I'm in the process of buying a Virtual Piano. 
The choice I'm considering at the moment is whether to go for TruePianos, 
which comes with a SPlat discount ... or PianoTeq (Standard Ed). 
I will mainly be using it with my Roland A-500, but have ambitions of at some point in the future to get a real hammer action type of keyboard (recommendations appreciated) ... other than that I will be using it with other light Roland Keybeds ... like D10, S10, S50 ... and my DX7-II ... the latter which maybe will give a better piano feel to the playing ... as the key bed is somewhat more heavy. OK. I digress. 
 
What I'm wondering about is, which of these is the smartest choice ? I like both of them ... though PianoTeq seems somewhat more complex and sophisticated. I like it's wizard for adapting itself to the nature of your existing keyboards bed. Truepianos, seem a bit more crude and simple in this way. Like the sound of both.
 
I was hoping for some feedback on this before I decide, I see there are other options as well ... but haven't evaluated those.
- Sven
 
[Edit] I forgot to mention, it's preferable if it's usable in Win XP as well as have a 32-bit VST option. 

Essentially, you've got three choices. TruePianos, Pianoteq and the one from Arturia
I'd opt for Pianoteq all the way. Incredibly detailed, wonderfully playable and choices galore.
You'll have to pick a bundle first. I got the Electric plus Hohner. Then added the Steinway and Blüthner.
Love the Blüthner most of all. Sweet and subdued. Mighty fine.
But you can start with Steinway bundle too, if you prefer.
Anyway, best to buy Standard instead of Stage.
But you can upgrade whenever you want.

Economical choice would be XLN Audio Addictive Keys. Been around a long time but still fills the bill.

I love Addictive the Addictive Keys Bundle, but especially Grand Piano.  I own all except the upright.
 
If you decide to go with purchasing the Addictive Keys bundle, try using this a code at checkout. There are several on the Internet you can search for that will work.
 
Good Luck

The Addictive Keys piano is good, as are the 3 Kontakt pianos that come with NI Komplete (The Grandeur, Maverick & Gentleman). An of course if you do end up with Kontakt, there's loads of additional pianos you can get like the Yamaha C7 Grand, Alicia's Keys (which is a Yamaha C3) etc.
 
I'm not a big fan of True Pianos, it sounds pretty lo-fi to me, but maybe that's just the Cakewalk/Sonar edition.
 
I use AIR Music Tech's Mini Grand quite a lot, as it's pretty light on memory but still sounds pretty good in the mix and has a good fit for most styles. I wouldn't use it "exposed" in the mix though.
 
If I had spare cash for it (and the extra space on my SSD drive to put it on), I'd go for the Ravenscroft 275 from VI Labs. IMHO this is the best sounding piano I've ever heard. It's got the mellow sound without the muddiness, and can cut through without sounding harsh.
 
 
M.

Fleer
Essentially, you've got three choices. TruePianos, Pianoteq and the one from Arturia
I'd opt for Pianoteq all the way. Incredibly detailed, wonderfully playable and choices galore.
You'll have to pick a bundle first. I got the Electric plus Hohner. Then added the Steinway and Blüthner.
Love the Blüthner most of all. Sweet and subdued. Mighty fine.
But you can start with Steinway bundle too, if you prefer.
Anyway, best to buy Standard instead of Stage.
But you can upgrade whenever you want.

I'm leaning most towards Pianoteq of all those ... thinking of starting with the Stage and the Steinway bundle. I'm very satisfied so far with the playability I get with this. Is there any major reason to go for the Standard edition ? I see I will be missing Piano model tweaking ... but to me this sounds more like minor stuff as long as I like the sound I have. Arturia is off the list, minimum requirement is XP compatibility and 32-bit functionality. Truepianos have it, but has an really annoying AI way of presuming what I wan't, where as Pianoteq installer is a dream ... you get to select and configure everything as you want. 
 
What would you say is the main thing I'm missing out on by not going for the Standard edition now ? 
 
Thank you very much for your feedback, by the way :)

If you're wanting it for playing classical piano. Pianoteq all the way.

They're the only one officially licensed by Steinway & Sons.

Garritan used to be, but Steinway pulled out.
I suspect because their software protection got cracked.

What type of music do you intend to make with it? Are you solo jazz or classical, or is it in a rock or pop mix?

msmcleod
The Addictive Keys piano is good, as are the 3 Kontakt pianos that come with NI Komplete (The Grandeur, Maverick & Gentleman). An of course if you do end up with Kontakt, there's loads of additional pianos you can get like the Yamaha C7 Grand, Alicia's Keys (which is a Yamaha C3) etc.
 
I'm not a big fan of True Pianos, it sounds pretty lo-fi to me, but maybe that's just the Cakewalk/Sonar edition.
 
I use AIR Music Tech's Mini Grand quite a lot, as it's pretty light on memory but still sounds pretty good in the mix and has a good fit for most styles. I wouldn't use it "exposed" in the mix though.
 
If I had spare cash for it (and the extra space on my SSD drive to put it on), I'd go for the Ravenscroft 275 from VI Labs. IMHO this is the best sounding piano I've ever heard. It's got the mellow sound without the muddiness, and can cut through without sounding harsh.
 
 
M.

Addictive Keys looks nice, even comes in a free version ... unfortunately it doesn't support XP. AIR Music Tech's Mini Grand same story. As well as the Ravenscroft 275. 
 
If it might be of interest to you to know that the latter model is now on offer for $99 for about 1 more week. 
 
Thanks for the tip about Kontakt and NI, I forgot I had that. Might check it out, but long term plan is to get rid of it. I dislike how they hijacked my system, but at least it sitting there quietly in the background. 
 
Thank you very much for your reply, lot of options I didn't even consider ... that Ravenscroft 275 looks real nice ... but I think I will go for the PianoTeq. Seems more versatile. I'm also using a lot of XP based computer systems.

Jesse G
I love Addictive the Addictive Keys Bundle, but especially Grand Piano.  I own all except the upright.
 
If you decide to go with purchasing the Addictive Keys bundle, try using this a code at checkout. There are several on the Internet you can search for that will work.
 
Good Luck

Thank you ... Addictive Keys looks nice. I will check it out, even though it doesn't match my criteria's 100%. It's definitely decently priced, even has a free version. I've leaning heavily towards PianoTeq at the moment, but you never know.