DTS-HD MAS encoder has stopped working....why?

[neil wilkes]

Someone please help?
My legally purchased and supposedly perpetually licensed DTS-HD MAS encoder suite has stopped working, and I am not the only person this is happening to.
Error log attached, and it is saying there is a 'configuration file error'.
NOTHING has changed except the calendar year - Windows 7 Pro, same version of Java.
A friend has the same issue on Windows 10 so it is not the OS.

Anyone got any ideas, please?

[digitalvideo]

hi,

have you reported this to DTS?

regards,

[jlw_4049]

Someone please help?

My legally purchased and supposedly perpetually licensed DTS-HD MAS encoder suite has stopped working, and I am not the only person this is happening to.

Error log attached, and it is saying there is a 'configuration file error'.

NOTHING has changed except the calendar year - Windows 7 Pro, same version of Java.

A friend has the same issue on Windows 10 so it is not the OS.



Anyone got any ideas, please?This can only be fixed by the DTS encoder developers

Sent from my SM-G986U1 using Tapatalk

[filler56789]

According to Google,

"Error 8018 – Encoder: Initialization – invalid configuration file" is listed on the user manual of the g*dd@mn software...

As everybody knows,
error messages very-often do not mean what they say. :(

[jpsdr]

Maybe it doesn't like the new year... ;)

[filler56789]

NOTHING has changed except the calendar year

Maybe it doesn't like the new year... ;)

Yeah, the Y2K20 bug... OR design flaw, who knows?

This can only be fixed by the DTS encoder developers

That's it, DTS Inc. must be pestered...

[jpsdr]

Change the date rolling back the year, maybe you'll have a surprise...:D

[filler56789]

Change the date rolling back the year, maybe you'll have a surprise...:D

No surprise at all —
— been there, done that, confirmed that it works. :)
But it's just a workaround (and a very-annoying one), not a solution :-/

[neil wilkes]

Yes, I did go back to DTS for support, and as I explained to them in the follow-up this encoder cost me a lot of money at the time.
But I am getting ahead of myself:
They replied telling me that this is no longer supported, and told me I could buy an upgrade to the (Mac only) DTS-X encoder.
I guess you can imagine my response to that.
To say I was not exactly impressed would be an understatement but the long & short of it is that I got a free DTS-X encoder from them, so anybody with the same issue as me should absolutely write to DTS support.
The approach I used was that I had paid a lot of money in good faith for a perpetual license, and who was going to pay for the 'upgrade' please & that IMO the least they could do would be to provide me with a free one.
To my complete surprise, this is what then happened and was waiting in my in-box this morning - and I will redeem the iLOK code shortly, in case they cancel it after reading this thread (which is extremely unlikely I admit).

So anybody who has a license for this that has stopped working should absolutely get onto DTS - PM me and I will be more than happy to give you the exact wording I used that got results for me.
The 'gotcha' is that you will need a bloody expensive dongle (a MacBook) to make it run though.

[filler56789]

They replied telling me that this is no longer supported, and told me I could buy an upgrade to the (Mac only) DTS-X encoder.

:mad: :angry:

Now it's impossible to determine whether the problem is a bug (past) + laziness (present) or a time-bomb, oooops, an intentional design flaw, I mean.

[neil wilkes]

:mad: :angry:

Now it's impossible to determine whether the problem is a bug (past) + laziness (present) or a time-bomb, oooops, an intentional design flaw, I mean.

Possibly.
My friend does not run a DAW - just an authoring business, so he has tried resetting the system clock and that works in version 2.0 of the encoder. Versions 2.5 & 2.6 are now stuck in 'pending', which is a different issue altogether.

Reading between the lines, this is a time bomb. We have also started to see one version of Steinberg's WaveLab time out on a permanent license as well - I cannot remember if it is v6 or v7, and from memory it is v6 that is timed out now.
So much for spending hard earned money on permanent licenses!!

[filler56789]

......
Reading between the lines, this is a time bomb.

Something like this:

The DTS:X Encoder Suite is the successor to DTS-HD Master Audio Suite...

blah-blah-blah...

Existing owners of DTS Master Audio Suite are entitled to a special upgrade discount. Contact us at info at scenarist dot com for more information on this exclusive offer.

source: https://www.scenarist.com/dts-x-encoder-landing/

So much for spending hard earned money on permanent licenses!!

Then the users of the DTS:X encoder suite should check whether the new software is time-bombed too :-/

[SeeMoreDigital]

I wonder what the logic is behind releasing the DTS-X Encoder Suite for Mac OS's only?

[rik1138]

Here's a fix I'm using for DTS-HD Master Audio Suite ver 2.60.22. Replace the DtsJobQueue.exe in the install folder with this one.

There's only a one-byte difference between this file and the original one on my install, so if you have a newer (or older) version, maybe see if they compare or not.
(The change is byte 418E5 from 79 (in the original file) to EB.
I didn't fix this, I found it on another forum...

Alternate link, should last longer...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/s1mtj6dhn54u749/DtsJobQueue.exe?dl=0

[filler56789]

There's only a one-byte difference between this file and the original one on my install, so if you have a newer (or older) version, maybe see if they compare or not.
(The change is byte 418E5 from 79 (in the original file) to EB.
I didn't fix this, I found it on another forum...

:goodpost: && :thanks:

Download link will only be active for a week. Not sure if it's cool to attach it directly to the forum post...
https://we.tl/t-BDhKAPd5Ei

The maximum filesize for the attachments is 200 KB,
regardless of their "coolness" (or lack of) :-/

[Emulgator]

I wonder what the logic is behind releasing the DTS-X Encoder Suite for Mac OS's only?
A dozen years ago the very popular DAW Logic Audio until version 5.something had been compiled for Windows and Mac.
Any musician, producer, hobbyist, who had bought Logic had the free choice to run it on one or the other hardware.
This changed. Money changed hands, and the cutoff began.
From the very next version Logic 6 was only compiled for Mac.
I was wondering why, my brother (musician) too, and then we had to acknowledge that this move
had forced the complete Logic userbase worldwide into buying exclusively Macs for the coming decades.
A very long lever continuing generation of income exclusively for only one hardware producer.
Every Logic user needed a Mac from now on, and still does.

[Jim_Pansen]

Here's a fix I'm using for DTS-HD Master Audio Suite ver 2.60.22. Replace the DtsJobQueue.exe in the install folder with this one.

There's only a one-byte difference between this file and the original one on my install, so if you have a newer (or older) version, maybe see if they compare or not.
(The change is byte 418E5 from 79 (in the original file) to EB.
I didn't fix this, I found it on another forum...

Download link will only be active for a week. Not sure if it's cool to attach it directly to the forum post...
https://we.tl/t-BDhKAPd5Ei

Oh man, wow! You have rescued my life!
I'm in an ongoing production right now. Thank you so much!
Best

Jim

[filler56789]

Here's a fix I'm using for DTS-HD Master Audio Suite ver 2.60.22. Replace the DtsJobQueue.exe in the install folder with this one.

There's only a one-byte difference between this file and the original one on my install, so if you have a newer (or older) version, maybe see if they compare or not.
(The change is byte 418E5 from 79 (in the original file) to EB.
I didn't fix this, I found it on another forum...

Just confirming that the trick also works for the ancient version 2.00.24.
All one has to do is: open the original DtsJobQueue.exe in a hex editor,
look for the byte-sequence "BF D0 2B FA 79", replace "79" with "EB", save.

[Bgalakazam]

Just confirming that the trick also works for the ancient version 2.00.24.
All one has to do is: open the original DtsJobQueue.exe in a hex editor,
look for the byte-sequence "BF D0 2B FA 79", replace "79" with "EB", save.
Thank you for the easy fix. Hex editor was straight-forward.

[richardpl]

It this equivalence of cracking?

[jpsdr]

Hard to say...
I would think of maybe "no", because it's not something allowing you to run it without a license, but allowing you to just run it when you have license, because without, you can't (despite having a lifetime non-stop license).
But it's just a two cents thought, i'm not law expert.
And even more, it could be different according countries, the "right" to modify legitimate bought programs to allow it to run on your system when the seller/support is unable fo provide a solution, still staying in your license use.

[filler56789]

It this equivalence of cracking?

I am not a lawyer but I think the answer is «no».
Changing one byte to disable a time-bomb in a software that was assumed to not have a time-bomb is very-different from a dongle crack or a keygen, for example.
-------
P.S.: Several years ago Patrakov gave us a free open-sourced DCA encoder, maybe it is time for someone else to develop an open-source DTS-Express encoder and a pure lossless DTS encoder as well :)

[EMR]

Just confirming that the trick also works for the ancient version 2.00.24.
All one has to do is: open the original DtsJobQueue.exe in a hex editor,
look for the byte-sequence "BF D0 2B FA 79", replace "79" with "EB", save.

That is a terrific solution for all users of the Windows version of DTS-HD MAS. Is there a similar solution for the Mac OS X version? I would need either a patched version of the DtsJobQueue Unix executable or the relevant instructions to hex-edit said executable, or a patched DTSEncoder.app.

[filler56789]

Is there a similar solution for the Mac OS X version?
I would need either a patched version of the DtsJobQueue Unix executable or the relevant instructions to hex-edit said executable,

Probably there is, but I have no idea of what it would be :-/

I have just opened the DTSJobQueue for Mac with a hex editor, but only because of, let's say, my "morbid curiosity", since I cannot imagine what I should be looking for in it...

or a patched DTSEncoder.app.

Are you sure of that? :confused:
I mean, that the time-bomb in the Mac edition of the Master Audio Suite is in that file :-/

[EMR]

[COLOR="Blue"]Are you sure of that? :confused:
I mean, that the time-bomb in the Mac edition of the Master Audio Suite is in that file :-/

A Mac "app" is, in reality, a folder with or without an icon. Because of that, the DtsJobQueue Unix executable is included in DTSEncoder.app, which is the folder that you double-click to do the encoding. It will run the relevant executable Unix file(s) as needed. So, it is possible to edit an app, usually meaning (hex-)editing one or more Unix executable files and one or more "plist" configuration files or the like.

As for the specific location of the time bomb in the OS X version, my hunch is that it's there because that's where the Windows version included said time bomb. More likely than not, both the Windows and the OS X versions include the same source code. I would assume the developers only adapted minor portions of their code to make it run on both platforms doing exactly the same thing. After adapting whatever they needed to change, compiling the code for both platforms would have been straightforward. If my hunch is correct, then that's where the OS X time bomb should be.

[filler56789]

A Mac "app" is, in reality, a folder with or without an icon. Because of that, the DtsJobQueue Unix executable is included in DTSEncoder.app, which is the folder that you double-click to do the encoding. It will run the relevant executable Unix file(s) as needed. So, it is possible to edit an app, usually meaning (hex-)editing one or more Unix executable files and one or more "plist" configuration files or the like.

As for the specific location of the time bomb in the OS X version, my hunch is that it's there because that's where the Windows version included said time bomb. More likely than not, both the Windows and the OS X versions include the same source code. I would assume the developers only adapted minor portions of their code to make it run on both platforms doing exactly the same thing. After adapting whatever they needed to change, compiling the code for both platforms would have been straightforward. If my hunch is correct, then that's where the OS X time bomb should be.

Thanks for the information, because I really know almost-nothing about the Mac operating system.

[Overdrive80]

Someone please help?
My legally purchased and supposedly perpetually licensed DTS-HD MAS encoder suite has stopped working, and I am not the only person this is happening to.
Error log attached, and it is saying there is a 'configuration file error'.
NOTHING has changed except the calendar year - Windows 7 Pro, same version of Java.
A friend has the same issue on Windows 10 so it is not the OS.

Anyone got any ideas, please?

Are you testing with jre-6u45-windows-i586 version? In my case, it was one solution.

[badflame]

Just confirming that the trick also works for the ancient version 2.00.24.
All one has to do is: open the original DtsJobQueue.exe in a hex editor,
look for the byte-sequence "BF D0 2B FA 79", replace "79" with "EB", save.

Great!!!

:thanks:

[Lyris]

Just confirming that the trick also works for the ancient version 2.00.24.
All one has to do is: open the original DtsJobQueue.exe in a hex editor,
look for the byte-sequence "BF D0 2B FA 79", replace "79" with "EB", save.

How did you figure this out?

[filler56789]

How did you figure this out?

By looking at the original patched .EXE shared by rik1138:

Here's a fix I'm using for DTS-HD Master Audio Suite ver 2.60.22. Replace the DtsJobQueue.exe in the install folder with this one.

There's only a one-byte difference between this file and the original one on my install, so if you have a newer (or older) version, maybe see if they compare or not.
(The change is byte 418E5 from 79 (in the original file) to EB.
I didn't fix this, I found it on another forum...

Then I checked whether the bytes that appeared before the "evil 79" :) in the 2.60.22 executable also appeared in the 2.00.24 executable... and the answer was *YES*.

So I edited the older .EXE, tested it, and saw that the modification worked.

[Lyris]

Aha, so DTS themselves released a version that doesn't have this "booby trap" in it. Essentially we're just reverting part of it back to an older version.