ShotPut Pro maker Imagine Products has become the latest software vendor to offer subscription pricing, with the introduction of rental plans alongside existing perpetual licenses.
Every perpetual license includes 12 months of updates, and the update plan can be extended indefinitely, on an automatic or as-needed basis, for an annual fee. Once an update plan expires, users keep access to that version of the software until they buy another update plan.
To go along with the new licensing options, Imagine said it had redesigned its website, including the software activation functions, to be easier to use.
“Rental equipment is becoming much more popular because it creates a more flexible and fluid work space,” said Imagine Products Marketing Director Michelle Maddox in a prepared statement. “And bundling the software that works nicely together offers the peace of mind we’re well-known for and provides a cohesive experience. The new website and activation very much fall in that same vein. We’re excited to show them to our loyal customers and introduce them to our new ones.”
ShotPut Pro, ProVu, PrimeTranscoder and myLTO are all being offered for 15-day or 45-day rentals as well as on perpetual licenses. Perpetual licenses come with 12 months of free updates, with the option to have updates automatically renewed, for a fee, as soon as the initial term expires. Updates can also be purchased on a pay-as-you-go basis, but for a significantly higher (15%-25%, depending on the product) annual charge.
The math favors perpetual licenses for more than about 120 days of rental. For example, a perpetual license for ShotPut Pro costs $149, while a 45-day rental is $49 and a 15-day rental is $19. Automatically renewing updates at the end of the first year of a perpetual license costs $39, or $49 if done on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Rental plans are not available for PreRoll Post, myLTOdna, or Imagine’s software bundles. In the first two cases, we’re told, that’s down to the nature of the product. For instance, PreRoll Post adds information about every LTFS tape created to a database. MyLTO does not create a database, so it would be a better choice for a one-time archiving job. Similarly, MyLTOdna requires a DNAltfs license from StorageDNA, which is not available on a rental basis, so myLTO is a better fit for any job that might benefit from a rental license.
Potential rental pricing for software bundles, meanwhile, is still under discussion.
ShotPut Pro has a new Simple mode for faster offloading.
Imagine Products
In other pre-NAB news, Imagine described a “makeover” for ShotPut Pro along with new features including condensed PDF reports that include more metadata, a simplified mode for faster offloading and thumbnail support for Codex .ARX raw frames. Imagine also said it will show a potential workflow with Codex and Frame.io at NAB.
Imagine Products: www.imagineproducts.com
