Missing content in X8

[mwsing]

I have recently installed VideoStudio X8 and the additional Content. I now find that I do not have any of the ProDad sofware such as Mercalli and Rotopen. What happened?

[RobertOZ]

Which version did you install, Pro or Ultimate, ProDAD is only available in the Ultimate version

[dtvp]

If you do have Ultimate and originally saw the content you list, have you reset the Library using the Library manager? That (IMHO somewhat bizarrely) removes those features.

[mwsing]

Thanks for your replies, I have X8 Pro, not Ultimate. However, I cannot believe that when I pay for an upgrade that I end up losing functionality that I already had. I certainly did not realise that this would happen. It seems to me to by unconscionable behaviour of Corel to put its users into this position.

I still have the links to download the contents for X7. What would happen if I downloaded this again - would I lose all of the newer (if any) versions of the attributes that I downloaded with X8. Having had this advice from you I did go and print out the comparison lists and see the differences between the two products. As you say, ProDad is not included in X8 Pro. I still can't agree with Corel's position on this.

[Ken Berry]

I am pretty sure that Corel's response would be that they have to pay proDAD a licence fee for each installation of those plug-ins in X8 -- just as they would have to have done for them in X7. So are you suggesting they should bear the cost of that licence fee in X7 rather than passing it on to the customer?

[mwsing]

No. To me, the problem is that I was using X7 Pro previously and would, therefore, assume that X8 would give the same and increased functionality - not a removal of some of the functionality. I see that Corel is now advertising an upgrade to X8 Ult for AUD 84, which is less than I paid for upgrading to X8 Pro! Of course, if I had known about the loss of ProDad in X8 PRO, I would have upgraded to X8 ULT last week, instead of now being caught out!

[Terfyn]

Corel post a comparison list as a .pdf showing what is available on Pro and Ultimate, so there is really no excuse for not knowing what is available or not.

[dtvp]

In Pinnacle Studio Ultimate - which as you probably know is also owned by Corel - the plug-ins that were provided in version 17 - Red Giant ones - can be made to work in version 18 which only comes with New Blue effects. Corel/Pinnacle even went to the trouble of trouble of providing a 32-64 bit bridge so this can happen. OK, you need to leave S17 installed, or do a bit of poking about otherwise, but PS18 Ultimate doesn't ship with the Red Giant effects and yet I have them in S18.

So, I don't think this is a case of a license fee issue. Corel have paid the license fee out of the proceeds of the earlier sale. It more of a case of providing some coding effort.

Of course the situation may be different because the OP has not upgraded Like for Like, but it seems to me that it should be possible to inherit the plug-ins that you have paid for when you bought the earlier version. Are there any plug-ins that were provided in x7 Ultimate that aren't in X8, and if so, can you carry them across?

[RobertOZ]

No. To me, the problem is that I was using X7 Pro previously and would, therefore, assume that X8 would give the same and increased functionality - not a removal of some of the functionality. I see that Corel is now advertising an upgrade to X8 Ult for AUD 84, which is less than I paid for upgrading to X8 Pro! Of course, if I had known about the loss of ProDad in X8 PRO, I would have upgraded to X8 ULT last week, instead of now being caught out!

If you have VSX7 Pro, how did you obtain the ProDAD filters as these would not have been included, again they were only included in the Ultimate version

If you only purchased VSX8 Pro a week ago, you could try contacting support for a refund, then purchase the Ultimate version

[Ken Berry]

dtvp said:

Corel have paid the license fee out of the proceeds of the earlier sale.

No you misunderstand. They paid the licence fee for X7, but they have to pay a separate licence fee for X8. proDAD (and Corel) do not understand that the persons who bought X7 Ultimate and X8 Pro are the same people... And we are talking about two completely different programs...

The only thing I can suggest is to try copying all the proDAD-related files from the vft_plug sub-folder in the Corel folder in your Program Files (or X86) folder for X7 to the equivalent X8 sub-folder, then reopen X8. And also possibly then also changing the name of the 18.0 sub-folder in the Users\[YourName]\AppData\Roaming\Ulead Systems\Corel VideoStudio Pro (or Video Studio Pro X64) sub-folder, then reopening VS. A new 18.0 folder will be rebuilt and sometimes those new plug-in files will be recognised in X8. But I don't guarantee it...

[dtvp]

No, I don't misunderstand. I am clear that the OP has bought Pro, not Ultimate. That he has bought the wrong program is not in question.

The point is that the plug-in has been paid for. In the parallel example with Pinnacle Studio, Corel have made it possible for owners of plug-ins supplied with earlier versions to get them to work in later versions which aren't supplied with that plug-in. So it's not a license fee issue.

[Ken Berry]

It certainly is a licence fee issue with them this time round, with X8. They themselves have advanced this as a reason for severely trimming the trial version, stripping it of codecs which don't come as part of Windows, and also in the commercial version making the Blu-Ray module a separate unit which you have to pay for separately.

As a lawyer, I would probably have to quibble with your reasoning. Yes, with X7 Ultimate you or your friend may have bought those plug-ins, but they were tweaked to work with X7. And they can still be used with X7 as it does not need to be removed when X8 is installed. But X8 Ultimate is a separate package and the plug-ins in that package are again tweaked to work with X8. However, I would certainly agree with you that it is silly that we have to jump through these hoops a second time when the plug-ins are already on our computers...

But have you tried the work-around I suggested in my last post?

[dtvp]

But have you tried the work-around I suggested in my last post?

I have bought X8 Ultimate so I don't need to. I would have though it would be the beta testers and moderators that would do that sort of research.

I suggest you use your inside track to ask Corel about the current situation. All I'm doing is comparing what is happening with VideoStudio with what is happening with their other products as it may be of help.

[Terfyn]

I would have though it would be the beta testers and moderators that would do that sort of research.

I thought it would be clear that beta testers and moderators have NO control over Corel. If you wish to "beef about it", go to Corel directly and not try to put the blame on the Forum members who have made it clear in the past that the Forum has no direct connection to Corel.
The beta testers feed back any and everything that is not working as expected but there is NO control over what Corel issues as the final product. As you will be aware from other posts, the "free" download has parts missing which can only be found when buying the full programme - why they have done that, I don't know, but I think it is a retrograde step.

[dtvp]

I would have though it would be the beta testers and moderators that would do that sort of research.

I thought it would be clear that beta testers and moderators have NO control over Corel. If you wish to "beef about it", go to Corel directly and not try to put the blame on the Forum members who have made it clear in the past that the Forum has no direct connection to Corel.
The beta testers feed back any and everything that is not working as expected but there is NO control over what Corel issues as the final product. As you will be aware from other posts, the "free" download has parts missing which can only be found when buying the full programme - why they have done that, I don't know, but I think it is a retrograde step.

I'm not beefing about anything. Ken was suggesting that I do some research for a problem that isn't even my problem - either that or he has got confused about who he is taking to. I'm just saying that you guys have a better relationship with Corel than the other users. Instead of speculating about license fees, you could just ask them.

I'm not putting any "blame" on anyone. I know just how frustrating it can be working on the Pinnacle forum as a beta tester and moderator and you people are in the same position.