I’ve edited 22 home movies using PowerDirector (6 movies using PowerDirector 7). I have problems with the audio going out of sync (the sound lags behind the video – it looks like a bad dubbing job) in about 75% of my projects. This problem has persisted in spite of upgrading computers, un-installing re-installing PowerDirector, applying all software patches. The audio sync problem is inexistent in the original AVI files that I work with. Here are all my workarounds, please add your own to this list...

GENERAL NOTES
- Stop and fix the problem as soon as it is noticed.
- I edit my movies in a linear fashion (from start to finish). This makes it easier to detect and fix audio sync problems as they arise.
- Audio sync problems are more likely in movies with more complex editing. Fixing the lighting and colour and adding transitions seems especially likely to cause problems.
- Un-installing, re-installing and applying patches for PowerDirector takes about 20 minutes. I do this at least once per movie.
- Opening and closing a file can trigger audio sync problems. The more times a file is opened, the worse the audio sync problem becomes.
- Large fragmented video files seem to cause more problems. I keep all my video files on a dedicated drive that I defragment frequently.

SITUATION 1: Audio goes out of sync after adding a specific transition between clips.
- WORKAROUND 1: Remove the offending transition.

SITUATION 2: Audio goes out of sync at a specific moment on the timeline, for example at 22'09" (no sync problems before this time, sync problem after this time).
- WORKAROUND 2A: Delete all clips AFTER 22’09” from the timeline. Re-import them to the timeline. If this doesn’t work, try the next step...
- WORKAROUND 2B: Delete all clips BEFORE 22,09” from the timeline. Undelete. If this doesn’t work, try the next step...
- WORKAROUND 2C: Produce the movie in two parts - Part 1 runs from 0'0" to 22'09". Import “Part 1” to the timeline. This may be enough to resync the rest of the audio. If the audio is still out of sync from 22’09”, try the next step...
- WORKAROUND 2D: Edit the remainder of the clips as a new project. Produce a file “Part 2”. Make sure the audio is in sync. Create a new project file. Import both “Part 1” and “Part 2” into the timeline. If this doesn’t work, try the next step...
- WORKAROUND 2E: Re-install PowerDirector. Open a new project. Import Part 1 and Part 2 to the timeline. If this still doesn’t work...
- WORKAROUND 2F: Start the project over from scratch. This really sucks.

SITUATION 3: Modifying the colour/lighting makes the audio go out of sync.
- WORKAROUND 3: Re-install PowerDirector

SITUATION 4: Audio suddenly goes out of sync when you open the file/insert chapter points/burn the file/produce the file/make a minor modification/open a hitherto perfect project
- WORKAROUND 4: Save the project with a different name every time (e.g. Project_1, Project_2, Project_3). At the very least, a different file name for every 15 minutes of timeline, before you add the chapter points, before modifying the menu, before producing the final file. If the audio suddenly goes out of sync, re-install PowerDirector, then open one of the last known good version of your project.

SITUATION 5: You notice an audio sync problem after the entire project is completed and you’ve produced the final file.
- WORKAROUND 5 (The brute force method): Open a blank project. Import the file to the timeline. Extract the audio. Mute the audio on the clip. Drag the extracted audio to the audio track. Manually sync the audio to the video.

SITUATION 6: Nothing works.
- WORKAROUND 6: Buy a different software. I’m only sort of joking. I like the features and the price, but I lose countless hours with every movie simply debugging. For every hour movie editing, I spend about 20-30 minutes debugging.

MY COMPUTER INFORMATION
Processor: AMD Athlon 64X2 Dual core 3800+ 2.01 GHz, 2.93 GB of RAM
Video card: NVDIA GeForce 6100
Sound card: Realtek High Definition Audio
Microsoft Windows XP home edition, Version 2002. Service Pack 3.