In the whatever it's worth category...

I own two other PC based NLE's besides Avid Media Composer. For the sake of this discussion, it's irrelevant which ones they are, suffice it to say they are very popular applications.

I have religiously updated these apps, annually, when a new release is made available. Without exception, new releases are always ALWAYS frought with bugs and errors of the most pernicious kind. Users, in the respective forums, complain bitterly about the lack of QC/QA in these releases.

My own experience is that Media Composer is on the better end of this spectrum. Sure there's problems with new releases, but, it's nowhere near what these other NLE releases experience. Trust me, this is fairly benign, and, one of the reasons I like MC.

Guys, reread sasha1's post, he's talking abot the webstore pages, not the application! Anyhow, as far as I understand MC has been released a few days ago while it was scheduled for september the 30th, let's give these people of the Avid webstore a break, they've had to catch up with a release released in advance of the planned date! Moreover, regarding software bugs, I did work as a beta tester when I was a student, real world is different than beta testing: one can't come across every single bug in a complex software, or else a very long testing period with many many testers would be required, period. Sometimes a feature works as it should, but then if You run it after doing a certain sequence of actions it does not work anymore; so say that I test mix and match and it works, but the end user imports PAL clips in an NTSC project with the title tool open, or Word running in the background, or after using colour correction, or whatever, and mix and match does not work as expected anymore, can You test a given feature in all possible scenarios? Yes You could, but releasing a newer version of any software would take quite a long time: goodbye frequent updates to include support for XDCAM, P2, You name it; and by the time You have XDCAM and P2 support SUPER XDCAM and P3 are out... and You'll get support for those when ULTRA XDCAM and P4 are out, and so on. As a long time Avid user I see that the company has improved a lot in "bugs management", and implementing features requested by users too, and to be fair on Avid: even in the not so good old days when it was a major problem they fixed it fast.

luca.mg:

real world is different than beta testing: one can't come across every single bug in a complex software, or else a very long testing period with many many testers would be required

Alright... MC 4 is out, when will http://www.avid.com/products/Media-Composer-Software/index.asp be updated.  These things need to be synced, product released and then website relfects product released :).

jrlcopy:

Alright... MC 4 is out, when will http://www.avid.com/products/Media-Composer-Software/index.asp be updated.  These things need to be synced, product released and then website relfects product released :).

this is the sort of thing I was trying to address. thank you luca for pointing out that I was not talking about software bugs. I'm not naive and have experience updating all kinds of programs whether from microsoft or small developers. avid is consistently guilty of what could be called errors in communication. look back on this thread and you'll see things like

<< Trying to purchase from 3.5 to 4 in the Avid store and am getting an error under promotional codes section.
Material 7510-30075-01 does not exist in storage location IRP1 4000>>

<<with the last few MC's releases there's always been an unfair price mismatch between US and Europe, Avid has always had it alligned after customers complained, and, to be fair, even reimbursed overcharged customers (including myself)>>

<<The "Pre" term is throwing me ... is this only for users with a version Pre 3.5 or will it also apply to existing 3.5?>>

the testing I meant was simply testing to see if the downloads work and are clearly defined. they could hire someone for one hour to try the dwonload process -- these problems could have easily been spotted by someone who doesn't use the product. I signed my post "yours truly" and wasn't being sarcastic. I'm sticking with avid because it's good. this is nothing big enough to pursue further but I wanted to make a plea for giving more respect to those of us who support the company by continuing to buy their products.

                     - sasha

The Webstore and the Web pages will be updated by Sept. 30th

sasha1:

the testing I meant was simply testing to see if the downloads work and are clearly defined.

They were. The glitches occured after testing. It would all be great if computers could do all this on their own. The unfortunate fact is that a human element is required.

Folks... since a lot of this is my domain.....

Let me explain were we are.....

The first component is testing the integrity of the software downloads.  The Download Testing is by far well ahead of the game as Job, Todd, Carl, Hans and many others can attest.  There is a large team of folks ( they are included) who help test on their own time and since we implemented this process back in the 2.5 timeframe, the DL center and avid.com downlaod site have not failed once.  :)  

The second component is the web site where you obtain your codes to upgrade.  We are working on a process for testing www.avid.com/upgrade and www.avid.com/protect with the web team and will have that shored up next release.  Not only do we need to test the site itself but we need to ensure the upgrade keys you receive in any purchase is recognized by the system and can then spit out your SW licensing code and dongle upgrade key (Dongle - if you are upgrading).  This part of the process didnt go as smoothly (we mucked that one up for 24 hours ) but we are and will improve on that one for the next release. 

The third component is the estore.  This is one area that Greg and I are now involved in and will be testing the order process moving forward.  This kind of testing requires domain experience so you know what you are buying and how the start to finish process should work for every item.  A new unit purchase is vastly different than an upgrade purchase....  people who understand the product and the process have to test this.  

The forth component is manufacturing to make sure that new product is what is pulled from the shelves.  We got a black eye on that one this week too with sending out the old 3rd party suites so lesson learned :)

The final component is the web site which marketing owns the updates for. Sometimes with all the updates, translations, technical documents etc. which need to done, it doesnt correspond with the launch.  This needs to get better and will.

I will be sending this thread along to the folks involved in the launch date desicions so they can see the discord that occurs where we arent in sync.

Marianna

Let us know the new versions for the 3rd parties also when you will find the time.

No new versions George, just the correct versions shipping. The versions are what are listed on the store (With the single exception of the Avid DVD 6 misprint being changed to 5.8).

You mean not even BCC 6?

Only for that the upgrade is good.

What’s Included

• Boris Continuum Complete 6 (Mac and Windows)
• Avid FX 5.8 (Mac and Windows)
• Sorenson Squeeze 5 (Mac and Windows)
• Avid DVD by Sonic 6 (Windows only)
• SmartSound Sonicfire Pro 5 (Mac and Windows)
• Media Composer 4 software (unlicensed, Mac and Windows)

BCC is listed as a component of the production suite in the eStore so, yes, BCC 6 is included.

Hello,

We have just (a few weeks ago) purchased upgrades for our MC v2.7 systems, but we got only v3.5. We got the package on 21. september. Can we get Media Composer v4 free of charge?

Thank you!