Why is Cineform Stuff So Outrageously Expensive?

Dave Campbell · May 11th, 2005, 01:17 PM

I paid $1000 for it so you guys are lucky

Dave

Kevin Shaw · May 11th, 2005, 02:48 PM

Paul: we'd all like to get something for nothing, but (a) it costs money to develop good software, and (b) Cineform has done a decent job of disseminating their technology at increasingly affordable prices over time. If you have any recent version of Adobe Premiere and want to use the Cineform codec without paying $500 for Aspect HD, then get the Premiere Pro upgrade for $199 and use the base version of Cineform included for free with that purchase. You can handle free, right?

Another way to look at this is that the Cineform plugin pays for itself by allowing you to save a lot of money on hardware upgrades for working with HDV footage. Without Cineform we'd all be forced to buy expensive dual-processor PCs (or Macs) to work with HDV effectively, since editing native HDV files is extremely processor-intensive. Last I checked, a good dual-processor computer cost a lot more than $500.

And if you think $799 for the Premiere Pro/Encore/Audition/Cineform software bundle is too much, then what's your alternative? Ulead Media Studio Pro plus their HDV plugin is currently less than $400, but is reportedly rather buggy for HDV work and probably not very efficient either. Pinnacle Liquid Edition 6 includes HDV support for only $499, but requires a dual-processor PC to work well as described above. Sony Vegas+DVD includes Cineform Connect HD and costs $799.95. Canopus includes their own HDV support in Edius now, but that's $699 just for the editing software and $2098 with their hardware accelerator card. Avid Xpress Pro doesn't even support HDV yet. And so on...

$500 for Aspect HD ain't bad, and the bundle deal is just fine. Not exactly pocket change, but it's a fair price in today's marketplace.

Tim Kolb · May 18th, 2005, 10:37 PM

[QUOTE=Paul Cascio]

When I buy a car, tv, whatever, I don;t feel the accessories should be more expensive than the main item. When it comes to software, I don't think plugins, codecs, and accesorial products should cost more than the main program. The fact that the price of Aspect HD dropped $500, IMO. bolsters my arguement. When it's available for $199, a price that I consider reasonable, I will buy it.
[QUOTE]

Well...it's based on what you get back out of it I suppose. The Media 100 boards I bought in '95 were $14,000.00 per set (we had two systems)...they weren't the computer...they weren't the harddrives...they also weren't the software, though the software was included.

...but that doesn't mean the boards weren't critical to the process...

If you need edit HDV with quality and speed...is Aspect HD the accessory? Premiere Pro will now at least edit HDV without Aspect, but if you need the responsiveness that the editing engine in Aspect gives you, then I guess you might consider it the core product and PPro is just the interface...

If you bought a car and purchased after market options to completely replace the engine, wheels, suspension, and frame, it may end up costing more than the original car did. But, then the end product is something quite different than what you started with...

In a nutshell I suppose how a product is priced is based on the market it's intended for...if the price makes no sense to you, it's possible you're not part of the market the product is designed for...maybe the day will come when it does cost only 200.00...then its market will no doubt expand.

Graham Hickling · May 18th, 2005, 11:26 PM

>>When my copy of Premiere Pro 1.5.1 arrives next week, I'll give it a shot to see how well my computer handles Cineform editing without Aspect HD.

The major limitation of 1.5.1, at least for my workflow, is that its CFHD encoded avis can't be opened in any application other than Premiere (so no AfterEffects etc), whereas Aspect HDs can.

But if you are happy staying within Premiere then at $0 the 1.5.1 update is .... um.. quite a bargain!

May 11th, 2005, 01:17 PM	#16
Dave Campbell Major Player Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 568	I paid $1000 for it so you guys are lucky Dave

May 11th, 2005, 02:48 PM	#17
Kevin Shaw Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 2,488	Paul: we'd all like to get something for nothing, but (a) it costs money to develop good software, and (b) Cineform has done a decent job of disseminating their technology at increasingly affordable prices over time. If you have any recent version of Adobe Premiere and want to use the Cineform codec without paying $500 for Aspect HD, then get the Premiere Pro upgrade for $199 and use the base version of Cineform included for free with that purchase. You can handle free, right? Another way to look at this is that the Cineform plugin pays for itself by allowing you to save a lot of money on hardware upgrades for working with HDV footage. Without Cineform we'd all be forced to buy expensive dual-processor PCs (or Macs) to work with HDV effectively, since editing native HDV files is extremely processor-intensive. Last I checked, a good dual-processor computer cost a lot more than $500. And if you think $799 for the Premiere Pro/Encore/Audition/Cineform software bundle is too much, then what's your alternative? Ulead Media Studio Pro plus their HDV plugin is currently less than $400, but is reportedly rather buggy for HDV work and probably not very efficient either. Pinnacle Liquid Edition 6 includes HDV support for only $499, but requires a dual-processor PC to work well as described above. Sony Vegas+DVD includes Cineform Connect HD and costs $799.95. Canopus includes their own HDV support in Edius now, but that's $699 just for the editing software and $2098 with their hardware accelerator card. Avid Xpress Pro doesn't even support HDV yet. And so on... $500 for Aspect HD ain't bad, and the bundle deal is just fine. Not exactly pocket change, but it's a fair price in today's marketplace.

May 18th, 2005, 10:37 PM	#18
Tim Kolb Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Neenah, WI Posts: 547	[QUOTE=Paul Cascio] When I buy a car, tv, whatever, I don;t feel the accessories should be more expensive than the main item. When it comes to software, I don't think plugins, codecs, and accesorial products should cost more than the main program. The fact that the price of Aspect HD dropped $500, IMO. bolsters my arguement. When it's available for $199, a price that I consider reasonable, I will buy it. [QUOTE] Well...it's based on what you get back out of it I suppose. The Media 100 boards I bought in '95 were $14,000.00 per set (we had two systems)...they weren't the computer...they weren't the harddrives...they also weren't the software, though the software was included. ...but that doesn't mean the boards weren't critical to the process... If you need edit HDV with quality and speed...is Aspect HD the accessory? Premiere Pro will now at least edit HDV without Aspect, but if you need the responsiveness that the editing engine in Aspect gives you, then I guess you might consider it the core product and PPro is just the interface... If you bought a car and purchased after market options to completely replace the engine, wheels, suspension, and frame, it may end up costing more than the original car did. But, then the end product is something quite different than what you started with... In a nutshell I suppose how a product is priced is based on the market it's intended for...if the price makes no sense to you, it's possible you're not part of the market the product is designed for...maybe the day will come when it does cost only 200.00...then its market will no doubt expand.

May 18th, 2005, 11:26 PM	#19
Graham Hickling Trustee Join Date: May 2004 Location: Knoxville, Tennessee Posts: 1,669	>>When my copy of Premiere Pro 1.5.1 arrives next week, I'll give it a shot to see how well my computer handles Cineform editing without Aspect HD. The major limitation of 1.5.1, at least for my workflow, is that its CFHD encoded avis can't be opened in any application other than Premiere (so no AfterEffects etc), whereas Aspect HDs can. But if you are happy staying within Premiere then at $0 the 1.5.1 update is .... um.. quite a bargain!