*** Media Composer License to Get Latest Software Releases ***
Avid would like to remind everyone that with the December 2014 release of Media Composer (v8.3 ), we have introduced a new method for entitlement management for Media Composer licensing.
The license’s themselves have not changed (we are still using software, dongle and floating licenses), but a new attribute has been added to the license in order to help manage software entitlements. Each build (software release) of Media Composer will have a hard-coded release date. This includes any patches and what were previously referred to as “point releases” or maintenance releases which were released after December 1, 2014.
All Media Composer v8.x licenses (Software, Dongle, and Floating Licenses) will be updated with the active Upgrade & Support plan information (start and end dates). The Avid Application Manager ( AppMan) will add the Support & Upgrade plan start and end dates automatically when you update the Media Composer license. Media Composer will poll the Upgrade & Support plan information in the license upon launch, then compare it to its build date.
* If the software build date is earlier than the license’s current Upgrade and Support plan expiration date, Media Composer will run.
* If the software build date is later than the license’s current Upgrade and Support plan expiration date (e.g. the upgrade and support plan expired before the software update was released), Media Composer will not run.
Licenses will need to be updated (re-activated) once per year any time after the Upgrade and Support plan is renewed.
Customers only need to update their license, however, when they are ready to upgrade to the next release of software. They do not need to re-activate their license as soon as their Upgrade and Support plan has been renewed.
New Media Composer Licenses:
* All new Media Composer purchases will receive a Media Composer v8.x ( what is currrently shipping) license with entitlements to run any version of software released within the year following purchase and redemption.
Media Composer License prior to v8:
* Customers who have purchased an upgrade & support plan and are therefore eligible to upgrade to the latest version of Media Composer will have an Activation ID (License) for Media Composer v8.x in their My Avid Account. They will need to activate and use this license in order to enable their upgrade and support entitlements.
Current Media Composer v8 License:
* Any customer that has previously activated a v8.x license will need to re-activate their current license when they want to upgrade to any version of Media Composer released after December 1, 2014. Dongle customers will also need to re-update their dongle via the updater.avd located in their My Account.
Media Composer Subscriptions:
* Monthly and Annual Subscriptions (rentals) are not affected. Subscribers do not need to reactivate their Media Composer license in order to upgrade.
The bottom line...... The introduction of this method means that customers can continue to use their same Media Composer v8.x license (System ID and Activation ID) for future upgrades with no need to get a new license for each software update.
Customers will continue to use their Media Composer v8.x license indefinitely.
Questions, Let me know.
Marianna