Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

Sure, just enter the SWITCH code for 50% off although you are limited to 9 copies.

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

You simply have to enter the promo code SWITCH at the checkout or quote it if ordering on the phone. Adobe don't care what old software you have they are just trying to sell as many copies as possible to new users.

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

I agree with Pete.

I really don't see the logic with not upgrading to Photoshop CS4 or CS5 because they have added amazing OpenGL support and are now 64bit which makes a HUUUGGGEEEE difference in speed. With large images (24MP from Sony A900) and panoramic images, the speed difference is even larger thanks to 64bit and better OpenGL acceleration. I have several 800MB to 1.2GB Photoshop PSDs and I can whiz through them with no problem.

Oh, and the Content Aware Fill tool in CS5 is one of the coolest features ever released for any piece of software.

FYI, Adobe has changed their update policy to once every year around NAB time so no worries about them 'sneaking' in an upgrade before then.

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

So that's ALL they ask for? Why do they post the list of "required" previous software then? I'm not saying you are wrong or anything, I just want to make sure they won't request my FCP serial number and blacklist it somehow because I may need/want to use FCP sometime in the future. Same goes for a really old version of photoshop I have.

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

I bought mine from the Adobe site. They make it really easy. You can keep your FCP. Same with the Avid discounted upgrade. Both companies figure if you get it you'll be a long time customer.

On Sunday i spent a couple of hours watching some training clips, then Monday at the office I opened PP up for the first time and in about 10 minutes was editing and checking out the color grading. The transition is going to be a lot easier and quicker than it was when I went from Avid to FCP 5 years ago.

One of the first things I said after watching some training videos was, "Wow...they sure have leapfrogged over FCP!" The title tool is amazing--a real title tool, just like Avid. So far I like the basic color correction better too, and a number of other things. In the 5 years I've used FCP, it hasn't really developed. The upgrades were tiny and only seemed to make it more stable. After just a very short introduction to PP, I'm now glad Apple did what they did. If they hadn't, I probably would never have looked at PP. I'm looking forward to migrating all my FCP programs over as soon as I can. I'm already convinced that FCP 7 has been way behind the curve and that Media Composer and now PP5.5 are better.

One big thing if you shoot with a 5DII or other DSLR...no more transcoding to ProRes. In the past year and a half I've added over 3 TB of footage over and above the H.264 original because of transcoding.

Not needing to transcode does bring up a backup consideration. What I had been doing is loading my original H.264 into one drive, then transcoding to another. So, the ProRes lives in other drives, while the original is in separate drives. If an H.264 drive fails, I've got the ProRes, and vice versa. What I started doing with new footage yesterday is loading it as I usually do, but then burning Blu-ray discs for backup. The Blu-rays will be stored like my old tapes. My Blu-ray burner came from Videoguys and was cheaper than a 2 TB hard drive. Also, the Blu-rays burn a lot faster than the transcoding through MPEG Streamclip.

According to Shane Hurlbut, Premiere Pro handles Canon DSLR footage better than the other systems. When I first looked at a clip in the timeline, it did look better than the same clip in FCP that had been transcoded to ProRes. Not a huge difference and nothing to get excited about, but there was a definite different look. The color seemed to pop more. Again, very subtle and I doubt I would notice the difference in a finished film, but if you're pixelpeeping (measurebating), it's something to look at.

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

You can order the Adobe promotion directly from Videoguys. for $849. No special code required

Make the switch to Adobe CS5.5 Production Premium at Videoguys.com and save 50%

We also have some fantastic bundles with blu-ray burner, Matrox & AJA I/O and training.

Gary

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

Thanks Gary for the info and keep up the good work!

I know you will disagree but I highly suggest staying away from Matrox products for use with Adobe because I have had bad experience after bad experience with their Mini and its software, not to mention Matrox's flat out lie about their color calibration tool.

However, I highly recommend Aja and partially recommend BlackMagic Design's Decklink Extreme 3D as I have several of these cards in 2 computers. Two are in a server for broadcast playout and one is in my HP Z800 but I am going to remove it soon and replace with an Aja Kona due to issues with Premiere Pro CS5 causing PPro to hang. One of my favorite features with the BM and Kona and Premiere is being able to play out to my monitor using only the little thumbnail at the top of the project window rather than having to open it into the Source window. However, BM's software is not great and I continually have lockups when doing this.

Also, I sometimes have issues with BM preset sequences so I use my custom sequences and BM still works, although partially. What I do is open the current sequence into the Source window, which still plays out to my monitor and then I gang source to program.

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

Just gone and made the jump. A whole heap of money out of the bank account but at least it's half price.

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

Good news is that Sony is the first to release an external GPU connected thru LightPeak aka Thunderbolt to work with their VAIO Z series. However, Sony's Z pricing is a bit high, BUT this shows that manufacturers understand that a market exists for external GPUs via LP/TB.

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

Having been a prior user of Premiere, and still owning my Premiere Pro 2.0 program, I tried to go the upgrade path for CS5.5, hoping after that to get half off the upgrade price. I took it all the way down to the last button, but was never given the opportunity to enter the "switch" code.

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

When I ordered mine last night it was a small box in the final shopping cart before you press order. That was the UK store though.

Nice to see Adobe offered me physical media option (which I have ordered). Not everyone lives in a glass dome in Cupertino with a fibre connection

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

My understanding is that you have to choose one or the other path, an upgrade from a previous version of Adobe software, OR a full version purchase using the switch code to cross-grade from FCP. Looking at PPro on the Adobe site, the price is $399 for either path.

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

My upgrade path from Premiere Pro 2.0, to CS 5.5 was $ 1,099.00. I was hoping 50% off would apply to that. I do want to get into After Effects, so that is why I was looking to go that route.

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

Chris you appear eligible for the VideoGuys 50% $849 offer as it says

If you own any version of Apple Final Cut Pro or Avid Media Composer - or you have an existing copy of Adobe Premiere, Premiere Pro, After Effects or a CS3 Design, Web or Production Suite - you qualify for 50% off the full version of Adobe CS5.5 Production Premium for Mac or Windows...

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

So it sounds like what you want to do is upgrade from that very old version of PPro to the current Production Suite Premium? So yeah, looks like through the Adobe store it would be the $1099 you quote, which I know isn't chump change for us small business and hobbyist types. But it is still $600 off the regular price, not to mention special deals like Videoguys.

I think once you've made the leap and gotten up and running, you'll feel that it was good value for dollar. As I've said before, Adobe has had their low points but they're sitting high on the mountain now. From being ready to jump ship some years ago -- as many of the FCP folks are now doing -- I'm extremely pleased with CS5 and 5.5.

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

What I am actually looking to do is incorporate After Effects in my Vegas workflow, and I was hoping that by use of my prior purchase of Premiere Pro 2 and this offer, I could afford to to it.

Frankly, after further testing of the Premiere workflow edit process in the latest trial version ( which really hasn't changed a lot since Pro 2) I don't want to leave Vegas. However, having the whole suite on board for special needs at half price is very alluring, and something I am still considering.

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

Hi Chris,

Because you want to use AE, I really believe that you would find the Premiere and AE combo to be far more satisfying that a Vegas + AE combo due to Dynamic Link and not needing to render your AE comps. Just yesterday, I spent about 2 hours updating a single Photoshop PSD, then opening AE and seeing the PSD file automatically updated in AE and then updating 25 comps which use this PSD and its layers, and then automatically seeing the updated AE comps in Premiere. Without Adobe's great integration between its programs and Dynamic Link, this entire process would have taken me all day rather than 2 hours.

Once you start using Dynamic Linked AE comps in Premiere, you find yourself using this feature more and more, and it adds value to projects because you can do more, experiment with more looks faster and easier and create better animations, grade better (as AE is a powerful grading tool) and make better titles.

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

Does anyone know if a US license will work in Europe, and it will install updates fine? (Not upgrades, updates)

Thanks,

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

Are there specific video tutorials on "PPro for FCP editors"? I noticed that there is a set of Avid tutorials called "Avid Media Composer for Final Cut Pro Users". Does anyone know if there's something similar for PPro?

Of particular interest to me would be tutorials on how to import your FCP keyboard shortcuts into PPro plus any differences in the basic workaday features (3 way color corrector, adjusting sound levels, etc.). I know that lynda.com has PPro training to take you from the start. But I was also wondering if there were PPro tutorials anywhere which are specific to FCP editors. Thanks.

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

Re: Adobe offers 50% off CS5.5 to Final Cut Pro customers
 

Thanks, Bart!