Jeff, please - let me describe several FACTS before you light into me about questioning the integrity of an operation:
(1) I bought the disfunctional license early this week. They were therefore still SELLING PRODUCT well after the take-over. If they continue to sell the product they have a commercial obligation to offer at least a modicum of direct rapid response to make the license key usable. (OPINION: I can't believe I'm the first person to have this problem.)
(2) In the emails that come back after buying the license, the division of labour for support between Element 5 and Pixmantec is stated. They tell you that Pixmantec is responsible for issuing the license keys, amongst other things, and they provide links to both Pixmentec for their issues and Element 5 for their issues. Fine so far. When I need help I first check who is responsible for which aspects and address myself to the appropriate party, which in this case seemed very much to be Pixmantec, so I used that link.
(3) I did go through the process of filling their web support form for assistance and all I got back was an Auto-Response signed by the CEO directing me to an FAQ list that had no posted solution to this issue, so I was caught in a catch-22.
(Turning for a moment from FACT to OPINION: When that kind of thing happens, one is entitled to get concerned about who is up to what. I know companies need to turn a profit and streamlining operations is a good place to start, but not at the expense of something as basic as a workable license key one has paid for. I don't like being given the run-around and I am sure you don't either. It is really not an honest way of doing business; but in light of what is just below, I am quite prepared to consider that it may simply be a customer support design that is prone to confusion rather than a customer support "design-out".)
(4) The free version does not include certain features, such as the Vibrancy control, which is one of the most interesting aspects of this converter. Hence if one wants the "full-monty", one buys it, and the price is truly very reasonable, so why not? (I only got introduced to this piece of software very recently and was impressed enough with some of its features to understand at least one reason why Adobe bought them out.)
Anyhow, Jeff, being pragmatic at heart, I clicked on the link you provided, and lo and behold, that took me into another stimulus-response chain I was not led to the first time around. I have now engaged it, and I shall be pleased to report back whether it yields a successful outcome.
Final reflection for now: It would have been so easy if like some other companies in this business they simply sent me a fix instead of a wild goose-chase.
