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Stephen your video has an excellent level of resolution, color saturation
and nice clear sound. I wear hearing aids, so a good clear voice is
very important. My goal is to be able to produce a studio-quality video
like yours in the near future. Two thumbs up and ***** stars Stephen!
-Allen in Chicago
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Hello Fellow PD8 Users,
I made 21 DVD-DL (Dual Layer) disks for the parents of our 7th and 8th
grade basketball team. A few of the parents complained that the DVD
stuttered so badly that they couldn't watch the game with any enjoyment.
At first I thought it might have been an issue with the PD8-produced
MPEG-2 DVD's not burning properly across the entire batch. So I made
myself and DVD-DL of the game put it in my home DVD player. Lo and
behold, the video stuttered, and even started over a few times. I've always
"proofed" my PD8 produced DVD's by watching them on the computer.
I called 5 parents who were experiencing the problems and found out that
they have DVD players that were made in 2004 and sooner. My DVD
player is made in 2002. 2002 doesn't sound like it was that long ago, but
apparently in terms of technology, it's ancient.
From what I've read on various websites today, the Dual Layer
DVD-DL DVD didn't become available until 2004 and it was very high
priced.
The desktop DVD players produced in 2004 and sooner usually do not play
DVD-DL disks. The movies produced by Hollywood in the early part of
this century were DVD-ROM Dual Layer, which works on "older" DVD
players and could hold a 2 hour movie.
Am I correct in my understanding of WHY DVD-DL video won't play
properly on older (pre 2005) DVD players? Has anyone ever seen
a DVD-ROM Dual Layer DVD? I looked at Walmart tonight and couldn't
find such an animal. Perhaps first I should check to ensure that PD8 and
my HP burner can make a DVD-ROM Dual Layer DVD.
-Allen in Chicagoland
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Before I found out that a new power supply would be needed before I
could upgrade my video card to the ATI 5770, I was all set to get a
5770 for the enhanced encoding. Now...I don't know.
Why would this Cyberlink PD8 page show test results of increased
speed, yet Bannon notices no increase?
Reference: http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector/faster-performance_en_US.html
(ATI Results and supported ATI cards are at the bottom of the page)
During tests here at home, my encoding speed didn't vary with, or
without the ATI Stream Technology box checkmarked. But I chalked
that up to the fact that my ATI 4350 card isn't on the Cyberlink list
of supported Graphic Cards.
-Allen
Quote:
I was on a quest to find a GPU encoding solution that worked with PowerDirector 8 to create MPEG-2 video as well as H.264 so today I replaced my nVidia GTX 295 video card with a Radeon 5870 and I must say that I am disappointed with the results. Prior to replacing the card I’d created a 25:29 MPEG-2 1080p video without GPU acceleration in 16:49. I expected the GPU accelerated creation to scream after I installed the 5870, the 10.3 Catalyst drivers, and the latest version of AVIVO but that didn’t happen. Instead, it took 18:41, almost two minutes longer! Does anyone have any thoughts why that happened? I used the exact same profile for both runs and yes, the Hardware Video Encoder button was selected. My system specs are: Windows 7 64-bit; i7 920, 6GB memory, 160GB SSD C drive; 1 TB D drive with more than 800Gb free; and Creative Labs X-Fi sound card.
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Thanks for this info! The ATI website proudly states that they endeavor
to update the Catalyst Drivers at least once per month. I'm 2 months
behind now... ![]()
Better go take a look before another update slips by me.
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Hello Cyberlink Community.
I just downloaded and installed (hopefully correctly) the latest PD8 2704
build/patch. In the "README" file that opens after the installation, there
is a sentence which says:
"3. To obtain the best video recording performance, check your hard disk
DMA setting. Please check the properties page from the My Computer for
the hardware settings list."
Naturally, we all want THE BEST POSSIBLE video recording performance,
but this doesn't tell us much. Can anyone elaborate? Thanks in advance.
-Allen in Chicago
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Will that allow standard DVD's to record/play High Definition video?
If so, that would be fantastic! I just don't want to invest the next
year in burning to a medium which will be obsolete 5 years from
now.
It would be awesome if all new televisions at some point came
with an internal wireless HD receiver and little 10TB thumb drives
were available that could broadcast HD video to these televisions.
Seems like technology should be getting close to that point in a
couple of years???
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U-R most welcome Jeff. As of today, I still haven't upgraded my
card. I'm not sure if the gains will be worth the effort involved with
replacing the power supply. Seems like a major project. Guess
I just need to work up the nerve to take the plunge. ![]()
-Allen
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Bob, what do you mean by "Blu-Ray is on its way out."? This guy at the
CompUSA store told me the same thing about month ago, but I didn't
ask him to elaborate.
If Blu-Ray is about to become obsolete, what type of medium is
replacing it for showing Hi-Definition videos? Since more and more
people are recording with HD Camcorders, hopefully some type of
affordable equipment is coming along that will be in most homes
for the next couple of decades.
I have hundreds of hours of Hi-Def ACVHD clips sitting (and growing)
on stand-alone hard drives waiting for the day when a permanent,
portable, affordable standard arrives. I think most people with
DVD players will then upgrade to whatever player meets those
criteria.
This wasn't the purpose of your post, but you helped me decide NOT
to invest in Blu-Ray burning equipment and a player for the TV.
Thank-you Bob!
-Allen
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James and Andrian,
Thanks for the information about encoding and your thoughts on the
PD8 Preview Window. Since starting this thread a couple days ago,
I've been testing a couple of other editing programs to see if their
video preview window is of better quality.
Both of them have much better quality previews, but the reason is because
the user can choose an Ultra High Quality setting, if desired. I'm hopeful
that the next release (or patch) for PD8 will allow users to choose a true
high quality mode. It's really nice seeing the effects of very minor tint
or contrast editing.
But alas, these other two programs render 30% and 35% slower than
Power Director. They have ultra clear previews, but no acceleration
technology for ATI video cards. Now I understand why Power Director 8
was deemed the best, well-rounded video editing software at this
consumer website: http://video-editing-software-review.toptenreviews.com/
Think I'll send a suggestion to Cyberlink support to add a choice for
a higher resolution preview in the next update. My computer isn't the
most powerful, but it's had no problem performing editing with the test
programs these past few days.
All the best,
-Allen
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Jeff, one thing to keep in mind if you're going to upgrade your video card
is that the higher end graphic/video cards need more power. I was in the
store last week to purchase an ATI FX 5770 card, but was told by the
sales person that the 300 Watt power supply that came with my new
HP Pavilion PC was too low wattage for the ATI 5770. The minimum
requirement for the 5770 card is a 450 watt supply. He said that I COULD
install the card and not upgrade the power supply, but the motherboard
would overheat.
I returned home, did some research into the 5770 and video card
power demands in general. Turns out he was right on spot. Video cards
are pretty hungry for power when doing editing, or playing games. Add in
the other computer components and 300 watts is a bare minimum power
supply. It's too bad that PC manufacturers choose to cut corners in this
way because an underpowered machine causes all types of failures over
time...from the hard drive to the video card and eventually the
motherboard itself.
The power supply looks like an octopus with so many wires connecting to
various components inside the PC, but I'm convinced that upgrading to
a more robust one is mandatory.. regardless of the Video Card installed.
So the bottom line Jeff is to make sure your power supply provides
MORE than enough wattage for your system, including the video card
you'll be upgrading to. If you "Google" PC Power Supply and Video
Card Power Demands, you'll find many resources to educate and guide
you on this subject. Good luck!!
-Allen in Chicago
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Thanks for the reply Jamie...
1. I don't understand WHY the Preview Clarity of the clips residing on the
editing board can't match the Preview Clarity of clips while they're in the
Library View, before adding them to the editing board. I mean, by what
technical reason must they be of reduced quality? Since the editing board
is where you make subtle adjustments to clip lighting, sharpness, etc.., logic
would indicate that the clips should be a crisp and sharp as possible so that
these subtle edits can be seen easily. Imagine if on your television, you
had to switch the picture into low-quality mode before you could adjust
the color, sharpness, contrast, lighting, etc... That TV's manufacturer would
go out of business very fast. Do the other popular video editing/producing
programs present a lower quality preview window for editing? If there is one
that doesn't please, someone let me know. Even though I'm finally getting
used to using PowerDirector, I'd be willing to shell out another $100+ dollars
to get a program with less features, but a high quality editing window.
2. My CPU runs at 45% to 55% when producing a .mt2s (AVCHD) video
in MPEG-2 format, if I haven't made any edits to the clips. So it does
appear that the CPU is adequate, as you stated. If it turns out that all
the video production programs use a lower quality window for editing,
then I'll stick with PowerDirector and learn how to do what you have
done to increase your bitrate. Thanks again for the feedback and the
bitrate tip, Jaime! :![]()
-Allen
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Dear Experienced PD8 Users,
1.) Is there a way that I can manipulate PD8 to force the video preview of
clips in the Timeline or Storybook view to MATCH THE QUALITY of these
clips when they're viewed in the Library? For the past month, I've been
learning more about all the good features of PD8, but I do not enjoy
editing videos when it's hard to see minute changes in video quality
while using the enhance/fix tools. I have the preview window set to
it's best quality setting, but its still FAR lower quality than viewing
media in the library.
Is there a registry setting, or another Codec pack that I can buy to
force the two preview quality levels (Library and Timeline) to match?
2.) What is the most important PC component for producing the highest
quality DVD video? (Regular MPEG-2 video) I'm losing something in the
process of taking my .mt2s Canon HD clips through PD8, Rendering them
as a video in MPEG-2 format and then burning them to DVD as MPEG-2.
I don't expect them to look as good as they do on the Camcorder's
playback screen, but shouldn't they at least look as good as your average
movie purchased at the store on DVD? Are those movies burned to the
DVD in MPEG-2 format?
Forgive me, but I'm very frustrated at how much quality loss is occurring
from the TimeLine/Storyboard Editing window going forward all the way
to the final DVD product. Any advice based on experience is
appreciated. Thankyou.
-Allen in Chicago
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I checked the Hardware Encoding box on day-one of purchasing
PD-8 Ultra a couple weeks ago. In fact, I became over zealous
due to having a new computer, and turned on everything.
My first attempt video quality was so poor that I posted an S.O.S.
to this forum. James responded and gave advice to help
isolate the problem...which turned out to be the Hardware Encoding
feature. Surprisingly, the "Utilize ATI Streaming Technology"
feature had no effect pro or con.
I'll post my impressions of the 5770 after installing it this weekend.
First I'll need to ensure that the correct version is purchased and
that my P.C. Voltage, PCI Slot configuration, etc.. is adequate.
The learning curve continues, but this forum and its helpful members
make it a fun process. ![]()
-Allen
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Hi Again James,
In concurrence with your recommendation, I've decided on the ATI 5770.
I understand that Cyberlink isn't keeping the supported video card list
updated. It's kind of surprising since that info is posted in the sales
pages for promoting PD8. There are only 6 ATI card models listed,
which isn't good for promoting to potential buyers who have an ATI
card, but not one of those 6 cards inside their P.C..
Yes James, I did turn off the "Enable Hardware Decoding" feature in the
PD-8 preferences. It was the cause of the sharp reduction of output
quality. The "ATI Stream" feature has no effect on quality or speed
one way or the other, so I just leave that box unchecked as well.
Perhaps after I install the ATI 5770, that PD8 feature begin working,
even though the 5770 is not listed as being supported. We shall see.
At any rate just having the extra overhead afforded by the 5770 should
be a big bonus.
A BIG thanks for pointing out the importance of "Stream Processors"
to the video editing function. I would assume the more the better.
This comparison page says that both the 5770 and 4890 have 800
stream processors. A good thing. One less factor to be concerned about.
Ref: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-5770-overclocking,2473-2.html
Next, I'll do a bit of reading to find out what Stream Processors actually
do and is there a limit that a 2.6ghz CPU can handle. The ATI 4350 that
came with this HP Pavilion only has 80 stream processing units, which is
PUNY by comparison. Probably why the PD8 Hardware Encoding feature
overloaded the card. Thanks again for your insight James!
-Allen
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andy,
Thanks for that link to the Blue-Ray adviser. It's amazing how many
useful tools and guides are tucked away in various parts of the
Cyberlink website. Cyberlink also designed the overall MediaSmart
package that's shipping with the newest Hewlett Packard (and probably
other) P.C.'s and Laptops. Seeing the Cyberlink copyright on so many,
varied applications is very reassuring to video newbies like myself.
The built-in Adviser that comes with Windows-7 says that my video
card is the weak-link of this system. PowerDirector 8 Ultra just served
to verify this. I'll run the Blue-Ray adviser as well. Thankyou Andy.
-Allen
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Thanks O.T.W. for the links and your insight into this issue. As you stated,
my ATI 4350HD card does a fine job of displaying video. I'm more con-
cerned with getting clips burned to DVD quickly, with a minimum of editing.
When I use the "Hardware" acceleration feature of PD-8 Ultra with the
ATI 4350HD, the rendered video quality is reduced considerably.
I've narrowed down my choice to either the ATI 4890 or the ATI 5770.
However, I see on the Cyberlink website that Power Director only supports
a very few ATI (XFX?) cards when it comes to Stream Acceleration.
Unfortunately, the 4890 and 5770 are two that are NOT on the Cyberlink
"supported" list. See the bottom of this page:
http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector/faster-performance_en_US.html
I checked tonight at Best Buy. The 4890 is $199.00 and the 5770 is
$165.00. Why the 5770 cost less is beyond me. It uses less energy
and is Direct-x 11 ready, like my P.C..
Oh well, I'll just decide on one by the end of the week and hope that
the reason they're not on the Cyberlink list is because the list hasn't
been updated in a few months. Thanks again for your help and advice,
OnTheWeb!
-Allen
BTW..When I go to the "Produce" section, I can't check the acceleration
boxes like you did in your demo YouTube video. They are grayed-out
and non-clickable. I would assume that this is the best indication that
ATI 4350 Graphics Card is not supported...along with it not being on the
aforementioned list?
.
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Greetings PD8 Comrades,
I'm seeking to upgrade the ATI Radeon 4350HD graphics card that came with
this computer because tests are showing it to be the weak link with this
machine. After purchasing PD-8 last month and visiting this forum, it's
apparent that the Graphics/Video card is a VERY important component in
working with Hi-Def video.
Question-1: What aspects and features of a graphics card are the most
important when it comes to editing video with PD8?
There are literally hundreds of cards on the market, yet almost every one
of them is touting how good they are for gaming, 3D modeling, etc.. I
need to know which specs to focus on while wading through the materials.
Thanks in advance for any insights and guidance. ![]()
-Allen in Chicago
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Hi Casey,
Here's a page from the Cyberlink website that describes PD8.
http://www.cyberlink.com/downloads/trials/powerdirector/download_en_US.html
At the bottom of the page, there is a list of features that are not
available in the Trial version.
I used the trial up until last week and then bought the full version.
It was a good investment. I hope your experience is similar.
Good luck!
-Allen
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Hi James,
I re-enabled the SVRT, H.264 and ATI streaming capability and rendered
a short AVCHD clip to both MPEG-2 HQ and AVCHD. The rendering time
was no different than if I had both of these options turned off, but the
quality was still very good. So apparently, it was the "Hardware Decoding"
which caused the poor quality output.
It's disappointing that a brand new $800 computer would come with a
"weak" graphics card, but more than likely, most purchasers really don't
need a good one. Before attempting to burn videos, I had no clue that
the low "Windows Experience Index" of 4.2 for my ATI 4350 card was
something that would haunt me like this.
Anyway, I'll follow your advice and move up to a better ATI card, since
MPEG-2 is the most recommended format for making good quality
DVD's that are compatible with almost all DVD players. Thanks again
James for the valuable feedback. It's appreciated greatly!
-Allen in Chicago
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OK JAMES..will do that right now and then render a clip to ensure that this
wasn't part of the problem. What I think you're saying is that forcing the
"hardware rendering" option was not a good thing to do with this
ATI 4350 graphics card? That's what I'm thinking as well. Disabling the
SVRT and the Advance Rendering technology check-boxes was probably
overkill.
I'll research the latest ATI Cards and see if there are any that are geared
to video conversion/production. Still don't understand what graphic card
specs to look for, but learning is half the fun. Thanks again for all the good
advice my friend. -Allen in Chicago
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GREAT NEWS!
First a HUGE thanks to members JAMES and TONY for helping me out with
the rendering problem that was driving me up the wall today. Described
in this thread:
http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/10094.page
After following their advice by researching more of the forum entries
and the ATI 4350HD video card installed on this computer, I have
great news to report!
I went to the Director's Chair...EDIT...Preferences and Turned OFF:
(Unchecked the boxes)
1. Enable File Processing...
2. Enable ATI Stream Technology
3. Enable Hardware Encoding
4. Allow SVRT H.264 Video
Now, the ACVHD videos Produce beautiful files and Beautiful MPEG-2
HQ 16:9 DVD's! I'm so happy I could _________!!(fill in the blanK)
As I type this post, Power Director 8-Ultra is burning a truly top
quality MPEG-2 DVD of our school basketball game that was filmed
yesterday. The CPU useage is higher (around 55% to 60%), but
that's no biggie. The important thing is that there's NO QUALITY LOSS.
According to the Power Director-8 features page, my AMD-ATI
4350HD Graphics Card is NOT one of their supported GPU's.
Ref: http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector/faster-performance_en_US.html
Apparently, asking PowerDirector to utilize features on a
non-supported Graphics Card caused severe reproduction
degredation with my P.C.. By simply allowing PD-8 to do its
thing without any "outside" help, the final video product ends
up being almost identical to the source file.
---Break----
The project just finished burning (AVCHD file converted to MPEG-2 DVD).
It's 27 minutes long and took 16min14sec to burn. Watching it now and
the video/sound reproduction is perfect. Fast moving 10 year old's
basketball game with no loss of video or sound quality what-so-ever.
Thanks again to James, Tony, and to Cyberlink for this fantastic product!
-Allen in Chicago ![]()
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Quote:
In my experience, playback problems like you describe are just that, playback problems. Find someone with a more expensive DVD player, or even a Blu-Ray player, and see if it looks better. I have had MPEG 4 videos that looked terrible in a DVD player, but work beautifully in my PS3.
Hello Jamie,
With all due respect, this is one of those instances where it is NOT a
playback issue. The MPEG-2 DVD vids made with the software provided
with my Canon HG10 look OK on the three DVD players in our home and
the one used by our son's basketball coach, who uses the DVD recordings
of the games to improve their playing techniques.
I purchased the PD8-Ultra at this point in time because the burning of the
DVD's was painfully slow with the Corel software provided with the
camcorder. PD8 is MUCH faster, but the quality is greatly reduced.
Thank-you for your feedback though, Jamie. Your help is always
appreciated.
-Allen
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