@Psychtropic Films,

I've already answered this question in your other post in the News forum, please do not post the same question to different threads.

@ Peter,

Mercalli 4 WAS offered as an extra with VPX8, if you were upgrading, as I did, from VPX5 to 8, following the computer rebuild to 64 bit. It is also still listed for me in 9, though I haven't yet tested whether it still works.

EDIT: I've just checked and Mercalli 4 DOES work in VPX9.

Jeff

Hi Jeff

Thanks for the clarification as I know @Browj did not receive it on release of 8. So you are saying that it came with VPX8 but only with a upgrade offer sometime after release of VPX8?

Hi Peter,

No, Mercalli 4 came as part of the VPX8 package that I bought just over 12 months ago, it was not a later "addition". My purchase confirmation email shows serial numbers for VPX8, VSCL, Mercalli 4 and NB ActionCamPack.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

We went through this when VPX8 came out, I believe.

I checked my emails just now and you were the "chosen" one.

With VPX7, purchased on 2015.04.03, I received Music Maker Score Edition, Mercalli V4, and NB Premium Effects.

With VPX8, purchased on 2016.04.14, there was nothing but VPX in the email - no add-ons.

With MEP2016 Premium, purchased on 2015.10.05, I received Mercalli V4 and Catooh Bonus Pack 2016.

Maybe Magix started keeping track of who had what with Pro and didn't give it twice. However, I distinctly remember that V4 was not in the advert for VPX8 a year ago, and I asked Magix about it and they confirmed that V4 was not with it, only V2.

So, you were somehow lucky. Anyone else?

Hi John,

I think the biggest "difference" between my situation and those of the likes of Peter and yourself was that I could not upgrade from VPX5 because I was still running a 32 bit version of Windows. Once I had rebuilt my computer to move to W10 and 64 bit, almost immediately VPX8 (with the add-ons I listed) was released so I suppose what I got was VPX8 PLUS some of the "extras" that had been available to the upgrades which I "missed", apparently along with some that were not previously available anywhere (think VSCL).

All rather confusing!

Jeff

Hi Jeff

so I suppose what I got was VPX8 PLUS some of the "extras" that had been available to the upgrades which I "missed", apparently along with some that were not previously available anywhere (think VSCL).

That was the point I was trying to make in my last comment. In the past, sometime after the release of a product they sometimes bundle some different extra programs, I guess to try to entice more buyers after the initial burst of "must have" buyers has started to diminish.

I got V4 and Action cam with VPX7 and I think MEP16 and VPX8 picked them up. No sign of any sound tools though.

Very odd that John CB can not access them which I guess is an important point for Bart.

Peter

Hi all,

Peter, I should have explained better; everything that I received works. Mercalli V4 still works fine with VPX8(9 or whatever) as does the NB addons that I previously received. It is just that with VPX8, in my case, there was nothing else that came with it. So my assumption is that for most others who purchased or upgraded to VPX8 at that time, they would have not received any NB plugins or Mercalli V4.

Those with MEP2016 Premium received Mercalli V4, as did I, but it doesn't work with MEP2017 Premium, so we, with VPX8/9 are lucky that Mercalli V4 still works.

Jeff also received VSCL. It was not in the advert either.

The question is, did others receive these add-ons, Mercalli V4, NB, VSCL, with VPX8, or just Jeff?

Hi john

Thanks for the clarification.

Those with MEP2016 Premium received Mercalli V4, as did I, but it doesn't work with MEP2017 Premium, so we, with VPX8/9 are lucky that Mercalli V4 still works.

Yes same here with MEP2016/2017 works in trial mode in 2017 but is water marked.

I guess all that we can deduce from the fact that it still works in subsequent releases of VPX, is because Magix's licensing costs are covered due to the higher cost of VPX and they can continue to include it free.

I did not receive any add-ons with VPX8.

Hi John CB et al,

it (Mercalli 4) doesn't work with MEP2017 Premium

It does for me! I've just tested it on a short section of AVCHD footage and it analysed and stabilised the admittedly limited camera shake.

Sorry, John. You do seem to be experiencing all sorts of "not functioning properly" problems which I'm not seeing. I know that's little comfort for you.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Mercalli V4 may still be working for you because of the license with VPX. Some users have noted this problem on the English forum, and it is a big deal on the French forum with words of warning about buying 2017.

Strangely, when I had to activate Mercalli V2 after a reinstall, the messages that popped up indicated V4. I took a couple of screen shots of these and I'll try to find them.

Aha!

Look what I found from a year ago. It seems that this was on the UK site, but not on the Americas site. Either that or some of us were shortchanged.

Look closely and you can see that the 2 additional products were NB and VSCL.

Below is what happened earlier this year when I reinstalled VPX8.

Hi all,

so, just to clear out some doubts.

I'm actually using VPX7 purchased in 2015 with Mercalli V4. If now I upgrade to VPX9 can I use the serial of MV4 to activate it?

Thank you!

Hi,

I believe the answer is you should not need to reactivate Mercalli 4 if you upgrade to VPX9. Certainly, that is my experience when upgrading from VPX8 to 9. My understanding is that users who obtained Mercalli 4 with VPX7 are still able to use it in VPX 9.

Jeff

What I do when I install any software is both save the links to the download page and the actual downloaded files, as well as all the purchase emails and unlock keys. Magix sometimes asks if you want to have extra downloaded content saved in....C:\USER\Documents\MAGIX Downloads\Installationsmanager I have curated all these files over the years for re-installation. However, as mentioned in these posts, some additional content is specific to a software version. For example, I like Magic Bullet Looks; however, it was only available on VPX6, so when I installed VPX8, I had to also install VPX6 just to get the Magic Bullet Looks plugin to appear in VPX8. I agree this is frustrating and we should be able to roll-up all these add-ons into the latest version in order to feel like our editor is getting more powerful and robust. I believe the reason why Adobe Premiere has gained so much traction in the market is because of Adobe's After-Effects integration, which results in an all-in-one package. Adobe Premiere would be just another video editor if it were not for After Effects. Whereas Magix seems to piecemeal these add-on packages and not commit long-term. And thus when you're not sure if it will be on the next version that's pro that cast doubt in the mind of the consumer. So now that Magix has its huge audio/video software lineup as well as all the former Sony audio/video products, they really need to sit down and figure-out both a technology path and marketing path for all this software that in many ways overlap each other.

@PsychotropicFilms

Good points. I do the same with the downloaded content. One annoying thing is having all of the VST plugins for Samplitude and some with Audio & Music Lab Premium (essentialFX) and not being able to use any of them in VPX.

One point about most of the new addons, they are now integrated with the editor, so hopefully they will remain in the future, especially since there are no more "versions" to be issued, only upgrade patches.

Strange one since you mentioned it, I have not been able to install MBLooks correctly since I had to reinstall everything. It works fine on my laptop, but does not show up on my desktop. I seem to be missing the dll and vsx files even after uninstalling and reinstalling. I'll keep looking. Not a priority. I use Pixelan FilmTouch 2 Pro - unlimited possibilities. RG MBLooks is a very watered down version, unfortunately. I have RG LooksBuilder that came with a version of Xara and it has all of the controls that are missing from the VPX version.

@browj2 Agree that the MBLooks plug-in Magix Movie Edit Pro and VPX is a very basic applied 'look'. The full-blown program looks sophisticated, but unfortunately, does not integrate with Magix video editing programs. I'll take a look at Pixelan FilmTouch 2 Pro. How's the integration? Meaning is it user friendly, intuitive?

@PsychotropicFilms

Yes, Pixelan FilmTouch2 Pro, along with most, if not all of his excellent plugins, does integrate completely with VPX/MEP. Michael (Pixelan software creator) produces versions specifically for Magix products; they appear under the Effects tab in the video program.

Jeff

Hi,

that I put together to show the FilmTouch Pro 2 interface in VPX. I purchased the entire suite. You can download and try it out. There will be an X across the screen that will disappear if you buy the product. If you do decide to buy, get the Pro version, not basic.

See also my tutorials on .

John CB

browj2@browj2  John, You make very good tutorials....Amazing how packed that Pixelan software is. Noticed they have 'tool tips' on the bottom-right when you select something and the keyframing really adds value. The PIP program also seems quite robust in features, I'll have to check the website for more details. Thanks for the head's-up and information...Bart

So, I have update from VPX7 to the latest VPX(9) and It keeps both Mercalli V2 and Mercalli V4 active and working!

Yeah!