So, 5.3.3.2.b was supposed to bring back AV1 codec on AMD devices. Codec that was properly working before and suddenly just stopped working with one of updates.
And still not working to this day.
Completely agree.
Iām old school and do not ever pay for subscription based software.
I donāt mind paying a subscription for new updates, if those updates have new features or fixes that I want, but if I buy a piece of software then I expect to be able to use that software indefinitely, even if it is only the specific version I purchased without future updates.
This move to a subscription basis is nothing more than greed, as it always is. Itās clear that Topaz Labs doesnāt care about the individual customer at home who got them where they are today. They are just looking for business to business now.
Hereās a post by Russell Pompea talking about how they got to $45 million per year just from the self-service site and how they are switching to a B2B model now. If they got to $45 million per year from regular sales, then they canāt really say they need the new subscription model to make enough money to pay for updates. Screw the little guy I guess.
3 Likes
Been looking for old installers. Topaz has apparently scrubbed everything old or leading up to the present day. Good luck guys, I used Topaz specifically because of local processing. Cloud is 1 place that can be and is hacked with regularity with 0 privacy from admin or anyone that hacks it. yes, my server can be hacked also but, I am not a big boy and an unknown, 60 tb of storage on my server. Now no updates, change of service. They forget the āoffer and acceptance feature, like most companies, of contracts.ā It is not automatic. I will not renew as Cloud is useless to me, my credit bank should show that to admin. Like I stated before Good Luck.
??
Here are the old versions:
3 Likes
I installed the new Topaz Video program and the problem is that with the same settings as Video Ai it doesnāt seem to change anything loooool Iāll give you a year to refine it ā¦ and second starlight local only in pro ??? Another reason to stick with video AI
Iāve been waiting since version 2 to jump back in when application problems are ironed out, but here we are, many versions later, with some folks reporting the same issues that have existed ever since I stopped upgrading. I suspect, based on what you found on LinkedIn, that much of that revenue hasnāt been reinvested into software development, but more likely, it was siphoned off and poured into someones offshore bank account, so that executive can live a lavish lifstsyle. Maybe a super yacht with $15M helicopter parked on its stern?
TY looked all over the place. I thought there were stand alone installers. My bad I guess. Topaz still holds the reins.
I donāt do subscription based software either, never will. Complaining here will do nothing. In corporate discussions Topaz accepted there will be grumbling but chose to do it anyway. Best thing now is to speak with your wallet.
3 Likes
Are there any plans to fix the bug that prevents the DaVinci Resolve Studio plugin from working with the perpetual license version?
Hello, I have 2 questions!
I stopped my subscription some time ago and I would like to know if itās the right time to resume it. Since Starlight encodings take about a week (with an RTX 5080), I was never really able to do what I wanted because I regularly need my PC for other tasks.
1 ā Has the pause and resume function been added to the program?
For some time now, I have been upscaling my videos with Starlight to 1920p so that it takes less time than 4K, and then I run the result through Theia to upscale it to 4K.
Also, when trying to put a Starlight video into Topaz for re-upscaling, an error message appears: it is not possible to re-upscale Starlight videos.
To work around this issue, I have to use an older version of Topaz which does accept Starlight videos for upscaling.
2 ā Has this problem been resolved and, if I return, will I no longer be forced to use two versions of Topaz?
@johnrr6 ā¦
Also works with the Sharp model. Iām now trying to decide which one is best for that method. At the moment, Iām noticing the Sharp might be the way to go. 
[/quote]
I think Iāll withdraw this suggestion (above). After pretty thorough testing, I went back to 7.0.2 (mini). This is by far, the best, although back to square one with turtle speed (which is fine by me, as long as itās a gem of a video when finished rendering). 
1 Like
In studio, I didnāt really notice a difference between starlightā¦.. which I guess is the old starlight mini and the the 7.0.2 model starlight mini.
Iām not sure thereās much of a difference between starlight and starlight mini. I didnāt test extensively but speed wise, It seemed the same and quality wise, It seemed the same..
Now starlight sharp was differentā¦. It definitely was faster, although faster is a relative term. And I thought the overall quality just not as good.
So Iām kind of with you. Iām gonna stay with starlight or starlight mini or whatever the heck theyāre calling itā¦. then use your method with Proteus.
That gives me the best results right nowā¦.but Iām sure theyāre going to tune these models a bit more especially the sharp model.
1 Like
In other words, Topaz is changing from a purchase model to a subscription model for its software. Thatās exactly what many people donāt want! The same applies to rendering in the cloud vs. locally.
The companyās entire behavior, with its constant app changes and strategy shifts, doesnāt come across as particularly professional. Video AI, now Topaz Video, but also Topaz Studio, but then also Studio Classic, and Studio 2ā¦ No one can keep track of it all anymore. Iām glad I still OWN a retail version of Video AI. In any case, I will definitely not be switching to a subscription model.
6 Likes
Generative AI locally run to upscale images & video is available for free. Real-ESRGAN (open source) on ComfyUI (free) or Stable Diffusion (free) for example. Bit of a learning curve to get up & running however, once installed and running is free for life. Thatās what Iām moving to.
2 Likes
You know, I just had to uninstall everything again. Not to brag, but I never had one incident that this crashed on me. Well, since I installed the new āVideoā program yesterday, I have had crashes every time I use the Perpetual program.
I uninstalled everything again and I am running 7.02 with no problems ( with nothing else installed). Kind of a shame we have to keep wasting time uninstalling and reinstalling and gambling on which of these will work next. 
2 Likes
I think we are all experiencing the trials and tribulations of the inevitable 1.0. Releaseā¦.
Where developers try their best to get everything right but theyāre under the time crunch from the money people to:
āGet this damn thing outā¦..now!ā
I mean, you think this is badā¦
Have you played any video games lately?
I know it sounds silly, a 72-year-old guy playing online shooters. But it keeps my quick twitch and hand and eye fairly sharp and helps me at the actual pistol range where I used to compete.
Anyway, talk about getting a release out the door that is half baked. Triple AAA video games are a mess right now.
First time users become the quality and assurance testing.
Itās rampant.
Anyway, I never uninstalled my seven version of video AI and will go back to that for most everything.
Because: it works!
1 Like
Anybody else downgrade to 7.1.3? I find it disingenuous to call Topaz Video 1.0.0 an update to Video AI 7.1.4 when the company essentially created a different branch for Studio version. Update button should be reserved for TRUE updates to 7.1.4. The current update buttons in 7.1.4 are a useless eyesore for those still using 7.x branch.
4 Likes
Itās like when version 3 was introduced under a new name, that it was so radically different from version 2, that many questioned why it was not called version 1. Itās all about marketing, because calling it version 3 gave it that well seasoned appearance to potential new cstomers, but in reality, it was much worse than version 2. It a lot of ways, version 2 is much more usable, as compared to version 7. Version 2 is back in the day when real-time preview worked. But with the introduction of version 3, it has never worked properly since. Maybe it a marketing tactic to call it version 1. Regardless, I wonāt pay to subscribe to any software, let alone a costly investment like this. The thoughts of losing access to the application if I decide not to renew absolutely kills the deal. When Adobe did this, they lost the hobbyists because they were dissatisfied with the ongoing need to pay for continuous access to software.
Hi, hmm I do this all the time, mac or windows, TVAI version? What was the output format? Try re-muxing with MKVToolnix the TVAI result before re-import.
Frame interpolation AI output MP4 format will become VFR
