Powerdirector crashes when saving project

Caulin

Newbie Joined: May 15, 2015 13:12 Messages: 5 Offline

Solved by

May 17, 2015 12:14

Boy, this program is a neverending source of problems. Just the other day, it was freezing my computer due to incompatibility with Catalyst Control Center, but now I have a new problem.

I have a project I'm working on. In it, I have simply added an MP3 audio file to the timeline. It saves the project perfectly fine. But as soon as I add one of my videos to the timeline and try to save, the progress bar gets to 100% and crashes. Every single time. This crash does not occur if I have no videos on the timeline, even when the same videos are already imported in my project's library. So why does the program always crash after I start editing video, which, correct me if I'm wrong, is the purpose of Cyberlink PowerDirector?

My specs:
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview (x64)
Intel Core i3-3220 @ 3.30 GHz
8GB Crucial DDR3 1600
1TB Western Digital Black HDD 72000RPM
Sapphire Radeon R7 260x OC Edition 2GB

Filename	DxDiag.txt	Download
Description	DxDiag for PD Crashing on Save
Filesize	67 Kbytes
Downloaded:	249 time(s)

BarryTheCrab

Senior Contributor Location: USA Joined: Nov 06, 2008 22:18 Messages: 6240 Offline

May 17, 2015 12:25

One thing to try is to use a junk file cleaner such as Ccleaner and defrag. Piriform has good versions of both, for free.
That is an easy first step, computer maintenance. Also update Quicktime.
Last, an i3 may not be the best processor for this hungry program. 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

Caulin

Newbie Joined: May 15, 2015 13:12 Messages: 5 Offline

May 17, 2015 12:51

Already used CCleaner, and I have the latest version of quicktime installed. And even if my i3 isn't necessarily the best, it's more than enough to render 1080p 30FPS videos at nearly realtime, as I've seen with previous experiments. The problem that is occuring does not appear to be the fault of the processor, but instead, a bug in the program that occurs when attempting to write the project's data to the hard drive.

I must clarify, I am only attempting to save my project after dragging my video to the timeline, I am not trying to export the video. Exporting works just fine, but what I am working on requires several clips combined together. I will share the information of my recorded clips to see if maybe there is a conflict with the video files. These are the settings I use for recording gameplay with DXtory.

File Format: AVI
Video Codec: x264vfw
Audio Codec: MPEG Layer 3 Codec

Video Codec Settings
Preset: Ultrafast
Tuning: None
Profile: High
Level: 4.1
"Fast Decode" Checked
"Zero Latency" Checked
"Convert to YUV 4:2:0" selected
Rate Control: Single Pass, RF 19

Audio Codec Settings
320kBits/s, 48,000 Hz, Stereo

PlaySound

Senior Contributor Joined: Dec 02, 2010 10:26 Messages: 2031 Offline

May 17, 2015 13:00

In your case I would try a new PD13 installation.
Do not uninstall PD13, install the purchased version, will ask if you want to uninstall confirm and continue.
If your version PD is earlier v2604, update. AMD-FX 8350 / 8GB DDR3
SSD SUV400S37240G / 2-HD WD 1TB
AMD Radeon R9 270 / AOC M2470SWD
Windows 7-64 / PD16 Ultimate

Caulin

Newbie Joined: May 15, 2015 13:12 Messages: 5 Offline

May 17, 2015 14:14

I've done that, and the problem persists. Although with further experimentation, it appears to be a problem with the source video files. So could anyone recommend to me what recording settings I should change for maximum compatibility with PowerDirector?

Edit: It seems I have found the solution again. Apparently the x264vfw video codec does not cope well with PowerDirector. I am now using MagicYUV, which works flawlessly. I apologize for wasting space on these here forums.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at May 17. 2015 14:38

BarryTheCrab

Senior Contributor Location: USA Joined: Nov 06, 2008 22:18 Messages: 6240 Offline

May 17, 2015 15:54

Caulin, your question is not wasted space, but we are happy you found a solution. 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