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I was looking for a plugin to make AB comparisons or reference mixes easy to do. AVID has one for free. I have an account so went to get it, and it asked for a iLok ID, which was not unexpected. But it also asked for my iLok password. I cancelled.

Is this something new at iLok, or just something AVID does? Either way, I don't like it.

I'm avid in not liking AVID.

Melda and Hofa have such a free (but limited) plugin too. Purchasing gets rid of the restrictions, but they're usable even with the free versions.

I keep thinking Avid can't be that bad, but every time I go there, it's something.

Thanks for the tip on the alternatives.

With a number of ways to do A/B comparisons in DP, I'm curious what you're looking for in another app. Not saying it's not worth it or anything like that. Just curious what kind of thing you're looking to do. I do comparisons in DP a lot. I'd like to know what is more convenient and how it works.

Shoosh

Merely convenience. It can be done inside DP with mod keys and Mute/Solo. I wasn't willing to spend much on this so hoped I could find it cheap or free.

A demo I saw allowed defining pointers to sets of reference mixes in a plugin, which could then be saved as presets. So it would not be necessary to have these mixes in the project, and it could, in turn be kept in a DP template.

But the main point of the post was about Avid asking for my iLok password.

bayswater wrote:I was looking for a plugin to make AB comparisons or reference mixes easy to do. AVID has one for free. I have an account so went to get it, and it asked for a iLok ID, which was not unexpected. But it also asked for my iLok password. I cancelled.

Is this something new at iLok, or just something AVID does? Either way, I don't like it.

I picked up Magic AB2 and find it works great. Here's the link if you're interested in checking out.

http://www.pluginboutique.com/product/2 ... -MagicAB-2

That password business is unbelievable. How could a company the size of Avid actually believe that a person would or should turn over the keys to their most sensitive and valuable single studio possession? Truly abysmal behavior, and they should be censured for it, because I would think that it's technically illegal.

As for the A/B plugin, I'm still intrigued, but I don't know how it works. Do you have an easy link to that demo? Don't go to the trouble if it requires retracing all your steps. I'm just curious, and probably won't get it unless it blows my mind.

Shooshie

billf wrote:

bayswater wrote:I was looking for a plugin to make AB comparisons or reference mixes easy to do. AVID has one for free. I have an account so went to get it, and it asked for a iLok ID, which was not unexpected. But it also asked for my iLok password. I cancelled.

Is this something new at iLok, or just something AVID does? Either way, I don't like it.

I picked up Magic AB2 and find it works great. Here's the link if you're interested in checking out.

http://www.pluginboutique.com/product/2 ... -MagicAB-2

Ok, now I'm getting interested. This was pretty cool looking. I wish I could see it in action. Or any of them in action. Anyone got other links?

You probably need a license on your iLok to run the demo, so they ask for your iLok stuff, as many others do. I certainly don't see what the problem would be... are you worried that AVID will somehow destroy your iLok configuration? Lock you out? Why the hopping hell would they do that?

Gravity Jim wrote:You probably need a license on your iLok to run the demo, so they ask for your iLok stuff, as many others do. I certainly don't see what the problem would be... are you worried that AVID will somehow destroy your iLok configuration? Lock you out? Why the hopping hell would they do that?

Yes, if you get software, even a demo, from any company that uses iLok, you are asked to provide your iLok ID so they can deposit a licence there for you. But I was also asked for my iLok password. That's the issue.

Before I get "hopping mad" I'd like to hear whether anyone else has seen this.

I don't provide any passwords to any third party. They don't need it, and there is no point in taking the risk that they will get hacked, on top of the risk that the legitimate holder gets hacked.

billf wrote:

bayswater wrote:I was looking for a plugin to make AB comparisons or reference mixes easy to do. AVID has one for free. I have an account so went to get it, and it asked for a iLok ID, which was not unexpected. But it also asked for my iLok password. I cancelled.

Is this something new at iLok, or just something AVID does? Either way, I don't like it.

I picked up Magic AB2 and find it works great. Here's the link if you're interested in checking out.

http://www.pluginboutique.com/product/2 ... -MagicAB-2

This is the one that got the search started, and it looks like the best of the alternatives. But it's a convenience thing -- not something I can't do in DP, so I was looking for a cheap substitute.

Shooshie wrote:With a number of ways to do A/B comparisons in DP, I'm curious what you're looking for in another app. Not saying it's not worth it or anything like that. Just curious what kind of thing you're looking to do. I do comparisons in DP a lot. I'd like to know what is more convenient and how it works.

Shoosh

The Melda and Hofa plugins allow you to make more like A/B........./Z comparissons with the payed version of the plugin. You can compare up to 4 audio files with the free versions, IIRC. Totally worth checking out. The Hofa seems like the better one of these two AFAICT.

Also, I think Foobar has an even better BLIND TEST facility.
I haven't used it, but some people at Hydrogen Audio really like its blind test feature. It does it quite scientifically, and I understand you can program your parameters and more cool stuff.

DP is good for a quick A/B, but if you have more than 2 pieces you want to check, or really want to discover whether you are "fooling yourself" via blind tests, either of the ones I mentioned, particularly Foobar (sorry if I am not even spelling it right) might be the most effective tool.

It's called the ABX component (of the Foobar app).

I found this thread in HA:
https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,107354.0.html

And here's the link to the app. Hell, I think I'm gonna get it myself!
http://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_abx

bayswater wrote:Before I get "hopping mad" I'd like to hear whether anyone else has seen this.

I don't provide any passwords to any third party. They don't need it, and there is no point in taking the risk that they will get hacked, on top of the risk that the legitimate holder gets hacked.

Yes, I've seen this.

They apparently do need it because of the way they've set up the demo. I assume that requiring the registration of a demo with an iLok account provides the developer with more security than coding an expiration date into the plugin.

I think I have some expired Sonnox demos in my iLok account. They're probably there forever.

I use Magic AB for comparisons and like it.

Bob, are you saying they need my password so they can go into my iLok account and cancel the licence at the expiry date? I can see why they might want to do that; the net abounds with date reset utilities, but it certainly doesn't give me comfort about giving a password to a faceless tech somewhere out there.