Major Bug with Red Giant Universe OFX (not Resolve)

I have a current project where the client requested a particular OFX effect we didn't have, which was a "VHS Effect" for a sequence in their film. ResolveFX has "Analog Damage" which gets close, but doesn't have "VHS tracking errors and dropouts," which the client wanted.

I attempted to install the (fairly-new) Red Giant Universe v4.0. It all seemed to go well, and their authorization/download system actually works pretty well. However, the moment I dropped the effect into the shot on my Resolve 17.2.2 timeline, the session went kablooey: folded up and quit.

I attempted to open up the session, but now it seemed like it was permanently corrupted and stubbornly refused to open. My guess is the moment that one shot tries to access the OFX plug-in, it goes south. Somewhat in desperation, I de-installed Universe, tried again, no luck. Finally rebooted the whole system a couple of times, and I also exported a "clean" DRP of the Resolve session to a backup file and then imported that.

Now, the session worked and that troublesome shot reported "OFX not valid" (or some similar minor error message), but it was otherwise fine. I complained to the vendor -- who is Maxon, located in Germany -- and they got back to me very quickly, apologized for the lack of compatibility with Resolve 17, and immediately refunded my money.

I have to say, Maxon's support was excellent, but it's a warning to others: watch out for 3rd-party OFX plug-in companies, because their products may or may not play well with Resolve. BorisFX, Sapphire, Ignite, Neat Video, Video Village, Dehancer, Film Convert, and Beauty Box are all fine. I've never had luck with NewBlue OFX and now I'm adding Red Giant to that list.

If you need that effect and still have a machine with DR 16 around, it should work. The last time I worked with RG Universe (which was only recently acquired by Maxon) it was working fine, but that was 16 then.

If you need that effect and still have a machine with DR 16 around, it should work. The last time I worked with RG Universe (which was only recently acquired by Maxon) it was working fine, but that was 16 then.

No, we have four machines with 17 now and can't go back. I can say that Red Giant Universe 3.x worked OK with Resolve 16, though it was always a bit slow (standard thing for 3rd party OFX). Once cached, it was fine.

Thanks for the heads up Mark. I'm running 17.2.2 and an older version of Universe OFX. I haven't had any such issues with the older version. The VHS effect is probably the same. I've used it before and it is a good plugin.

watch out for 3rd-party OFX plug-in companies, because their products may or may not play well with [your software]

This is the reason I don't like plug-ins, and consistently advocate for including missing effects natively.

watch out for 3rd-party OFX plug-in companies, because their products may or may not play well with [your software]

This is the reason I don't like plug-ins, and consistently advocate for including missing effects natively.

In my case, there are things that BorisFX, Sapphire, Neat Video, Scatter, Filmbox, Dehancer, and similar plug-ins can do that we just don't have in Resolve. But -- so far -- those seem to work just fine in Resolve, albeit with a cost in speed (which you would expect).

HI marc, had the same problem - I used the Maxon installer to roll back to the latest 3.xx release of universe and it worked - 4.0+ crashed as soon as it was loaded.

plug-ins can do that we just don't have in Resolve...

...Yet.

The idea is to call for incorporating those features into your NLE of choice, obviating the need for the plug-in.

Kind of like pestering Microsoft to build in better security so that companies like Norton and MacAfee will no longer be needed.

The 'why' of this is at the end of your own post.

so far -- those seem to work

One day, they may not. (Hit this issue myself, which is why my current view.) And that is the ever-present problem with plug-ins that will never go away.

Is there any software in the world, even without having any plug-ins, that always works ?

Microsoft themselves are regularly causing problems with DR by updating drivers. I don't see much of an advantage by waiting for every feature I might ever need being part of my main program.

Heck, if you consider that approach to the end, Microsoft should supply every program you ever need as a part of your operating system. Would you really want such a monopoly? And would you pay for hundreds or thousands of features you'll never use yourself, but somebody else out there?

plug-ins can do that we just don't have in Resolve...

...Yet.

The idea is to call for incorporating those features into your NLE of choice, obviating the need for the plug-in.

Kind of like pestering Microsoft to build in better security so that companies like Norton and MacAfee will no longer be needed.

The 'why' of this is at the end of your own post.

so far -- those seem to work

One day, they may not. (Hit this issue myself, which is why my current view.) And that is the ever-present problem with plug-ins that will never go away.

One could just as easily make a similar sweeping statement that Microsoft should bring back Movie Maker and offer VFX features etc all built in - hence no need for third party software. Completely disagree with that sentiment.

Third Party development has a place and will always have a place. Practically All the software in the world is based off components that have been developed by third parties.