SpeedEdit 1st Quarter 2007!!!!!

[badllarma]

Just spoke to my dealer (I'm in the UK) about with me buying my upgrade for VT 5 in May 2006 just wandering if they need any details with regards to shipping SpeedEdit in the next week or so.

They got back to me and said it will not be shipping until Jan 2007 or it could be as late as March!! :thumbsdow Not to bad for me as I'm using and will be using standard PAL for my jobs already booked in for 2007 but for you guys waiting and needing HD now does not look too clever.

[robewil]

That release date is getting closer and closer to the original "summer" estimate. Unfortunately, it's the wrong summer. I really hope it's no later than January.

[Jim_C]

Right now I would not trust anybody's statement on SHIPPING date except Newtek's.

[steveg]

Don't forget NewTek has set an absolute iron clad guaranteed shipping date. "...Soon!" Remember?

[Jim_C]

I remember seeing the words 'shipping soon'. I am not sure if they were absolute, iron clad, or a guarantee but yes I remember seeing them.

Soon is a pretty relative term.

[ted]

I agree that you shouldn't believe anything you hear.
Jim Plant said NewTek would have a statement soon. Until that statement is made, I'll hold off guessing.
For what it's worth, I agree with NewTek holding off until a few more features were added and a few more bugs were squashed. What's another month or so to get this product off to a better start.

[Seti Orion]

another month?
Newtek is killing me

[prospector]

Not Newteks fault.
I have a theory that those guys testing it are too picky and they keep wanting more and more in it, and want everything fixed first.
I just want VT5 !!!!!!!!!

[Tony R]

I want it as much as anyone but I want to wait until it is stable, feature-rich and as few bugs as possible. You all know as much as I do that if they released it now and it was crashing and freezing, etc, you would all be cursing Newtek out. So, I say, we waited this long, a little longer isnt going to kill us. A buggy release WILL kill us though.

Tony

[Keith Nealy]

There's a bigger issue here that I think we're missing.

When SpeedEDIT hits the market the entire industry will be evaluating NewTek with new eyes.

For the first time NewTek will have an editor that critics can compare with others on the market. They never could do that before because the "Studio-in-a-box" was in a class by its own - and was written about very little.

This time everyone will take notice because of a few unique features. It may not be the best "complete toolbox" but it might be the best "ratchet wrench" out of the whole bunch.

If SE gets released buggy or hangs a lot or just plain underperforms it might get bad reviews and be dead before it even gets a chance.

Remember we all want them to succeed in the market place. If they succeed we all get better products.


I have a theory that those guys testing it are too picky and they keep wanting more and more in it, and want everything fixed first.
I just want VT5 !!!!!!!!!

I happen to know these guys are working very hard--- there not adding anything more - there just squashing bugs - testing - and making sure everything works like it supposed to. With all the new formats and frame rates this is pretty complicated stuff just to make the basic stuff work right.

I don't know if you follow other sites about other editors but none of them are perfect - and there are always people complaining about problems and unfullfilled expectations. At least we have a company we can talk to and actually make suggestions that get implimented. Try doing that with Adobe or Avid.

So lets just hang in there and give them the benefit of the doubt.

Remember these guys are just like us. Nobody works as hard as we do just for the money. We do it because we love it and because we have pride in what we create. So do they.

The holidays are upon us and I'll bet when your kids are plugged into their new Ipods or text messaging their friends... you'll be sitting on the couch with a glass of eggnog... with you notebook nestled in your lap checking out how cool SpeedEDIT is and you'll finally realize it's not about the bells and whistles... it's having a simple tool that just does what its supposed to do and does it flawlessly... with speed and grace.

And the best part is it's sitting in your lap.

Imaging the possibilities...


Aloha,

Keith :cool:

[Whelkn]

Amen man Amen.......:o)

[wvp]

Keith, nice post, great comments. It would be even better if we could Newtek to tell us that.... Hang in there guys, we're hoping to release before the end of the year. Squashing a few more bugs found. Something, anything like that. But instead they are saying "it will be released soon" or we hope to have an update for you next week.
When customers are asking for the status of a product allready delayed months, many of which paid for the product, it is not a good sign when the company has to "delay" giving you even a response to the issue!
Having a "launch event" and not shipping the product either that day or within 1-2 weeks is bad marketing. If you show people the product at a launch I think you should be prepared to sell some right then and there! The launch was really nothing more than what was done at NAB (albiet a smaller scale).
Lastly, if you are shipping "soon", it rumours of shipping before the end of the year are true, then I would think the product would be in "retail production" by now (disks being pressed and boxed, etc.)
Before you bash me, I have been a NT customer since the early 90's and of course I want them to be sucsessful. I understand delays will happen. They just need to understand the importance of communicating to the customers when they have delays, why they have them and provide a estimated date when we can expect the product.

[steveg]

It will sure make me think twice befor I ever pay for a product in advance again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...

[Keith Nealy]

I agree with you about better communications but again, there is a side to that that most of us don't see.

This is public forum that anyone can read. They have to be very careful what they say publically for competitive, legal, and press reasons. Don't you think reporters, critics, and competitors lurk on these sites to see what is going on?

Of course they do. Information is power, and competitive edge.

If you have a specific problem or one that may be sensitive in some way - write a private email. I send letters to Jim Plant, Andrew Cross, John Perkins, Paul Lara, and even Tim on occasion - and I get responses.

I know we would all like total, open, honest communications because, let's face it, we all base our business on this stuff and sometimes we get burnt by these delays.

I know I have. I presold one of my clients on being able to do quick edits on-site based on the original schedule. I went out and bought a very expensive laptop to do it and then... we waited. I had egg on my face with my client because I couldn't deliver and I found out I bought the laptop a little too early because a new version of the Core2duo chips came out and I was now "old news" before I had even used it. So, I feel your pain.

But I've been around long enough to know that **** happens and it's just "what is"... it's not really anyones fault.

If anyone is at fault it is us. It's fine for us to get excited - but when we base our business on future capability and sell that to our clients we are taking a very big risk. I am not saying NewTek is not culpable in all of this with delays, promises, preselling, and poor communications etc - I m just saying it is bad business for us to sell what we don't have in hand.

And you realize... all this initial hoopla will end very soon when SE delivers---- and then it will start up all over again about "So when will VT5 get released?"

Because SE is just a baby. VT5 is where all the real power will be.

cue Carly Simon: "An-ti-ci-patation - you're keeping me waiting..."

aloha,

Keith :cool:

[Tony R]

I think Newtek would be crazy to give us a shipping date "to make us feel better" because then they are bound by it. What happens when the date comes and there are few more bugs to squash? Are they supposed to ship a buggy product because they promised us? I wouldn't want a crahsing SE. As I said before, you would be cursing them out tenfold if you got your SE on time but you couldnt run it because of crashing and freezing.

We all sound like a bunch of whiney kids whose parents promised them something and they didnt get it and the kid carries on forever about it. I am guility of it too, though not so much these past few weeks. I went to the launch and they told me that the product is in Beta testing and it is real close. Sure, that was last month but so what.How much time do we really have to use it at this time of the year. There are holidays and shopping, office and family parties, etc. I seriously doubt we will see this by the end of the year, which is only 2 weeks away really. And in those two weeks are plenty of things going on in most of our lives. That isnt to say that some of us do not have families or just do not wish to spend time with them.

Like the spoiled child analogy I gave a minute ago....all the whining in the world will not get it in our hands any faster. In fact, if Newtek acted like our parents, it would delay it indefinitely as punishment. It is out of our hands. Bugs happen. Beta testing reveals more bugs. They could have been all ready to release it last week and then got a bug report and had to start investigating that. I have no firsthand knowledge in this but I do know a lot of programmers and QA guys. That is why there is no way to give a definite release date. It is the worst thing they can do. "Soon" means soon. That's it.

Take your sweet time Newtek. I want this as much as anyone. I pre-paid back in June. Maybe that pre payment gave you guys the confidence in the product and it caused you to put more R&D into the product. Don't mind the whiners. It will turn to praise soon enough. It will surely turn to more whining if you give SE to them as it is today if it is buggy.

Tony

[pnelson]

Check out this thread for details..

http://www.newtek.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60667