When Copy Protection has the Same Effect as Piracy?

[asksol]

sfd, They use ilok for the simple reason that it's not cracked, why on earth would they publish an unprotected version of their library? The weakest link in the chain and all that.

Some of the best software available is using ilok: Softube, Eventide, Exponential Audio, Audio Ease, GRM tools, Soundtoys, Kush, Avid, etc, etc. The list is long, and as such ilok is almost essential in [pro] audio at this point. If you really want to miss out on these tools, then that is up to you, but don't expect to get any sympathy.

[Hink]

sfd, They use ilok for the simple reason that it's not cracked, why on earth would they publish an unprotected version of their library? The weakest link in the chain and all that.

Some of the best software available is using ilok: Softube, Eventide, Exponential Audio, Audio Ease, GRM tools, Soundtoys, Kush, Avid, etc, etc. The list is long, and as such ilok is almost essential in [pro] audio at this point. If you really want to miss out on these tools, then that is up to you, but don't expect to get any sympathy.

okay I completely disagree and I am not bothered by ilok at all, I do have an ilok and two codemeters...all right now are in my software strong box locked away because I have no need for any of them. I use Samplitude Pro x2 Suite which is plenty enough professional for myself and many pros (I am not a pro, I have just been doing this as my passion for decades). Magix saw fit when Pro X1 came out to offer us a choice whether we wanted the codemeter or not, I chose to go without a dongle but many chose to stick with it. Because I have Pro X2 Suite and the awesome plugins that go with it I dont even use the plugins I used my ilok for (Antares, BT Tracker and waves GTR 3.5) Magix has nothing to do with my not using GTR3.5 even though I love VANDAL, it's my sweet collection of tube amps that put that and all my amp sims to bed.

I was a fool to buy any Antares crap and wasted 500 dollars on Avox in 2005, that's when I first got my ilok. Soon enough I suspect that Samplitude Pro X2 will Melodyne ARA in it, it already has Elastic Audio and zPlane time stretching technology (which I actually owned before Samp included it because it came with my machine built by PC-Audiolabs). So I haven't installed the Antares stuff in many years.

BT Tracker was a no brainer from audiomidi.com and as a channel strip it's fantastic, but once again Samplitude's object based model put it out to pasture as well. The object editor in Samplitude can be used as a killer channel strip so three years ago when I got a new machine (and still was on Samp Pro x1) I didn't even bother installing the BT Tracker.

I surely do not need any sympathy at all and I am not missing out on anything

[asksol]

Hink,

Hey, you can make great music on anything, but I don't understand how a dongle can stop you from getting the best tools/tools you want.
Surely focus should be on making sounds, not being irritated at the 0.001% CPU that the PACE driver occupies.

I agree that AVOX is not exactly essential.

[Hink]

Hink,

Hey, you can make great music on anything, but I don't understand how a dongle can stop you from getting the best tools/tools you want.
Surely focus should be on making sounds, not being irritated at the 0.001% CPU that the PACE driver occupies.

I agree that AVOX is not exactly essential.

this I can agree on 100%, I do not understand why someone would let a dongle stop them from getting the tools that work for them

[robotmonkey]

I do not understand why someone would let a dongle stop them from getting the tools that work for them

I guess it's because the market is so oversaturated with good things that it's very easy to avoid anything related to PACE/iLok. The simple fact is that PACE/iLok is an extra liability, annoyance and expense, and it's just very easy to go with alternatives. There's just nothing out there that I would want so badly and that does not have any equally good alternative.

Every time I see an iLok plugin sale, for example, I will in my mind automatically associate it with all the crap PACE has done over the years, and with the added cost of getting the dongle, ZDT protection, all the expenses related to RMA'ing the dongle and so on. And it just does not look like a good value at all, so I will go with the more customer friendly competition.

These days I pretty much have pretty complete setup and I have basically not bought anything for a year and half. If I see iLok on the tin, I will not even give a second glance.

[notinterested]

This is where the entitlement card comes in.

Almost nobody is saying that copy protection restricts a product from being useful What people are saying is that copy protection inhibits SOME people from using certain products.

Fact, like it or not (and there will certainly be the NOT) copy protection ruins certain peoples DAW/vst/AU experience. Pirates suck. KVR has mostly been anti-pirate. I don't see the problem here. But considering that there have been people that have stopped a product because copy protection hasn't worked......it's a legitimate question.

It's not whining, it's not ruining the forum, it's legit. It's a bitch and a half to have to work through the nonsense of this. I pay for my products. I NEVER use cracks. But that is not enough.

[tapper mike]

Almost no one?

Where were you in 2013? http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 4&t=384179
Not the first occurrence of issues with pace /ildk. Also not as uncommon as you would believe. The reason why the thread started is because Roger Linn had a software program built that doesn't work because of the piracy protection method so he has to take it off the market. I haven't had ilok/pace issue because I won't deal with dongles. I have had issues with various other copy protection methods including but not limited to those that require internet access to software.

When people pay good money for software to work they should expect it to work and when it doesn't they expect a reasonable turn around time to get it working again. I had an issue with Guitar Pro over a decade ago. I was teaching guitar and used the product everyday to score lessons for my students. It took over two months to get a reply back from them. I know all about the challenges of software support technicians because I've been one for a very very long time. I also know about the challenges of creating a piracy protection method and having to react when an operating system update or avs program decides to disable it.

Some companies understand the conditions of which common users experience and make adjustments to satisfy the paying customer so the customer can use the product they paid for. Some companies occasionally have to make decisions (Roger Linn) based on economics because they don't have the resources and don't want to put a non working software product on the market. And finally some companies have zero compassion for paying customers and are more then happy to lock them out of the market. Sure, one should ask "Do I trust this company before installing the software. That being said there are issues with legally purchased product holders who don't get satisfaction due to lack of concern for the customer base.

[Tjivory]

nm