The new download method is very expensive and user unfriendly.
All new products are HUGE, downloads being often more than 1 GB. Which means 4.50 USD cost for me per download.
Now a download of 1 GB takes 2-3 hours and the app serves chunks often bigger than 300MB.
It is almost impossible to have a 100% stable connection for such a long time.
So the download will fail and another $4.50 gone per GB.
Why don’t you simply provide a link like Exposure, DXO or others do?
then one can download monstrous files with igetter which will resume failed downloads.
Also, you should tell us on beforhand the toltal size of the dowload so that users can buy enough extra intenet contract. Then we can top up and leave phone and computer at it overnight.
Last but not least… Does every small upgrade really need an entire new download? couldn’t you just update the new bits?
I still haven’t managed to download sharpen latest version as a whole.
I’d love to because I hope it improves on artefacts etc.
Also, does anybody know whether the monstrous Gigapixel is worth it? since it is about 10 dollar to download the trial i wonder…
@annettep38 It sounds like you are downloading over a cellular connection where you pay for data. Download over an internet connection and it may be faster and cost less if you pay by the month.
If you download using a internet browser, many will allow you to resume a download. Here is one article:
You seem to forget that some of us have limited internet access. In my case, that means a very expensive, sluggish, and less than dependable satellite connection, weather permitting. Those huge frequent Topaz update downloads are indeed a major pain.
I’m not forgetting, just if you want to download large programs then you need to have better internet. I do think that topaz is updating things too fast and should have more fixes in each.
You didn’t read my question. I asked WHY they don’t provide such a browser link. If you happen to know of a proper link instead of the online installer, please let me know.
Also, I am thrilled to learn that you know how to get a fast internet connection anywhere in the world. Could you please share the secret?
The very point of my post was that they should not make you download 2 GB in huge chunks of several hundred MB to change a little bit.
If I don’t use a phone connection, like I did today in a client’s garage, internet is even slower. The average Wifi internet in my country (in case one is lucky enough to have access) is a150-300kb. 3 1/2 G phone net sometimes gives me up to 1.5 MB, which they sell as 3 MB.
So telling people that they ‘need’ better internet during times that the whole countries bandwith is eaten up by the few privileged who are in netflix quarantine is pretty pointless.
Instead, developers should take into account that not everybody lives in places with fiberoptics or 5G.
Instead, they offer you webinars… which is also only for the few of you who can actually watch this stuff on unlimited bandwith and monthly allowance
Do not understand why it is assumed internet is JUST available. In the United States today, particularly west of the Mississippi River there are vast areas (over 1/3 of the US) sparsely covered by internet let alone cellular service. I understand - hopefully this paradigm will change soon. In our small town in the west fortunate to have cable internet service, just like the large metro areas, which I have used to support my remote work for over 10 years.
Suggesting to contact Topaz Labs Support team and request a link to desired software for download. They are very responsive to an email and provided me a link when I recently requested one. Give it a try.
The world is not going to wait on countries that won’t upgrade their systems. Its like why don’t countries stop selling cars until your country invents the tire. I live in a small town in the US west and I have cable internet rated 275Mb/s. I haven’t seen telephone modem connections for 20 years. If it is possible, I do think topaz should have downloads that only change the necessary files instead of the whole thing but I’m not a developer so I don’t know if that is possible. As far as a link to the off line installer is concerned there are those links. Here is one:
Go to the Product releases category and choose the one you want then you will see the link at the top of the page for the full off line installer.
Thanks for the link… it works… Well I hope it will when I have the possibility
Guessed you live in the US. Only there people would assume that the rest of the world works the same.
Occasionally, the US also needs countries outside… that don’t have your resources. Magically, just about everything I bought in the last 5 years from the US was made in China, for example.
I happen to know from some in the US that their internet is also bad.
And yes 98% of the world’s population don’t live in the US
Sorry about the off-topic, but I’m in the rural US and my only chance for internet is satellite. Cell reception requires a repeater and an external antenna, and lots of patience. Those Topaz updates are huge. I’m a “techie” and I’m quite positive that they could drastically reduce the download size for most of those updates. Frankly I now regret having bought all the “AI” packages. The products are good (mostly) but the update process is terrible and prohibitively expensive in time and data cost.
I live in central Maine and the only viable connection is satellite. That’s still not great, but far better than DSL at max 5mbps. I had loads of problems early on with the Topaz updates until I discovered the full installer links (vs. the apps’ built-in update method). That still downloads a giant package, but at least it’s not continually restarting and retrieving data it’s already downloaded like the online installers do. FWIW, the Jpeg2Raw full installer link is screwed up; it still points to the online installer. Of course they haven’t done an update on that one in quite a while.
You’d think that an operation that can create apps that work as well as Gpix and DeNoise could handle simple updates in a better fashion…
