roblewis56
Member
Dear Derek,
In your review of Cyberlink PowerDirector 8 you state as one of its weaknesses that it "Lacks reliability on longer projects". Since I use this software I would like to know your basis for this statement. I didn't see anything in the review supporting this. Is there something I should look out for?
Thanks
Robert
Derek Sine
Member
Hey Robert,
Let's say your working on an hour long film, this isn't the most ideal in one timeline. It's a great application just doesn't have the support for projects that require an organization structure, etc. For the price you can't go wrong.
roblewis56
Member
Thanks Derek,
I was worried I might end up having a problem like I did with Adobe where after awhile it would just shut down when I tried to reload a project ,requiring drastic repair like setting up a new user account or restoring my system to factory setting. I guess that experience left me a little spooked. However so far PowerDirector has been stable.
Robert
Derek Sine
Member
It's very stable and a great program I just wouldn't cut the next feature film on it.Â
composite1
Moderator
"It's very stable and a great program I just wouldn't cut the next
feature film on it."
Derek,
Why does that statement remind me of those old Ginsu Knife commercials? Oh yeah;
"The Diamond, the hardest substance known to man... but ten years later, you still can't cut a chicken with it...."
Hopefully, PowerDirector will have better luck.
EarlC
Moderator
Just as we need different knives for different tasks, so do we need (or can use) different programs/software for different editing tasks. There are people who "get by" with plastic utensils, and there are those who prefer state-of-the-art cutlery. Everything is useful to the limits of its ability (and ours) and when common sense is shown in their application.
Like Dirty Harry once told us: "Mans gotta know his limitations." Same with knives and software.
composite1
Moderator
"Mans gotta know his limitations." Same with knives and software."
So spaketh the 'Harry'. Next thing is to understand when you've reached the limits of what your tools have to offer you and make the adjustment to the next level of tools in a sane and responsible manner.
roblewis56
Member
As one of the few participants to these forums who doesn't make feature films I would like to add my own experience to Derek's excellent review of PowerDirector because it pertains to some of the themes in these forums, like how to deal with AVCHD and .MTS files. I have vision 8 Ultra. I find that it handles the AVCHD .MTS files from my Canon HF11 directly with ease and without any conversion. Aside from the problems of shutting down that I and others have had with Adobe, Adobe needs to render everything before editing can even start. This can take more than an hour even with a short video. On top of this, every added Adobe transition, title etc. also needs to be rendered. This greatly slows down the editing process.
Robert
Dan_Marshall
Member
My only experience has been Cyberlink, so I found Robert's comment above about Adobe interesting. I guess I didn't know how good I've got it.
Regarding longer videos... I've edited videos up to an hour long without issues. The software does crash sometime, but that seems to happen regardless of the video length. It seems to happen most when I try to use the computer for something else simultaneously, so I think the memory swapping processes are getting confused.
If longer videos are an issue, a possible solution is to edit each chapter as an individual video, render each one, and then combine the rendered files into a finished full length video.
roblewis56
Member
I think an article "The MPEG-4 Super Hero" by Mark Montgomery in the Sept. issue of Videomaker, p. 58 is relevant here. It points out that a program that edits AVCHD natively, like I believe PowerDirector 8 Ultra does, is good for simple projects that don't have a lot of effects and need to be done quickly. While more complicated projects with many layers and color corrections etc. may better be done with a program like Adobe which first converts everything to AVI. This is because editing unconverted AVCHD file requires a lot of computer power, i.e. if you want to edit natively with complicated effects you need a very faster computer or convert the files to AVI. On the other hand if your need is for simple editing done quickly then a program like PowerDirector may be your best choice. My work is mostly current events where getting it out fast, within 24hrs max, is most important so PowerDirector fits my needs very well. Converting files or adding special effects just slows things down. Adobe would take at least an hour to render (i.e. convert) files even for a short project while I can start editing right away with PowerDirector.
Robert
IanD44
Member
I am a newbie to PD8 and video production, although I have used Camatassia. I have tried to save and then retrieve videos in PD8, but I cannot figure it out. If anyone can step methrough thsi, I would be very grateful
ophelia
Member
Have you tried looking at any of the tutorials listed on youtube? There are several.
niteliter
Member
If I may----------On working with MTS/AVCHD files,which are large,I will convert the massive files to smaller(WMV.HD) files,but save the (MTS)originals to a portable USB Media Drive for later use with a more sophisticated software if I wish.One of my fave programs for converting is "Free HD Converter",from Koyote Soft,and "Aunsoft Video Converter".When putting it all together,keep in mind Im still a newbie,I use one of 2 programs,mostly Power Director 8,of Windows Live Movie,which both do a good job,PD is a Bit more advanced and has more features though...........
Joe
Chesapeake,Va.
See my movie shorts on youtube,search user "niteliter"
radioman41
Member
I have a Canon Vixia HFR10 camcorder which came with a Pixela software package for video manipulation. The Pixela software is somewhat limited, so I purchased Power Director 8, but I've been having trouble trying to capture HD files from either the camera or the computer. Power Director 8 has a tab in the capture menu for transferring high def files from the camcorder to the program. I instucts the user to connect the camera to the computer and import the files as though the camera was a separate computer drive. Easier said than done. When I connect the camera to the computer, it automatically goes into a mode that connects with the Pixela software. I don't see any way to capture the HD files. Similar problem with the computer. If I convert the files to SD MPEG2 files, I can get them into the Power Director, but I'd like to work with my AVCHD files. Does anyone know how I can solve this?
Thanks,
Paul
XTR-91
Member
MTS files can be directly imported into Cyberlink Powerdirector 8.
roblewis56
Member
PowerDirector 8 Ultra has some features for working with AVCHD not available in 8 Delux.
I have a Vixia HF11 and this is how I import the files. I record the clips to the built-in camera memory, 32 Gbs in the HF 11. In the camera I copy them to the removable SD card. I insert this card into my computer and move the PRIVATE folder to a folder I have created for the project. I import this PRIVATE folder into Powerdirector. I have found PowerDirector to be fast and easy to use.
Robert
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