Corel Reviews 306

Install a licence program on your computer that then pushes adverts direct to your desktop without permission or easy way to stop. "Corel License Validation Service V2, Powered by arvato" Who knows what information they're sharing with arvato...I hate companies that do this it's disgusting.

The words “customer service” are in no way applicable to this company. Literally months of frustrating phone calls, a letter to the CEO, finally a promise of a refund that never materialized… run, do not walk, away from these con-men and thieves.

Awful customer service. As a traveller who spends 3-6 months in Africa & 6-9 months in the UK, I was told that I needed to buy 4 licences for a single user. I have a Windows desktop in each location, and a MacBook Pro. When I'm not in Africa, the desktop is switched off, the same with the desktop in the UK when I'm not there. Apparently I need a licence for each location for each device because the Mac version is a different product? Who does that? Not at all accommodating, borderline rude and said there were no options to discuss this with someone else.

The most recent version of Corel 2021 is one of the most unstable and slow drawing platforms I have ever worked on. A few versions back, the software was fairly stable and didn't crash all the time. I have lost so much time with this software its unbelievable that Corel wouldn't fix the lagging and crashing issues. This used to be a great platform for architectural sign design.

If I could leave a no star review I would
Tried contacting them several time via phone and you can never get a representative that speaks English or have no issues with understanding English
Sad since Corel is based in Canada but yet they are now outsourcing their call center
I wanted to outright purchase the corel suite but had very specific questions I needed answered as the application I’d be using it for was for a plasma table !
I even tried to initiate a chat but instead of chatting they had yet again two very hard to understand reps call me instead and when I asked my questions could not answer them all because of a language barrier and not understanding my questions
Shame too as I was prepared to buy immediately
I’m a long time Corel user but my current version was too old to accomplish what I needed
Poor customer service caused you to loose a sale

WATCH OUT FRUDULENT!!! I just got charged $ 39.99 for I don't even know what this company sells and never went to there site.

Worst customer service in the world, your lucky if you can catch someone that accually speaks English.

I am a long time user of VideoStudio and PaintShop Pro, 2 "flagship" products from Corel.
I have always had good experiences with both their products and their support.
The only "downside" is an agressive advertising campaign which pushes you to buy an upgrade. Sometimes it feels that they only create upgrades to milk the customer.
But if you don't fall into that trap, you'll enjoy their quality products.

Excellent software
I am a well seeded user of Corel Video Studio (CVS) for around twenty years.

The review concerns Corel Video Studio and no other program it produces.
My review covers Windows and not Mac.
I read a lot of unfair or unecessary comments on CVS..
I read it crashes, Its buggy..

Firstly before any blame have a good look at yourself, your set up, what other programs are running in the back ground, Browsers, Anti virus, Enough Ram, CPU, Graphics card?

Has your pc been updated recently, is the system clean of temporary/cache files.
Has a registry cleaner been used?
Does your PC have all the necessary CODECS installed, do you have a good understanding how a PC works beyond the basics?

I cannot comment about software 2021 as i last upgraded 2020 so anything after this date i cannot comment on.
I have no need to upgrade every year although I have done sometimes.

It is important to upgrade from time to time faster ways of working.

Its just not good enough to blame CVS for the problems your having with their software.
Much and i mean much of the many problems with CVS are nothing to do with the program but more with the user or their machine not understanding specifics involved.
Have had no need for assistance from Customer services in the twenty years I've been using their software.
It does what it does and what it does it does very well.

For the price the software is excellent even the pro's out there are using it of which I consider myself.

Of course there are other programs that might acheive better or quicker results, well be prepared to pay for them $$$$

The program is buggy I read:
I don't think I've ever encountered them usually its something I've done or not done.
More likely you introduce bugs into the system by installing other software that might be buggy (Crap-Ware).

(Crapware) CVS certainly is not and anyone suggesting that I would suggest its more like a (Crap-user)

Sometimes its better to run this software on its own PC because it does tend to run happily than a PC used for every day things.

I would suggest to the many users or new users get some basic and then deeper understanding how this program works.
"HOW DOES A VIDEO FILE WORK"
"HOW DOES MY COMPUTER WORK"
Codecs, Wrappers.
If you don't understand that terminology then you need to educate yourself, get some education on these important specifics because its so easy to blame the program when something goes wrong.

Make sure it has everything necessary to keep it healthy and happy.
A good amount of problems are with Codecs.
If they are not installed then do not be suprised if CVS doesn't see or recognise the file or the file won't play.
My advice try K-Lite Codec pack its free but download from the vendors website only!
Other websites could contain virus's.
I don't post links.
In some cases years ago this helped me with crashes, say for instance open a video file drag down to time line and the program crashes.
A suspect in the file CVS does not read, see, or understand Maybe a Codec?
And yes that was exactly the fault.

Before you attempt to convert the file to say Mp4 that CVS will work with just make sure you have all the codecs in your system.
Its just dumb not to do that.

As for customer services they are not going to respond to everything.
A question that with a little thought you could have solved yourself.
Head up to the forums go look for your problem there and if it isn't there then open your own thread and ask the question.
If you fix the problem make a note of it to yourself for future ref.

Stunning software that I would carefully recommend it to anyone with some education first.

It is what it is, but for what it costs and what you get is exceptional.

I have used higher expensive similar software and even that has crashed on occasions.
A PC is not always stable. Vunerable/Fragile.

CVS crashes and faults are caused by.
PC being updated, Not updated, program been removed, a shared folder has been deleted, a registry change, a new codec, no codec, wrong Codec, corrupt file, System, PC, or corrupt user.
Anti Virus preventing some aspects of the program running (change permissions)
Running pirated software that might have a virus or other bugs.
Microsoft update that is interfering with CVS.

Put the time in to learn about the program.
There are many of us who have been using the software for donkeys years and who know how it works.

A lot of costly work has gone into building this program that you can buy at a fractional price compared to some of the more heavily complex software that there is out there.
The more experience you gain using the program the more you'll engage and enjoy.
Pay attention to the specs the program requires before installing it.
Gaining experience will sometimes fix the fault In half the time.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SOMEONE FINALLY IS GIVING ME A RESPONSE FROM THE AMAZING COREL HELP TEAM.
UNFORTUNATELY I WAS LOOKING FOR A SOLUTION 4 DAYS AGO. I TRIED ANS ASKED SEVERAL TIMES FOR HELP FROM COREL AND EVERY SINGLE ASSISTENT ROM THR COREL HELP TEAM,  JUST KICKED ME OUT WITH NO HELP.
SO I SPENT A LOT OF TIME TRING BY MYSELF , AND FINALLY I RESOLVED THE ISSUE .
!!!!!!THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR GREAT GREAT HELP. 4 DAYS LATE. COREL  COMPANY. !!!!!!!!!

If you have to contact Corel tech support for any reason, God help you.

Well I'll never buy another Corel product again. Less than a year after releasing Painter 2020, they announced "Sorry, it no longer works with any updated Macs. But hey, If you want to use it, you're welcome to plop down another couple hundred for a new version that will work with the computer you bought it for." Sorry. I was on the fence between this and Adobe, but adobe takes care of their customers and don't abandon software a year later. No more Corel for me.

CorelCAD 2020 and Painter 2020 are not compatible with OSX Big Sur. I have used the software only a few times and now I must upgrade in order to keep using with Big Sur. Never again Corel software for me. Shame on you Corel!

5-STARS FOR THE PRODUCT, ZERO STARS FOR THE CUSTOMER SERVICE.

I purchased 5 (five) Corel software packages. Among them, the Corel Video Editing Software showed an ERROR when I typed the KEY numbers. My other 4 softwares had no problem.

I checked online. Corel says that typos on the KEY are common (!) If the letter is B, try 8. If it is I, try 1, if it is Z try 2, if it is S try 5, etc., etc.
I wasted weeks trying all combinations.
Then I emailed them. Horrible experience (zero stars for customer service).
They asked for my purchase receipts and pics of the error message four times each. At the same time, they didn't know what was wrong with the KEY.
After 4 days and 35 emails they demanded that I grant them access to my computer via a ZOHO system. I cannot do this.

So after 40 emails exchanged they still wouldn't help me solve the problem.
Update: IT WAS THE FIREWALL! Thanks to my husband! The tricky part is that the first 4 softwares were installed fine, with no firewall issue.

Suggestions to Corel Customer Service: 1. Please train your personnel. Mention the Firewall issue on top of the list. 2. Write the Firewall issue on your package.

I have Corel Video Studio Ultimate 18 and have been trying to edit some high qaulity 4K 60fps video. I was able to edit it okay but when previewing it the playback was jerky. I spoke to Corel support through online chat and despite trying some resolutions it was still jerky. They raised a support ticket and kept me informed in a timely and efficient manner. In the end after going through several steps they resolved the issue and I have to say I felt the support I got was excellent.

My original message "I have used different versions Studio, on different windows OS, on different computers for over 10 years and never had one single version that is Stable. NOT ONE SINGLE VERSION. I am surprised that you are not able to resolve stability issues on Windows. I currently have Studio 21 Plus on Windows 10. Very frequently Rendering stops working and Studio has to be restarted. However, quite frequently, it will not restart unless the computer is rebooted. It bas become extremely difficult to work with. Windows 10 pro, I7-9700 CPU, 8GB. I have tried deactivating anti virus."

They ask me to delete the APP data folders and reinstall. Then I lost all my settings (obvious was going to happen but they didnt tell me that). Next they tell me to send WINAUDIT and MSINFO. Then they tell my the version is not supported pay and upgrade. I told them the version originally and they asked for the license key also. After I complained, they said, create a new user id and switch off firewall. Hell, no, I will not run without firewall. It is there for a purpose.

Corel Painter 2020 did not even work ‘til the end of 2020 ( Mac - I can’t comment on Windows version).
Complete failure of software.
No refund, no upgrade, no help from customer-services.
I was told several times “we’re working on a fix” then eventually they just said - “You need to buy Painter 2021”.
They refused to guarantee that Painter 2021 would work ‘til the end of 2021. Just guaranteed for 30 days.
No thanks. After 12 years, I’m saying goodbye to Corel forever. I’d advise everyone to do the same.
But if you want to pay £360 for a product that may be obsolete in October (or earlier) - with no come-back. Then go ahead.
They will not listen to any argument. Just quote “30 days”.
I will be reporting Corel to Trading Standards. I’m not sure it will do any good. Who knows.
I’ll get the easel out. It’s so much more relaxing.

What has happened in the last few days:

1) Unable to upload documents that could help fix some problems while in chat sessions -- reported the problem but no response that addressed this issue
2) I was always 1st in queue (for many chat sessions with technical support) but always response was "I will need to connect you to someone else (another group)".
3) Usually after explaining in detail the problem in my initial message the first responder never read what I wrote -- even when I referred them to it. Instead I usually needed to "copy-and-paste" it again.
4) Nearly always I was told a ticket would be made for my problem and I would be contacted by some else who would help me. A ticket (via email) was indeed created but it only acknowledged the creation of a ticket -- there was no reference to my problem in it.
5) Often I was even promised "high priority" but I saw no improvement in help.
6) When a time was setup for a "remote session" to fix one of my problems, I was ready on our preset time, but the text in the remote client window was unreadable and thus no connection was made. I sent two follow up emails about this suggesting another remote session client but this never happened.
7) Today I called Corel UK direct and spent over 30 minutes on the phone explaining the problem in detail. The person handling my call said he would "get some else to contact me" via telephone in approximately 30 minutes. After over 2 hours, I give up.

I suggest that the technical support staff be better trained and monitored more closely if Corel really wishes to provide help/support to their customers via chat and telephone.

Incidentally the telephone number given for direct support to my problem (+44 1793 20 3800 ) was an invalid number!

Corel company has gone done with customer support and softwares. Absolutely no working support and refund if software is not working. Do not buy any products from Corel anymore. I will give my case to Consumer Authority to solve because Corel does not give any liability to softwares. I have used Corel products over 25 years so it does not matter if you are old or new customer - the Corel Company is not trusted anymore.

Poor quality, sluggish programs. Take forever to open on high end computers. Crashes, buggy, slow, unintuitive, very expensive. Painter is a joke, Aftershot is easily bested by open source and free programs like darktable or rawtherapee. ADVERTS omg the adverts. Its one thing prompting to upgrade but ads INSIDE the program all the time?? Once a reliable alternative to adobe. Buy Affinity Photo (Photo) Affinity Designer (Vector), Affinity Publisher (DTP). Get darktable or rawtherapee as a lighroom replacement and Davinci Resolve as your editor.