Thank you for your reply.

I've checked my invoice and purchased MEP 2020 on 25 June 2020. I guess my upgrade service is no longer valid but I would've thought the new version is locked in against my Magix account as a valid and ongoing upgrade.

The upgrade service for one year isn't worth much if that upgrade is lost due to reinstallation.

@LightfireCreative

Unfortunately this form of renewal agreement is now the main model of most agreements across multiple companies including web hosting sites that can and do take down websites immediately should a subscription not be paid on time making such a site irretrievable. The responsibility of looking after anything now software based is squarely upon the user. This is one reason some of us here have cloned backups of our C: drives and copies of all the software on other drives.

So much for the future of cloud computing. 😒

Ray.

I get the subscription model; I use (reluctantly) Adobe Lightroom. I don't necessarily agree with it though. I understand why companies have moved that way but I do avoid that model for the most part.

What I don't get is the promise of a one year upgrade plan where one doesn't keep the upgraded software after that year and it reverts back to the original version. Many of the photography software companies (I'm mostly a photographer) will upgrade you to their next version if you happen to buy before they release their newest version. If you format your PC, you simply reinstall the newer version and the associated licence key.

Oh well, I won't be giving Magix any more cash. I'll stick with the 2020 version for the moment and move to another product when I need to. I barely do enough videos to justify a yearly upgrade cycle.

@LightfireCreative

Fare enough, although I'm surprised as a photographer you are not asked to to more video work unless you mainly do landscape or portraiture work. I normally cover events and am being asked more often to include video footage. If not complete videos, then at least clips for use.

Magix, for their part at least give you a choice. They could have just offered free patches to the current version for the asking price. I think of it as a free trial period that If I want to keep at the end of that period I pay another subscription to keep. That way I'm not disappointed.

Ray.

@LightfireCreative

The upgrade service for one year isn't worth much if that upgrade is lost due to reinstallation.

I absolutely agree and have whinged to Magix about this. It is completely unacceptable that Magix could issue a bug-ridden program, give you updates to fix it, then force you to re-install only the bug-ridden original version if you have to do a reinstall.

Always save any patches that come your way during your year's update period.

@CubeAce

Magix, for their part at least give you a choice. 

Yes Ray, Magix did give users of VPX 12 a choice. That worked out well. I wonder if the patches to the VPX 13 disaster will be available to someone if they have to re-install in 13 months time? Shame on Magix if it does not.

@AAProds

Hi Al.

Only people who enjoy the self flagellation ecstasy of being an unpaid beta tester should be early adopters of new software. 🤣🤣🤣🤓

Buy it when it's stable. As I said, being offered the next version of a program instead of just the updates is a bonus. Most of us never look at the terms and conditions. We get what we agree to, whether knowingly or not. Some companies will not even consider refunds after a renewal or keep you locked into agreements for specific time periods such as Flickr or your local gym or mobile phone company or internet provider.

Ray.

@LightfireCreative

Fare enough, although I'm surprised as a photographer you are not asked to to more video work unless you mainly do landscape or portraiture work. I normally cover events and am being asked more often to include video footage. If not complete videos, then at least clips for use.

Ray.

I'm just a hobbyist but am mainly into landscape and portraiture as you summised. So the one or two videos I create are just for fun. I can understand if my bread and butter was video; a subscription wouldn't be an issue. But I bought MEP 2028 with the understanding there'd be an update service. I purchased 2020 only weeks before the newer version released.

@LightfireCreative

Always save any patches that come your way during your year's update period.

I always do save the installation software and updates for my purchases but for this product, I was never able to find the full installation packages and updates. Everything seems to go through the downloader program.

@LightfireCreative

The updates are tricky; during the update process, MEP will stop at some point waiting for user input; it is then that I locate the update file on the C drive; I copy it to my data folder and then continue the update.

I locate the update file on the C drive;

@LightfireCreative Could you give others a guide to where it might be. Presumably it gets deleted when installation is completed.

@ericlnz

Could you give others a guide to where it might be. Presumably it gets deleted when installation is completed.

I believe that comment was directed at me, and sorry, I should have said where my files end up. It does vary sometimes, but the MEP 2020 (version 19) original install file downloaded to here (bb19 is my Windows 10 username):

C:\Users\bb19\Documents\MAGIX Downloads\Installationsmanager\Video_deluxe_2020_Premium_DLV_INT_191009_08-27_19_0_1_23.exe

In this case, it's still on my C: drive after the installation, but I'm pretty sure the updater files are removed after the update is completed.

@ericlnz @LightfireCreative @AAProds

You will find the downloaded patch somewhere below this location - just type it into the address field of File Explorer

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp\MAGIX

The path uses environmental variables and is therefore independent of username or drives.
Good luck hunting the patch

NB! The file is removed once ran by the updater so you need to catch it before the update completes.

@shgrude That's a different place to @AAProds ?