Michael and Tom EDU upgrade

My appologies to you guys and others for posting that an upgrade from FCP 4 edu to FC Studio was possible. It is not. I received my box set today and was unable to install it do to the serial number from FCP 4 edu.

I'm a bit upset towards the many Apple reps that assured me it would work and had me believing I was go to go. (I talked to at least four different reps - all said yes...with one yesterday saying 'it should work'.)

I hope I didn't influence other people into purchasing FC Studio under the same beliefs as me.

Thanks again,
Jon

I'm sorry too jb. Oh well, as they say, it's only money

:-(



Michael Horton
-------------------

I'm sorry too (I was writing this just as you posted)

Phoned Apple Sales today (again) regarding the following upgrade path:

FCP Academic Version x -----> Final Cut Studio (Upgrade from Final Cut Pro)

Yesterday, Apple sales said that the above scenerio would work. However, when I called back to today to confirm this scenerio, they transferred me to Apple Technical Support. The person I talked to said that they've been fielding calls today from customers who say that this scenerio does NOT accept the Academic version's serial number.

Furthermore, when I asked about this scenerio (me),

FCP Academic 3.0 ----> FCP 4.0 Upgrade Retail -----> Final Cut Studio (Upgrade from Final Cut Pro)

The person said, that while he hasn't fielded any calls regarding this scenerio, he felt confident that this scenerio would also NOT work.

I politely explained, that if true, the people who upgraded from 3.0 Academic to 4.0 Retail are essentially "stuck", either having to go back to Academic (not an option for most who went retail), or by having to purchase FCP all over again via Final Cut Studio $1299.00 Full Retail Version (not very appealing).

The Apple Tech person agreed, but that they didn't have any remedy at the moment. They are suppose to email me with updates...

Crazy

This doesnt sound right. You upgraded to retail, you own retail, and now you cant upgrade to retail again? Something is amiss here. I'd keep squaking.



Michael Horton
-------------------

It certainly doesn't make sense to me either and I'd be disappointed if that were the case.

It sounds like many people at Apple have been left out of the loop regarding the upgrade situation.

Like jsbanker, I definitely feel like I was misled yesterday (albeit unintentionally). Guess I'll have to wait until the dust settles.

Waiting on the sidelines...

This kind of stuff happens every upgrade. A lot of people work for Apple so its no surprise that some may not be as informed as others.



Michael Horton
-------------------

You know how it is when you ask for tech support -- with a lot of people who are qualified, when you ask them a question they can't answer, they fudge up an answer rather than admit that they don't know. Unhealthy attitude that results in angry customers!

Thanks for the updates, though, guys -- though my version of FCP4.5 is full (not education), I'm definitely holding off on the upgrade until I get all the info.

Well I guess this shows, you either stay in school or while you are at school learn as much as you can so you can make lot's of money when you get out.



------------------------
Dean

"When I see you floating down the gutter I'll give you a bottle of wine."
Captain Beefheart, Trout Mask Replica.

Just got off the phone with chris at apple support. After being on hold for 20 minutes while he found the answer, he said

No upgrade if the original "rooted" (his word) in an academic version

I was trying to go FCP2 edu FCP4Retail Upgrade to FCStudio. He said no go.

I asked why after using FCP for 5 years I had to suddenly repurchase it.
He said that the edu discount is "substantial" and it all ends with FCP4
I told him if her subtracted what I paid for FCP2Edu and FCP4RetailUpgrade from FCStudio I would buy it right now.
He laughed and said he didn't have the power to do that.

Anyone else have any luck? $1300 is a pretty steep upgrade for me.

Stevieb1972

Keep calling and emailing. Try to go up the ladder from the first person who answers. (It can't hurt to try, though it will probably still end unfavorably.)

I sent something similar to this out yesterday:
The business model of offering discounted software to students is great. However, once they finish their education it only makes sense to keep them as customers and offer them an upgrade 'option' into Full versions. Completely discarding my original FCP 4 edu, essentially throwing it away, and buying a full retail version is somewhat offensive. Why make a customer and then anger them?

I now understand that "no edu upgrades" is your policy. So, why am I angry? Because I was told by the Apple rep that my FCP 4 edu purchase would be upgradable to retail when I finished my education. Also, I was told by three to four Apple reps, since mid April, that my upgrade purchase to FC Studio would work. I repeated my concern for the serial numbers working and I was reassured that there wouldn't be a problem.

I know sales reps don't make Apple policy, but I expect truthfulness. And if a mistake was made on their part, due to lack of knowledge/training, I expect Apple to honor it. I would have no ground to stand on if I was told, from the start, that buying educational version meant no upgrades. Many mistakes have been made and I really hope it will be resolved favorably. Overall, my experience with Apple has been terrific and my enthusiasm for their hardware and software has converted my parents and a few friends.

Thank you,
Jon

All of the copies of the FCP4 Suite (6) that we purchased had a sticker on the outside front of the box that stated "Education Version - No Upgrades Available" I would think they would/should have done this universally.

I do agree with the notion that a student should be able to upgrade to the full version....

After reading your message, and thinking I'm an idiot for not seeing this, I checked my box. I have no such sticker or text. I do have a small rectangular sticker, in the lower right corner, that says, "Academic: Single-User Version."

I just quickly searched the Apple website as if I wanted to buy FC Studio. I wanted to see how visible their rule of "Not Upgradable" was on the web page. I couldn't find any warning. Anyone else find a warning?

Jon

Here's my scenario:
FCP3 academic--->FCP4 retail upgrade
DVD studio1.5--->DVD studio 3 retail upgrade
Motion Academic

Ordered FCP studio 5 retail upgrad from FCP suite.

It arrived today and when I started the install, I got the message "the serial number you have entered is an upgrade serial number enter original serial numbers"

In the boxes for FCP and DVD studio my serial numbers were already entered by the installer with a green check box next to them. The Motion box was empty and my academic serial number obviously didn't work.

I found a copy of motion 1 for 200 bucks, so with that serial number I hopefully will be good to go.
Live and learn.

So wait your saying that you were allowed to upgraded from FCP 3 edu, to FCP 4 Retail to FCP 5 using the FCP 5 studio version. Same with DVD Studio Pro?

That's cool if it did work, as that's my situation exactly, but I was under the impression that it didn't work for others, or did the others simply say that Tech Support said it wouldn't work. And that being the case, I'm still uneasy about the policy coming back to bight me at some other time in the future.

Too bad too, cause I know a lot of people who have pirated versions of FCP that they brought home from work, or got from friends and online. I in turn, even as a poor college student saved up and purchased the edu version. As I wanted to be fair and honest and truly own my software. That was a big deal to me. I wanted to be legit, and it was a sacrafice at the time to do so. I then upgraded to the FCP 4 retail as time went on, and even convinced alot of people to do the same and be legit.

Now it's kind of crazy, cause it's like a slap in the face... just doesn't seem right, as I did things legit, and followed Apple policy. I even upgraded to the Retail version, and am using the retail version, yet I can't upgrade again, and am being penalized. Guess their is an upside... FCP hasn't really worked for me with my Canon XL-1, I've had tons of problems with it. And can't upgrade the camera yet. Perhaps now is a good time to consider other options, that will work for me, as the cost of purchasing Avid vs FCP new is realatively similar. I'm just such a blind Apple loyalist usually. But now I'm at a great crossroads where it'll force me to really sit back and look at my options. And make some choices based on what's best for me, rather then loyalty and a great price on discounted upgrade software.

Greg

I was told that my EDU version of FCP3 was upgradable to FCP 4, because there was no difference in the academic and non-academic versions.
Now I;m told that if I type my serial number into the FCP 5 upgrade it won't let me install it.
Well after the Tiger debacle and with Apple switching to Intel anyway perhaps it's time to look for alternatives.
Problem is, is there anything in the PC world that does the Multiclip thing like FCP5.
I really need that feature but the $1899 price tag is way, way out of my league.

Pretty sure that Adobe Premiere has a plug in that does it.

I'm also pretty sure that there are some others, don't know off the top of my head what they are. But some options to look into.

Vegas - it's a very popular and affordable up and coming NLE on the PC side
Avid Express DV - as well, I'm thinking of looking at Avid Express on the Mac since I'm not ready to switch to a PC again, but am frusterated with the latest upgrade policy the leaves me behind as well. There is an Avid Xpress that is free as I recall, might be worth trying out.
And Adobe Premiere as stated above is the old popular solution in the low end cost effective realm, think it's lost some of it's popularity though.

Greg

So is a fcp 4 edu still upgradable to fcp retail?

No

Actually Yes..... Unless it changed in the last month....

But with the new Universal Upgrade.... i.e. the program Apple came out with to allow you to upgrade to the new Universal version of Final Cut Studio (the version that works on G4/G5s and new Intel Macs). The new update allows you to update your Academic version of FCP 4 of FCP 4.5 to the Universal FCP Studio for $200-400 (I forget the exact price)

But last I checked, in the fine print where it lists qualifying upgrade products, it says any FCP 4 Full Retail, FCP 4 Upgrade, or FCP 4 academic. As well as FCP 5 versions.

So as I said, unless that's changed. You can now upgrade your EDU version to the full retail version. Great news for all of us who were left out on this last upgrade due to our original serial being that of an edu package.

Greg

I affirm Greg's post as of March 17th, 2006.

I was just checking out the FC Studio page and was surprised to see that FCP 4 Academic is now eligible for the cross/upgrade price to the Universal version of Final Cut Studio.

Because this was different than what I had heard previously, I called and talked to a sales guy at Apple. I specifically asked about that upgrade path and said that it hadn't existed before. He verified that yes, in fact now it is possible.

The upgrade price for FCP 4 Academic owners is US $199 plus applicable tax. Upgrades from other products have different prices. All orders are via snail-mail.

Finally, my procrastination pays off! I almost went ahead and bought the full version, but decided to check one more time.

I didn't ask about future upgradability vis a vis the "rooted in Academic" issue.

BTW, since I know people may be curious, I was legitimately employed as a teacher at a qualifying elementary school when I bought the academic version.

-Mike

Thanks for double checking on that. Yah, I felt pretty left out in the last upgrade. I've been using the Full Retail version since 3.0. When I upgraded from my EDU version. But still couldn't update to FCP 5.0. And didn't have the cash to repurchase the whole thing from scratch. So I'm pretty excited now because I can start from scratch. It's nice to be back in the game again if you will.

Anyoo, hopefully the word will get out, or maybe even Michael could mention it in one of his mailers. Because I know a lot of people in our shoes who were left behind until know. I know they'd be as thrilled as we were to find out they can now upgrade if they hadn't already.

Now my only question is do I wait for NAB and see what happens there, or go ahead now with the upgrade..... guess finances will ultimately dictate there....

Thanks again for double checking and confirming this though....

Greg