Recently installed SSL V6 Native (30 days) & Softube (20 days) Native plugin demos which use iLok iCloud but store the activation locally & work with no perceptible hit to performnce. Very nicely done.

Ateempted to try McDSP which also uses iCloud but, does not store the activation locally requirung an active internet connection while in use. I knew what to expect and damn it if I was not correct in my expectations.

Sent an email to McDSP explaining the issue:

Oct 21, 2020, at 1:17 AM:

Wanted to test your latest plugins for not just stability, but also, for overall system usage. Was disappointed to see that I needed to be connected to Internet to use as SSL activates on local system under DEMO iLok Cloud. Gave it a go.

Ran Console G in a large session that peaks out at 88% in Reaper (91% in Windows 10 Task Manager). This session normally plays without issue.

Your software caused all of Windows 10 antiVirus and Malware protocols to activate causing system lag & dropouts. Even with CPU load below 70% in Reaper, system continued to lag & sputter due to Windows trying to protect itself.

My hope along with many others is that software developers as a whole start using full & demo activations which allow for easy of use (SSL, Plugin Alliance).

Thank you, in advance for your valuable time and attention.


Re: iLok Cloud for Demos

McDSP Support <[email protected]>
Oct 22, 2020, 10:22 AM (1 day ago)

Hello,

We are sorry this has been your experience and appreciate your feedback with our plug-ins.

Unfortunately, we don’t fully support Reaper, even though some of our plug-ins work on other programs, our plug-ins are not optimized for this situation. Please contact Reaper support for information on the issue. This issue and details have been noted, and our engineering team is on the loop about this, but we do not have an ETA on the fix.

Our engineering team is also currently looking into updating our Windows software so your feedback is very useful to provide to them. However, that update is being planned for sometime next year so it is still sometime away from now. Please subscribe to our newsletter for more details.

We once again apologize for your experience and thank you for your feedback. Let us know if there is anything else we can help with.

Regards,
McDSP Support

AS you can see for yourself, the issue was blamed on Reaper. Never asked if I tried another DAW. Empirical Labs only uses the old dongle system whether retail or demo.

Maybe this is why I rarely hear or read anyone referencing their software.

"Curiosity killed the cat"