If you buy the perpetual (lifetime, or standalone) license, you're only allowed to install PD on a single computer. In your case, to comply with the license terms, you'd need to buy 2 licenses.

If you buy the subscription version, you are allowed to install the program on more than one computer provided that you don't operate them simultaneously.

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DS365 | Win11 Pro | Ryzen 9 3950X | RTX 4070 Ti | 32GB RAM | 10TB SSDs | 5K+4K HDR monitors

Canon Vixia GX10 (4K 60p) | HF G30 (HD 60p) | Yi Action+ 4K | 360Fly 4K 360°

Quote If you buy the perpetual (lifetime, or standalone) license, you're only allowed to install PD on a single computer. In your case, to comply with the license terms, you'd need to buy 2 licenses.

If you buy the subscription version, you are allowed to install the program on more than one computer provided that you don't operate them simultaneously.

Thanks for your clear reply. It's not what I wanted to hear of course. Not only am I not a fan of subscription, but it is irritating that the licence conditions are not equal across the two types of plan.

For me, the cost of using PD on two computers. circa £170 with an upgrade and also the purchase of a new licence, means some serious consideration.

Derek I love aphorisms: they give all the appearance of intelligence without any of that difficult thinking.

I understand, and it may help to think about what you're looking to use PD for and for how long/how many projects will there be.

For example, the subscription might be the better choice if you'd want to use it on both computers without any hassles, and to also have access to all kinds of content. If you continue using PD into the future, you will get new versions of PD as they are released at no additional cost. When you're finished doing video editing, you would cancel the plan. Note that you will not be able to edit any existing projects or create any new ones at that point, but your produced videos won't ever be affected.

On the other hand, the single lifetime purchase of PD is a one-time cost and there would be no additional fees. The only thing you'd need to do is to uninstall PD from one system before installing it on the other. As long as you always choose the option to keep the personalized settings when uninstalling, you shouldn't run into any issues. Note that you'd need to pay to upgrade to a newer version if/when you wanted to use the newer features, but you wouldn't ever lose the ability to edit or create new or existing projects.

I also don't know how often you're planning on using PD on your laptop.

I have PD17/365 installed on my desktop and on my Surface Pro 3, but I almost never even open it on my SP3 unless I'm traveling and need to answer some forum questions. In the past 3 years, I think I've edited 4 videos while travelling (and that was on a single trip), so if I had the standalone version, I would only rarely need to uninstall it from my desktop for travel use.

Maybe thinking along these lines will help you decide which way is the better approach. Or, you may find that neither works particularly well for you and it'd be better to look at other editors.

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DS365 | Win11 Pro | Ryzen 9 3950X | RTX 4070 Ti | 32GB RAM | 10TB SSDs | 5K+4K HDR monitors

Canon Vixia GX10 (4K 60p) | HF G30 (HD 60p) | Yi Action+ 4K | 360Fly 4K 360°

Thanks for your reply and suggestions.

My needs are specific. I write web content and write and publish ebooks. I use video to become known and support my publications. I edit my videos on desktop using PD15. I spend weekends away; two in the last month – four days last weekend. I’ll do seven weekends by September. Rather than spend money at the bar, I take time to prepare any video that I’ve taken but, without a compatible video editor, all I’m doing is experiment. It wastes time. I use a freebie video editor on my laptop at the moment – Resolve.

What I want to do is to edit some of the video before returning home, then complete the job on my desktop. To go with a new PD on my laptop would mean the prime software would be on the portable. From what I’ve read and seen, there are differences between 15 and 17. Further, if I did not use the new facilities, it’d be a bit of a waste. I assume I would want to upgrade from PD15 Ultimate, so adding to the costs. Are they 100% compatible?

I could install 17 on the desktop and my current 15 on the laptop. Hadn't considered that.

I’ve got Affinity Designer, Photo and, recently, Publisher; their licence allows me to put the software on desktop, my powerful laptop and the ‘spare’.

I’ve not made up my mind what to do, but money has to play an important part in the process.

Thanks,

Derek I love aphorisms: they give all the appearance of intelligence without any of that difficult thinking.

Quote I could install 17 on the desktop and my current 15 on the laptop. Hadn't considered that.

To address this specific statement, PD 17 can open and edit projects that were created in PD15, but not the other way around.

So for your workflow, you would need to install 15 on the laptop since that's where you're going to always start working on your projects. You can finish them on the laptop or bring them in to your desktop later. Once you've saved a project on your desktop running 17, however, you won't be able to open it on your laptop. Please keep this in mind if moving forward with two differing versions.

Based on just that situation, the subscription version may be a better choice, cost-wise, as you will always have the same version on each machine.

I don't know what kind of editing you're doing or what kind of content you're publishing, but if you need to highlight various items in your videos, the Tutorial Creation pack may be useful. This thread has more info, including a screenshot and link to that content. Everything on that linked Effects and Plug-ins page is included with the subscription version, even the background music and sound effects.

To get a better feel for what's included with each version, take a look at the comparison page (if you haven't already done so).

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DS365 | Win11 Pro | Ryzen 9 3950X | RTX 4070 Ti | 32GB RAM | 10TB SSDs | 5K+4K HDR monitors

Canon Vixia GX10 (4K 60p) | HF G30 (HD 60p) | Yi Action+ 4K | 360Fly 4K 360°

Quote If you buy the subscription version, you are allowed to install the program on more than one computer provided that you don't operate them simultaneously.

CL used to have a nice FAQ on this that really spelled things out clearly for end users, for whatever reason, I noticed that CL had removed it a while back. It was referenced in multiple posts, like:
https://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/79338.page#post_box_326064
https://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/78197.page#post_box_320557
https://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/78362.page#post_box_321411

Now for clarity I guess it's just this note
"Note: One subscription plan is for single (1) PC use at a time only."
provided on the bottom of the specs page, https://www.cyberlink.com/products/director-suite/specs_en_US.html

The PD17/365 EULA was also updated recently during a patch and has a section on subscription but fails to clarify multi use capability, https://www.cyberlink.com/support/product-faq-content.do?id=23377

Only speculation, but these actions kind of leaves a bad trail like it might be a disappearing feature perhaps. Keep in mind for the subscription model, one does have to agree to
"You agree that CyberLink may change the version of the SOFTWARE provided to you at any time without liability to you.", so the use guideline could perhaps change on the fly.

Jeff

Quote CL used to have a nice FAQ on this that really spelled things out clearly for end users, for whatever reason, I noticed that CL had removed it a while back. It was referenced in multiple posts, like:...

Yeah, I was quite surprised to see that the specific FAQs referenced in those earlier posts now redirect to the general FAQ page. At first I thought I had pasted the wrong link in the first one I checked, but further digging showed that the info is no longer there...

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DS365 | Win11 Pro | Ryzen 9 3950X | RTX 4070 Ti | 32GB RAM | 10TB SSDs | 5K+4K HDR monitors

Canon Vixia GX10 (4K 60p) | HF G30 (HD 60p) | Yi Action+ 4K | 360Fly 4K 360°

Thanks for all the comments. Lots to think about as well as making interesting reading.

The EULA contains 2240 words and five hotlinks. I understand the purpose is to ward off predatory legal challenges, but it doesn't help the user. Does anyone read and, critically, understand such documents? I used to write articles on the interpretation of statutes yet I find much of Cyberlink's efforts bemusing. Writing it in English, even the American kind, would be a great aid. Legalese is jargon. There should be a plain English version, one without seemingly ranDOm capital letters, for the rest of us. Grammar is vital for clear communication.

One paragraph tells us:

License Types:
**INDIVIDUAL CONSUMER
If you acquire the SOFTWARE under an individual license it is for your own use under the general terms above.

Putting it on two computers, both wholly owned by me, and the software being used only by me, would comply with that requirement.

But elsewhere I find that this statement might well be imprecise.

I find it irritating, although this is not, of course, unique to Cyberlink, when I've bought something that has such restrictive conditions for use. Often, when such restrictions are challenged, the courts reject them, but the likes of me (some customers expect £40 per 1000 words), daliance in the civil courts is a luxury that is denied. I can understand the desire to protect a product, but to demand buying an item twice is milking it a bit. You would not buy a car that would only take you south and east. If you wanted to travel north or west and the company said you'd have to buy another car, I could, in all probability, predict your response.

I probably will stay with my present set-up of PD on desktop and Resolve on laptop, despite the latter being a bit of a strain on the laptop's CPU, but I might not be happy about it. It also puts me off upgrading to an extent.

A small point; it is called an end user licencence agreement. I think the final word is a misdirection. It is a 'take it or leave it' situation. There's no input from the end user. Directive would be much more accurate.

I've had my whinge. Thanks to everyone who took the trouble to reply. The community in PD is one of its biggest draws. I love aphorisms: they give all the appearance of intelligence without any of that difficult thinking.

Hi,

This is a perennial problem that crops up and, as you point out, it is not helped by the lack of specificity in the EULA.

My understanding of the official position "simply put" is one copy per device unless otherwise stated.

The EULA is predominately a "license to use" document and, as such, tries to cover the basic scenarios open to users, with varied success.

So the key paragraph for a single user license is:
"CyberLink, as licensor, grants to you, the licensee, a non-exclusive right to download and/or install the accompanying PowerDirector software program(s) (hereinafter the "SOFTWARE") on a certain number of computer(s)/ device(s) in accordance with the number of the license(s) you purchased and use the SOFTWARE in accordance with the terms contained in this license."

Taken in conjunction with the para on Volume licenses - the implication is that to install PDR on multiple devices requires multiple licenses.

However, as Jeff stated, over time there has been a number of FAQ's that have tried to "clarify" the specific position but, in the end, it is the EULA that we are left with, and that is as it is.

For peace of mind for those who abide by the letter of the law, I think it is safe to assume that, for the desktop perpetual versions, one copy per device is the safe position to adopt.

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

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Quote
PowerDirector Moderator

I appreciate your post.

Going back to my previous incarnation as interpreter of statutes for, in effect, compliance, I would suggest that the EULA is open to interpretation.

Your ‘safe position’ option would be one that I would include in any of my reports. My role was mainly to be the ‘he said’ person to blame if it all went wrong, and I did my best to avoid being in that position. However, in the report I’d also include howevers. If there were conflicting paragraphs that were not clarified elsewhere in a document or legislation, then I would point that out. A 'fill your boots' gift.

The paragraph you quoted does not specify a specific number, but merely refers to a licence. Look to the licence and it is delightfully vague. I am all for complying to the letter of the law, or regulations. Anything else, given my previous role, would be mean-spirited to say the least. It leads to my original question; what is the letter of the law?

When looking for clarification I remember reading on the Cyberlink PD website that the subscription model is for one computer only. That was the only time a number was mentioned. Yet I have been told it is for two computers.

I do not have the expertise of a civil lawyer, but I have been involved in defending a report, not mine, in a threatened legal action. Contradiction is what we were looking for.

I’d suggest Cyberlink might struggle.

As I say, not sticking to the letter of the law is something of an anathema to me. Guilt would ruin any pleasure of saving money. If Cyberlink can’t be bothered to be clear and precise in their desires, one might, perhaps, wonder if they know themselves. I can’t think that they’d be particularly bothered by two devices for an amateur who spends a few weekend away each year. If they did, wouldn’t they have made sure their terms of use were clear? I love aphorisms: they give all the appearance of intelligence without any of that difficult thinking.

Quote
I can’t think that they’d be particularly bothered by two devices for an amateur who spends a few weekend away each year. If they did, wouldn’t they have made sure their terms of use were clear?

"You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment" - Francis Urquhart, House of Cards.

For customer support related issues, please contact:
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Quote


"You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment" - Francis Urquhart, House of Cards.

I've come to the conclusion that I will opt for the subscription option. It comes out cheaper in the short term, and I can always bail out after a year if it doesn't suit. I'm upgrading my laptop (PCI SSD for the operating system, leaving my SATA SSD for storage) and I'll buy 365 once I've done it.

I feel as if I've been beaten into compliance. Mind you, Resolve was too GPU hungry for my laptop.

I did some research on restrictions on software. There were some interesting results, but none directly relevant to this problem. You learn something every day. The restrictions on OEM for MS Office have been successfully challenged, and some time ago. I must try to keep up.

So 365 for me in a week or so.

Again, thanks for everyone's kind help on the matter. I love aphorisms: they give all the appearance of intelligence without any of that difficult thinking.