Thoughts on Ilok?

[martinjuenke]

My best selling tracks were made with iLok.
You simply hear the difference it makes.

[Milkman]

i love ilok its my favorite plugin

Nice. It helps bring that nice harmony that sounds like "buying isnt owning" to your music, which I know I love to hear in everything I play.

This sort of tech, that disables the product you paid for when certain things trigger it to do so, is what this world needs!

We have plants that have been genetically altered to be sterile, where you have to buy each generation of seed stock from a giant corporation or you get no food next season, so when you consider this next to something as simple as iLok, iLok seems like merely a gentle breeze in the night!

[darkinners]

I don't hate it as long as

1. Publisher offer AT LEAST 2~3 activation per license
2. Publisher allows local activation and cloud activation.

So I can activate the license locally in the computer without the need of the dongle and in case my laptop is stolen/lost/broke I have spare license that I can use immediately instead of contact publisher one by one to reset all the license activation (been there) or pay for the Zero downtime ransom to iLok.

[jamcat]

I don't hate it as long as

1. Publisher offer AT LEAST 2~3 activation per license
2. Publisher allows local activation and cloud activation.

So I can activate the license locally in the computer without the need of the dongle and in case my laptop is stolen/lost/broke I have spare license that I can use immediately instead of contact publisher one by one to reset all the license activation (been there) or pay for the Zero downtime ransom to iLok.

This is more or less my criteria as well.

It works out for my plugins for the most part, except that EastWest libraries only have a single authorization (though the Opus player itself has 10(!)) and UADx doesn't support Machine ID.

[noiseboyuk]

It's kinda funny that no-one on KVR uses Pro Tools.

To this day, most music professionals are still reliant on it. Look at every track dissected in Sound On Sound - it's almost invaraibly a Pro Tools timeline you're looking at. Even those who compose on another DAW have their projects finished in Pro Tools. In post, PT is even more ubiquitous.

Every Pro Tools pro just shrugs and gets on with iLok. It's fine.

[jamcat]

Pro Tools is hot garbage.

[darkinners]

I don't hate it as long as

1. Publisher offer AT LEAST 2~3 activation per license
2. Publisher allows local activation and cloud activation.

So I can activate the license locally in the computer without the need of the dongle and in case my laptop is stolen/lost/broke I have spare license that I can use immediately instead of contact publisher one by one to reset all the license activation (been there) or pay for the Zero downtime ransom to iLok.

This is more or less my criteria as well.

It works out for my plugins for the most part, except that EastWest libraries only have a single authorization (though the Opus player itself has 10(!)) and UADx doesn't support Machine ID.

I have EW OPUS too, mine does support iLok local activation. but there are two entries for the OPUS library in iLok
EW Opus and EW Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition. the former has 2 authorisations per license, the latter has only 1 authorisation.

[noiseboyuk]

I have EW OPUS too, mine does support iLok local activation. but there are two entries for the OPUS library in iLok
EW Opus and EW Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition. the former has 2 authorisations per license, the latter has only 1 authorisation.

You can contact support and request a 2nd activation for HOOPUS. Little known, but very handy.

IIRC they said they will be rolling out 2nd activations for other products in the fullness of time.

[cdbaksu]

I have a question about iLok:

If I buy this iLok USB key:

https://www.thomann.de/intl/pace_ilok_3_usb_c.htm

And transfer all my licenses from my account to it, does that mean that I can afterwards be completely offline with my computer and just insert the USB and my licenses will work?

Am I understanding the use of the USB key correctly?

[beely]

Yep.

[Mesmerised]

Mac Users on Logic - DO NOT UPDATE TO MAC OS SONOMA 14.4!

After updating my Mac mini M2 pro to mac OS Sonoma 14.4 my UA, Softube and SSL pluigns stopped working in Logic. Logic validation crashes. In Rosetta mode plugins can be validated after loooong wait, but remain unusable. ("Plugin encountered a problem")

There is a problem with the iLok system. I hope, they will fix it soon...

[Fidimix]

Ilok is good, because you just need to download a plugin and it's already activated on your ilok.

[choomaque]

iLok is PITA. They don't send dongles to my country so I am forced to use software iLok. And most of the time when I upgrade my machine, I sell the old one first and then buy a new one. Thus all the licenses are gone with old machine. And it is impossible to move them. That is the reason why I ONLY buy software that doesn't rely in iLok. Screw iLok.

[sQeetz]

Thus all the licenses are gone with old machine. And it is impossible to move them.

That's not true at all...
unless you forget to deregister your stuff from the old machine, which is hardly ilok's fault (again...)

[audiouser720]

It's kinda funny that no-one on KVR uses Pro Tools.

To this day, most music professionals are still reliant on it. Look at every track dissected in Sound On Sound - it's almost invaraibly a Pro Tools timeline you're looking at. Even those who compose on another DAW have their projects finished in Pro Tools. In post, PT is even more ubiquitous.

Every Pro Tools pro just shrugs and gets on with iLok. It's fine.

I use Pro Tools. I also love ilok