier Cimarron.
There is a huge difference between making a baby Mercedes by stripping down
features from flagship models with a history of engineering greatness and making
a high roller Cadillac by tacking on parts to an economy car.
Avid's own statement regarding "finding ways" leads me to believe they are
chasing the later.
A big mistake. For the 3rd time.
Terence, what leads you to believe this ends up different than Avid's past 2
tries at making a real "on-line" editor?
Are they willing to address and solve core deficiencies? Or are these new
Symphony features piled on top existing problems?
What would be the time frame for such a release? Could the product survive long
enough as it is in an increasing competitive market space without further
damage to the nameplate?
Even if they could pull it off, what premium is it worth?
A foggy solution that comes to mind is some sort of option packaging for
additions to Composer. Call them "plus packs" or something. 3d may be one
obvious area, but not many others come to mind. Hardware panels? 4:4:4 output?
An awful lot is considered standard equipment these days.
BUT DON'T GO FOR THE UNDERCOATING. Its a rip off.
Christopher Magid
RTVF
________________________________
From: Terence Curren <tcurren@aol.com>
To: Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, May 15, 2011 10:41:03 PM
Subject: [Avid-L2] Re: Hopeful news for Symphony
So Scott (with all due respect), "Old world thinking' is having more than one
level in a product line?
Like Free daVinci and paid daVinci and paid with a panel daVinci?
Or iMovie and FCP X?
Or Mercedes, C class, E class, S class?
Where in the history of business does it say it is better to only have ONE
product line?
Even Coke has a ton of different brands at different price points. Yes, you
could say they all are drinks and satisfy the same need, but they are each
distinct brands with their own price point and customer base.
I realize you have a bone to pick over the DS thing, but don't let it cloud your
vision of what Avid could achieve in the future. They will never be Apple. They
will never be Quantel. But there is a nice market position right in the middle
for a medium sized company who thinks the customer is important.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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