Paying MTU to fix their bugs?

[TheMusicGeek]

So if I understand this right we now have to pay MTU to fix their bugs. Don't get me wrong I have no problem paying to get the next version (5.x) but as I understand it the only difference between 4.21 and 4.22 is bug fixes so why does the 12 month thing apply?

[Beavis]

think about it as donating

[WaltR]

Originally Posted by Beavis

think about it as donating

donating????

[ddouglass]

MTU's previous policy had been that you pay for any major version upgrade. A major upgrade being any change to the first two digits (3.2xx to 3.3xx). SOme of those upgrades came in less than a 12 month period. According to this method you would have had to pay to go from 4.0x to 4.1x and then again from 4.1x to 4.2x. You just saved the cost of 1 upgrade, because at that time they gave it to you for free.
MTU change the policy to be a standard 12 month period which can be beneficial to all of us. You are not paying to go from 4.21 to 4.22, but instead paying to go from whatever the last upgrade you bought (4.0?) to 4.22. All of the ones in between (4.0 - 4.21) you got for free as they added a ton of new features. All those features that they added Hoster as well as some of the other programs has cost MTU a lot of money and time to try to make all of their programs the best on the market.

[TheMusicGeek]

Well since the program hasn’t worked right since 4.0 was introduced all those free updates really didn’t do much good.
I did manage to put 4.22 on the show laptop before the update period expired. I just never got around to putting it on the office machine until now. 4.22 has solved the lyrics sync issue so far but it appears to have traded lyrics in sync to intermittent stuttering audio and hanging search. Replace the old bugs with bright shiney new ones!

[ddouglass]

If you have only put it on the one computer then you can still install it on the 2nd one without having to pay. Download it and use the Upgrade install. That is all it takes.
That is assuming this is the full version and not the Lite version of Hoster.
I disagree that Hoster hasn't worked since 4.0 was released. 4.06 was stable and worked fine with what had been put in up to that time. Version 4.11 was also a working program too.
If you are having problems with 4.22, then you need to report them so MTU can take a look at them. Preferably in another thread to isolate your problem and make it easier to find in the forum.

[TheMusicGeek]

Then why do I receive "Our records show you purchased this product or an upgrade more than 12 months ago....." during the install process and the install aborts?

[ddouglass]

Are they two different registration codes? That would be the only reason for it.

[TheMusicGeek]

Same code. Same email.

[ddouglass]

Send in a support ticket. I don't think that is supposed to happen.

[WaltR]

Originally Posted by ddouglass

MTU's previous policy had been that you pay for any major version upgrade. A major upgrade being any change to the first two digits (3.2xx to 3.3xx). SOme of those upgrades came in less than a 12 month period. According to this method you would have had to pay to go from 4.0x to 4.1x and then again from 4.1x to 4.2x. You just saved the cost of 1 upgrade, because at that time they gave it to you for free.
MTU change the policy to be a standard 12 month period which can be beneficial to all of us. You are not paying to go from 4.21 to 4.22, but instead paying to go from whatever the last upgrade you bought (4.0?) to 4.22. All of the ones in between (4.0 - 4.21) you got for free as they added a ton of new features. All those features that they added Hoster as well as some of the other programs has cost MTU a lot of money and time to try to make all of their programs the best on the market.

I'm confused. Wasn't 4.22 released to repair problems with 4.21? If you purchase a program that doesn't work properly, are you saying it is okay to be charged for an upgrade because the first program didn't work? I don't get this way of thinking. The year wouldn't be an issue if the the program worked properly in the first place. Based on this way of thinking, if we were to buy a hardware karaoke device that turned out to have a problem and needed to be corrected to work as advertised, one would have to pay for the repair even though the product had a warranty. So if I understand you and MTU correctly, software products don't have a guarantee, you purchase them and hope that they work properly as advertised, otherwise you may have to pay again to get a working product. Also, this is off track but why does the MTU web site still advertise 4.21 if 4.22 is now the current product?

[ddouglass]

Originally Posted by WaltR

I'm confused. Wasn't 4.22 released to repair problems with 4.21? If you purchase a program that doesn't work properly, are you saying it is okay to be charged for an upgrade because the first program didn't work? I don't get this way of thinking. The year wouldn't be an issue if the the program worked properly in the first place. Based on this way of thinking, if we were to buy a hardware karaoke device that turned out to have a problem and needed to be corrected to work as advertised, one would have to pay for the repair even though the product had a warranty. So if I understand you and MTU correctly, software products don't have a guarantee, you purchase them and hope that they work properly as advertised, otherwise you may have to pay again to get a working product.

First off comparing a piece of hardware to a software program is not a correct analogy. Hardware you purchase out right. You own it and if you do not get it fixed within the waranty period then yes you have to pay to get it fixed.
Software you do not own. You purchase a license authorizing you to use it and the company who created the software is the sole owner. This is true with all software.
Musicman51 is incorrect in the way he stated this in his initial post. He did not purchase 4.21 and then have to purchase 4.22. His last purchase was 12 months ago or more. Therefore he is not paying for upgrading from 1 version to the next one, but paying to upgrade from the last upgrade he did pay for and all those functions added in that time period.
The 4.22 fixes were to fix problems that a small group of users were having and those were all using Windows 7. If 4.21 works fine for you then you don't need to get 4.22.

Originally Posted by WaltR

Also, this is off track but why does the MTU web site still advertise 4.21 if 4.22 is now the current product?

This is an oversite. Admin takes care of the website layout and he cannot work fulltime, so hasn't fixed that yet. If someone purchases and downloads they will get 4.22 instead. In the Support section where the downloads are it does list 4.22.

[inthelimelight]

I purchased a brand new ruggedized laptop less than two years ago from MTU and the software has never worked properly on it. I basically purchased an under powered computer thinking I was getting the best- I feel like I wasted 1700.00- I now have to go out and buy yet another laptop because this software will not work on the one that came from MTU- this really is not fair- I am seriously thinking on changing my software- I cannot run my business this way.

[ddouglass]

Originally Posted by inthelimelight

I purchased a brand new ruggedized laptop less than two years ago from MTU and the software has never worked properly on it. I basically purchased an under powered computer thinking I was getting the best- I feel like I wasted 1700.00- I now have to go out and buy yet another laptop because this software will not work on the one that came from MTU- this really is not fair- I am seriously thinking on changing my software- I cannot run my business this way.

Have you addressed these problems to MTU in support tickets at any time during those two years? If I remember correctly MTU was shipping those computers with XP Pro and as long as you keep XP updated and maintained you should not have any problems with Hoster.
Have you tried the newest version and no for sure it doesn't work?

[inthelimelight]

I have been on the phone several times with the company- even had the tech look at my computer through on line assistance - my cpu will jump to 100% - I cannot upload a singer's disc while a person is singing- cannot get on the internet while the program is running- there just is not enough power to run the additional perks of the software- I have XP and all of the updates we done- the tech went through and tried everything he could think of- they never said it was not powerful enough- but I know that it isn't- because now the computers the sell are better than the one I bought

[ddouglass]

You are also talking about a two year difference in the technology available. The computers MTU was selling then and now are the latest in technology available at the time.
That does not mean it was not powerful enough to handle the program because it is less than what they have available now. Many of us have had problems with downloading from a singer's disk during a show. There are many possiblities for why and one of the worst is the condition of the disk.

[Roy Dennis]

Originally Posted by inthelimelight

cannot get on the internet while the program is running-

Do you have the Internet running all the time in a show ?

Try running without an Internet connection and temporarily disable your spy ware software.
Try running with Wireless connection turned off.

Originally Posted by inthelimelight

I have XP and all of the updates we done- the tech went through and tried everything he could think of- they never said it was not powerful enough- but I know that it isn't- because now the computers the sell are better than the one I bought

As soon as you buy a new computer it will be outdated within 6 months due to the rapid advancement in computer technology, you will never be able to have the best.

I have been running Hoster on an 8 year old Dell Computer with out any real problems, I recently bought a Windows 7 as I wanted a spare computer, as I found the old Dell got rather hot if I ran too many video's consecutively with it, other than that and the increase in Speed with the new system it still runs Hoster satisfactory.

Roy.

[billyo]

most of us have an older laptops/ pc's, and because of all the new features that a lot of people were asking and MTU tried to provide or provided would be one of the reasons that most of all the older laptops/ pc's cant handle, and to have a karaoke program and some dj functions in one software for $69.once a year is cheap,think of how much a basic dj software would cost you if you buy them separately, now my adviced was if you're older version of Hoster works w/o a problem don't upgrade, if you needed some dj functions then do the upgrade.and for those that has 2 pc's/ laptops for back-up, dont upgrade both of them at the same time, and do not do the upgrade a day before a show.. but before you do the upgrade, make sure you do all the necessary changes..

[WaltR]

Originally Posted by ddouglass

First off comparing a piece of hardware to a software program is not a correct analogy. Hardware you purchase out right. You own it and if you do not get it fixed within the waranty period then yes you have to pay to get it fixed.
Software you do not own. You purchase a license authorizing you to use it and the company who created the software is the sole owner. This is true with all software.
Musicman51 is incorrect in the way he stated this in his initial post. He did not purchase 4.21 and then have to purchase 4.22. His last purchase was 12 months ago or more. Therefore he is not paying for upgrading from 1 version to the next one, but paying to upgrade from the last upgrade he did pay for and all those functions added in that time period.
The 4.22 fixes were to fix problems that a small group of users were having and those were all using Windows 7. If 4.21 works fine for you then you don't need to get 4.22.

okay, I understand the license and use thing. I believe you understood my point. I will correct what I was saying. We pay for a license for authorization to use their software based on what it is suppoed to do. Are you with me? Now after paying, it is found that the software does not do what it is supposed to do and it is discovered that there are bugs. If you are going to be charged to correct the bugs then you should be given a choice of a refund since you didn't get a workable product in the first place. I've been a Hoster user as long as you have. Times are tough for us as well as MTU. If I spend money for a software product it may well be based on my budget as to what I can spend. If it doesn't work, maybe I can't afford to invest more money than what I had planned on. I know MTU has spent lots of money and time on the issues they encounter with Hoster. I know they didn't expect to run into all the problems with Vista. But, the bottom line is that they are in business for the sole purpose to make money. When you are selling product you take the risk. If things don't go as planned, your customers shouldn't have to pay the tab otherwise how long does this go on and at what expense to the customer? I have no problem paying for upgrades that offer new features. If I do, it is my choice based on the interest in the new product. If it doesn't work properly I don't want to pay again. That's my view and yes I have every MTU program and have enjoyed their products very much up and until 4.00. I don't believe we have received all of the features that were originally supposed to be released in increments after 4.00. I appreciate all the help you have given not only to me but all the people that use this site. You are the moderator and I understand you are going to defend MTU until your last breath but understand that not everyone see things as you do. No offense intended.

[ddouglass]

Originally Posted by WaltR

okay, I understand the license and use thing. I believe you understood my point. I will correct what I was saying. We pay for a license for authorization to use their software based on what it is suppoed to do. Are you with me? Now after paying, it is found that the software does not do what it is supposed to do and it is discovered that there are bugs. If you are going to be charged to correct the bugs then you should be given a choice of a refund since you didn't get a workable product in the first place. I've been a Hoster user as long as you have. Times are tough for us as well as MTU. If I spend money for a software product it may well be based on my budget as to what I can spend. If it doesn't work, maybe I can't afford to invest more money than what I had planned on. I know MTU has spent lots of money and time on the issues they encounter with Hoster. I know they didn't expect to run into all the problems with Vista. But, the bottom line is that they are in business for the sole purpose to make money. When you are selling product you take the risk. If things don't go as planned, your customers shouldn't have to pay the tab otherwise how long does this go on and at what expense to the customer? I have no problem paying for upgrades that offer new features. If I do, it is my choice based on the interest in the new product. If it doesn't work properly I don't want to pay again. That's my view and yes I have every MTU program and have enjoyed their products very much up and until 4.00. I don't believe we have received all of the features that were originally supposed to be released in increments after 4.00. I appreciate all the help you have given not only to me but all the people that use this site. You are the moderator and I understand you are going to defend MTU until your last breath but understand that not everyone see things as you do. No offense intended.

I understand what you are saying. Basically you are all saying that having to buy 4.22 since it is really a bug fix and not new features, that you feel this is wrong. You say you have no problem paying for upgrades that offer new features, but you have not paid for those upgrades that added new features through out Version 4's development. You have gotten all those upgrades for free. Version 4.0 released in July 2008 with many upgrades given out freely between it and now. This is now August 2010, two years after the initial release (yes I know some of you did not use Hoster the whole time) and now you don't want to pay for having all of this? How about looking at it as you are paying a reduced price for all of those features that have been put in and not the fact that this particular upgrade is mostly fixes.
Walt, Admin never promised to put everything asked for in. They said they would try. Some of the items just have not worked out and were dropped. Yes there is at least one more that I can think of that hasn't been put in yet and that is Tempo Change. It should be coming soon and if you are within your 12 months since your last purchase when it is released then it will be free. If not then those users will need pay an upgrade or as you said if they don't need this feature then they can skip it.
Walt I don't take offense to anything said in here as long as my character isn't attacked ).
Now gentlemen I think this will be the last I will have to say about this subject. I understand your feelings and I have tried to state a view from the other side. Nothing more can be said.
If anyone has any problems they want to discuss or help with please post it in another thread.