Alert Announcement: Amendment to Silhouette Legacy Subscription Renewal Procedure
In a recent announcement, Silhouette has outlined changes to its software upgrade policy, effective from the release of Silhouette 2021 (v9). Here's what you need to know.
What's New in Silhouette 2021 (v9)?
The upcoming release will mark a shift in the company's upgrade policy, with older versions than Silhouette v7 no longer qualifying for upgrades. Silhouette v7, introduced in June 2018, brought significant improvements such as Sequence Editing, enhanced Planar Tracker for tracking textureless objects, Magnetic Reshape, Pin Warp, high-resolution paint optimization, and a GPU accelerated Mocha planar tracking option.
Licence Upgrade Options
For those interested in upgrading their floating licenses, Boris FX Sales can provide the necessary information.
End of Life for Older Versions
Silhouette v6 and older versions will be considered "end of life," but they will continue to function as usual if the hardware they are licensed to is operational and a qualified operating system is being used. However, any manual transfers, replacements, or support inquiries for Silhouette v6 and older versions will require a current upgrade and support contract.
Silhouette v2020
Silhouette v2020, released in November 2019, introduced several notable features including Paint > Detail Separation, Magnetic Freehand shapes, and shape edge-snapping. It also supports OFX plugins like Mocha Pro, Sapphire, Neat Video, and RE:Vision Effects products. Upgrading to Silhouette v2020 entitles you to 1 year of free upgrades and support.
Policy for Older Versions After Silhouette 2021 (v9)
Official support and software updates will primarily be provided for the latest versions of Silhouette Studio. Older versions like v6 and v7 will no longer receive ongoing updates or support once newer versions, such as v9 or later, are released.
Silhouette America strongly recommends upgrading to ensure compatibility with current operating systems and to receive the latest features and bug fixes. If issues arise with newer or beta versions, users have the option to downgrade back to a supported earlier release version, but this is limited to versions officially supported for their operating system and hardware.
Licence Upgrade Policy After March 31, 2021
Users who do not upgrade their software licenses by March 31, 2021, may lose access to specific new features and improvements introduced in Silhouette Studio 2021 (v9) and subsequent versions. While users can retain and continue using their existing licenses indefinitely, those licenses will not unlock newer functionality or be supported on the latest operating systems.
Continuing to use an older license without upgrading means no access to future software updates, bug fixes, or official support, so users must weigh the trade-off between maintaining their current version or purchasing an upgrade.
Node-Locked Licenses and Test Drive
Node-locked licenses can be upgraded in the Boris FX Store. For a test drive, you can download Silhouette v2020.5.7. The Planar Tracker in Silhouette v2020 includes Group and Part Tracking.
The Boris FX Silhouette team continues to innovate and produce market-leading rotoscoping, paint, and VFX solutions with each release. Legacy owners running Silhouette v6 and older versions who don't upgrade their software licenses by March 31 will have to purchase new licenses at full price or choose affordably-priced subscription options.
In summary, Silhouette’s policy encourages users to upgrade to the latest software versions for ongoing support and features. Users of older versions like v6 or v7 can keep them but will no longer get updates or support after a cut-off. Licenses not upgraded by March 31, 2021, remain valid but limited to those prior capabilities and lack support for newer releases.
- The Silhouette 2021 (v9) release introduces a shift in the company's upgrade policy, with older versions than Silhouette v7 no longer qualifying for upgrades, as technology advancements are incorporated into newer versions.
- For those who choose not to upgrade their software licenses by March 31, 2021, there will be no access to future software updates, bug fixes, or official support, as the priority for ongoing support and software updates has primarily been allocated for the latest versions of Silhouette Studio.
