PS: Hmm... I see CyberLink was founded the same year Pixelan was founded... 1996. So we simultaneously celebrating our 17th year. Didn't realize that until you mentioned CyberLink's above. Thanks.

Sincerely,

Michael Feerer
Pixelan Software
http://www.pixelan.com

Hey, yeah, I guess you're right! So it's fitting that you guys are partners of sorts - Hope to see even more cooperation in the future!

In fact, I have an idea for a plugin that, at least on paper, shouldn't be too difficult to write, but would be really useful for those of us doing homemade sfx kind of stuff but can't afford After Effects, Premiere, etc: A plugin that can simulate the movement of a handheld camera within a scene.

Imagine, I create a split screen (or layered green screen) shot of me interacting with...me... at some high resolution (like 4096x2304 or 1920x1080) and then I use this hypothetical handheld camera plugin to move a same aspect ration box (such as 1920x1080 or 1280x720) within the full-rez scene, so that it looks like it was filmed 'naturally'. This zoomed box would be the output video. Cool, eh? This sort of thing is possible with PD12 right now, except a) the smaller dimension box is just a guess because the dimensions of the 'zoomed' box is not given (and no numerical entry is available) and b) the movements have to be keyframed by hand. Although it looks cool, it doesn't look 'real'.

I have lots more ideas for plugins, simple-but-useful to more complex. I'd make them myself if I had any idea how to do it! LOL

Take care,
Russell System specs: Windows 7 Professional x64; Gigabyte Z77-DS3H motherboard with i5-3579K 3.8Ghz processor with 32GB RAM; Zotac GTX 760 w/4GB; 1xWestern Digital 1TB 10,000RPM HD; 1x Samsung 840 Pro SSD System Drive

Hi Russell -

A plugin that can simulate the movement of a handheld camera within a scene.

I'm in no way trying to divert attention from the "Pixelan Plug-ins" topic, but there already is such a plug-in from NewBlue FX... NewBlue Active Camera, part of the NewBlue Motion Effects.

Cheers - Tony
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D'oh! Guess I need to look into that! I think it's even included with PD12 Ultimate (which I have). I'll give it a whirl. Has anyone used it? Are the results good/realistic?

Still, it would be nice/useful if PD's motion designer displayed the pixel dimensions of the 'zoomed-in' rectangle and/or had numerical entry boxes for the dimensions you want. The output looks better if it doesn't need to be scaled (like a box size the same size as the final output video).

Russell System specs: Windows 7 Professional x64; Gigabyte Z77-DS3H motherboard with i5-3579K 3.8Ghz processor with 32GB RAM; Zotac GTX 760 w/4GB; 1xWestern Digital 1TB 10,000RPM HD; 1x Samsung 840 Pro SSD System Drive

No, I'm wrong. The Active Camera plugin is not included with Ultimate, but it can be purchased for $169 as part of a set of ten motion effects from Cyberlink ( http://www.cyberlink.com/products/partner-plug-ins/partner-newblue_en_US.html ) or $29.99 on its own from their website ( http://www.newbluefx.com/products/creative-effects/motion-effects/active-camera ). The few Youtube demos I saw for Active Camera looked promising.

Russell System specs: Windows 7 Professional x64; Gigabyte Z77-DS3H motherboard with i5-3579K 3.8Ghz processor with 32GB RAM; Zotac GTX 760 w/4GB; 1xWestern Digital 1TB 10,000RPM HD; 1x Samsung 840 Pro SSD System Drive

I just installed the Cyberlink 3D & Spice TFX and now everytime I click on FX, CRASH.
HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Barry,

Sorry to hear of the problem. Please use our tech support request form at http://www.pixelan.com/help-tech-support-form.htm and we will get right on it to solve what's going on on your system. On the form, please also tell us:

-- Do you get the same problem trying to apply either plug-in in your timeline? Or just 3D Six-Pack?
-- What video card (or integrated video) do you have on your computer?

Thanks. We have many CyberLink users who have been using both plugins without problems over the past few weeks they have been available, so I imagine it is something specific to your computer. Some video card hardware does not be fully implement DirectX, for example, as noted on our 3D Six-Pack Tech Support FAQs page at http://www.pixelan.com/3d/help.htm There's a simple download on that page which will indicate that or not. If it's not compatible with your system, then of course we will give you a refund. Sincerely,

Michael Feerer
Pixelan Software
http://www.pixelan.com

Michael,
I tried a system restore, did not work, and now am re-installing PD. This may not be related to Pixelan at all, but the co-incidence caught me off guard. I will post any results and I'd really like this to work, the Creative pack works fine. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Anyone else experiencing this? Which build of PD12 are you using? I heard one of them was giving some people problems.

Russell System specs: Windows 7 Professional x64; Gigabyte Z77-DS3H motherboard with i5-3579K 3.8Ghz processor with 32GB RAM; Zotac GTX 760 w/4GB; 1xWestern Digital 1TB 10,000RPM HD; 1x Samsung 840 Pro SSD System Drive

I have to say, Pixelan, that I am impressed with how you are addressing these issues in a timely manner. It shows you actually care about your users! This is a quality that should be emulated by all companies.

Thanks again,
Russell System specs: Windows 7 Professional x64; Gigabyte Z77-DS3H motherboard with i5-3579K 3.8Ghz processor with 32GB RAM; Zotac GTX 760 w/4GB; 1xWestern Digital 1TB 10,000RPM HD; 1x Samsung 840 Pro SSD System Drive

Quote: I just installed the Cyberlink 3D & Spice TFX and now everytime I click on FX, CRASH.

Hi BG

I had a similar problem with the NewBlue FX Essential plug in package, every time I clicked on the FX button PD crashed.

My solution was to removed and re-install the NB plug in package.

http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/29992.page#164314 Happing editing

Best Regards

Neil
CubbyHouseFilms
My Youtube Channel
My Vimeo Channel
PD3.5, 5, 6 & 7. Computer: Dell Dimension 5150, Intel Pen. 2.80 GHz, 2GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT 256MB, Windows XP Pro!!
PD8 Ultra v3022. Computer: Dell Studio 1747, Intel, i7 Q740 1.73 GHz, 8GB RAM, ATI Mob. Radeon HD 560v 1GB, Windows 7 Ult. 64
PD10 Ultra v2023. Computer: HP Pavilion dv7, Intel, i7 2630 2.00 GHz, 8GB RAM, ATI Mob. Radeon HD 6770 2GB, Windows 7 Pre. 64
PD12 Ultra v2930. Computer: HP Pavilion dv7, Intel, i7 2630 2.00 GHz, 8GB RAM, ATI Mob. Radeon HD 6770 2GB, Windows 7 Pre. 64
PD13 Ultim v3516. Computer: HP Pavilion dv7, Intel, i7 2630 2.00 GHz, 8GB RAM, ATI Mob. Radeon HD 6770 2GB, Windows 7 Pre. 64
PD16 Live v2101 Computer: HP Pavilion dv7, Intel, i7 2630 2.00 GHz, 16GB RAM, ATI Mob.Radeon HD 6770 2GB, Windows 7 Pre. 64
Director Suite 6: PowerDirector 16 Live, PhotoDirector 9, ColorDirector 6, AudioDirector 8

Cameras: Sony(s) HXR-NX5P, HXR-NX70P, NEX-VG10E, a6300 4k, HDR TG5E, GoPro 4 Black, Canon 6D DSLR

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Thanks Russell for your compliment. We appreciate it very much. We are an intentionally small company, even though we are one of the oldest video effects plugins developers around and have for many years been very popular on several platforms. For each user's situation or problem, we try to respond like we would like to receive such service. We like it when users end up happily with us for many many years -- a lot have been -- that gives us deep satisfaction, more so than any individual sale.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now. Thanks again. Sincerely,

Michael Feerer
Pixelan Software
http://www.pixelan.com

Just to update my situation...the cause of the crash was a New Blue plug-in, fixed with an update. The Pixelan install was just an odd coincidence. Long live Pixelan! HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Thanks Barry for clarifying that so other users are not confused or worried about us. Sincerely,

Michael Feerer
Pixelan Software
http://www.pixelan.com

Hey Micheal,

I have been playing with the Pixelan Ultra bundle - really nice, cost effective (especially with the sales going on now.) The products are really very simple and intuitive to use, yet very complex and feature filled the more I dig into it. I find I am using these more than my other plugins and stock PD filters because they offer so much more.

Just a couple requests to pass along to the coding elves:

1.) Ability to re-size the windows by clicking and dragging each side / corner to a different size instead of the set sizes. Of course have the effects scale up to fill in the window when we do this.

2.) Ability to change font sizes in preferences. Those fonts are small on my monitor. (Currently 1920 X 1200, but getting a 4K monitor in the future.)

thanks.

Rob
PD 14 Ultimate Suite / Win10 Pro x64
1. Gigabyte Brix PRO / i7-4770R Intel Iris Pro 5200 / 16 GB / 1 TB SSD
2. Lenovo X230T / 8GB / Intel HD4000 + ViDock 4 Plus & ASUS Nvidia 660 Ti / Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIZw3GPwKMo&feature=youtu.be

Rob,

Thanks very much for your kind words about our ULTRA Bundle for PowerDirector, which includes every PowerDirector plug-in we offer at an attractive discounted price. I am also happy to hear you are making good use of the feature depth of our plug-ins. There is a lot there to explore and try, indeed.

We appreciate your suggestions about window/preview size and font sizes, especially with the increasing use of very hi-res monitors now by nearly everyone. The interface of DissolveMaster and FilmTouch 2 are our latest UI efforts. Make sure the "Use largest preview" Preferences setting of each of those plugins is turned on to take advantage of your large screen. That will help.

Having adjustable plug-in custom window sizes and fonts is actually very tricky code, since we are dependent on what the host program (PowerDirector) will allow us to do successfully within its plug-in architecture. But we'll keep chipping away at the issue where we can.

Let me know if you have other comments or suggestions. Thanks again for posting. Sincerely,

Michael Feerer
Pixelan Software
http://www.pixelan.com

Since a lot of PD12 users have asked us about this, I've posted today a brief tutorial on how to apply our CyberLink PowerDirector plugins to a PD12 TITLE, which doesn't look possible at first glance, but IS very possible and handy! Applying our plug-ins to organically reveal/erode titles is one of the most popular ways they've been enjoyed by users on other editing platforms.

To see the technique, please go here:
http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/0/31503.page#172705

Thanks. As always, let me know if you have questions. I'm always happy to help. Sincerely,

Michael Feerer
Pixelan Software
http://www.pixelan.com

A test post

Hi Dafydd, I have been using Power Director 9 happily for many years, but I now wish to purchase PD 12 purely to be able to install Pixelan plug ins (in particular Creative Ease) However, I notice that there are several different versions of PD12 (Deluxe, Ultra and Ultimate I believe) and I need to know whether the Pixelan plugs ins will work on all of these different versions. many thanks, Sharon

Sharon,

I'll chime in here, even though you asked Dafydd. Yes, all of the various versions of PD12 work fine with all of our plugins. Sincerely,

Michael Feerer
Pixelan Software
http://www.pixelan.com

Thanks so much Michael, I can't wait to try them!