I have Sony Sound Forge 7.0 and have used it for many years. I recently upgraded my computer and installed Sound Forge 7.0. It is now asking me to register my MP3 Plug-In 2.0 and when trying the online option, it returns an error. I need an Activation Code to register this product that I have owned and used for over 10 years.
Where did the SF-7 installation file come from?
Did SF-7 activate successfully online otherwise?
Specifically, what does the error message state?
Does this happen when trying to encode an MP3.?
Is the PC online when you attempt to 'Save as' an MP3?
Have you tried temporarily disable anti-virus when save as an MP3?
SF-7 is a very old product from SCS (Sony). With your SF-7 serial code, you can upgrade to the latest Sound Forge version (currently 15) at a discounted price.
A work-around is to use an third-party MP3 encoder, I like the WinLAME RC3 (GUI) encoder, which has more encoding options than the SF encoder.. even more options, if you edit the preset scripts.
btw, welcome to the Magix Sound Forge users community @warp13speed.
I have an original installation cd from a long time ago with the original serial number. I was able to activate SF-7 online without incident. I am saving sound files as .mp3 and after 15 or so, I now get the following when I try to open one of my saved .mp3s or try to save as .mp3:
"You must now register the Sony MP3 Plug-In 2.0 to continue using it. If you have access to the Internet, registration is quick and easy. Providing your contact information as part of registration, entitles you to: To receive e-mail notification when updates are available, and to ensure our ability to assist you in case of a misplaced serial number, please register with full and accurate contact information."
Then it gives me the options:
I would like to: Register online or Register from another computer
When I choose Register online, it has me fill out a bunch of personal info and gives me a Finish button, which I click.
It then appear to attempt to contact the Sony servers but always comes back with "ERROR: an error occurred while communicating with the server. This could be due to network congestion or server failure. Please try again later."
I can choose Retry or Cancel. When I choose Retry, it simply does the same thing. When I choose Cancel, it gives me an 800 phone number (which is no longer in service) to try to register over the phone.
So I am stuck not knowing how I can get an Activation Code for the Sony MP3 Plug-In 2.0.
@warp13speed If I remember correctly Sony shut down the license servers for old Sound Forge version some time ago. I don't think that it is possible to activate this feature again. Usually the publisher/developer (Sony in this case) must pay a license fee to Fraunhofer for each MP3 activation. Since Sony no longer sells Sound Forge this will not happen. New Sound Forge versions that Magix sells are still offering MP3 import and export. So the best idea is to upgrade or use another encoder like LAME.
If I download LAME, would I use that only, or in conjunction with Sound Forge. If the latter, how do I use them together? And thank you so much for the information.
WinLAME and most other MP3 encoder GUIs are standalone, so a master PCM <.wav> file must be rendered prior , which btw ain't a bad idea to begin with, should it be necessary to make an unexpected edit or encode in a secondary end user format. The PCM master file can always be deleted at some point if so desired
There was a way to add the LAME codec to Sound Forge but I do not recall how.
Thanks again