What if I had 3 slaves with vsl instruments - should I pay 210.- Euro every 2 years? This is not acceptable! VSL does not provide a secure system to store the licences - and these are rather expensive ones - that is the point. The price of vsl libraries should include a secure system so that nobody is forced to pay extra. Maybe another step could be (Dear Steinberg!!) to produce better quality dongles. Just compare with the competitor iLok - better quality keys, much better handling for organizing the licences, half the price for a secure system. I feel really bad about this step because everybody was waiting for years for a good solution - sorry, this is a bad one.
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What if I had 3 slaves with vsl instruments - should I pay 210.- Euro every 2 years?
Note to perspective VSL customers:
If at all possible, try to keep everything on one machine. I do and it works fine.
In Ludwig's situation, I guess it would depend on how much VSL you own. If I had everything they ever released which would easily be around 20 grand worth of stuff, 210 Euro every two years seems pretty reasonable for a studio setup that you would otherwise have to insure anyway but, like I said, it would depend on how much VSL you own.
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Oh, I have another question : can we transfer the new Protection Plan on another ViennaKey as we can do vith other licenses ? Thanks. Best, David
I can’t find where this question has been answered, I’ll make the same request. Can the Protection Plan been transferred from one Kay to another? I just purchased the Protection Plan and a new eLicense key. The new key might take a week to arrive. So my plan is to install the Protection Plan on my existing 3 year-old key and then transfer the Plan (along with all the content) to the new key when I receive it. I hesitate to do this without knowing if this is possible.
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Hi,
I have just added those 2 questions to our VPP FAQs, the answer is the same for both:
K) Can I move the Vienna Protection Plan license to another key?
– Yes. All VSL licenses on a key which contains a Vienna Protection Plan license are protected.
L) Can I also use an old key?
– Yes. All VSL licenses on a key which contains a Vienna Protection Plan license are protected.
Best,
Paul
Paul Kopf Product Manager VSL -
Hi,
thank You Paul for clarifying these questions.
I have almost all the VSL orchestral libraries (this is a lot!) on one Master and two Slaves. As soon as possible I´ll buy another one. I also have a Studio in Cyprus, where I work during summer - so I cannot leave my keys "at home".
If I am right I should put all my libraries to one key where the protection licence is stored, take all three keys to Cyprus and there I should put the licences back to the "unprotected" keys. If I do it that way my licences are secure for the flight.
I still have to say that the price is too high compared to Zero Downtime. And managing the licences with the eLicencer Software is a nightmare. Think about how much time it takes to put all the licences from two or three keys to one key and the same procedure three times!
It would be so much better if it was possible to "store" all my licences in a VSL-Cloud/Steinberg Cloud so I could travel with empty keys - no insurance would be neccessary...This is the way I do it with my Waves licences.
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Hi Ludwig N.,
I understand your situation.
This solution is the best option we could find within the possibilities of the eLicenser system, and we are indeed very happy that we can now offer this additional protection.
I know it takes a while to transfer all licenses to one key with the system you describe, but I believe it's worth it (always depending on your hourly rate, of course).
Transfering one license takes around 5-7 seconds here.
Best,
Paul
Paul Kopf Product Manager VSL -
While I am very happy that a new solution to protect the Vienna Key exists and the situation has undoubtedly improved dramatically for users with many licenses (especially given the new availability of Vienna Emergency Licenses) I still hope you will continue to monitor and tweak the pricing scheme.
Let's not forget that all forms of copy protection - while undoubtedly necessary - are usually an inconvience to the paying customer. Until now, the main argument for not replacing lost/stolen licenses was that it was technically impossible to invalidate licenses on stolen/lost keys. If I understand your post correctly, fortunately that seems to have changed.
However, the following things are a little hard to understand:
1) Why did you decide to introduce the new Vienna Protection Plan as a subscription based service instead of just charging users with a one time fee for the needed services when the key is actually lost/stolen?
2) If this is supposed to be something close to an insurance, why is the Vienna Plan used up in case of key failure? It sounds like the worst of two worlds: Users have to pay a recurring fee to be protected for a limited amount of time like in an insurance, but the plan is used up after you have to use it once - like in a fee based model.
On top of that it sounds like the plan only protects the licenses itself, not the physical key, so the user will have to buy a replacement key even if protected by the new plan.
Now, I understand that these technical solutions involve some work and people need to get paid. However, your customers are now in a situation, where they basically have to pay an additional recurring fee to protect themselves against the risk of loss of their licenses - a risk, which only exists in the first place because of the copy protection.
Sure, I will agree that this is much better than having no protection against loss/theft at all. But I must admit it leaves an uneasy feeling that being a VSL user basically comes with a new mandatory annual fee to limit the potential risks caused by the USB key copy protection.
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If I am right I should put all my libraries to one key where the protection licence is stored, take all three keys to Cyprus and there I should put the licences back to the "unprotected" keys. I
I doubt that all your licences will fit on one key. I have many (but not even all) of the VSL libraries and I have to use 2 keys at the moment.
This is something that makes me even more unhappy with VSL's new Protection Plan as I would have to pay for 2 protection licences every year - one per key.
The good people at VSL are very clever and creative - hopefully they can come up with a better copy protection system than this inelegant comprimise.
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2) If this is supposed to be something close to an insurance, why is the Vienna Plan used up in case of key failure? It sounds like the worst of two worlds: Users have to pay a recurring fee to be protected for a limited amount of time like in an insurance, but the plan is used up after you have to use it once - like in a fee based model.
On top of that it sounds like the plan only protects the licenses itself, not the physical key, so the user will have to buy a replacement key even if protected by the new plan.
The way I understand it, if your key fails and it is less than two years old then the warranty should cover the cost of replacing the licenses. The warranty is seperate from the protection plan and comes automatically (free of charge) after you purchase a Vienna key (register). However, if your key is older than two years then the protection plan would kick in assuming you purchased it. Note that the warranty doesn't cover lost or stolen keys. Or if it is determined that the key failed due to negligence on your part.
As a general rule of practice, you should have a spare key(s) because, with or without the protection plan or warranty, you can't run the libaries without a Vienna key.
I think one of the purposes of this protection plan is to get you up and running as soon as possible in the event something happens to your key so you don't have projects in limbo with deadlines looming.
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One thing I'm not sure about is if the key fails and it is still on warranty then VSL will send you a new key free of charge? I think that's right.
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1) Why did you decide to introduce the new Vienna Protection Plan as a subscription based service instead of just charging users with a one time fee for the needed services when the key is actually lost/stolen?
Wouldn't that be like buying auto insurance AFTER you get into a car accident?
If you had just a quarter of the possible licenses that VSL offers it will still cost them much more to replace those lost licenses than it would cost you for the protection plan.
No. It would be like paying for the necessary repairs of your car yourself instead of having an insurance at all.
Probably a more realistic scenario would be people who don't buy health insurance, but have to cover doctor's fees themselves in case of illness.
So in other words: If lose my USB key (and ONLY in that case), I would be more than happy to pay for the additional work caused for the VSL support to replace my licenses. Until now, that fee was an outrageous 50% MSRP, due to the fact that VSL feared people would sell off/pirate the key and get a cheap replacement.
But as I have written above, this has changed with the new license system - stolen/lost licenses can now be deactivated.
So important questions are:
- How much does it actually cost for VSL to replace a license?
- And I would still like to know, why I have to pay an annual fee, even if there is no problem with my USB key - thus causing no additional work/costs for VSL at all.
If I were to play the devil's advocate, I could argue that VSL just created a comfortable new revenue stream for themselves, because:
a) VSL decided to use the USB licences copy protection. In comparison, other popular companies such as Spectrasonics and Fabfilter just hand me a serial and demand an online activation, which (though admittedly less secure) are obviously vastly superior in every way for the customer - because there is no danger of license loss whatsoever if you are registered.
b) Only due to the choice of VSLs copy protection, until now users were in danger of losing 50% of their investment in case of key loss/theft.
c) In order to remedy this obvious disadvantage of the chosen copy protection scheme - which again has no benefit for the customer at all - VSL wants me to pay them extra money to offset the risk caused solely by their choice of said protection?
See the problem there? With the new possibility of deactivating keys, it's like a car dealer, who says: "Hey, if you lose your car key, we will not authorize a new key, unless you pay 50% of the car's MSRP. Otherwise, we will repossess the car.
But fortunately for you, we have this shiny new "Car Key Protection Plan", so if you lose your car key now, you can buy yourself a new key and we will reauthorize it, so you are still able to use the car.
I am not unreasonable, I can understand users who have have spent +$10,000 on VSL instruments and use the software in their daily work on tight deadlines. These people might just see the protection plan as a negligible business expense and are happy their investment is safe and they can get quick replacement licenses.
Heck, even I am grudgingly thinking about purchasing the protection plan, because I recently got the Cube with the Mir Pro roompack and I know I could never afford to pay the 50% replacement fee.
But the more I think about it, I believe this new protection plan was not the best choice from a PR standpoint. IMHO, it would have been a lot smarter to offer at least an unlimited one time license replacement for free with every key.
I would have even been ok with a little more expensive USB key or a few percent price increase on all libraries if VSL has new additional costs that need to be offset. Going this way would have invalidated the #1 argument against USB keys: Potential loss of licenses. Now if you read through neutral forums, opinions are much more divided because of the recurring cost.
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As i mentioned in another forum, i suppose this "Protection Plan" is acceptable for those who invested a vast amount of money on VSL libraries. Ofcourse they are relieved that they won't have to pay again for their big investement ! They are forced to pay an annual fee instead.
But it's BAD service because now we know that a dongle that's stolen can be disabled. VSL could follow Steinberg's or i-lok method but choose to punish us customers. As much as i like these fine libraries, this whole licensing scheme is almost offensive .
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Hi,
I have just added those 2 questions to our VPP FAQs, the answer is the same for both:
K) Can I move the Vienna Protection Plan license to another key?
– Yes. All VSL licenses on a key which contains a Vienna Protection Plan license are protected.
L) Can I also use an old key?
– Yes. All VSL licenses on a key which contains a Vienna Protection Plan license are protected.
Best,
Paul
Just purchased the Vienna Protection Plan yesterday! Thank you Paul for the clarification! I have a permanent setup and my Steinberg Key doesn't move at all out of my studio, but I feel safer that way. I wasn't even aware of the alternative and how costly it could be if something happens to your dongle and you have no plan! Been paying yearly ZDT plan on my iLok for years at very similar price. After communicating with a VSL representative a couple of times, I realized how great it is to finally have this Protection Plan!
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Hello, as my time is indeed limited, please clarify me.
Just bought the vienna protection plan. I put it on the key where I have most valuable things like Synchron Strings and one of ViennaEnsemblePro licenes
1. What if this key gets broken and does not work anymore?
2. What if this key gets stolen?
I read " you should have a spare key(s) because, with or without the protection plan or warranty, you can't run the libaries without a Vienna key" but it is not clear to me. Where should I keep this protection plan. I want to secure the licenses mentioned above.
How to behave to secure it?
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Hello Adia,
1+2) Simply report it to us.
Please keep the VPP license on the key with your licenses.
The spare ViennaKey is there so you can keep on working RIGHT AWAY in case anything happens (you will receive a time-limited license right after reporting a key).
Best,
Paul
Paul Kopf Product Manager VSL -
Hi, when VPP was first released I remember reading that it was a one-time use thing. If you report your key as lost / stolen / damaged, then you get a 50-hour emergency license, the original key is deactivated, and your protection plan is used up.
I was under the impression that those licenses would never be eligible for protection again. That is, you'd get new licenses, but you wouldn't be able to buy VPP for them again. If you lost a second key, those licenses would be gone forever (and you could replace them for 50% off, per VSL's original policy).
However today I see on the Protection Plan page a bullet point (#6) that I think wasn't there originally:
5. Your lost/broken/stolen ViennaKey will be disabled and cannot be used anymore. Your Vienna Protection Plan is now used up.
6. Buy a new Vienna Protection Plan for new coverage.
My reading of that is that if I lose a protected key and receive replacement licenses, I can buy a new protection plan for the new key / licenses. If I were to lose this new key, it would be protected and I could use the protection plan to receive replacement licenses (and buy a new protection plan).
Is that correct?
Also, will VSL notify me when the 2-year protection period is about to end, so I can renew it?
(Obviously my goal is to never lose my key in the first place. When I thought VPP was a once-in-a-lifetime use thing, I still needed a fallback insurance in case I ever had to use VPP. But if it's a one-claim-per-purchase thing, it becomes a lot more comfortable to buy in to)
