I like to support the products I use and I believe in paying for upgrades so I don’t have a problem with that. I think you are going to run into problems the way you are doing it though. (1) you are selling a period of time, (2) not guaranteeing there is going to be an upgrade major upgrade in that period, and (3) telling everybody they don’t have to maintain continuous upgrades, they can buy a new one year period anytime they like.
What you’re going to end up with is nobody is going to buy an upgrade period until they see an upgrade, and you’re going to have to convince them that upgrade is worth $50. That isn’t going to help your revenue stream any, and it really isn’t going to do much for your reputation.
I agree with the need for paid upgrades to fund product development, I suggest you folks discuss how you go about it a bit more.
I suggest in this turbulent time, you might reconsider your business model until the World gets back on its collective feet. And that will not be August 2020
Please send emails to each of your once loyal customers about this unwelcome news of paid updates, especially when they are released early, only to create artifacts.
I only found out about this because a webinar I tried to enter would not happen, and I logged onto Topaz Discussion to check.
You have not sent me an email about the betrayal of ‘free upgrades forever’. Perhaps you might be closed down due to COVID-19. I certainly hope not.
This is wrong I purchased your products for this reason alone I paid for lifetime upgrades you cannot just change your mind if you do this then I would expect a full refund for all my Topaz products. I cannot keep paying every few months for all the upgrades companies do.
I believe these new charges you are proposing are valid. Your realization on product research and the cost is insightful however, why not extend the beta testing group further. For some users these plugins are used for advanced hobbyist whom never dream of printing much less printing from home. One the other side, some of us users actually do implement your tools professionally and with notable clients. I proposal y’all seek out these advance and/or professional users of your products and make them part of research to not only stay under budget but with real life, in-the-field use and with hard print results. I think a small curve like this can save your original vision of the free upgrade platform. What’s there to lose?
I guess I am a bit confused. The stream of revised products we have seen this year has been like watching a parade. Most of these newer versions are corrections to the originals. I can’t believe that you would regard these versions as income. I do understand that complete rewrites that can achieve new processes or make major changes to the product are worthy of rewards. I would hope that Topaz would differentiate. For example in the past 10 days, I have received 2 new versions of Sharpen. Should I be required to pay for these, since there doesn’t appear to any gain over the version I had 3 weeks ago, except for the removal of some bugs. I certainly hope to continue to be a customer in the future because over the past many years, your product and the way you have treated your customers is an example of how a business should be conducted.
You bring up a good point @Iam1of2 I didn’t think of the frequency of the potential updates/upgrades. What about a version change charge as opposed to just an update? Any of y’all remember when gigapixel was a blue icon haha? 1of2, what do you think of maybe a clear definition of an “update” vs “upgrade?” Just to be clear, I do prefer the free update, upgrade or however it is or ends up defined!
So no other products you have offer updates for bug fixes etc., for me I see Capture One, Affinity Photo, ON1 etc., etc. doing this as other companies do.
I think this is a reasonable course of action. Thank you for not going to a subscription model! I don’t mind paying for the software I use, but, I do want to own it so that I can run it (or leave it idle) when I like, and how I like (with or without internet connectivity). When I first read about Gigapixel AI, I was very excited because I am just getting into video but wanted a way to bring screen captures of animations I might do up to a proper video resolution. I haven’t actually used the product yet (I will start playing with it soon), but I hope in the not too distant future it will be able to make use of my eternal GPU that is plugged into my MacBook Pro (the way DaVinci Resolve does).
I am on a somewhat disadvantage here. I have just downloaded the 30 day free trial but have had repeated disturbing effects as the program was installing.
My anti virus program kept popping up with numerous warnings. Why is this? and am I safe in having allowed the program to ignore the warnings.
I have to log in each time I open Topaz Studio 2. Can I work in Topaz off line? If not this is disturbing.
While a 30 day free trial is a nice gesture it really does not allow me to evaluate the software’s capability. Perhaps it would if I was working on it full time however I do have a daytime job.
I do agree with your assessment. If you wanted to see this in action, you should check out the Affinity Photo forum. As of today, they are using a release version of 1.8.3.xxx. There is a Beta version, also in that neighborhood. This is a developing software package that users can test and submit bug reports, etc for the developers to fix,and update and put into the occasional free releases. It is said, that starting with version 2.0.xxx, Serif will impose an upgrade charge including some major improvements. Considering what they charge for a fantastic Photoshop replacement ($50 usually, but often less when on sale), it is a no brainer. I think that this is a business model that Topaz might consider. Topaz has always treated their customers very well in the past and had a unique model. Aside from the quality software, look at the educational program.
Eric - As with many of the others here - I purchased your product expecting upgrades as a matter of course. You state that this business model isn’t working and is “100% our fault”.
In my world, when something is 100% my fault - I pay for it and pay and pay and…
Changing the rules in the middle of the game seems to be the norm.
The responses here and on DPreview are a symphony of rationalization. You, sir, should be grateful for the efforts of those wronged by your policy reversal to justify their disappointment
Not sure that I really need products from a company that violates trust so easily.
You do realise this only affects 4 products " Starting in August 2020, we will charge for product upgrades to DeNoise AI, Sharpen AI, Gigapixel AI, and Mask AI."
And “Stopped advertising free upgrades as a policy” in 2019
Not relevant as firmware is permanent software programmed into a read-only memory on a hardware device, software such as Topaz Labs products are used for processing images on a computer, as RAW converters etc.
