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Quote: AUDIO: voices: At recent concerts, I was told by sound board techs that I will get a better mix if I don't plug my Tascam digital recorder into their sound board. Fine, but because there was no place to place the recorder totally away from people, I put it on their board. Then the sound techs talked, loudly!, throughout most of the concert, which intruded onto my audio feed. I ended up canning that audio and used audio from my camera mic, but it's not as good quality.
To improve: a. Create an option to remove extraneous voices. The noise reduction, hiss, clicking, etc do not do that.
This is extremely difficult, if not impossible. No matter what you do to try and remove the talking, it will also affect the concert audio. Chances are whatever you do to try and improve the audio, you will likely prefer the original recording even with the annoying voices. The side effects of editing will probably make it sound worse.
Even if you do use the line out from the sound board (by plugging into the headphone jack or something), it will not sound as good because they are mixing for a live environment, not a studio recording. All the instruments and vocals will sound unbalanced and hollow because they are trying to compensate for the natural echo and atmosphere in the auditorium (which you won't get through the line-out). You're better off recording the audio as-is, and just trying to keep the recorder away from any immediate voices.
To improve: a. So many options for transitions, most of which I would never use! Please add one for a simple black in for both the visual and audio tracks, not under Modify but as an actual Transition option.
b. Is it possible to have a button (or is there already a way?) to just automatically insert this black out to the beginning and end of each clip?
Good suggestion. I haven't used PD13 very long, so I haven't checked if it has this transition. Premiere Pro has a "dip to black" transition, where it fades to black and back up again. Depending where you place the transition, it can also function as a simple fade to black.
You will need to use it as a standalone and then export the titles to a PNG or MOV file. You would then import the PNG or MOV file into PDR 13.
That's not good, it's actually horrible. Standalone means you won't be able to see exactly where your titles are in relation to the other images/video in the background. If you're trying to align them exactly, you'd just be doing guesswork until you export the title file and try it.
If you export as a PNG, it's just an image file, so you can't have animation unless you add a transition in PD. If you need to enlarge the title in PD, then you'll lose quality because it's just an image which pixelates when enlarged (it's not vector based, like built-in titles where you can just increase the font size).
If you export as a MOV (for an animated title), then you're losing quality because you're converting it to a video format. Then you'll lose quality again when you export your whole PD project to a video file. So your titles suffer two hits of compression - they won't look as sharp as they would if they were created in-house. And like PNG, you can't modify the size of a MOV title within PD without pixelating it.
I've only just started using PhotoDirector, and I can't import a certain JPG. It comes up with this error:
"The grayed out photos are already in the library. Select "Make extra copy in" to import them again"
I can open some other files that I've tried, just not this particular one. I've barely even used this program, so I don't recall opening this file before. I've looked in all those Smart Collection folders and whatnot, and I cannot find the file in there anywhere. If it's already in the Library then I don't know where to find it.
Anyone have any suggestions?
How can I skip all this "Library" BS? I just want to open a file, modify it, and save it. I don't want multiple copies of the same file and I don't want 'projects' and 'libraries'. Also, it doesn't seem to import GIF files?
hmm thanks for that. Interesting concept, though it makes it difficult to see the final effect on the waveform. Is there no way to apply the effect immediately, or do you have to "produce" the file and hope for the best?
I've been trying the Title Room in PD and it seems alright. But it doesn't have a proper kerning option: the ability to shrink or expand the space between characters. I use this a lot to justify text in my projects. There is a text spacing option, but it doesn't have very fine increments and you can only expand, you can't contract.
NewBlue Titler Pro can apparently do it, but I can't find it in the demo. Is it hidden somewhere or does the demo not include this? Also does NewBlue Titler 1 have a keyframing option? Titler 2 does, but I can't find info on Titler 1.
Quote:It's just an animated Preview! What's the big deal? I thought you were complaining about actual video editing preview.
The issue got blown out of proportion since I had to spend the time explaining it in minute detail. Although I do see it as a big deal. I've been downloading the PD demo for the last 3 or 4 versions, and every time this FX preview is the first strike against it in my book. First impressions make an impact, and it makes the program look tacky and unprofessional.
I'm starting to like PD because I can see it has some nice features underneath, although I'm still evaluating the new version.
lol it has nothing to do with my PC. I'm not sure if you guys watched my video? I wasn't adding effects to a video project. In fact, you don't need anything at all on the timeline in order to see the flower FX preview.
Now, if the flower FX preview is silky smooth on your PCs, I would LOVE to see a video of it. Because even on Cyberlink's official videos, the flower is just as jittery:
Quote:My suggestion would be a massive upgrade of your computer since you are basically running less power then my laptop runs or a game machine from 5 years ago.
That is more of your problem then you realize. Do you run raided drives? doubt it, your video card is ancient tech, your ram is what I had 10 years ago in my home machine, etc, etc, etc.
Don't blame the software for hardware shortcomings.
Take a video capture of your FX flower and show me its amazing performance on your PC. By what you're saying, even Cyberlink need to upgrade their system.
My system is perfectly fine for HD video editing. Using Premiere Pro for some 60 projects, I have never come close to maxing out my RAM. I'm lucky if I ever hit 4GB used out of 8GB. I suppose if I wanted to waste money, I could chuck another 8GB in. But it would just go unused. You're over-estimating the system requirements for a very capable editing PC.
In fact, here's a second video I made, showing the performance of PowerDirector 13 when I add multiple effects and transitions to video clips. The only thing stuttering in my video is that damn flower. Watch the waves of the water as evidence that the clips are playing at full frame rate (and at the highest quality preview). And you can see my RAM usage as well:
Quote:PD has 5 different preview settings. I use HD preview with no stuttering with everyday editing. Real Time preview can be very CPU/GPU intense if you have multiple layers of effects or transitions. The more complex your editing, your preview should set at a lower rez to see smooth preview.
See my video above to show that even with multiple effects and layers, my system has absolutely no problem rendering video clips at full speed at full quality preview. My problem isn't with videos clips I've put on the timeline, it's just the tacky flower preview.
I'm always looking for an alternative to Premiere Pro, so I was looking forward to the release of PD13. I'm still evaluating it, but I just could not believe it when I loaded it the first time. It STILL has the same horrible FX preview. After how many versions of PD? You know - that jerky, jittery, spinning flower:
If I was working on a video for someone, I'd be embarrassed if they saw that. It looks like some 15 year old buggy shareware program, coughing and spluttering as though it were using 100% CPU resources just to spin that flower.
The other issue I find is the jerky playhead. It makes the program look worse than it is and feel sluggish. Why the poor refresh rate for the playhead when other video editors are smooth as silk?
Now just incase someone tells me it's just my computer, I made a video of it. My PC is an i5 3.1GHz, 8GB RAM, GTX 560Ti, Win 8.1.
Here we go:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaxWSU2Cr-0[/youtube]
(no audio required, 1min long, you may need to enlarge it/change resolution to see the detail)
As I say, I'm still evaluating PowerDirector 13 as it seems to have some great features. But these first impressions are off-putting and have been part of the reason I haven't seriously considered previous versions.
Quote: Any Effect you apply will slow down your computer down a bit - try using High Preview Resolution.
I didn't actually apply any effect, it was just the animated thumbnail preview of what the effect looks like (it didn't use my original footage at all). The animation looked like they didn't use enough frames, so it gave the impression of being cheap and tacky.
Quote: One other thing is to ensure that video card is up to date - go to the manufacturers website.
I haven't had an issue caused directly by video drivers for over 10 years. That sort of thing just doesn't happen anymore, or if it does it's very rare and has much worse side effects like crashing, blue screens, etc.
Quote: Have you downloaded the free PD12 trial and tested these yourself????
Yeah I'll have to download it and give it a shot. It gets weary trying out all these programs each year!
Over a year ago I tried PD11, and put up a post showing some of the frustrating things that caused me not to stick with PD11. Surprisingly not one person responded to the post.
So here's a copy-paste of the problems I was having with PD11. Does anyone know if any of these issues have been resolved with PD12?
thanks.
1. The CTI (current time indicator) is so choppy when I play back a clip! At least on my Windows 8 PC. And that's even when there no video, just audio. It jumps like 4 frames at a time. If I'm playing back a video and trying to get a sense of video/audio timing, it's almost impossible with a jerky indicator. If I hold down , or . to go back and forth frame-by-frame, then even that is a lot smoother than simple playback. Very frustrating.
2. If I zoom in a bit on an audio clip to adjust the volume, the waveform disappears whenever I use ALT+Mousewheel to scroll left or right. Then only way I can bring the waveform back is to zoom out or actually click the left-right scrollbar at the bottom of the screen.
3. The audio adjustment seems to have improved but there still doesn't seem to be a decibel reference, so I can't relate my audio to any other professional program. How many decibels is my video below 0dB? I don't know. The default volume in PD is set at "50". Unfortunately this internal numbering means nothing to me if every other program I work with uses decibels as a reference.
4. With the default volume being "50" and I then add a single volume keyframe, it jumps to "51". I don't know why.
5. If I zoom in and click exactly on the CTI line at precisely where I want an audio volume keyframe, the keyframe almost never appears on the frame I wanted it on. It'll appear a frame or two (or even 4 frames) to the left.
6. In the Effect Room, the rotating flower preview stutters around like an old PC struggling to keep up. But I'm running an i7 with 8GB RAM and a GeForce 560GTX Ti.
A while ago I tried PD 10 in my search to replace Premiere Pro. PowerDirector 10 was looking good until I tried to adjust the audio. With no easy way to determine decibel levels or easily adjust volume levels up and down with accurate consistency, I unfortunately had to go back to Premiere.
I just saw PD 11 was out, and got my hopes up that I could switch this time. It all looked promising, so I downloaded the trial. But once again it's a no-go.
1. The CTI (current time indicator) is so choppy when I play back a clip! At least on my Windows 8 PC. And that's even when there no video, just audio. It jumps like 4 frames at a time. If I'm playing back a video and trying to get a sense of video/audio timing, it's almost impossible with a jerky indicator. If I hold down , or . to go back and forth frame-by-frame, then even that is a lot smoother than simple playback. Very frustrating.
2. If I zoom in a bit on an audio clip to adjust the volume, the waveform disappears whenever I use ALT+Mousewheel to scroll left or right. Then only way I can bring the waveform back is to zoom out or actually click the left-right scrollbar at the bottom of the screen.
3. The audio adjustment seems to have improved but there still doesn't seem to be a decibel reference, so I can't relate my audio to any other professional program. How many decibels is my video below 0dB? I don't know. The default volume in PD is set at "50". Unfortunately this internal numbering means nothing to me if every other program I work with uses decibels as a reference.
4. With the default volume being "50" and I then add a single volume keyframe, it jumps to "51". I don't know why.
5. If I zoom in and click exactly on the CTI line at precisely where I want an audio volume keyframe, the keyframe almost never appears on the frame I wanted it on. It'll appear a frame or two (or even 4 frames) to the left.
6. In the Effect Room, the rotating flower preview stutters around like an old PC struggling to keep up. But I'm running an i7 with 8GB RAM and a GeForce 560GTX Ti.
This is just after 20min trying it out. I really wanted to like PowerDirector 11 as it looks like you guys have added some great features and kept things fresh - unlike Adobe's stale efforts. Oh well, fingers crossed for next time, and in the meantime I'll just have to keep searching.
Yes, I would also like to know about volume control. I've downloaded the trial version of PD 10, and was thinking of buying it when I realized the volume controls seem to be too basic for me to use.
When dropping music volume during a voiceover, there is no decibel reference to see if my points are actually level.
It looks like I have to manually line the timeline marker with each audio keyframe and type in the volume number in the Audio Room.
If I do that, and then add another keyframe next to it, the volume level changes with the new keyframe, so I have to enter the same value again to keep it level with the previous keyframe. It looks like it would be extremely tedious if I had to adjust the volume a number of times.
This is aggravating because PowerDirector looked so promising as an alternative for me to Premiere Pro.
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