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Kontakt 5.7.1 fixes lib auth issues from previous release

Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:29 pm
by mhschmieder
PLEASE SEE THE REPLY AT THE END OF THIS CHAIN FOR AN UPDATE RE: KONTAKT 5.7.1 (NEW).

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So that people don't freak if they do the latest Kontakt update, I just want to prepare people for what the "new" experience is like.

At first, you may think it is 100% broken, as it is SO SLOW (partially this is the longer launch time for Kontakt itself). But the key to dealing with anything from NI these days is to be EXTREMELY PATIENT.

You can no longer "Add Library". Instead, you can only launch the awful Native Access app, from within Kontakt. But it takes MANY iterations before it susses out that a library is authorized, and even throws up an alert to wait "up to 10 minutes". Who has time for that?

The first thing you're likely to do is to auto-login to Native Access when that window comes up. Then you will probably add the license code for the library you just purchased (in my case, the new Les Paul from Orange Tree).

You would think you're done at this point, but it seems to require that you do this TWICE. And then the library icon shows up in Kontakt, with the Authorize button cueing you to do what you thought you already just did.

So you click on the Authorize button, after restarting Kontakt in hopes that it will figure itself out. It brings up Native Access yet again, and you enter the auth code one more time.

I've lost track at this point as to how many times I had to do this before I could load a library in other than Demo Mode!

Probably a half hour altogether, just for ONE library authorization.

This is not a one-off either, as I have bought several Kontakt Libraries recently (that is, ones that require an auth code and can run in Kontakt Player). It has been the same awful experience each time.

Anyway, patience pays off, and not freaking out thinking nothing is working.

I wonder why Native Access can't figure out what can be updated, and what needs to be updated though? Most of my updates fail; even if I reinstall the originals first. Fortunately, most libraries don't ever get updates; just the plug-ins and VI's.

Re: Caveat on latest Kontakt update, regarding library auths

Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:38 pm
by Gravity Jim
That was not my experience at all. Native Access updated Kontakt and a handful of libraries at the same time, and it worked as expected.

Just trying to balance the statement that you're "preparing people for what the new experience is like." Another user's experience may be nothing at all like that.

Re: Caveat on latest Kontakt update, regarding library auths

Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:48 pm
by stubbsonic
Thanks for the heads-up, mhs...

On a slightly related note, I had to trash audio unit prefs, because of a Pianoteq problem. Then I get an authorization window from eSellerate, but it doesn't tell me which plugin. So I go through the automated thing, but it won't let me paste a code, I have to type it manually. Ugh. I still don't know what I authorized. Boo. Just happened today, so I'm still irked.

But back to NI, they make some cool products, but they don't seem to run a tight ship with this aspect. I hate the whole "Service Center" model-- but would hate it less if it worked ok.

Re: Caveat on latest Kontakt update, regarding library auths

Posted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 5:10 pm
by mikehalloran
If everything is fairly current, I do not have problems. Today's update took less than a minute.

Doing the recent upgrade to Komplete took many hours with Native Access crashing and freezing frequently — and this was after I found manual workarounds that saved many more hours and a lot of time and frustration.

Re: Caveat on latest Kontakt update, regarding library auths

Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 4:43 am
by nk_e
Hi.

Earlier versions of Access were indeed a cluster, and out and out terrible. But the latest versions have worked without a hitch for me.

Re: Caveat on latest Kontakt update, regarding library auths

Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 6:45 pm
by David Polich
Unless I hear of a compelling reason to update to the latest version of Kontakt, I'll skip it.

Mark your problems are not unique. I have had the same issues with Native Access. And this was before the latest Kontakt version. Yes it is impossible to simply "Add Library". It just doesn't work anymore. I completely lost Soniccouture's Electro-Acoustic library, not because I didn't have it on my drive, but because it lost its authorization, so I kept trying to add it back, without success.
I still can't get it back. I see libraries which I deleted awhile ago to make room on my system drive (i have since gotten a 2 TB SSD drive to store my libraries on). Can I now download these AND re-install them? Nope. Hopeless.

I suggest you email NI about your exact situation. They did help me get my Studio Drummer library back, but only after going to a lot of places on my drive to delete every single file related to the original install of it (there are a lot of files that get installed with a package, they go to different folders, and many you would never imagine even existed).

Re: Caveat on latest Kontakt update, regarding library auths

Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2017 10:30 pm
by HCMarkus
David Polich wrote:They did help me get my Studio Drummer library back, but only after going to a lot of places on my drive to delete every single file related to the original install of it (there are a lot of files that get installed with a package, they go to different folders, and many you would never imagine even existed).
NI badly needs to build an uninstaller utility.

After an initial PIA removing old versions of certain NI plugs and VIs, I have found Native Access to work well for me.

Also, NI has apparently put together a preview library that may prove useful. From an email I received a day or two ago:
It’s now possible to hear instant sound previews when browsing for sounds in the MASCHINE 2 or KOMPLETE KONTROL software. To enable this feature, update your software to the latest version via Native Access, add the serial number below, and then download the Native Browser Preview Library from the Not Installed tab.

The library contains preview sounds for all your KOMPLETE and NKS instrument presets. After installing it, you’ll be able to hear instant previews of each factory preset while browsing, without having to load the individual instruments. Note that this library contains preview sounds for all KOMPLETE and NKS instruments released prior to October 1, 2017. All instruments released after this date come packaged with the necessary preview sounds.

Re: Caveat on latest Kontakt update, regarding library auths

Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2017 1:49 pm
by mhschmieder
Gravity Jim, you entirely missed my point. I am talking about AUTHORIZATION of NEW library purchases.

Re: Caveat on latest Kontakt update, regarding library auths

Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2017 3:36 pm
by mikehalloran
I did one today, got the May take up to 10 Minutes screen. 2–3 seconds later it was registered and I was downloading. The 7G library took 33 minutes to install. I'm good with that.

Re: Caveat on latest Kontakt update, regarding library auths

Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2017 12:14 pm
by Gravity Jim
I didn't miss the point. I was installing and authorizing new libraries, along with updating a bunch of other stuff, all through Native Access, and it worked without a hiccup.

I wish we taught problem solving and critical thinking in schools, if for no other reason than to clean out all the on-line forums of hastily broadcast "warnings" and "bug reports."

For example, a few days ago, after updating to OSX 10.13.1, my Waves plug-ins freaked out and wouldn't work inside DP. Did I quickly open my browser and rush to this page to warn everybody that Waves sucks and their plugs don't work under 10.13? No. I thought about it, including what I'd read and what I can just generally surmise, and decided to reinstall the entire suite. Which worked. Not a bug, not another piece of evidence in the ongoing murder trial for Waves... just a brief argument about the new disk structure.

That's why I get so irritated with the unending tsunami of unfounded and un-examined "problems with DP/OSX/Everything" on this and every other forum. I know you are a software engineer, so I'm surprised that you'd assume that something was wrong with Native Access and not "something is wrong with this data path."

Re: Caveat on latest Kontakt update, regarding library auths

Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2017 12:38 pm
by mhschmieder
Jim, I did NOT quickly rush to post -- I spent three hours of my time evaluating the situation, verifying reproducibility, etc.

You may not be aware that NI are the ones who now prepare Kontakt Player libraries, vs. the original vendors. This slows down releases, introduces added uncertainty into "promise dates", and makes it harder for the vendor to evaluate and fix issues.

The bottom line is that the experience may not be uniform across all libraries. Soniccouture has been very good about sending regular updates to those of us who bought Electro-Acoustic, and there have been other such cases of library authorization recursion or freeze-ups. But it is NOT an infrequent problem. Given how many "small libraries" from "small vendors" exist though, I certainly can't rank the percentage of problems vs. non-problems. But there are certainly well-known high-profile issues to resolve.

Re: Caveat on latest Kontakt update, regarding library auths

Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2017 3:55 pm
by David Polich
I have to concur with Mark here as well. NI has
a long history of screwing things up with new point
releases of their software. Honestly, I think their
guys “just don’t get how to do it”. I have used NII
profucts for years and have grown leery of
every new release they put out.

Re: Caveat on latest Kontakt update, regarding library auths

Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 7:57 pm
by Shooshie
David Polich wrote:I have to concur with Mark here as well. NI has
a long history of screwing things up with new point
releases of their software. Honestly, I think their
guys “just don’t get how to do it”. I have used NII
profucts for years and have grown leery of
every new release they put out.
I have many Kontakt compatible libraries, and I keep Kontakt somewhat up to date. It probably needs updating as we speak, but not by more than one or two updates. But here's the deal: I never use it. I grew tired of it years ago, for the reasons mentioned by some here, so I completely got out of it, but because I have projects that used it, to which I may return someday, I keep it ready. It just got to be a time-hog, because I'd spend so much time tracking down problems. I have a great set of VIs, including Vienna, Wallander, Ivory, Sample Modeling, Garritan, and others, and they work great, rarely get out of line, and are always ready to use. Unless I specifically need Kontakt, I just stay away from it. Now that Sample Modeling and Garritan have their own engines, I need Kontakt even less. I think Kontakt is an amazing host in many ways — especially just by the fact that so many library makers chose to use it exclusively — and maybe it's because it has to be so many things to so many users and makers that things go wrong with it. It's not that they can't be fixed. It's just that I got tired of chasing it.

Shooshie

Re: Kontakt 5.7.1 fixes lib auth issues from previous releas

Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 2:38 pm
by mhschmieder
Kontakt 5.7.1 was released not too long ago, and fixes the library authorization issues that were affecting several prominent vendors' libraries. NI did so in a way that mostly did not require those vendors to resubmit their libraries to NI for re-signing, fortunately.

This new version is also faster to load (though still slower than versions of Kontakt before the switchover to having it interact directly with Native Access), and less prone to requiring several iterations of bootstrapping and re-loading or re-authorization of newly added libraries (or disappearance of old ones).

In my experience, this is now the most reliable and efficient order to do things in:

1. Install your new library on your hard drive
2. Launch Native Access to authorize the library, and locate its on-disc location
3. Open Kontakt and locate the library icon in the Library view
4. Verify the library does not show an "Authorize" button, but if so, press it and do the dance
5. Load a preset and verify that the library is not in demo or unauthorized mode (i.e. no static bursts)

This is a much smoother experience now, and though Native Access itself still remains confused "in different ways" from NI Service Center about what doesn't need updating (or can't be updated due to being superseded by newer versions), I would say that Native Access is finally at the point where it is usable for most people (and most vendors/libraries) and preferable to NI Service Center.

Of course, we no longer have a choice of Native Access vs. Service Center, but going directly to the website and your account, is now much closer in behaviour to using Native Access on the desktop than to using NI Service Center on the desktop.

Re: Kontakt 5.7.1 fixes lib auth issues from previous releas

Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 11:45 pm
by David Polich
Added note: there is now a fix for
Kontakt libraries that you know are installed
and authorized but still don’t show up.

In Kontakt, go to OPTIONS>LIBRARIES and
you’ll get a list of installed libraries. Look for
a library whose “enabled” box is unchecked.
Check that box, the library appears in your
Libraries view.

This is a new feature since Kontakt 5.6.8. I
did not know about it, and was pulling whats
left of my hair out trying to get SonicCouture’s
ElectroAcoustic to show up in my Libraries view.

The latest version of Native Access also now
identifies “missing” libraries and gives you the option
to “Repair” or “Relocate” them.

I agree with Mark..Native Access finally works.
It certainly took NI ages to get it straightened out.