UVI Falcon - v4 = 2026 released - rumors, ads, praise, kindergarden, auto-sampling and off-topic inside!

[VariKusBrainZ]

Before anyone suggests that I swear off PCs and buy a Mac instead, I am just too far down the PC rabbit hole to ever be able to find my way back out of it.

Cheaper solution is to buy the dongle, I eventually caved as my investment in software reached the point where I was paranoid I could lose the lot in a situation similar to yours.

I was an anti iLok zealot but I joined the dark side due to some really silly cheap prices on Softube (half the sale price due to retailer cock up ) and Soundtoys stuff

[wasi]

Don't want to go into the holy iLok war but rest assured that our support will always find a solution even if it means sending you back new authorization.
The usual wise thing before installing a new OS, changing some hardware stuff, stuff like that is to
unauthorize and then authorize it back. The iLok key avoid this, but I could understand the pain in having a physical dongle.
But in any case, we will always make it right for our customer. We offer 3 activations per authorization so you will never have any downtime in any case.

See, I am even answering on a Saturday

Yeah, just to be clear: It's not you guys, it's iLok. But the fact that you have to make these assurances at all says it all, really.

[ThomasHelzle]

The usual wise thing before installing a new OS, changing some hardware stuff, stuff like that is to unauthorize and then authorize it back.

Sorry, but that is totally unrealistic.
Since it is not clear what the software assumes to be major hardware or software changes, you would have to do that very regularly for even minor stuff.
Would a new harddrive you insert trigger it? A new audio interface? A windows update? A controller you attach? A bios update? A new graphics card or adding one? Installing another OS on a separate harddrive? A power failure or accidental switching off of the machine?
And people often do not only have one such system installed either. There is e-licenser and several other such things that sum up to quite a lot of time wasted on could-be problems if you would indeed unauthorize/reauthorize each time.
For the human user it is extremely easy to know in almost all cases if it's the "same computer".
But knowing if some overzealous paranoid software agrees is pretty much like predicting the second coming.

Cheers,

Tom

[layzer]

The usual wise thing before installing a new OS, changing some hardware stuff, stuff like that is to unauthorize and then authorize it back.

Sorry, but that is totally unrealistic.
Since it is not clear what the software assumes to be major hardware or software changes, you would have to do that very regularly for even minor stuff.
Would a new harddrive you insert trigger it? A new audio interface? A windows update? A controller you attach? A bios update? A new graphics card or adding one? Installing another OS on a separate harddrive? A power failure or accidental switching off of the machine?
And people often do not only have one such system installed either. There is e-licenser and several other such things that sum up to quite a lot of time wasted on could-be problems if you would indeed unauthorize/reauthorize each time.
For the human user it is extremely easy to know in almost all cases if it's the "same computer".
But knowing if some overzealous paranoid software agrees is pretty much like predicting the second coming.

Cheers,

Tom

yeah, devs should provide honest, none pirated software using customers hassle free software that uses a simple serial number.

[Sampleconstruct]

There is a sub-fourm for iLok rants here:
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=4

[c_voltage]

I very like ilok system, very comfortable\convenient. Mostly I buy plugins that use this protected type, and there were no problems.
But lately I honestly became upset about ilok - but it's not because what they do something wrong, the reason is why they do not do anything
I hope you understand what I mean, given recent trends. (Fortunately, it does not apply to falcon yet).
For what need such type of protection if he did not protect? (a rhetorical question).

[tonedef71]

There is a sub-fourm for iLok rants here:
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=4

Thanks for pointing that out. I like that KVR has a rich set of sub-forums, including vendor sub-forums (it is a shame that there is a moratorium on new vendor sub-forums). There is even a sub-forum for sound designers to announce and provide demoes of their new sound sets here: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=257

[tonedef71]

@Tonedef71: I agree, even if this is a hopeless cause it seems. I'll be installing the OS on a new HD soon and will have to de-register all my iLok stuff just in case, or risk what happened to you. iLok is like bringing in a co-owner of your PC that can veto certain changes at will.

I was very reluctant to get Falcon due to iLok and to this day I have a tinge of regret that I caved. I love Falcon, but the hassle I brought upon myself takes a lot of the edge off my enthusiasm. Extra software running in the background, required reboots after upgrades, the near-constant dread that some hardware or software update might trip the iLok up. And yes, this has happened to me already. Thus my worry.

With the 1.1 update the PACE service suddenly refused to start by itself despite multiple un-/reinstalls so I had to go into services and start it manually every time before I started my DAW or get a license error. The time it took me to locate that obscure problem was plain wasted, not to mention nothing seemed to fix it (the error message iLok gives you is completely generic). More time wasted. With the 1.1.1 install it went away just like it appeared: for no apparent reason.

After years of hassle free license management with all my other software, iLok has brought a lot of complications, general annoyance and dread to the mere act of starting up my DAW. There were several times since buying into iLok with Falcon that I've thought of selling Falcon again because every time I load it up, my initial gut impulse is a tinge of dread, due to potential iLok glitches or nuisances I have sadly grown to expect over the last months. iLok has certainly made me less likely to use Falcon on impulse. When I use it, it's usually a premedidated act.

Anyway, just to get on record. I know ilok power users love it and many have had no problems at all, ever, but with me, absolutely all my prior fears and prejudices were confirmed within mere weeks and I'd pay good money to be able to use Falcon with a less invasive and more fail-safe (on the user end) DRM scheme than iLok. I've never before thought of selling software I bought, but iLok has made me seriously consider it with Falcon, several times, and I may do it yet.

Starting up Falcon with iLok feels like filing your tax return: You know you've done everything right, but you don't know if the other guy will agree. And you know that if he doesn't, you're in for a world of pain.

+1

[tonedef71]

Whew.

Although up to now I have not had any problems, I will copy and keep your solution for 'you never know'.

Thanks!

It is kinda scary for us Windows users when we have to rely on Windows System Restore to have our backs.

[tonedef71]

Yeah, most of those soft-dongles are too clever for their own good. I had exactly the same happen to me with my (not many) waves plugins which lost their activation about once a month, telling me I had an all new machine. In the end I was no longer able to re-activate. I should have transferred the licenses to a dongle or stick, but realised it too late.
Falcon and the other iLok stuff I have I licensed to a hardware dongle which is at least less of a random factor. So far I never broke a dongle (knock on wood) and the ability to move my licenses around at will is something I actually like about dongles - I'm used to them for a long time from my 3D-software...

But I'd much prefer a system like u-he, they are about the least intrusive while still having good and clever protection AFAIK.

Cheers,

Tom

+1

[tonedef71]

i would never EVER use any synth that uses this or dongle BS to make music.

Sadly, I am starting to be pulled into the same camp.

[tonedef71]

... I'm being made to kiss the ring of some ill-tempered lord before I get to use it, and that's in spite of the fact that his henchmen sleep in my bed, eat at my table and watch me pee.

Thank you... your amusing but on-target imagery gave me a good laugh.

[tonedef71]

The usual wise thing before installing a new OS, changing some hardware stuff, stuff like that is to unauthorize and then authorize it back.

Sorry, but that is totally unrealistic.
Since it is not clear what the software assumes to be major hardware or software changes, you would have to do that very regularly for even minor stuff.
Would a new harddrive you insert trigger it? A new audio interface? A windows update? A controller you attach? A bios update? A new graphics card or adding one? Installing another OS on a separate harddrive? A power failure or accidental switching off of the machine?
And people often do not only have one such system installed either. There is e-licenser and several other such things that sum up to quite a lot of time wasted on could-be problems if you would indeed unauthorize/reauthorize each time.
For the human user it is extremely easy to know in almost all cases if it's the "same computer".
But knowing if some overzealous paranoid software agrees is pretty much like predicting the second coming.

Cheers,

Tom

+1

We embrace the chaos together, mates!

I do not have the time nor the interest to track down what software change caused this to happen. Coincidentally, on the night before, my Korg Legacy software also prompted me for reauthorization (this one seems to do that periodically, but a trip to the korg.net web site makes it right again; if the web site ever goes down, I am screwed though). Prior to the switchover to Waves Central, the old Waves installer had orphaned my licenses; that one was caused by the update to the Waves installer; a temporary reinstall of the old installer allowed me to deauthorize my licenses so I could reauthorize with the updated installer.

I also have another problem with iLok that has been ongoing: my 64-bit Xils 5000 vocoder plugin will not stay authorized. Support from iLok was unhelpful and Xils finally gave up because they ran out of ideas. MS Windows + lLok is like oil + water.

[ErikH]

Well, I use Cubase. And I have such a dongle in one usb port.
And I have never ever had problems with it.

[c_voltage]

Guys, for just in case remind me - what image formats are support for WT ? Just, i cant dragndrop BMP and TIF to wt osc in v111 (jpg import properly), but, at least TIF seems to me worked before ? Or im wrong ?