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Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection

Manufacturer: Adobe Systems Inc. Part number: 29280556

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$1,399.99 - $1,850.00 at 7 online stores

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Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 3 reviews

More product information:: Editors' take; User reviews; Specifications; Manufacturer info

Bottom Line:: Adobe built this deluxe software package for creative professionals seeking to make content consistent across the Web, in film, on handheld devices, in print, and elsewhere.
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CNET editors' take

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection

price range: $1,399.99 - $1,850.00

Reviewed by: Elsa Wenzel
Edited by: Lori Grunin
Reviewed on: 03/26/2007

The bottom line: Adobe built this deluxe software package for creative professionals seeking to make content consistent across the Web, in film, on handheld devices, in print, and elsewhere.

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If one Adobe design application, such as Photoshop, is equivalent to, say, a box of crayons, then Adobe CS3 Master Collection suite would be like a drawer packed with crayons, markers, paints, and pencils in hundreds of hues. This heavy-duty software suite contains 17 equally heavy-duty applications--every major professional package in the Adobe pantheon for digital design. With it, you should be able to shoot, edit, and produce a TV-quality commercial; then repurpose those video clips for the Web and mobile phone browsers as well as a companion DVD; then use the existing images, logos, and text in a printed newsletter or magazine ad campaign. However, for those who may not need so many tools, Adobe is also fine-tuning five other software packages.

Adobe Creative Suite 3 packages

	Price: full	Price: upgrade
Creative Suite 3 Master Collection	$2,499	$1,999 (from Studios, CS, or CS2); $1,399 (from two older suites)
Creative Suite 3 Design Premium	$1,799	$599 (from Studios, CS, or CS2); $1,599 (from individual apps)
Creative Suite 3 Design Standard	$1,199	$399 (from Studios, CS, or CS2); $899 (from individual apps)
Creative Suite 3 Web Premium	$1,599	$499 (from Studios, CS, or CS2); $1,399 (from individual apps)
Creative Suite 3 Web Standard	$999	$399 (from Studios, CS, or CS2); $799 (from individual apps)
Creative Suite 3 Production Premium	$1,699	$799 (from Studios, CS, or CS2); $1,199 (from individual apps)

Adobe's Master Collection will include the new Photoshop CS3 Extended, which integrates with Adobe's video-editing tools and Illustrator for vector graphics. InDesign handles print layouts, while Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, Encore, and Acrobat serve Webmasters and interactive professionals. Premiere and After Effects edit video--and unlike the previous version, this iteration of Premiere now runs on the Mac--while Ultra assists with chromakeying and Soundbooth edits audio. OnLocation, a lightly repackaged version of DVRack (acquired last year), can help videographers tweak a shoot on site, in the studio, or out in the field.

There's also the Version Cue file version manager and the Bridge content control center. Acrobat Connect Web conferencing can get members of your design, editing, marketing, and other teams on the same page at the same time. Device Central allows mobile content designers to preview creations on skins of the latest handheld gadgets. Adobe's Dynamic Link technology now enables video editors to move content between Premiere, AfterEffects, and Encore while maintaining editability. The CS3 versions of Premiere, Soundbooth, Encore, and OnLocation, in addition to Dynamic Link, require Intel-based Mac computers, which all of the other applications can run on as well as PowerPC-based Macs. However, the Master Collection does not include Lightroom for managing extensive photo libraries.

This big box of goodies will run $2,499 to $1,999 if you upgrade from CS2 or CS suites; Studio 8, MX 2004, or MX; or Adobe Production Studio Premium or Standard. Those who own any two of those older suites may opt to upgrade to the Master Collection for $1,399. Adobe intends to ship its Creative Suite 3 Master Collection in the third quarter of 2007, when the video applications are available. Until that time, you have the option to purchase Adobe Production Studio Premium, After Effects 7.0 Professional, or Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 and upgrade to their Creative Suite 3 counterparts for free.

For now, Photoshop CS3 beta is available free for download; it has a two-day time-out that you can extend with a valid Photoshop CS serial number. Free beta trials of Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 and Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional will become available for download from Adobe Labs beginning April 16.

For most users, the Adobe CS3 Master Collection will be overkill, despite the significant cost savings over acquiring the apps individually. Unfortunately, it's licensed--and activated--on a suite basis, so you can't buy the Master Collection and distribute the apps around a workgroup, a department, or a small studio, which seems the most effective use of an uber-suite like this. We'll report back again after we test the various applications.

Applications in the Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection

	Price if bought separately
Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional	$449
After Effects CS3 Professional	$999
Bridge CS3	n/a
Contribute CS3	$149
Dreamweaver CS3	$399
Fireworks CS3	$299
Flash CS3 Professional	$699
Illustrator CS3	$599
InDesign CS3	$699
Photoshop CS3 Extended	$999
Premiere Pro CS3 with Encore CS3 and OnLocation	$799
Soundbooth CS3	$199
Ultra CS3	n/a

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User reviews

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Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 3 reviews
My rating: 0 stars

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3 stars

Dropped the ball on Install for PC

by davidemr on August 28, 2007

Pros: Have not gotten there yet. If you wait to buy, you will find the pros much sooner.

Cons: A few registry edits, a cleanup utility, several reinstalls, and almost 6.5 hours later until I got to open it for the first time.

Summary: If you have just spent a pretty penny on a CS3 application, be prepared to spend several more in time. The initial install of Adobe CS3 Web Premium, an upgrade ...

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Summary: If you have just spent a pretty penny on a CS3 application, be prepared to spend several more in time. The initial install of Adobe CS3 Web Premium, an upgrade from CS2, was a nightmare and very time consuming. The only relief throughout the process was finding hundreds! of users experiencing the same misery. Apparently Adobe failed to work out all the bugs with its install program. They decided instead to push the expense off on us the loyal and money-backed customer.

My advice is do NOT buy a CS3 product for PC until there is a fix for the installation app. The Adobe representative was very apologetic, informing me that an update is on the horizon. Wait for it. Your life will be saved hours of frustration and headache, especially if you have any Macromedia or Adobe products already running on your PC.

I know these reviews are typically for the software itself, but what can I review if I spent the last two evenings of my life trying to install. Today I am hopeful: I believe all the quirks are worked out... unless the updates I am running now uncover a new issue.

Again, save yourself some heartache and wait for a fix.

As for you Adobe, bad show... My disappointment runs deep but I need your tools. Enjoy the money I gave you, but do not do this again to your customers.

P.S. Get familiar with these phrases. If you are trying to install now, you will be seeing them a few times:

1. The Installer has insufficient privileges to modify the file...
2. Component Install Failure
3. You cannot use this product at this time. You must repair the problem by uninstalling and then reinstalling this product or contacting your IT administrator or Adobe customer support for help.

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1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
2 stars

Frustration! CS3 apps won't start up!

by wendysuedean61 on September 4, 2008

Pros: Once CS3 was successfully installed (that was a nightmare) everything seemed to work fine for a number of months. However, last week none of the applications would start up. (A problem caused the program to stop working...) error message displays.

Cons: On the phone all day with technical support after CS3 abruptly stopped. I could not start up Flash 9. I was so irritated when Tech Support did not call me back that I had to write a letter to the Director of Customer Support at Adobe in San Jose.

Summary: As a die-hard fan of the other graphics suite (starts with a "C"), I have never really cared for any of Adobe's products on the PC or Mac. Installation ...

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Summary: As a die-hard fan of the other graphics suite (starts with a "C"), I have never really cared for any of Adobe's products on the PC or Mac. Installation take forever and start-up is excruciatingly slow. Executing the features requires so many additional steps. Need I mention how pricey Adobe software is. Version after version--I would ask myself, what has changed anyway?"

I was mortified when Adobe acquired Macromedia. Thank God I kept my Macromedia version of Flash 8. Unfortunately that won't help me with Flash animations I created in version 9. If I ever get version 9 working again, I am converting everything back to version 8.

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10 stars

Better intergration between Adobe Applications

by blank- on March 28, 2007

Pros: Intergration with PS cs3 and I cs3 with flash makes everything a whole lot FASTER

Cons: The price, but to get the best product you must sacrifice something!

Summary: This new line of Adobe products will make it easier for newbies and professionals to create and edit faster and better then before!

Summary: This new line of Adobe products will make it easier for newbies and professionals to create and edit faster and better then before!

0 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

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Specifications

Manufacturer: Adobe Systems Inc.
Part number: 29280556
Description: Get the tools you need to create content for every design discipline in one offering. Adobe Creative Suite 3.3 Master Collection software combines the best professional creative tools from Adobe with exceptional integration and productivity, so you can meet creative challenges and take your business in new directions.

General
Category Creativity application
Subcategory Creativity - animation, Creativity - web design / publishing, Creativity - desktop publishing, Creativity - music or sound creation, Creativity - multimedia authoring, Creativity - graphics & image editing, Creativity - video editing & production
License pricing Standard
Package type Retail
Software
License Type Complete package
Min Supported Color Depth 32-bit color

System Requirements
OS Required Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, Microsoft Windows Vista Business, Microsoft Windows XP SP2, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate
Software Requirements QuickTime 7.1.5
Peripheral / Interface Devices 7200 RPM or faster hard drive, DirectX compatible sound card, Internet connection, SXGA monitor, DVD-ROM
Operating System
License Qty 1 user

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Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection

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