Favorite demo mode? (Multiple answers possible.)

[jancivil]

unrestricted for 30 or 60 days then it's over. VSL and Cubase 30 days, Nuendo 60 days....

[EnGee]

Either unrestricted for 30 days demo (like Synapse Audio/Steinberg for example) or 15/30 mins a session like Tone2/NI. I don't like noise/speech interruption at all although sometimes it is minimal like in u-he Zebra, but I don't prefer it even though the demo doesn't expire.

[ztrauq]

Personally I think the best balance is timeout per session without other limitations (well, maybe on loading previously created user presets, but not on saving them in the first place).

I agree that sound drop-outs are one of the worst methods as it can completely break up what you're trying to do with the synth, for me it's far more annoying than noise bursts (wrong notes I also hate, although a distinct melody is an interesting idea).

I also really don't like demos that cripple so much of the functionality that I can't properly evaluate what the plugin or software can do - if I'm having to guess how half the features work it's not selling the product to me. Although, that being said, having a "lite" version for free can be effective in introducing someone to the core of a program that they then are interested to buy and get the full feature set. I won't say this happens every time, but certainly I've used for example the HY-plugins free versions, and then moved to the full versions when I saw how versatile they could be by playing around with the basic versions.

[AdvancedFollower]

I hate demo versions that expire completely. E.g. I might be demoing several plugins, and then I decide to buy one of them. Then 8 months later I might have some spare money and remember that other synth I demoed. So I go to try out the demo again to decide if maybe I should buy it. Nope, can't do. The demo has expired.

In general, the less restrictive the demo version is, the more likely I am to buy the full version. If the thing closes after 5 minutes, you can't save presets and it expires after 7 days, I get the feeling the dev is trying to hide something.

[Stefken]

I voted for session expiration, set at 30 minutes. It's how NI has done it for ages, and I really appreciate a bit pf freedom, plus the feeling of not being treated like a kid...or a thief

I also don't mind the soft crackle of U-He synths. However, loud and obnoxious sound-bursts will get me to uninstall the demo as quick as it was installed. The recent reverb from Madrona Labs lasted about 60 seconds before ending up in the trash

What I don't like are saving restrictions when they are combined with other limitations. If that restriction is in place, then I think that loading of saved presets should be limited in the demo, but when one buys the plugin those presets could be accessed.

Also, not a fan of complete expiration. So many times I have downloaded a demo, and then had other things that needed doing. The demo goes unused, and the company loses my sale.

And lastly, I really don't like audio dropouts; especially for time-domain based effects e.g reverb or delay. This issue can be made even worse if the timeouts are not synchronised between instances

+1
That pretty much sums up my position.