I had Neoscene then when I upgraded to CS5 I upgraded to NeoHD. I installed the latest update yesterday and it appears to have registered. (I no longer get that update/trial etc screen.) And unlike others the Cineform avi's show up in Bridge and Internet Explorer, so that seems fine. Unfortunately when I bring these avi's into FirstLight, nothing works. No color correction features work and the video doesn't play in the timeline. I can scrub the timeline but play and forward do not work. If I click on back it will back up one frame at a time. Also if I click on any tab across the top the selections are faded out like you cannot select them. Save and Save As are gone. After I click on any selection I get a 'Firstlight has stopped working" screen and it closes. I have been wanting to get Firstlight for a while but after 4 days this is driving me nuts. Any suggetstions? Thanks

When FirstLight starts do you only see "Neo..." and "checking license" or does the splash screen switch to say "NeoHD"?

In case you are using Windows 7 make sure to run it as administrator. I had this problem at the beginning.

David,

I see Neo....checking license but it does not change to NeoHD.

I do have Windows 7 professional
I7 920 @ 3.57
12 GB Ram
GTX 285 video card
CS5 Production Premium

Thanks

We are seeing that on a small number some systems, including my home system. It is failure of the software protection to return a activation quickly enough, we are working with vendor to come up with a solution.

Ike,

I get the same results running it as an administrator.

David,

I can appreciate Cineforms desire to secure their software from illiegal use, but if a software's "security" prevents paid users from running their legally registered software how does that help? Up to this point I cannot be listed under the heading of a "satisfied" Cineform customer. If I had to uninstall/reinstall, send in computer numbers, jump through three hoops for my Adobe products every time for an update I would use somebody else's NLE software. Not to mention my previously installed paid for Neoscene cannot work because that's what happens when a Cineform customer "upgrades".

My question would be, "working with our vendor" means how long in time?

Ike,

I get the same results running it as an administrator.

David,

I can appreciate Cineforms desire to secure their software from illiegal use, but if a software's "security" prevents paid users from running their legally registered software how does that help? Up to this point I cannot be listed under the heading of a "satisfied" Cineform customer. If I had to uninstall/reinstall, send in computer numbers, jump through three hoops for my Adobe products every time for an update would use somebody else's NLE software. Not to mention my previously installed paid for Neoscene cannot work because that's what happens when a Cineform customer "upgrades".

My question would be, "working with our vendor" means how long in time?

I hope it means less time than "With Aspect then Prospect, you can monitor your time line on an HDTV using Black magic" Oh wait a minute, that never happened.

David,

I agree you should not be satisfied (just as we are not) and we are pushing them to fix the issue. In the meantime there is a solution that we can offer:

This build of FirstLight removes the expected response time requirement for the licensing (well, increases it 10x.) So instead of timing out, it will wait the extra few seconds (all that was needed in most systems, it worked on mine.)

http://www.cineform.com/download/FirstLight.zip

Unzip and copy over the old version in C:\Program Files (x86)\CineForm\Tools

Once it gets the license, it seems to start up faster the next time.

If you still don't get a license, there might be a different issue that support will need to investigate, maybe with a remote desktop session.

David:

The link to the First Light zip file is broken.

http://www.cineform.com/downloads/FirstLight.zip (fixed)

David,

Kudos for your Sunday response and if you aren't a owner, I hope they pay you well. It was good Karma that the first link you posted was broken because I probably would have tried it, But after further thought I figured I would wait until the next release.

If there is anyone who shoudn't be messing with any directory, it's me. I have done it exactly twice and both times it lead to a complete reinstallation of the operating system and software. I know, I know "Alls you got to do"..... but after spending $249 for this upgrade in addition to my initial $100 for neoscene, if I had screwed something up that required a system reinstall that wouldn't have been necessary if I had just not spent the money, I would be REALLY ticked. Now I'm just very annoyed.

And anytime I had a remote desk top session it included tequila and some girl name Nadine, and no software was injured or repaired during the event.

I have uninstalled NeoHD and I hope in the near future Cineform can come up with an update that fixes these problems, world peace, global warming and everyone who voted for Obama.

Thanks again

See this post for new build http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/cineform-software-showcase/479309-long-startup-firstlight-fails-getting-license.html#post1530778

Let me know ASAP if this helps.

David,

I tried the new file, it takes around 20 seconds for the Neo....screen to go away. It's still just Neo.... and no other sceen comes up. FirstLight has the same problems as previously stated.

Have you tried 127b, in the second post.

I have 127c coming in a few minutes. All of this helps narrow down the issue.

Yes, I tried them both but I still get the same results.

Try 127c - both suggests you tried 127a and 127b, 127c was posted a few moments ago.

David,

127/c This build takes the longest time for the Neo..... splash screen to go away. 50 seconds as opposed to about 20 in the last two. Still no NeoHD screen or functionality of FirstLight.

Sounding like you have a different problem, which was always a possibility. What happens when you start HDLink? How long before you see its splash screen (time from the double click?) The licensing for HDLink and FirstLight is the same. If HDLink starts quickly you need to contact support as you likely have a missing component for FirstLight to work on your system.

David,
HDLink starts immediately with the "NeoHD" splash screen which stays on for a couple of seconds, so that appears to work fine. The component I'm missing right now is any more patience. I called Cineform support and it went to voicemail. Sweet. "Leave a detailed message" it said. Not sure if it recorded for half an hour so I hung up. I did get an email from Jake requesting a screen shot of my activation window and he assures me he can get it working from that. I got 10 bucks that says he can't.

Voice mail is slow, use the ticket system Support Center (http://bit.ly/d4kYGP)

If HDLink opens quickly, that Jake is correct, he can fix your system as you not have the licensing issue.

I sent a screen shot to support and here is the reply:

"According to the screenshot, the software IS ACTIVATED. So i'm not sure what the problem is.
There's nothing left for you to do except start using it."

jake

Geez, if I knew that all I had to do was start using it.....Oh now I remember why I'm not JUST using it. With the latest version I have tried, (I think it's version 4) it now takes 50 seconds for the splash screen to load (NeoHD doesn't show) Did I fail to mention after loading a Cineform avi in FirstLight, the only feature that works is scrubbing and back? Any thing else I try only gets me the "Cineform has stopped working" screen and crashes. So yes if I needed a $349 piece of software that I can scrub along the timeline, and back up one frame at a time, I can't recommend this software enough. You could use quicktime or media player and save the cash, plus you would get the play, stop and reverse features but hey it won't say Cineform. Stick me with a fork, I'm done.

You PC is having a problem, if you want to help us find it please work with support. I sorry I had you side-tracked thinking it was simply a license startup issue (it is not.) Explain to support that it didn't work, venting here will not help you solve this.

I am having the exact same problem, I mean exactly. The splash screen comes on and stays almost indefinitely making First Light unusable. The only time the splash screen goes away is when I click on it.

Not likely we are both having computer problems. It is most likely something endemic to your software. I have a brand new i7 930 system with an X58 mobo, GTX285 video card and 12G of DDR3 ram.

This does not happen with HDLink. The splash screen comes on and almost immeditaely finds the license.

Those of us who go back to Aspect are just frustrated so pardon our venting.

We found out what is going on about an hour ago, most of this thread is not related and can be ignored, the official patch will be out tomorrow (v5.0.2.)

In the meantime:

Right click on FirstLight icon and select "Run as Administrator", FirstLight will get to do its needed initialization will now work correctly

Well done..it works!!

David,

I think I suggested to you to run it as administrator in another thread. You said it didn't work. This problem has existed since NEO HD ver 4 on Win 7. I guess I should have reported it then but setting the properties to always run as administrator masked the problem.

Yes, Win 7 is funky with UAC and R/W permissions.

Ike

I sent a screen shot to support and here is the reply:

"According to the screenshot, the software IS ACTIVATED. So i'm not sure what the problem is.
There's nothing left for you to do except start using it."

jake

Geez, if I knew that all I had to do was start using it.....Oh now I remember why I'm not JUST using it. With the latest version I have tried, (I think it's version 4) it now takes 50 seconds for the splash screen to load (NeoHD doesn't show) Did I fail to mention after loading a Cineform avi in FirstLight, the only feature that works is scrubbing and back? Any thing else I try only gets me the "Cineform has stopped working" screen and crashes. So yes if I needed a $349 piece of software that I can scrub along the timeline, and back up one frame at a time, I can't recommend this software enough. You could use quicktime or media player and save the cash, plus you would get the play, stop and reverse features but hey it won't say Cineform. Stick me with a fork, I'm done.

Run as Administrator does not solve the problem for me. I still get the exact same problems as documented above.

I followed the link above to 127/c but the link is dead. I don't really know which version I have. Is there a way to update it and have it fixed?

Regards,
-- John.

The latest release v5.0.4 has solve many issues, have include the latest of all component so please download that. The only known reason now for a non-functioning FirstLight, is you don't have QuickTime installed, so please try that.

I just upgraded to NeoHD and updated to Rev. 5.04-261. FirstLight will play Cineform files but will not apply any changes unless I run as administrator. I am running Vista 64-bit. Will I continue to need to run as administrator or will this be fixed in a future release?

EDIT: I changed Compatibility mode in Properties to "Run as Administrator" so at least the problem is masked when I run FirstLight. It runs fine now.

It is not really bug, rather you have you LUTPath pointing to a folder that needs Admin level permissions. Newer installs will use the old paths (if set), as they work to never lose project data. A first time install should no longer use the those protected paths. To fix your existing install check out this video link vimeo.com/10024749 In the notes for this there is a tool for move you LUTs folder to path with more generic user privileges (like the dropbox folder or somewhere in C:\Users\Public.)

Thanks David, that took care of it. I changed the look-up table path and all is well.

Once again, you and others in your company have set a new standard for support. I wish others would follow your example.