I found a neat trick to keep the same resolution as the original. The main reason for this is because PowerDirector has a lot of bugs, and certain features are not allowed for customization, along with certain codec compressing options not appearing. However, I must admit that it is extremely easy to use!


Steps: Make sure you have the DivX codec installed (http://www.codecguide.com/download_k-lite_codec_pack_mega.htm or http://www.codecguide.com/klcp_beta.htm)

1. Launch PowerDirector v8
2. Import any 4:3 800x600, 1280x1024, 1440x1080 or 720x480 lossless video (HuffYUV, Fraps, etc.) Before doing so, go to the Edit tab and change project aspect ratio to 4:3
3. Make sure to also change the video aspect ratio of 720x480 (3:2) footage to 4:3. You can do this easily by right-clicking in the timeline and select "Set Aspect Ratio". Make sure the black borders look like the original.
4. Select Produce
5. Under Profile Type, select DivX. Not DV-AVI since that is only for 720x480 resolutions.
6. Change the codec settings for "DivX 6.9.2 Codec". Under one of the tabs, you are able to select a custom resolution! Make it the same as the original.
7. Now click on OK for all the windows and then change the Profile Type to Windows-AVI.
8. Now simply set the same fps as the original, and use the PCM uncompressed codec for Audio, and No compressor (lossless) for the Video. No compress is more lossless than DV-AVI, which is only lossy.
9. If you view the details for the current Windows-AVI profile, it now has the same resolution as the original! AVI normally only allows 160x120 | 320x240 | 640x480 | 1024x768 (You may need to edit the Windows-AVI settings to make it say "No compressor")
10. Produce the video in PowerDirector and resize to 1280x720 or 1920x1080 using the Lanczos3 codec. Compress the audio to 128kbps MP3. Compress video to 3000-4000kbps using x264vfw. Sharpen and deinterlace the input using filters, and maximize the audio volumes if necessary. This can all be done in VirtualDub.


I like the .AVI file extension because FRAPS and VirtualDub uses it, and when we want to "No Compress". Also AVI lets you use 1000-4000kbps (kilobits per second) and still achieve good quality. Other file formats (mp4/mpg/m2ts/wmv/mov/rm) I realize that the only way for good quality is to have a bitrate of 6000-20000kbps, or else it will become pixelated!

The best AVI codec for low bitrates/great quality is - http://sourceforge.net/projects/x264vfw/ or http://komisar.gin.by/ Use this codec during pre-production (editing) or in post-production (after editing+lossless compressing=VirtualDub).


*Widescreen tutorial* (No Composite/S-Video/Coaxial input)

Let's say you have a widescreen 16:9 video from FRAPS, VirtualDub screen capturing, or your camcorder. What if you already have an HD capture card (DVI/HDMI/VGA/Component) capable of capturing at widescreen resolutions already, and want to render it as an AVI file using your favorite AVI codec. Simply...

1. Import any 16:9 640x360, 854x480, 1280x720, 1920x1080 lossless video that you got from using HuffYUV, Fraps, etc. into PowerDirector. A message should pop up if you want to change your project aspect ratio to 16:9. Say no to this.
2. If no message actually appeared, go to the Edit tab.
3. Manually set project aspect ratio to 4:3 (PowerDirector will not allow you to encode 16:9 footage as a WinAVI file, so you have to do this.)
4. Fix the black borders to match the original by right-clicking the timeline and "Set aspect ratio".
5. Produce the video using the same DivX trick explained above to clone the original resolution into Windows-AVI instead. Make sure you make the resolutions similar. Compress using x264vfw (if you are not planning to resize to a bigger widescreen resolution).
6. You don't have to use VirtualDub this time. The resolutions already matched. Only the aspect ratio will be modified.


Note: You can also make 4:3 footage look like 16:9 footage while in PowerDirector by changing both project/video aspect ratio (useful if you are going to encode in WMV). But if you are going to encode to AVI instead, keep in mind though that if the resolutions are different, the DivX codec WILL attempt to resize the original video because the resolutions didn't match. This WILL result in loss of quality. You don't have to use VirtualDub since it was already resized and doesn't require post-production. The PowerDirector built-in resizer isn't very good: If the resolutions were the same, then all it will do is modify the aspect ratio. So be sure your resolution MATCHES. Use VirtualDub instead to resize your AVI videos after production, if the resolution isn't the same.

All file formats:
Different Resolution = Automatic Resizing in PowerDirector. Do the resize in VirtualDub/AviSynth.
Same Resolution = No Automatic Resizing (stretching of pixels).

WMV file format:
Same as above, but it will NOT change the source aspect ratio if it is not already done manually.


Downloads:
K-Lite Codec Pack (includes DivX 6.9.2, HuffYUV, ffdshow, etc.) - http://www.codecguide.com/download_k-lite_codec_pack_mega.htm

x264vfw AVI codec - http://sourceforge.net/projects/x264vfw/ | http://komisar.gin.by/

MediaInfo - http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net

VirtualDub - http://www.virtualdub.org/ (Don't bother if you already have an HD capturing source)

AviSynth - http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/Main_Page (Don't bother if you already have an HD capturing source)