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I am currently looking for a new computer and want to make sure my specs matchup with Powerdirector 10 and HD video editing needs. I am looking at a
XPS 8300
Intel Core i7-2600 processor(8MB Cache, 3.4GHz)
8GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz- 4 Dimms
1TB Performance RAID O ( 2 x 500GB SATA 3Gb/s 7200 RPM HDDs)
AMD Radeon™ HD 6450 1GB DDR3 or (with the option on the Dell website to UPGRADE card to Nvidia Geforce GT 530 or AMD Radeon HD 6670 1GB DDR5 or HD 6770)
CPU Processor requirements?
***PowerDirector 10 is optimized for CPUs with MMX/SSE/SSE2/3DNow!/3DNow! Extension/HyperThreading technology.
• AVI Capture/Producer: Profiles: Pentium II 450 MHz or AMD Athlon 500 MHz
• DVD Quality (MPEG-2) Profiles: Pentium 4 2.2 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 2200+
• High Quality MPEG-4 and Streaming WMV, QuickTime) Profiles: Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz or AMD Athlon 64 X2
• Full-HD quality H.264 and MPEG2 Profiles: Intel Corei5/7 or AMD Phenom II X4
• AVCHD and BD burning Profiles: Pentium Core 2 Duo E6400, or AMD Phenom II X2
•3D Video Editing Profile: Intel Core i7 or AMD Phenom II X4
They show different systems for different things?? I am confused? Given i will be doing blu-ray buring does that mean i need one of the two systems under "AVCHD and BD Buring profiles"? again i am confused.
Also, what about the card options above for the i7 and feedback on which one would be the best to go with? I don't expect to be doing any 3d requiring glasses and stuff. Aside from questioning the card and upgrading it and question about the cpu processor..does the rest of this system seem acceptable for hd editing and software requirements?
DeAnna -
I just purchased the exact same system a few weeks ago. I don't typically do HD editing, but PD works very smoothly on it. As far as the video card goes, when I purchased mine the Nvidia GT 530 was the standard card, and the Radeon 6670 was the upgrade (which I took primarilly because it would ship faster). Looking at the ratings on the cards, it seems the Radeon is a significantly faster card than the Nvidia offered.
One suggestion though - the '1TB Performace' doesn't look like a good deal. There is only room for 2 internal hard drives. Since this option is a raid array, you only get 500 GB of disk space, and no room for expansion (plus, Dell's pricing on hard drives is a bit high, even considering the current hard drive market), unless you prefer the raid array, of course. I would go with the stock 500 GB drive, and purchase a 1 or 2 TB drive (aftermarket). Make sure you purchase the OS media with the machine (they don't include a Windows disk by default). Do a clean install of Windows on the TB drive, then wipe the 500 GBer and use it for backups. You're better off with a clean install of Windows than with Dell's bloatware anyways.
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Another option would be to edit the clips together, leveling the audio as best you can, then producing the video but omitting the actual music track (so you just get the vocals). Then add the produced video back into the project and use it to replace the individual vocal tracks. You could then normalize the single, combined vocal track as a whole.
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Am I missing something? I've run every version of Power Director since 7, and I don't think I've ever been prompted to activate a component. I just installed PD10 on a new computer and I've tried producing in all of the formats, and still no activation prompt.
Is this something everyone should be seeing?
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I just ran into this same issue myself. I've never had any substantial issues with PowerDirector, but I tried my first project on a new computer, and ran into the same problem you are experiencing.
What I found was that the point in the video where the produce function was hanging was at an edit point (the third clip, specifically). On all the clips I had applied stabilization and color correction. I can't really say why it chose to hiccup, but my workaround was to pre-edit the clips, applying the stabiliztion and color correction, then rendering the cleaned-up files and pulling them back into the final project.
I'd like to figure out why the problem occured in the first place when I have more time, but my workaround is a good workflow practice anyways.
I'm curious if your hangups are also at edit points, and what effects (if any) were being applied to them.
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Jerry -
Just to give another set of eyes, I pulled both clips down and tried them, and they worked fine and reported the correct length for me. Interesting, though, is when Dave tried it (above) and reported everything to be fine, his screen shot shows the cymbal swell as being 7;17 long, instead of 8 seconds (which is what I got).
One thought I had wsa that your problem might have something to do with the bitrate of the files. It's just a hunch but it might be worth investigating. I don't know if there are truely 'standard' bitrates, but the cymbal file is encoded at 146 Kbps, which is an odd value. I would try opening them in something like Audacity and exporting them back out at a more common bitrate such as 128 or 256 (or even better - as WAV files to remove the compression altogether) and see what happens.
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Looks good, did not know this tool, I'm using PDSpeed.exe, add keyboard shortcuts for editing works well in PD8, 9 and 10
In the forum there is a topic on PDSpeed.exe, link to the program
I saw that, and considered using it. But I've never been good about remembering keyboard shortcuts. I am considering getting a programmable keypad where I can map the keys (which I could label) to specific keystrokes, and use it in conjunction with PDSpeed. Between that and the shuttle wheel it would basically replicate the old tape editing consoles that I was used to years ago.
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I had been looking at this for a while, but since I wasn't doing much editing at the time I held off getting one. I'm gearing up to do a lot more editing in the near future, so I purchased one last week. I just used it on my first small project.
I must say it works very well. I used to do a lot of analog tape editing years ago, and was very comfortable using the shuttle/jog wheel to move around videos on the old editing consoles. This device give PowerDirector the same kind of feel as I was used to.
I found 2 different scripts on their website forum. I don't remember which one I used, but I quickly reconfigured it to give a greater range of speeds on the wheel. Now that I've tried it, I would probably consider getting the larger one with more buttons to handle more editing tasks so I could use the keyboard and mouse even less.
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I was going to suggest Bottled Video (http://www.bottledvideo.com) - they have great high quality HD stock footage, and it's all completely free to download and use.
I just checked and they're having some issues right now. Looks like they're expanding their site and most videos are 'coming soon'. You may want to check them out, or at least bookmark them for future reference.
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The lag in the preview is a common issue - video manipulation is a very resource intensive operation, and doing it real-time in the preview window is a lot to ask of your system. Lowering the quality of the preview may help, but with your system it will probably never be smooth. You may have to produce the video in order to see the effects properly renderend.
As for the reinstall problem, have you tried running the cleaner before reinstalling? You can find a post about it here:
http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/15688.page
I am running a similar configuration to yours (same machine, but with a 2.8 GHz processor and Win 7 64-bit). PD9 works almost flawlessly for me, although I usually don't do HD video, so I don't push it nearly as hard as you are trying to. You didn't mention if you are using the onboard video or an add-in.
If you post a DXDiag file, it might help to determine if anything in your configuration is the cause of your problems. Folks here are pretty helpful at solving these problems, but they need that information to really evaluate what's going on.
You can find information on providing the DXDiag here:
http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/7958.page
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Another option (which I use) is a VHS/DVD Recorder Combo unit. They're inexpensive (mine was around $100) and provide an easy way to transfer the VHS to a writable DVD. Then use the Capture tab in PD9 to rip the DVD into an MPeg.
Some have voiced concerns over possible quality degredation when using devices like this, but given the output quality of a VHS tape, it hasn't been much of a concern for me. One added bonus is that you get a copy of the original, raw VHS archived on DVD as well.
Keep in mind though that these devices usually include anti-piracy features, so commercial tapes may not be able to be copied. Also, depending on the quality of the VHS tape, even home recordings that are severely degraded may trigger the 'you are not allowed to copy this program' message, and it will fail to copy.
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That's an unfortunate way of tallying votes - not everyone has / wants a Facebook account. So I guess I won't be voting.
But excellent video Barry! Good luck in the contest.
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Great find Carl!
I had a similar problem that I posted a while back and in spite of the best efforts of the people here, there appeared to be no solution. This program solves my biggest problem.
Time to dig out that old project and start tinkering with it again.
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I have Mediashow Expresso 5 that I got with a previous PD upgrade. It's a handy little program - I use it every now and then when converting formats. It's clean and easy to use. That being said, there are a number of free alternatives that do the same thing and more.
If you're pinching pennies, then I'd say take the cheaper offer and skip Mediashow. Otherwiise it's probably worth the $10 difference unless you have another program to do the same thing that you're already comfortable with.
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Good investigating SkullyHB!
The conversion Adrian did in FormatFactory actually achieved the same thing. The default setting for MP3 sample rate is 44100Hz.
Different route, same destination! ![]()
Cheers - Tony
Thank you, Tony.
It does appear to be tied to the sample rate of the audio file.
Looking at it further I noticed something else - I thought that changing the sample rate to 22KHz shortened the track - in fact it didn't. The 44KHz & 22KHz versions have different lenghts, but it appears that the original 44KHz version added 'padding' to the end when I pulled it into PD9. It was originally 2:19, but PD9 shows it as 2:28 because it added 9 seconds of silence at the end. The 22KHz version comes in at 2:19 with no silence.
Very odd.
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I pulled your original MP3 file into PD9, and saw the same shortened length you described. Right-clicking on it in the library and looking at properties, it shows a sample rate of 24KHz.
I pulled the file into Audacity, and it showed the sample rate at 8000Hz (8KHz) - 1/3 of what PD9 reported.
I changed the sample rate in Audacity to 44100Hz (44KHz) which is what all of my ripped music MP3's are encoded at, and exported a new MP3, then pulled it into PD9. The time now shows as it is supposed to, and the properties appear the same as what was exported from Audacity.
So it seems the problem is that PD9 is seeing the file as running 3x the speed as the original file is encoded. Re-encoding it to a standard sample rate seems to fix it.
How are the original MP3 files being created?
Edit: I just took a music MP3 and changed the sampling rate to 8000Hz, and it shortened the run time in PD9. Changing it to 22050 did it as well, but not as much. It seems that a sample rate of 44100Hz is the only one that imports into PD9 with the correct runtime (at least with my limited testing).
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I use the DVD/VCR combo method myself, although I don't copy the VOB files off the disc. I insert the disc and use PD9's capture mode to rip it into Mpeg format, then work with that. I've never seen any sync issues doing it this way.
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Given the fact that when it crashes it impacts the sound on your system, the first thing I would look at are your sound card drivers.
Based on your DXDiag, it looks like there are both Realtek and Soundblaster drivers loaded (I assume you 2 sound cards?). A quick search online shows updated drivers from the manufacturers are available for both. I would start there, rather than relying on Windows update.
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The diamonds on the timeline in the crop window indicate keyframes. Keyframes are reference points between which motion is created. If you want an entire clip to to be zoomed in, you have to set a keyframe at the begining of the clip and one at the end of the clip to be cropped exactly the same - that way there's no motion created between the two points. I usually find it's easier to set my zoom based on some point in the middle of the clip, then copy that to each end. Here's what I do:
Select your video on the timeline, go to Power Tools, and select crop.
Click the scroller in the crop window somewhere in the middle to jump to a point in time in middle of the clip. Click on the 'Add Keyframe' button to add a red diamond (keyframe indicator) to that point in the timeline. Grab the frame marker in the video and resize it to the area you want to zoom into.
Then click the 'Previous Keyframe' button to jump to the begining of the clip. Click the 'Duplicate Keyframe' button to copy the crop settings to the first keyframe (you want to copy the 'next' keyframe - the one you adjusted the crop on). Then click the 'Next Keyframe' button until the end keyframe is highlighed. Click the 'Duplicate Keyframe' button again to copy the previous keyframe. Click 'OK' to save your cropped video back to the project timeline.
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Where are you 'moving' the part of the clip that you cut out to? If you are just dragging it to a lower track, then it will still play when you are in movie playback mode. If you're in clip playback mode, playback should stop at the end of the clip, and not go into the grey area.
As Jaime requested, a screenshot would help.
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When I copy content off my DVR, I record it onto a DVD using a VCR/DVD Recorder combo unit. You can find them for around $100. Then I rip the content off the DVD using PD9.
It may be an extra step, but since my DVR and computer are in different parts of the house, it works well for me. Plus, I get an archival copy of the original recording on DVD that I can file away.
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Hi SkullyHB
I think your problem might relate to the display settings in Windows.
This can be adjusted by:
1. Right click the PD shortcut icon on desk top go to Properties >
2. Compatibility Tab check/uncheck the "Disable display scaling on high DPi settings'
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After looking into the compatibility settings further, it appears I can't change them because it's a 64-bit program. Also, that setting seems to apply only if you use large scale fonts - I use the default font sizes, so I suspect it wouldn't make a difference anyways.
Oh, well. Unless I stumble across another soulution before then, I'll just wait and see if the next update fixes it.
Thanks for the suggestion though.
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