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Thanks, HDedit. Computer-wise I've dealt with lots of things, but not video, so my knowledge in that area is admittedly limited. Six 64-bit cores I have; bigger memory I need; and better OS, too. Thank you, everyone, for tips! Much appreciated.
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Does anyone know if there's a noticeable difference in PowerDirector performance under 64-bit XP, compared to 32-bit? If so, I'd be happy to spring for the 64-bit version (if it's still available). Presumably that would enable me to increase RAM. I shell out to Microsoft as little as possible. Scrooge at Christmas isn't as bad, as I am, toward Bill Gates' company. Only if I absolutely need to. If I could, I'd pay them in counterfeit currency, or Monopoly money. But..seems like a shell out to them is becoming a necessity. Ow!
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Okay, two solutions offered. I will prudently untick the "MAKE YOUR DAY A PROBLEM" box. (Maybe what it ought to be called. Or something like IF YOU WANT THIS PROGRAM TO RUN LIKE A SNAIL...check this box.) : And...install more memory!! Thank you for the suggestions, gentlemen.
I am ticked today - a bit grouchy - because Peter O'Toole died yesterday and he never won an Oscar, despite eight nominations. So....it's been a 'grrrr' kinda day, just to explain my mood. He was a brilliant actor. Academy ought to be ashamed. Maybe what's been offered here will cure my headache. Thank you!
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Snarkiness? I've offered an honest report on what I've seen. Task Manager says that simply trying to get scenes moved from one place to another, within the program - a very simple task, one would think! - it's eating up fully 16% of a six core processor, and program gets real busy reading AT LEAST A BILLION BYTES! Are you suggesting that the XP Task Manager is lying?
Because it would have to lie to me, for me to be NOT correct. You want it to be my problem. It isn't. The program gets busy - for a long time - reading ALL KINDS of data, to do one simple task. Evidently you don't want to hear criticism. Perfect program, as it is? Not so!
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I think the way PowerDirector operates needs fundamentally rethought. I'm using the latest version, 12.0.2230.0. I don't believe the extreme sluggishness I've seen in your program is due to my computer (AMD Phenom II 1055T processor with six cores, plenty powerful), or video chip (ATI Radion HD 4290), also close to state-of-the-art. I'm running XP, with all updates. It's a fast machine with 4GB RAM.
Import video file into library: fast, as it should be, roughly a second; no complaint. Detect scenes: PowerDirector takes its sweet time, but it does a very good job of that. No complaint.
But beyond that...after scene detection....once one clicks on OK...to me everything seems frightfully DUMB. It takes SEVERAL MINUTES to import the detected scenes into the library. I can see from Task Manager: PD12 starts moving massive chunks of data, hundreds of millions if not billions of bytes...instead of simply moving/manipulating pointers to data locations and the icons that represent the first frame of each of the detected scene. It should NOT be moving anything but a tiny amount of data to the library, in moving scenes there. There is absolutely NO REASON for it to start moving massive chunks of data at that point!
It should be working ONLY with pointers to data locations! So it should be done that simple task of letting me see the scenes in the library, in only about ONE SECOND. Instead of taking a truly ponderous several MINUTES. It should do it as fast as Windows allows one to move icons from one folder to another, on the same drive. That's generally very quick.
Moving the scenes from the library to the storyboard: again it does DUMB; again it apparently starts moving MASSIVE CHUNKS OF DATA. (For a second time.) There is again NO REASON for it to be doing that. Again it should be moving only pointers to data and small images representing scenes. That would be the fast, smart way.
But the ultimate in stupid is when it FINALLY has all the scenes in the storyboard, and I select an output format. Just clicking on one of those format buttons - without asking to produce anything! - results in more BUSY BUSY BUSY, for several MINUTES, with program seeming to be LOCKED UP. I'm not asking it to produce anything yet! I just want to see the output file size. I don't get a chance to select another format button or do anything, then. It's locked up.
So I'm finding using PowerDirector to be very time-consuming and very frustrating. I'm a programmer with long experience. So I can sense the dumb methods being used. Nothing slick about the methods used. Otherwise, the most simple operations would happen fast, instead of taking a discouraging many minutes.
If I was writing a program like yours, I'd move and manipulate only POINTERS to the data, and visual representions of them, not the actual data itself. Pointers to either locations within the source file, or to some derived form of it. That's the elegant, fast way. Blink your eyes and it's done. CyberLink's way of doing things, it's more go for a walk and maybe it'll be done when you get back.
I'm not doing anything fancy. I'm using only the most basic functions: selecting scenes. Wanting to lose a few, then produce a file with those scenes at the beginning and end gone. No magic or fancy anything. I'm finding that instead of taking only five minutes, after scene detection, as it should take, editing is taking a whopping long time (like OVER AN HOUR). (That's assuming it hasn't crashed. I've seen it crash several times, too).
I don't believe there is any valid reason for the extreme sluggishness, other than poor methods used. So please re-think your methods, and offer a video editor that is much faster in terms of setting up to Produce. Start using POINTERS to the data, instead of the data itself! Pointers can be manipulated in less than the blink of an eye. Then moving scenes from one place to another within the program would be fast, instead of outrageously slow.
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