It's fixed.... although I am not sure which step helped. Pardon me if I use incorrect terminology =)
1. I went to Windows control panel and uninstalled all things Cyberlink.
2. Restarted my pc.
3. Because I uninstalled everything, I could not install PD11.
4. Started installation from my PD8 saved downloads, entered PD key, opened up PD8 and did a trial of smartsound but nothing showed up. I clicked on the smartsound button located within the magic music UI, and chose to rebuild the smartsound database.
5. The smartsound library appeared. I closed PD8. and restarted my PC.
6. After reboot, I installed PD9 but chose (during the installation) to NOT uninstall smartsound.
7. I then installed the current smartsound download (5.1.8 - the big file, I think it is 200mb) from their site. (I have no particular reason why I did this here other than I was desperate!)
8. After installation I opened PD9 and entered the PD9 key, checked smartsound and all was there.
9. Restarted PC, and repeated this process with PD10, then PD 11 and smartsound is fixed!
This was my second attempt at uninstall and reinstall. The only things I did different between 1st and 2nd attempt was
A. entering the key after each install and checking to confirm smartsound was indeed there.
B. Reboot after each install
C. Install of current smartsound download from their site after PD9 install. (Again, I have no particular reason why I did this here!)
Mystery Solved!