Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Dolby software upgrades free or pay

This is topic Dolby software upgrades free or pay in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Kirk Futrell (Member # 5006) on 02-01-2013, 11:05 AM:

Does Dolby charge for software updates to their servers?

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 02-01-2013, 01:26 PM:

It depends on how old is your server. I think you have 3 years of "software support", then you have to pay to have the latest version - but you can still have an "old" version for free.

Posted by Wolfgang Woehl (Member # 6901) on 02-01-2013, 04:17 PM:

Every time you're paying Dolby or any of the vendors in digital cinema for a software update you are paying for bugfixes and new bugs. Keep that in mind for the next negotiation. Yes, it is unacceptable, indeed.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 02-01-2013, 04:55 PM:

That's a tough call to make. Yes, they should use care in designing and coding software and they should test that software before releasing it to the public but it is not possible to predict everything.

Sometimes, despite best efforts, bugs are not apparent until software is used in real life situations. Other times, software and equipment are used in different ways than originally planned.

You just can't write software that is 100% bulletproof 100% of the time. Incremental improvements and bug fixes are necessary to keep software up to par in the mission-critical environment we work in.

If thre is a problem that should have been caught before it was released, yes, those fixes should be free but you can't rightly expect every software update to be free forever. That's just not reasonable.

Posted by Wolfgang Woehl (Member # 6901) on 02-01-2013, 05:26 PM:

Don't pay for bugfixes. It is that simple.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 02-01-2013, 05:29 PM:

Wolfgang, that is not true. Once a server qualifies for a version number x.y, then it qualifies for all subsequent revisions of that software to ensure that bugs are indeed fixed. The question comes from "new features" and at what point do they stop being free. There can be a whole discussion on that and I certainly have my opinions too.

Since Dolby provides up to 3-years of software maintenance, the version of software that shipped with any particular unit should not only have had all of the bugs from that version fixed, but also 3-years of whatever new features...say high-frame rate, to name a recent one. But if your server qualifies for the current version 4.5...then you would qualify for all of the 4.5 versions (currently 4.5.4.2) that subsequently come out. That is to ensure that bug fixes are covered.

Posted by Kirk Futrell (Member # 5006) on 02-02-2013, 03:57 PM:

Thanks, how many digits typically in the cost of the upgrade and do other server manufactures use this same model?

Posted by Antti Nayha (Member # 4980) on 02-02-2013, 04:23 PM:

Apparently it’s only Dolby, the others offer updates for free. (But correct me if I’m wrong.)

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 02-02-2013, 06:22 PM:

This price list says $400 for a year of updates?

Anyway, if you are out of sw warranty that does not mean that you cannot have a software. You cannot have the latest one - maybe - but Dolby should not refuse to provide you with a decent version which will make your server fully functional.
Say if you are stuck at version 3.8, I think you can have a version 4.x free of charge.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 02-02-2013, 06:29 PM:

I am unaware of any other company in the industry that charges for software updates of its own equipment.

The claim is that due to the public nature of Dolby that they are "required" to charge for the engineering time devoted to software updates when they contain new features as part of some SEC rules (protection to share holders).

Clearly, there are other software creators in the industry that charge, mostly in the financially related services (POS, accounting...etc). Also, more than one TMS software manufacturer charges annual fees.

That said, Dolby seems to have been rather loose with its 3-year policy. Every DSS100 was able to update to 4.3...long after the 3-year period. With the CAT 745, there isn't a KDM requirement so it will be difficult to enforce.