new Lula video offer

[Robert-Peter Westphal]

Hello,

to the new Lula video offers, nearly a thousand question come up for me :

• are you going to offer another special discount for those who already own many of the former videos or is the discount of 1/3 already offered the only one ?
  
• when I will decide to download a video of the subscription, will I be able to play the video on any device which is able to play the former videos ( TV based devices i.e. ) or
  
• am I restricted to a PC or Mac and your special app ?
  
• will you still go on with Lightroom video tutorials featuring Jeff and Michael as included part of the subscription ?
  
• if yes, will all future Lr videos base on the former one like it is with the Lr 5 videos or do you plan to shoot new videos for the complete product ?
  
  

Best wishes

Robert

[Christopher Sanderson]

• are you going to offer another special discount for those who already own many of the former videos or is the discount of 1/3 already offered the only one ?
  
• when I will decide to download a video of the subscription, will I be able to play the video on any device which is able to play the former videos ( TV based devices i.e. ) or
  
• am I restricted to a PC or Mac and your special app ?
  
• will you still go on with Lightroom video tutorials featuring Jeff and Michael as included part of the subscription ?
  
• if yes, will all future Lr videos base on the former one like it is with the Lr 5 videos or do you plan to shoot new videos for the complete product ?
  

- The current $50 discount is the only one. It would be nightmarish to try and parse individual product purchases and discount this all-inclusive subscription product

- There are two distinct methods of viewing our subscription: Download & Streaming.
The first is the traditional download of a file - the restriction (?) is that it must be played on our Luminous Landscape app media player (Mac or Windows) - but that player is essentially similar to QuickTime Player or VLC player. The second method is very robust streaming accessed through the same app but which then uses a web browser to view the videos - just like NetFlix.

There is a good FAQ on the system here

- I believe Mac OS X and Windows are the only platforms supported

- All of Luminous Landscape's videos are part of a subscription. That means all past and future videos - the only exception is Art Wolfe's 'Travels to the Edge' which is available separately.

-I have no window on Adobe's future plans. A major release with fundamental changes means a complete new tutorial (eg LR4); an 'incremental' release will mean updated videos particular to that release (eg LR5).

[michael]

Robert,

The $50 discount is our attempt to satisfy customers who may already own some of our videos. It also is to tempt folks who have never bought anything yet to give the new subscription plan a try.

The new system means that you can download or stream the videos. If you're on a Windows machine or a Mac you can download or stream. On an IOS or Android device you need to download the free player and can then stream anything at any time.

If you want to copy downloaded videos to your portable device you can do that to.

All videos are part of the subscription plan, tutorials as well as Video Journals.

In future this is how all of our videos will be sold and distributed. The last one that will still be available on the Legacy store as well as the LuLa Player is the new Capture One 7 tutorial. All future videos will be via the player, either by subscription or individual purchase.

We plan on producing more frequent content because for subscribers we can now make things available as they are produced, rather than having to wait for all segments to be completed editing, which as we know can take a long time.

Michael

[Robert-Peter Westphal]

Hello Michael and Chris,

first of all, many thanks for the fast and extensive answers !

Is the subscription like a cloud contract that will extends itself by a second or third year when not canceled ? The other point for me is that it is difficult to estimate the benefit of the yearly subscription compared to the future price to pay for a single video or tutorial. ( I understand it right that there is a choice between the yearly subscription and the option to 'buy' a single tutorial ?)

Do you plan to increase the basic price ( =150US$ ) which, when I'm right, everybody will have to pay after one year ?

Technically spoken, the files which can be downloaded are not ordinary formats like mov or mp4, but something special which can only be played on the special program. Is an online connection required to play downloaded material ? Can these also be used on an iPad during long flights where no internet connection is available ?

Many thanks for future answers !

Yours Robert

[Christopher Sanderson]

I think most of the answers are in the FAQ I pointed to above. Please let me know if they are not.

The contract will NOT automatically renew. You will need to re-subscribe.

There will always be a choice between subscribing and purchasing individual product. We want to keep customers' options as open as possible. We want to keep customers :-)

I expect that the base price will be $150 but the current discount will last for as long as it takes to get a reasonable number of people to subscribe. My guess: at least 4 months...

The files you download are almost exactly the same as the ones from the legacy store but they have a small DRM addition that allows them to be played on our Player App, so the wrapper is not MOV or mP4 but the codec is unchanged (H264).

No online connection is required to play the downloaded files and they can be stored on any connected drive. Obviously the streaming version requires a connection.

[Robert-Peter Westphal]

Chris,

again, thank you for answering my boring questions :-) !

I think I had a misunderstanding :

[...]The files you download are almost exactly the same as the ones from the legacy store but they have a small DRM addition that allows them to be played on our Player App, so the wrapper is not MOV or mP4 but the codec is unchanged (H264).

[...]

I thought that these fiels when downloaded can ONLY be played at the purple:player, but I didn't know that there is an addition to the files which makes them additionally playable on this player, but also on every other player but VLC.

Best wishes

Robert

[Christopher Sanderson]

Chris,

again, thank you for answering my boring questions :-) !

I think I had a misunderstanding :
I thought that these fiels when downloaded can ONLY be played at the purple:player, but I didn't know that there is an addition to the files which makes them additionally playable on this player, but also on every other player but VLC.

Best wishes

Robert

No, perhaps I did not make myself clear. The files are only playable on our player app which acts as a 'gateway'

[Jason DiMichele]

Hi Folks,

In case any of you were as confused as I was trying to figure out which app I needed to download for my iOS devices to stream the new LULA videos, it's the Purple:Player. Just search for it in the apple App Store.

Cheers,
Jay

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

Hi all,

I suppose it had to be me that asked the inevitable question(s).

I have watched and re-watched the LLVJ's many times over through the years and intend to watch them many times more in the future, I think I am one of your biggest fans as far as the LLVJ’s go, so am I right to assume that if I want to do this with all future releases, that I will now have to pay $150 per annum for as long going into the future as I wish to do so and the moment I stop my subscription I lose access to all that new content?

I don’t use LR or Capture One or any DAM tools other than my own methods using Windows Explorer, nor do I have any interest in videography, so perhaps I am not your standard customer, but then again maybe I am, who knows, but I just wonder if this “all or nothing” subscription model, is really going to be the best route to retain all of your previous customers as well as attract lots of new ones?

I am sure you knew these questions would come from someone, so it may as well be me I suppose, so please don't shoot the messenger, as I am not trying to throw a spanner in the works for you and all the good work that you guys do and the subscription price doesn't actually worry me too much either, but no longer being able to re-watch what I will now be paying for, without also having to pay a continual and never ending subscription fee does worry me. So is there no way that your loyal customers cannot fully buy and own any of your new content based on what they choose to own, sort of an existing customer benefit or something?

I know if I want to watch a movie though Netflix (the comparison you use), then I fully understand that I have to pay a subscription to Netflix to do so, but on the other hand, if I like the movie enough that I want to own it, then I also have the option to buy it via any video retailer – couldn’t you have a “buy out” price option for each video perhaps?

Even Kelby moves his content over to DVD sales eventually as new content arrives, perhaps something like that could also work for the LLVJ’s? Only not DVD's but downloads, as I know you had problems posting DVD's around the planet in the past..

 

Dave

[Christopher Sanderson]

You are right Dave - I knew that the subscription all-or-nothing criticism would be leveled at us. But No Worries!

If you choose to purchase individual products they will remain yours wether you additionally subscribe or not (I suggest not...).

The only thing that will disappear if you do not maintain a subscription is an item that you have not purchased outright.

The customer has a choice: Subscribe and view everything so long as your subscription remains current

OR

Buy individual products as before and keep them on your machine(s) to view for as long as you wish.

Every video product in the Store is available as an outright purchase or by subscription...

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

You are right Dave - I knew that the subscription all-or-nothing criticism would be leveled at us. But No Worries!

If you choose to purchase individual products they will remain yours wether you additionally subscribe or not (I suggest not...).

The only thing that will disappear if you do not maintain a subscription is an item that you have not purchased outright.

The customer has a choice: Subscribe and view everything so long as your subscription remains current

OR

Buy individual products as before and keep them on your machine(s) to view for as long as you wish.

Every video product in the Store is available as an outright purchase or by subscription...

Chris, that's bloody fantastic 

Thanks mate 

Dave

[owinthomas]

I like the idea of a subscription to view LuLa video content. It's very similar to the Kelby Training and Lynda.com websites both of which I use on a frequent basis, as they provide a monthly subscription well as a yearly subscription. Would LuLa consider that subscription model also?

Would I require to use the app to view purchased videos?

I ask this because I use iTunes to manage my videos, music etc. Currently, I have 3 steps to ready the videos for my preferred watching, namely download, unzip and move the files into iTunes. I can then use my iMac, Apple TV or iPad to watch.

Using an app means I need an app on my iMac along with an app on my iPad, along with 8 steps to get my videos on to the iPad. I would then need to use AirPlay to view on my AppleTV. All of which is more complicated and not a step forward in my view

[Rick Popham]

There will always be a choice between subscribing and purchasing individual product. We want to keep customers' options as open as possible. We want to keep customers :-)

That's good, because I want to remain a customer. 

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

You are right Dave - I knew that the subscription all-or-nothing criticism would be leveled at us. But No Worries!

If you choose to purchase individual products they will remain yours wether you additionally subscribe or not (I suggest not...).

The only thing that will disappear if you do not maintain a subscription is an item that you have not purchased outright.

The customer has a choice: Subscribe and view everything so long as your subscription remains current

OR

Buy individual products as before and keep them on your machine(s) to view for as long as you wish.

Every video product in the Store is available as an outright purchase or by subscription...

This is exactly the message about "How to do it" that many of us would like to send to Adobe. That is, this sounds like "subscriptions done right."

[Robert-Peter Westphal]

Hello Chris,

when I read and hopefully understand it all, what is the advantage of going with the subscription ? Will you increase the price for the single video heavily ( what I cannot image ), so the only advantage I can find is the availability to watch it online as a streaming video.


Please, correct me if I'm wrong.

Best wishes Robert

[Josh-H]

Robert, I think the subscription also offers full access to the back catalogue at any time and if I understand correctly thats its primary selling feature. Well.. that and instant access to all new content.

[Nigel Johnson]

No, perhaps I did not make myself clear. The files are only playable on our player app which acts as a 'gateway'

Chris,

If you purchase individual products will they be in the same format as subscription versions, ie with DRM that only allows them to be played in your player app? My concern here is that I have had content in the past that allowed outright purchase but required a specific app to access; the app is no longer updated and with changing operating systems does not work, hence no access to content. Standard video types as previously available do not have this risk.

For your information I doubt if, in the short term, I would choose to subscribe as the access to existing content is of limited value to me. This is because I have purchased all but two, or possibly all but one, of your videos (LLVJ, tutorials and T2E) and therefore already have access to most legacy content.

Best wishes for the new distribution method and redesign,
Nigel

[Christopher Sanderson]

If you purchase individual products will they be in the same format as subscription versions, ie with DRM that only allows them to be played in your player app?...

Yes, I believe so. I think the video file has a little DRM snippet added with a tag that indicates 'purchased' or 'rental'. Will they be playable in 2040? I don't know - but if we exist then, there will be a way of getting the videos. 

Chris

[Rick Popham]

Somewhat related to Nigel's post -- I've also purchased many (most) of the LuLa videos.  Having already purchased these videos, will we be able to to download/stream them with this new system, or would we have to repurchase/subscribe to view them on the new service?

[Christopher Sanderson]

Somewhat related to Nigel's post -- I've also purchased many (most) of the LuLa videos.  Having already purchased these videos, will we be able to to download/stream them with this new system, or would we have to repurchase/subscribe to view them on the new service?

I am not sure why you might want to view them on the new system...they are the same videos in fact.

So, no there is no ability to 'credit' already-purchased videos. Tha would be a redundancy and also nightmarish to administer & manage.

Chris