Corel Paint Shop Pro and Video Studio X3 Upgrade

[lahazard]

Mona,

A quick comparison with X2 and X3 side by side (along with their respective help sections) shows everything that was available in X2 to still be there in X3. I can, however, find nothing new or even updated (at least that is clear to me at this time - other than being certified to work with Windows 7 and being able to better utilize multiple processors allowing for speeding up the process) regarding vectors in X3.

Hope that helps...

Louis

[juven Profile Private messageWebsite]

This is a link to upgrade to the new PSP X3 for 19.99 for the download version. If you order the boxed version, they add 11 for shipping.
http://store.corel.com/webapp/wcs/store ... &langId=-1

Thanks for the tip ! I have just upgraded to PSP X3 for 19.95 dollar !

[lahazard]

UPDATE on the KPT plug-ins......

I just received an email back from Corel concerning the KPT plug-ins....

************************************************

Thank you very much for your e-mail.

KPT Plugins would be available soon as an update patch.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for any further questions.

Kind regards,

Corel Customer Support

************************************************

So it appears they will eventually be available, presumably with the first update patch following the initial efforts on Corel's part to correct some of the problems some folks are experiencing with X3.

Louis

P.S. for what it's worth to anyone, I am still (as an amateur photographer) pleased with the way X3 handles on my system. I actually look forward to editing my photos whereas before I tended to dread using X2 as it was inconsistently buggy for me.

[Barkingmad Profile Private message]

LOL - I guess time will tell. I too got a reply from support saying that the plugins will be available soon only in the retail version [which I took, - possibly mis-understood - to be the boxed version not the download version]
I am learning how misleading Corel can be as a general trend - I was under the impression that X3 included Painter Essentials 4, but in reality it includes a special reduced feature version renamed Painter Photo Essentials 4, which cannot be purchased on its own and which can be upgraded to the full version of Painter Essentials for the normal upgrade cost of 34.99 dollars. None the less, for those who only want it for a photo paint, it is quite a nice, although limited, version of Painter Essentials 4.

Louis, I agree with you - despite being rather un-impressed with Corel at the moment, I have no regrets having bought this version - overall I definately like it. I did have to reformat to get the FILE OPEN to work though ... no idea why ... it worked fine on 10, but both X2 and X3 consistantly froze my PC as soon as I clicked on either FILE OPEN or the Open Icon. I updated to service pack 3, updated my graphics card drivers, removed programs, removed all paint shop pro versions and re-installed only X3 .... the whole tooty fruity ... but nothing helped ... so I reformatted. Iam now re-installing programs one by one and checking X3's file open after each one... so far so good ..

Mona, it looks to me that nothing has been removed [or added] as far as the vector side of things go ... from what I can tell so far. As for speed - while some things don't seem to be too different in terms of speed, other things are decidedly faster, so I guess if you are happy with X2 and don't have multiple processors ... there is little to gain if vectors are your main interest. However, if you do have multiple processsors it would certainly be worth at least downloading a trial version and trying it out.

I prefer it to X2, I find the darker colour easier on the eye, and the photo manager to be useful not having to hop from program to program as I was doing. It copes reasonably well with my 2 main photo folders, which are both on an external hard drive. One is 257 gigs, made up of 1.165 sub folders containing 89 thousand some odd photos, and the other folder is 85 gigs, 554 sub folders and 21 thousand some odd files - mainly photos but some video clips ... so for a program at such a reasonable price, even at the full price, it s a worthwhile purchase..
if you would use this feature as well, depending on your exchange rate, at 16.99 [19.99 plus a coupon] it is certainly worth the upgrade in my opinion.

On the other hand, if vectors are your thing .. have you tried Xara? I think Xara is a little gem of a program

[lahazard]

Here is the official response I received moments ago from Corel about the pricing variatioons...

***************

Dear Louis,

I understand your feedback and concerns. Please be advised that the $19.99 special upgrade price on PaintShop Photo X3 can only be availed if and when you have just purchased PaintShop Pro X2 Ultimate in the last 90 days.

Regards,
Allan
Corel Customer Service
www.corel.com

***************

Fact is, however, that folks who purchased PSP X2 more than 90 days ago have been able to get the upgrade for $19.99. So kudos to all who get the 19.99 deal. I imagine it won't be around much longer once Corel figures out what has been going on and that a loophole has allowed many to take advantage of it.

Barkingmad - I was able to get the full Painter essentials last year with a coupon ($20 off anything Corel) that brought the price down to $15 through

http://couponsdealuxe.com/

they always have numerous Corel (as well as other companies) coupon deals - sometimes the coupons are "stackable" and can be used together.

And thanks for the heads-up on Xara.

[cherub Profile Private messageWebsite]

Mona, it looks to me that nothing has been removed [or added] as far as the vector side of things go ... from what I can tell so far. ...
I prefer it to X2, I find the darker colour easier on the eye, and the photo manager to be useful not having to hop from program to program as I was doing. It copes reasonably well with my 2 main photo folders, which are both on an external hard drive. One is 257 gigs, made up of 1.165 sub folders containing 89 thousand some odd photos, and the other folder is 85 gigs, 554 sub folders and 21 thousand some odd files - mainly photos but some video clips ... so for a program at such a reasonable price, even at the full price, it s a worthwhile purchase..
if you would use this feature as well, depending on your exchange rate, at 16.99 [19.99 plus a coupon] it is certainly worth the upgrade in my opinion.
On the other hand, if vectors are your thing .. have you tried Xara? I think Xara is a little gem of a program

Hi Shaz,
I'm still contemplating whether to upgrade or not. I guess I'll just install the trial and see for myself.
I have so many things installed in my current version, that I simply hate the idea of starting to reconfigure everything all over again. I have scripts, plugins, brushes... all sorts.

The "antracit" (dark color) screen appeared (I think) in ver. X1 and you can use it or not, by defining this in the program. Personally I think that it adds extra "weight" to the program, and I'm not very fond of it, so I chose not to use it. But it's there alright, also in your version X2. So, this is not new.

There are a number of things that one can change in the way the program is configured, and this can help the speed in many cases, but like you Shaz, I normally don't use PaintShop Pro for browsing pictures when I only need some isolated ones. There are faster programs for that.

Shaz, Luis, I don't use vectors in particular, but if I need to, I'd like to know that they are there, so thank you for letting me know that there are no changes in this version.

I didn't see any notice on their site that one needs to purchase the retail version in order to get the "goodies". So, if they told you this, it's very unethical on their part.
Also unethical is how they advertise that they give you Painter Essetials 4 when in effect they give a simplified version. For me this is irrelevant, as I have it anyway, as a stand alone.
KPT plugins - Once upon a time (about 6-7 years ago, I think), I tried the stand alone plugins and didn't like them much. There are nicer ones around, and I'm using them now. So, that part is not an "attraction" for me either.

As I said, I'm still debating with myself if the upgrade is worth the effort and the price.

[Barkingmad Profile Private message]

Hi Shaz,
I'm still contemplating whether to upgrade or not. I guess I'll just install the trial and see for myself.
I have so many things installed in my current version, that I simply hate the idea of starting to reconfigure everything all over again. I have scripts, plugins, brushes... all sorts.

The "antracit" (dark color) screen appeared (I think) in ver. X1 and you can use it or not, by defining this in the program. Personally I think that it adds extra "weight" to the program, and I'm not very fond of it, so I chose not to use it. But it's there alright, also in your version X2. So, this is not new.

There are a number of things that one can change in the way the program is configured, and this can help the speed in many cases, but like you Shaz, I normally don't use PaintShop Pro for browsing pictures when I only need some isolated ones. There are faster programs for that.

Shaz, Luis, I don't use vectors in particular, but if I need to, I'd like to know that they are there, so thank you for letting me know that there are no changes in this version.

I didn't see any notice on their site that one needs to purchase the retail version in order to get the "goodies". So, if they told you this, it's very unethical on their part.
Also unethical is how they advertise that they give you Painter Essetials 4 when in effect they give a simplified version. For me this is irrelevant, as I have it anyway, as a stand alone.
KPT plugins - Once upon a time (about 6-7 years ago, I think), I tried the stand alone plugins and didn't like them much. There are nicer ones around, and I'm using them now. So, that part is not an "attraction" for me either.

As I said, I'm still debating with myself if the upgrade is worth the effort and the price.

Hi Mona, yes the "antracit" screen appeared earlier, that is why I said "darker" - lol, the X3 [on my PC at least] is darker than X2
Like you I don't particularly care for the KPT plugins and also have Painter Essentials 2, 3 and 4 as stand alones, so these 2 bonuses are not particular attractions to me either, but its a matter of principle and I felt it worth stating for those who may be considering and it might make a difference to. Corel support seems to me a bit like our telephone and cellphone support here in South Africa - there are probably as many varying answers to the same question as there are people working there - each has his own answer. Just for a laugh, my daughter went to one of our local gyms to enquire about prices ... they told her one thing and gave her a price list at the same time.... what they told her and the price list were completely different, so I phoned them and asked. I was given another different set of prices, so now there are 3 sets of prices. Her friend, who already attends the gym came to visit and I asked her how much she paid... and got a fourth different price .... so boyfriend makes enquiries and, yes you guessed ... One can only laugh or else pull your hair out in frustration ...
I understand the having to set eveything up etc.... and the reluctancy to want to do that. Let us know what you decide once you have played with it, but I hope that if you do decide to upgrade you manage to get it while it is still available for the 19.99.

Louis, nice to see that you got another answer from support - I am still waiting - rofl .... and I agree - Good for those who managed to get it at that price that hadn't bought Ultimate in the last 90 days. I am guessing that what happened is that that particular link was mailed to those who had bought Ultimate in the past 90 days .. and it obviously got passed around.... though surely Corel would be aware that would happen. Perhaps ,... never mind ... I will keep my suspicious minded thoughts to myself

Have a great day all