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Category: Adobe

Let us know if you encounter this Adobe PSE 2020 issue with HDXPRT 4

Last week, a member of the tech press let us know that they encountered an error while preparing a system for HDXPRT 4 testing. Specifically, while attempting to install the trial version of Adobe Photoshop Elements (PSE) 2020, they encountered the following error:

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They were working with an MSI Sword 15 A12UE, which had all the latest Windows 11 and Microsoft Edge updates, and they were able to complete installation and testing on other Windows 11 systems in their lab. This eliminates compatibility between the Adobe PSE 2020 installer package and Windows 11 or Microsoft Edge as the issue.

We do not have the same MSI Sword system in our lab, but we tried to replicate the issue by performing the HDXPRT 4 installation and setup process on a Dell G7 15 laptop running on an up-to-date version of Windows 11 (22H2, 22621.521). We successfully installed Adobe PSE 2020 and completed several HDXPRT 4 iterations.

The error this user encountered could be specific to their system or situation. However, we would like to know if other HDXPRT 4 users have run into the same issue. If you’ve experienced this issue in your testing, please contact us. We may be able to identify and publish a solution. 

Justin

Adobe PSE 2020 and HDXPRT 4

HDXPRT 4, our benchmark for assessing Windows performance on real-world media tasks, runs tests that use real commercial applications such as Adobe Photoshop Elements (PSE) 2020. Last fall, we informed HDXPRT testers that Adobe had started requiring a user ID to download the free Adobe Photoshop Elements 2020 trial package. Previously, testers could download the trial without setting up an account.

Recently, Adobe made additional changes to the access path for the PSE 2020 installation package. The package is no longer available on the PSE downloads page, but users who previously purchased their copy or registered it with Adobe can access the package on another page. However, this approach does not work for users who want to temporarily use the trial version for HDXPRT 4 testing.

We have found a third-party location, ProDesignTools, that currently offers a free, straightforward PSE 2020 installation package download with no requirements for registration or transmission of personal information. In our testing so far, the installation package (PhotoshopElements_2020_LS30_win64_ESD.zip) has been functioning as expected, and HDXPRT 4 is running the PSE-based workloads without any issues.

Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that ProDesignTools will continue to offer a free PSE 2020 installation package download, and we’re not aware of an alternative Adobe download path at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience!

Justin

A note about Adobe PSE and HDXPRT 4

During recent Windows 11 HDXPRT 4 compatibility testing, we noticed that Adobe now requires a user ID to download the free Adobe Photoshop Elements 2020 trial. Previously, testers could download the trial without setting up an account. While setting up an Adobe account is free, this change might inconvenience some HDXPRT 4 testers. Unfortunately, we don’t currently know of a way around it. We apologize for the hassle!

Justin

Following up on XPRT compatibility with Windows 11

Last week, we discussed the upcoming Windows 11 GA launch on October 5, and our hope is that the transition period from Windows 10 to Windows 11 will go smoothly for the three XPRTs that run on Windows 10, HDXPRT 4, TouchXPRT 2016, and AIXPRT. We’re happy to report that so far, we’ve been able to install HDXPRT 4 and TouchXPRT 2016 on the latest stable preview of Windows 11 without any problems. For TouchXPRT 2016, we successfully installed the benchmark using both available methods—directly from the Microsoft Store and through the manual sideload process—and ran it without issues.

We’re still testing Windows 11 compatibility with the AIXPRT OpenVINO, TensorFlow, and TensorRT test packages, and will share our findings here in the blog as soon as possible. Also, because Microsoft might still publish through the stable preview channel Windows 11 changes that interfere with the HDXPRT 4 or TouchXPRT 2016 installation or testing processes, we’ll continue to verify each benchmark’s Windows 11 compatibility up through and beyond launch day.

If you’re conducting your own HDXPRT 4, TouchXPRT 2016, or AIXPRT testing on the Windows 11 beta, you could encounter issues with newly published updates before we do due to the timing of our update cycles. You could also run into problems that are specific to your test gear. In either case, please don’t assume that we already know about the problem. Let us know!

Justin

Thinking ahead to the next HDXPRT

We’re currently formulating our 2021 development roadmap for the XPRTs. In addition to planning CloudXPRT and WebXPRT updates, we’re discussing the possibility of releasing HDXPRT 5 in 2021. It’s hard for me to believe, but it’s been about two and a half years since we started work on HDXPRT 4, and February 2021 will mark two years since the first HDXPRT 4 release. Windows PCs are more powerful than ever, so it’s a good time to talk about how we can enhance the benchmark’s ability to measure how well the latest systems handle real-world media technologies and applications.

When we plan a new version of an XPRT benchmark, one of our first steps is updating the benchmark’s workloads so that they will remain relevant in years to come. We almost always update application content, such as photos and videos, to contemporary file resolutions and sizes. For example, we added both higher-resolution photos and a 4K video conversion task in HDXPRT 4. Are there specific types of media files that you think would be especially relevant to high-performance media tasks over the next few years?

Next, we will assess the suitability of the real-world trial applications that the editing photos, editing music, and converting videos test scenarios use. Currently, these are Adobe Photoshop Elements, Audacity, CyberLink MediaEspresso, and HandBrake. Can you think of other applications that belong in a high-performance media processing benchmark?

In HDXPRT 4, we gave testers the option to target a system’s discrete graphics card during the video conversion workload. Has this proven useful in your testing? Do you have suggestions for new graphics-oriented workloads?

We’ll also strive to make the UI more intuitive, to simplify installation, and to reduce the size of the installation package. What elements of the current UI do you find especially useful or think we could improve? 

We welcome your answers to these questions and any additional suggestions or comments on HDXPRT 5. Send them our way!

Justin

Progress updates: HDXPRT 4 and AIXPRT

Over the next few weeks, we’re expecting to publish both an updated HDXPRT 4 build and the AIXPRT public release (GA). Timelines may change as a result of development or testing issues, but we want to provide a brief update on where both projects stand.

HDXPRT 4

As we discussed last week, Adobe removed Photoshop Elements 2018, the application that HDXPRT 4 uses for the Edit Photos scenario, from their public download page. This means that new HDXPRT 4 testers are currently unable to successfully complete the benchmark installation process.

To fix the problem, we adapted HDXPRT 4’s Edit Photos scripts to use PSE 2020, and we hope to begin testing by the end of this week. We appreciate everyone’s patience as we put a solution in place, and we’ll publish the new build as soon as possible.

AIXPRT

We’re now in the third week of the AIXPRT Community Preview 3 (CP3) period, and we’re working on finalizing the AIXPRT GA installation packages for release. Because several of AIXPRT’s component toolkits release updates on a regular basis, it’s likely that we’ll need to update AIXPRT’s installation packages more frequently than we have with previous XPRT benchmarks. At the moment, we’re working to integrate and test recent updates to OpenVINO and TensorRT before GA.

As usual, we’ll keep you informed here in the blog. If you have any questions or comments about HDXPRT or AIXPRT, please let us know. We do value your feedback.

Justin

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