Incorrect PhotoLooks With PSPx3 Ultimate

[jedasa]

I was wondering if anyone has upgraded to PSPx3 Ultimate which includes some extra plugins; the one I'm thinking of in particular is Magic Bullet PhotoLooks. According to the download link it is listed as "Magic Bullet PhotoLooks, ver. 1.1. Even during the install is says PhotoLooks for PSP Pro is being installed. However, IT DOES NOT INSTALL AS SUCH! It installs as Magic Bullet Looks, ver. 1.42, which is a completely different software package for video.

So the version provided by Corel is "Magic Bullet Looks, ver. 1.42". This is the current version of "Magic Bullet Looks" according to Red Giant's website.

The current version of "Magic Bullet PhotoLooks" is ver. 1.5. According to Red Giant's website, PhotoLooks (which is specifically for digital photography) never even had a version 1.42, which is what everone got with the PSP Ultimate package. PhotoLooks went from ver. 1.1.1 to 1.5. Therefore, a mistake has been made and Corel has been providing Magic Bullet Looks, ver. 1.42 instead of PhotoLooks, ver. 1.1.

When I purchased PSP x3 Ultimate, Corel's website clearly stated that MB Photolooks was included with the x3 Ultimate pack (not MB Looks). In fact, the email confirmation from Corel also clearly states in the download link that the software to be downloaded is Magic Bullet PhotoLooks ver. 1.1 (which allows a free upgrade to ver. 1.5 according to Red Giant's website). Red Giant's website definitely concurs with the version differences and states that Photolooks and Looks are two separate software programs.

I have explained all of this to Corel and Red Giant. Red Giant in an email to me agreed that MagicBullet Looks was for video, but that I would have to contact Corel about the problem. I sent a very detailed email to Corel and even asked them please to do some research into this. I received an email back with a link again saying the download was PhotoLook, ver 1.1. - in fact, it was exactly the same file that I previously had. Obviously, this Corel rep didn't research anything - so much for customer support!

Something appears to be really screwed up with Corel and/or Red Giant. Somehow there has been a mix-up and customers are receiving the wrong software package.

I would appreciate what other users feel or have experienced about this. Thanks.

[wds937]

The version of PhotoLooks that ships with PSP X3 Ultimate is supposedly a special version (sub-version?, subversion?) of PhotoLooks that interfaces with PaintShop Pro. The standard version sold by Red Giant is said to be compatible only with Lightroom, Photoshop, and Aperture. (The reason I say "supposedly" is that I have not been able to get it to work on my main computer, but that's another thread a few pages back.)

The PhotoLooks installation DVD from Corel has a version number of 1.1 on the label. However, the installed LooksBuilderPL.exe file has a version number of 1.4.2.0. The installed Looks3_32.8bf plugin file has a version number of 1.1.0.0, while the CurrentVersion.txt file has a version number of 1.1.1. When I get a chance, I'll check the version numbers on my laptop (where I was able to get PhotoLooks to work), and if there are any version differences, I'll post an update.

So, it appears that the PSP package for PhotoLooks is a hybrid.

[jedasa]

Thanks for your input. However, I can't help but to conclude that Corel unintentionally or intentionally, has provided "Looks" - which is for video. Evidently the two programs have an identical interface, but according to the Red Giant website and the emails I've received from Red Giant Support they are two separate software packages. Indeed, one of the comments that the support rep (Aurora Ness) from Red Giant said was:

"Although it is disturbing to hear that they are passing out copies of Looks (which as I stated above, is for video editing software). I have made a note of this case and we will be looking into the issue."

I just find it too much of a coincidence that when you're in PSP x3 and you click on the PhotoLooks plugin and then click on "Help" - "About", this is what you see:

Magic Bullet PhotoLooks
LooksBuilder 1.42

When you open the stand-alone version of LooksBuilder (also provided in the download), and then click on "Help" - "About", this is what you see:

Magic Bullet Looks
1.42

PhotoLooks never had a version 1.42, but the current version of Looks (which is for video) is at version 1.42!

The most recent message from Alan at Corel was as follows:

"Please be advised that Corel bundles Magic Bullet PhotoLooks 1.4.2 to PaintShop Pro X3. Corel never mentioned that it would bundled version 1.5 of Magic Photo Looks. Since this product is a bundled software, it was tweaked in order to work with PaintShop Pro X3."

Well (as I replied to Alan), nobody is questioning whether or not we should have got PhotoLooks, ver. 1.5! The issue is that we were supposed to receive PhotoLooks, ver. 1.1 but it seems Corel has "tweaked" as Alan admits, Looks 1.42 instead of PhotoLooks 1.1, and then gone ahead and labelled it as PhotoLooks 1.1.

As I said above, I just find it too much of a coincidence for this not to be the case. Otherwise, how and why would it just happen to say Looks, or PhotoLooks 1.42 when you click on "Help" - "About" in either of the programs (the plugin for PSP x3 or the stand-alone version)?

[wds937]

Good observations. I guess because I have never gotten this to work on the computer I use most with PSP, despite numerous support episodes with Corel and Red Giant, I haven't paid too much attention to the version number specifics. Over the numerous troubleshooting attempts, I have installed (or attempted to install) various files and patches with various version numbers. The numbers I posted above are where this machine stands now (even though it doesn't work), and it appears they pretty much match your observations.

[jedasa]

Important Update,

I'm not sure if anyone will notice this - but just to let you know that a solution has been found, but not from Corel.

As I've said in previous posts, the version of PhotoLooks supplied with PSP x3 just doesn't make sense. Corel says it's supposed to be PhotoLooks 1.1, but the Help - About clearly indicates version 1.42 (Now this is the important point here - according to Red Giant website, version 1.42 is for Magic Bullet Looks - which is for video editing - NOT PHOTO. Magic Bullet PhotoLooks never had a version 1.42).

So it appears that Corel is supplying Looks, not PhotoLooks.

Red Giant has been wonderful (what a contrast to Corel!) They suggested I download their version and see what happens. I did this. The download says it is for Photoshop, 32 bit or 64 bit. I installed the 32 bit version. It installed perfectly and automatically accepted my serial number from my initial install from Corel. Then I checked Help - About in both the plugin for Corel and the stand alone version and both now say:

Magic Bullet PhotoLooks 1.5

This is the most current version of PhotoLooks, according to Red Giant website.

In conclusion, everything is as it should be - but not because of Corel, but rather Red Giant. All the communication and so-called help from Corel can be summed up as incompetent and inefficient and just plain pathetic! And it's not just this issue - many users of PSP x3 also have issues with plugins that worked perfectly with x3 update 1 for example, but do not work with current updates. Whenever this is brought to Corel's attention their favorite response is to 'pass the buck' and blame somebody else. And according to this board there are numerous other concerns as well.

My decision is to stop any further or future business with Corel. Their lack of support as well as all the bugs reflects an inferior product. I'm moving over to Photoshop Elements (which I'm amazed I didn't do in the first place for about the same purchase price)!

Hopefully existing users at least will benefit from this and be able to download and install the most current and correct version of Magic Bullet PhotoLooks 1.5 (which is a great product).

[Miguel Melo]

I sent the following question by PM to the user above (jedasa), but thought I'd post it here in case anyone else can answer too:

I personally don't have Ultimate, only X3 Pro, but was humouring the idea of buying the upgrade mainly because of MBL. So I downloaded the 1.5 demo and took the standalone version for a spin and it seemed cool. However, I could never get it to appear as a plugin in X3 (even tried to run the patch that is floating around).

So, my question is, are people really able to run 1.5 from within PSP or only standalone? And, assuming you were able, did you have to install corel's 1.42 version, then the patch AND ONLY then 1.5 for it to appear under PSP?

Many thanks in advance!

[Kathy_9]

Yes, I can run Photolooks as a plug-in from within PSP (works with both X2 and X3). I did apply the compatibility patch that came with it. My X3 is fully patched but I honestly don't remember what state it was in in terms of patches when I added Photolooks.