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 Having got the suite installed and ready to use, I ran Adobe Premiere.  It created an account for me on [CS Live Services].  It complained that my video card drivers were insufficient for CUDA accelerated rendering.  Sadly I cannot update these - I must only accept those that Apple provide (via Boot Camp updates).  So no CUDA acceleration then I guess…

Nevertheless, how well does it work in other respects, and how usable is it overall?  The

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• Installer for CS5.5 Production Premium
  • For viewing the license conditions, it offers language choices including [English (North America)] and [English (International)].
    • It’s not clear what the difference is.  I wish it showed some examples in each.
    • I’m not the only confused one, e.g:
      • http://forums.adobe.com/message/1227810
        • Peter Spier
          • 3. Jan 14, 2009 10:21 AM (in response to rpollack-2)
          • Re: CS4 English International vs English US
          • To add to the confusion, I think the difference is in the default dictionaries and the spellings in the interface, i.e. it presumes you want British-style spelling (as you have), and has nothing to do with licensing.
          • I have no clue how to change that election other than to re-install. If you can live with the funny spelling in the menus, you can set the default dictionary to US English in InDesign, and probably other apps.
          • With nothing open, click the text tool and set the control panel to character mode options. Change the language in the dictionary dropdown near the right end. This is also available from the character panel (which which is where you’d change it in Photoshop, it’s in the prefs under Hyphenation in Illustrator — and you may be able to reset the interface language in the Photoshop prefs, too)
    • I chose [English (International)]
  • Next it asked for:
    • Serial Number or else check the Trial button.
      • I did the latter
    • Also it asked for Language
      • I assume this to be the operating language for the app
      • Again I chose [English (International)]
  • Next, [Install Options]
    • Apps:
      • Flash Pro CS5.5
      • AIR for Apple iOS Support
      • After Effects CS5.5
      • Audition CS5.5
      • Encore CS5.1
      • Flash Catalyst CS5.5
      • Illustrator CS5.1
      • OnLocation CS5.1
      • PhotoShop CS5.1 (64..)
      • PhotoShop CS5.1
      • Premiere Pro CS5.5
    • Location:
      • [C:\Program Files\Adobe]
  • Next it began calculating the total time for install and began installing.  After a few minutes it returned its time estimate as around half an hour.  This (initial conservative estimate?) rapidly dropped to around 20 minutes.
  • Next it asked for web browsers to be closed
  • Finally it displayed what looks like a Launcher window for the Production Premium suite, withbuttons labelled akin to Periodic Table elements, except that one of them [Ps] (PhotoShop) appeared twice, identically labelled.
    • On mouse-hover it emerged (from tooltip text) that the second [Ps] was 64-bit, the first then presumably being 32-bit, though its tooltip text did not confirm this
• Possibly unrelated, Kapersky AntiVirus reported
  • <<Detected a potentially dangerous modification of the application BMDSTREAMINGSERVER.EXE without a digital signature>>
    • That application was installed yesterday, as part of DaVinci Resolve Lite for Windows.
    • (I got distracted by domestic events)
    • The Kapersky prompt appeared to time-out, I don’t know whatit assumed/did…
• The Launcher highlighted the followingTutorials link:
  • http://tv.adobe.com/?source=EWUMA
    • ?? Europe, …, Middle-East, Africa ??
• From Launcher, ran Adobe Premiere
  • A “First Use” dialog came up
    • Requested mu Adobe ID
      • Ientered it.
      • Response screen said: <<By providing an Adobe ID, you have set up access to Adobe CS Live Services during your trial period.
      • It also indicated it had sent email verification.
  • I received two emails.
    • First email
      • <<<
      • Thank you for providing your Adobe ID and downloading your Adobe Creative Suite® software trial. During your software trial, you will have access to CS Live services that further extend the capabilities of your Adobe Creative Suite software. Accessed from within your software, CS Live services enable you to accelerate creative reviews, streamline cross-browser testing, and easily host online meetings.
      • For quick and easy access to CS Live services, here is some important information you will want to save:
        • Access CS Live services: http://www.adobe.com/go/cslive_getstarted
        • Adobe ID (your login): …
        • Your Personal Meeting Room: …
      • Your complimentary CS Live services subscription will expire with your product trial.
      • >>>
    • Second email:
      • Verify email address
        • Strange that this was sent after the email containing Personal Meeting Room address etc.
  • Thank You dialog gave link to tutorials:
    • http://tv.adobe.com/?productID=328&release=5.5&platform=0&locale=en_GB&source=PCSTHX
      • Lookslike the same stuff as seen earlier.  Lots of promotions, whizz-bang and specialist stuff, when I kind of expected novice introduction stuff, especially since I indicated I was that level when applying for the download…
  • I clicked the [Done] button
• Adobe Premiere started up
  • Popup stated: <<Adobe Premiere Pro requires updated video card drivers for CUDA accelerated rendering.  Please download and install current drivers for your video card.>>
    • That’s what I was afraid of.  It’s making the same demands as DaVinci Resolve.  I cannot satisfy those demands, all updates are under Apple’s control - it is normal that laptops (as my MacBook Pro is) have customized versions of graphics card drivers…
    • I closed the popup.
  • Premiere prompted for [New Project] etc.
    • I clicked on [Help]
      • The Help panel, once populated (after a minute or so), included a [Getting Started and Tutorials] link.

Given my poor experiences on my [MacBook Pro (2009) > Boot Camp > Windows 7] with Boris Blue and with DaVinci Resolve, it is by no means certain that [Adobe CS5.5 Production Premium] will fare any better.  But it’s worth a try.

So I downloaded a trial.  As part of that I had to first allow [Adobe Download Assistant] to be nstalled and executed.  It prompted for my level of expertise.  I answered: <<Novice: I could use all the help I can get>>.  In response it gave the following link:

• http://tv.adobe.com/product/cs-production-premium/
  • Many videos, including films, feature-tour, hardware, software, …

The download is apparently 7.116 GB, estimated download time between 5 and 8 hours. Overnight in other words.

Basically it won’t work on my MacBook Pro (2009) with Windows 7 running under Boot Camp (3.3).  I guess Boot Camp doesn’t make sufficient of the GPU’s capability available.

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I’ve been using Winclone, a Mac OS app, to back-up my Boot Camp - Windows 7 partition onto a HFS+ (Mac OS compatible) external disk drive.  However tonight it failed, early in the attempt, repeatedly.  Also when I asked it to look for updates, it failed to connect to the internet, whereas I could access websites OK over Safari.  Searching round, I found a later version, downloaded it, deleted the existing one (2.2) and installed the new one (2.3).

The new one similarly failed to access the internet.  On the other hand it did not fail early on in the process.  I aborted it anyhow, for reasons that will become clear (below).

Web-Search:

• Google: [winclone alternative]
  • Several posts stated:
    • Mixed experiences when using Winclone under Snow Leopard and the impossibility of using it (straight) under Lion)
    • To minimise problems under Snow Leopard, [Compressed] should be disabled.  Also select [.dmg] format.
    • This product (Winclone) was no longer being developed
  • Best Example:
    • http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1046365
      • Link to further information: http://www.google.com/search?q=http://twocanoes.com/discontinued/winclone/slwin7.html+site:forums.macrumors.com
      • <<I suspect that a big part of the change may actually be changes to hdiutil in the point releases of OS X that have been released since the Winclone authors posted their suggestion due to an uproar of issues in their forums. (Winclone is really just a GUI front end for hdituil, ntfsclone, and other tools>>
      • The “Demi-God (Moderator)”, balamw, indicated he might possibly develop a follow-on product.

I bought a discount copy of Adobe CS5.5 Production Premium, because (after much discussion with others) its feature-set seems to match my typical and forseeable production requirements more than those of other NLEs, including my current mainstay, Sony Vegas 9 (which I am still trying to wean myself off, but when any proper job comes along, I tend to fall back on the familiar and trusted, for low risk including avoidance of learning-delay).

Being (so far) a one-man-band who is traditional Windows user, I purchased the Windows version.  But, confirming what I had heard, it does seem that most media people I have met use Macs.  So should I have purchased the Mac version?  Are the versions exactly the same or have they different functionalities?  Is there an option for the license to cover installing the same product on both Windows and Mac OS provided only one of them is run at a time? (e.g. when on the same physical machine).  Ideally at zero or negligible cost of course.  For example Avid Media Composer does have this flexibility.  While the uncertainty remains, I will not open the box (in case it turns out that I need to exchange it).

Here is what I have learnt so far (mainly from web-searching, unverified information):

Differences between the OS-Specific variants:

• It appears that for CS5.5 Production Premium (at least), the Windows variant has slightly greater functionality.
• However it remains to be seen what will be the case for CS6, when it becomes available.

Some options are:

• Volume licensing.
  • Intended not only for businesses but also for individuals.  If the “volume”is for two licenses, they can be for each of the OS’s.
• Crossgrade.
  • But as far as I can tell it’s intended only for one-off (or infrequent) crossgrades, requiring “destruction of the software” on the old machine each time.  Shame it isn’t simply happy with repeatable deactivation/reactivation on each machine / OS.

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Video-editing on-the-move (e.g. on a train) using a MacBook Pro (laptop) with Sony Vegas 9 (64-bit) as NLE (under Boot Camp / Windows 7), my practical experience was that a GRaid Mini external drive was far, far better than a 5400 rpm Western Digital “Passport” drive.   Consistent with the dual use of the MacBook, I partitioned the drive for both NFTS (Windows) and HFS+ (Mac OS), 50-50%.  Due to Boot Camp limitations (explained below), up till now I only ever used it “tethered” to its own mains-based power supply.  But now I see it can also be used mobile, powered from the MacBook - something that up till now I could only achieve under Mac OS, not under Windows.

When using Boot Camp / Windows on the MacBook, I initially tried the shirtpocket-sized Passport drive because it was small, light and powered from the laptop’s USB port.  While its data throughput wasn’t too bad, at least for single-channel HD editing (especially when only 1280720), when it came to cuts from one video clip (hence, in my case, video file) to another, there was a frustrating delay every time.

I also have a GRaid Mini drive, but it wasn’t obvious at first how to use it mobile when using Windows (on a MacBook).  That drive consists of two 7200  drives in RAID-0 configuation (striped, giving speed but no redundancy), and appears just like any single drive to the computer (no RAID management etc. needed).  The drive has not only a USB (2) port but also FireWire 800 (FW800) and eSATA ports.  While the latter two options work fine with the MacBook under Mac OS, they don’t work under Boot Camp / Windows.  I have tried many times and trawled many forums, no solution is apparent.  Under Mac OS the eSATA drive would ordinarily plug into an ExpressCard adaptor plugged into the laptop’s ExpressCard slot, but under Boot Camp / Windows, the ExpressCard slot doesn’t work, while for the FW800 port under Boot Camp / Windows, it appears to work at first but eventually crashes as a device when it attempts to communicate data (e.g. when copying files).

When connected only by USB to the MacBook under BootCamp / Windows, the GRaid Mini is not powered from that port, hence up till now I have relied on a mains power supply to that drive.  However, I discovered if, after first connecting by USB, you subsequently connect also by the FW800 lead, then the drive takes power from the FW800 yet communicates data via the USB lead.   Hooray!  I can use it on-the-move then!

The order in which the leads are connected is vital.  If by mistake the FW lead was connected first, then the drive would sense that as the data communications route, and subsequently fail in use.  It is vital that the USB connection is made first.  Likewise, on disconnecting the drive (following “ejection” by the computer’s file-system), disconnect the FW drive first.  The rule is FW lead: connect last disconnect first.

My experience of editing with the GRaid Mini is far more fluid hence more pleasurable and efficient.  Totally worth it.  None of the per-cut delay effects of the 5400 rpm Passport drive.  And now it can be used on-the-move, even with Boot Camp / Windows on a MacBook.  I just wish Apple would fix that Boot Camp isue with FireWire and ExpressCard ports!

Backup & Restore via Disk Utility (DU) - on Mac OS install-disk - to a fresh hard-drive:

1. Routine: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1553
2. Complication: Backed-up not the whole disk but aMac OS partition alongside a Boot Camp partition.

• DU restores the partition (as a sole partition) but it won’t boot.
• Try install fresh OS X from install-dvd, then use it to create Boot Camp partition (and presumably boot-selection menu) then restore (with erase) to the OS X partition (only).  To save time (hopefully), didn’t actually install Windows.
  • Both the fresh-install and the restoration of OS X took about an hour.
  • Yes it worked! Booted into Mac OS just fine.
  • Left it to “settle” a bit - e.g. until CPU level down around zero.
  • Restart in Shift-Boot mode (to refresh OS’s tables etc.) and log-in as “DefaultEverything” (dummy user created as per advice - I think from Larry Jordan).  Maybe should have done that the first time…
  • Restarted in normal user account, again left awhile.
  • Started WinClone (App, started from MacOS)
    • It appeared to first scan the backup then began to install it.  Not quick, maybe an hour for each of these (two) tasks.
    • Source partition was 232.57 GB - as compared to the destination partition of around 250 GB.
  • Alt-Booted into W7 just fine.
  • Being on the internet, it began downloading numerous system updates - furiously (like it was hard to web-browse even on another computer on the network.
  • Correspondingly, on ShutDown, W7 installed numerous (61) updates.  Took ages - so if ever repeating such a recovery, allow for this…
  • Also on subsequent start-up, updating & registering stuff - took a few minutes - wish I’d run it straight (boot camp) not within Parallels.  But it seemed “happy”.
  • (to be continued…)

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Special instructions, e.g. to have a data partition alongside Mac OS and Windows partitions:

• http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=199262

NO! …Not at the very least until such time as I have no pressures and fancy an experiment (everything backed-up of course). On my Jan 2010 MacBook Pro (unibody), most things “ain’t broke” at present, the only issues are that the FW800 port and ExpressCard ports work only in Mac OS, not Windows 7, but I’ve found no explicit mention of these issues having been fixed. Shame, quite a few Windows people are put off Macs for that kind of reason.  On the other hand while some people report no problems, others do report issues (sometimes due to old/unhandled existing nVidia drivers on their systems), as follows.

• nVidia driver problems affecting install, display (and possibly keyboard).
  • Installation may hang or fail or appear to succeed but not completely in practice.
  • Screen may appear at low-resolution (e.g.VGA) or may black-out
  • Sleep (power management) may give a BSOD.

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