Rating: Summary: Don't waste your money. Review: Since you're looking at the Upgrade version, you must be a Premiere user. This version offers better MPEG-2 support for DVD production than do prior versions, so it's very tempting. However, other reviewers have described instability problems with Windows XP. At the end of August 2003, Adobe is introducing Adobe Premiere Pro. "Pro" Version is "built for the exceptional performance of Microsoft® Windows® XP systems." You can upgrade to Pro from prior Premiere versions, but there isn't a Pro version for Mac. It sounds suspiciously like rather than offering a fix for compatibility problems, Adobe is selling the fix as an "upgrade." If I had known about Pro, I would NOT have spent the money on this version.However, if for some reason you prefer to buy the obsolete version, you may benefit from my installation experience. To install the product, you need to enter a serial number during installation. The directions direct you to the back of the jewel case for the serial number. However, the jewel case does not have a serial number. The registration card has a number pre-entered for you in the serial number spot, but this ISN'T a valid serial number. Adobe charges for technical support and I refuse to pay for technical support for when my problem is a defective product. So I called customer service, who verified that I was a registered owner of a previous version and made me fax my receipt of purchase for the upgrade to them. They promised that Adobe Security would contact me in 2 days with a new serial number. Five days later (three business days and a weekend), I called Customer Service asking for a serial number. They responded that they had all my information, but since the Customer Service representative had entered something incorrectly in their computer, the case wasn't being processed. The representative apologized, fixed the mistake, and promised me a serial number within 48 hours. 47 hours and 59 minutes later, I'm back on hold with Customer Service trying to get a serial number. This time, the Customer Service representative told me that you need to enter the serial number from Premiere version from which you're upgrading. Logical, but why wasn't I told this in my last two calls? She apologized for the fact that I found installation "confusing." However, the installation instructions for the product specifically direct you to the CD jewel case. I'm not confused; the instructions for installation are clear and I followed them properly. She replied that the same instructions are supplied with the full and upgrade version. They just don't work for the Upgrade version. For the money this upgrade costs, Adobe could afford to include proper instructions. Indeed, its interesting to me that they sell their technical support and then knowingly give you the WRONG instructions for installation. And if you're thinking you can just use your serial number from your old version, that doesn't work either! I needed to enter my old serial number with three numbers appended to the end of it. These three numbers didn't appear anywhere in my old version, only my Customer Service representative knew them. There really was no hope of being able to install this program without telephone assistance. All this hassle and a version comes out in a few weeks that fixes the compatibility problems with Windows XP. If Microsoft had updated Windows and that forced me to upgrade my Adobe products, I might find that to be fair. However, Adobe Premiere 6.5 is sold as a Windows XP program. You're not allowed to mention prices in these reviews, but we all know that these "upgrades" are a three digit expense. I have to spend again in three weeks to get another program with the same features but better compatibility with my operating system? I'm yet another Adobe customer who likes Adobe products, but not the experience of being an Adobe customer.
Rating: Summary: Not worth the Price Review: This is a very complex interface...not for anyone less then a Professional. Would not recommend this software for video editing. I use many of Adobe products, but they dropped the ball on this one.
Rating: Summary: ADOBE DELIBERATELY HINDERED THIS SOFTWARE Review: This upgrade version of "Adobe Premiere 6.5" has got clips and sound editing tools, which professionals may like, but the fact that Adobe chose to make it incompatible with RealPlayer, QuickTime, and TitleDeko has forced me to rate it low. Also, do not assume that because it comes with a nice MPEG encoder, that you can easily use it as an all-in-one programme for editing and recording your DVDs. The reason for this being that its designers has ensured that it does not contain any DVD authoring accessory. Although that its video-effects commands, as well as superimposing menu are really impressive, its overall cons simply outweighed its pros. Know that this software would have been wonderful, had Adobe not deliberately limited both its capabilities and compatibilities.
|