Messages posted by Old Blugger

The matter seems to have an explanation.

I mentioned the problem to an IT nerd acquaintance who said he’d check the card for me. He reckons that I’ve bought a clone. The lettering is wrong on the card, and the connections are ‘crude’. He reckoned that’s probably why the auto driver update wasn’t working. It seems that one of the outputs was faulty as well, although I didn't use it for the VDU screen I was viewing PowerDirector on.

I’ll stick with the on-board Radeon graphics. It runs both screens at 1920 and the preview at HD without any hanging. My pet nerd reckons that at 32gb RAM, it should cope without problems. Any advice from the knowledgeable gratefully received though.

I bought the card from a well-known online multi-national retailer at just a little below the going rate; no more than 10% I’m sure. It wasn’t cheap though. I’m irritated that I have been conned, although only to an extent I suppose. I’ve had good use of it for some years. I’m still irritated though.

It’s the old adage: buy something that costs 10% more than the going rate, and you’ve lost 9.09% of the price you paid. Pay 90% and you might lose 100%.

Thanks for all your help. My problem has been solved, and that’s a big positive. I've had a look at advice on these forums for a suitable graphics card for PD and there is no consensus, so if it works, stick with it I suppose.

Thanks again.

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That's a little odd that a Ryzen 3 2200G can't decode fast enough for HD preview, obvisouly a GT710 may suffer depending on video source quality. As such, could you post 3 pics:
1) A pic of the pref > Hardware Acceleration settings that you currently are using when you have the issue
2) a video properties of your source media in the library so one can see the format, bitrate, resolution, fps and such
3) a pic after clicking the PowerDirector in the upper right hand corner so one can verify Nvidia GPU is being used since you've gone through some display configuration changes

Are both displays being driven off your GT710?

Have you done anything to the video in the timeline, color adjustment or the like?

If the situation is understood a little better maybe you can have HD preview which is usually a little nicer to timeline edit with for clarity.

Jeff

Hi, Jeff,

Thanks for your reply. I tried to get info from the NVidea 'experience' software but it just wouldn't run. I've got an auto-updater so one assumes everything's up to date. I've disabled it and opted for the on-board Radeon graphics. I no longer had the difficulties I experienced before in HD.

The displays in the windows of subroutines, such as keyframes, could also hestitate a bit and that has ceased.

I've since remembered that I've had problems with the NVidea drivers after a WIN10 update.

On the NVidea website there are no drivers shown for my card. It is not in its first flush of youth, but is not what I would call old. The website shows no available drivers for my card.

Thanks for your help, Jeff. I appreciate it.

Quote I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you're seeing.

I can't tell if you're working with PD on a single monitor or on both (running on both with the preview resolution set to Full HD quality will often result in a lag). I also don't know what you're actually doing with keyframes when you experience the problem.

Keyframes are used in many different situations, and while most of them won't require a ton of processing before updating the display, some of them do.

It would be most helpful if you could use the Screen Recorder 2 app that comes with PD365 and capture what you're seeing, and then upload it to YouTube or Google Drive and paste the link to it here. That way, we can see exactly what you're doing and can then assist with any necessary settings adjustments or suggest a change in workflow to smooth things out.

Thanks for the reply. I've just cracked it. It was what you suggested.

The problem was indeed that the preview window was running in HD. I assume this is the default for 365. On PD15, my previous one, it must have been running at lower definition as I didn't experience anything similar whilst running that.

Such solutions are normally obvious, but only after you've discovered it.

Thanks again for your help. I appreciate it. It was really beginning to irritate.

I've a twin display of 24" VDUs, each 1920 x 1080. AMD Ryzen 3 2200G Quad Core 3.7GHz VEGA Graphics, Asus A320M-K Motherboard. Due to a conflict with software, I disabled the on-board graphics and went with NVidea GeForce GT710 2GB RAM. Everything up to date, including video driver.

I've got no non-essential background programmes, and have no browsers open. I am connected to the internet; BT SuperFast broadband.

I've recently subscribed to 365 and am trying out various functions, now onto keyframes.

When editing, the display 'hangs' for a few seconds when on a keyframe with a video background.

Is this normal? Have I some conflict? Is there a workaround? Do I have to upgrade?

Quote

"You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment" - Francis Urquhart, House of Cards.

I've come to the conclusion that I will opt for the subscription option. It comes out cheaper in the short term, and I can always bail out after a year if it doesn't suit. I'm upgrading my laptop (PCI SSD for the operating system, leaving my SATA SSD for storage) and I'll buy 365 once I've done it.

I feel as if I've been beaten into compliance. Mind you, Resolve was too GPU hungry for my laptop.

I did some research on restrictions on software. There were some interesting results, but none directly relevant to this problem. You learn something every day. The restrictions on OEM for MS Office have been successfully challenged, and some time ago. I must try to keep up.

So 365 for me in a week or so.

Again, thanks for everyone's kind help on the matter.

Quote
PowerDirector Moderator

I appreciate your post.

Going back to my previous incarnation as interpreter of statutes for, in effect, compliance, I would suggest that the EULA is open to interpretation.

Your ‘safe position’ option would be one that I would include in any of my reports. My role was mainly to be the ‘he said’ person to blame if it all went wrong, and I did my best to avoid being in that position. However, in the report I’d also include howevers. If there were conflicting paragraphs that were not clarified elsewhere in a document or legislation, then I would point that out. A 'fill your boots' gift.

The paragraph you quoted does not specify a specific number, but merely refers to a licence. Look to the licence and it is delightfully vague. I am all for complying to the letter of the law, or regulations. Anything else, given my previous role, would be mean-spirited to say the least. It leads to my original question; what is the letter of the law?

When looking for clarification I remember reading on the Cyberlink PD website that the subscription model is for one computer only. That was the only time a number was mentioned. Yet I have been told it is for two computers.

I do not have the expertise of a civil lawyer, but I have been involved in defending a report, not mine, in a threatened legal action. Contradiction is what we were looking for.

I’d suggest Cyberlink might struggle.

As I say, not sticking to the letter of the law is something of an anathema to me. Guilt would ruin any pleasure of saving money. If Cyberlink can’t be bothered to be clear and precise in their desires, one might, perhaps, wonder if they know themselves. I can’t think that they’d be particularly bothered by two devices for an amateur who spends a few weekend away each year. If they did, wouldn’t they have made sure their terms of use were clear?

Thanks for all the comments. Lots to think about as well as making interesting reading.

The EULA contains 2240 words and five hotlinks. I understand the purpose is to ward off predatory legal challenges, but it doesn't help the user. Does anyone read and, critically, understand such documents? I used to write articles on the interpretation of statutes yet I find much of Cyberlink's efforts bemusing. Writing it in English, even the American kind, would be a great aid. Legalese is jargon. There should be a plain English version, one without seemingly ranDOm capital letters, for the rest of us. Grammar is vital for clear communication.

One paragraph tells us:

License Types:
**INDIVIDUAL CONSUMER
If you acquire the SOFTWARE under an individual license it is for your own use under the general terms above.

Putting it on two computers, both wholly owned by me, and the software being used only by me, would comply with that requirement.

But elsewhere I find that this statement might well be imprecise.

I find it irritating, although this is not, of course, unique to Cyberlink, when I've bought something that has such restrictive conditions for use. Often, when such restrictions are challenged, the courts reject them, but the likes of me (some customers expect £40 per 1000 words), daliance in the civil courts is a luxury that is denied. I can understand the desire to protect a product, but to demand buying an item twice is milking it a bit. You would not buy a car that would only take you south and east. If you wanted to travel north or west and the company said you'd have to buy another car, I could, in all probability, predict your response.

I probably will stay with my present set-up of PD on desktop and Resolve on laptop, despite the latter being a bit of a strain on the laptop's CPU, but I might not be happy about it. It also puts me off upgrading to an extent.

A small point; it is called an end user licencence agreement. I think the final word is a misdirection. It is a 'take it or leave it' situation. There's no input from the end user. Directive would be much more accurate.

I've had my whinge. Thanks to everyone who took the trouble to reply. The community in PD is one of its biggest draws.

Thanks for your reply and suggestions.

My needs are specific. I write web content and write and publish ebooks. I use video to become known and support my publications. I edit my videos on desktop using PD15. I spend weekends away; two in the last month – four days last weekend. I’ll do seven weekends by September. Rather than spend money at the bar, I take time to prepare any video that I’ve taken but, without a compatible video editor, all I’m doing is experiment. It wastes time. I use a freebie video editor on my laptop at the moment – Resolve.

What I want to do is to edit some of the video before returning home, then complete the job on my desktop. To go with a new PD on my laptop would mean the prime software would be on the portable. From what I’ve read and seen, there are differences between 15 and 17. Further, if I did not use the new facilities, it’d be a bit of a waste. I assume I would want to upgrade from PD15 Ultimate, so adding to the costs. Are they 100% compatible?

I could install 17 on the desktop and my current 15 on the laptop. Hadn't considered that.

I’ve got Affinity Designer, Photo and, recently, Publisher; their licence allows me to put the software on desktop, my powerful laptop and the ‘spare’.

I’ve not made up my mind what to do, but money has to play an important part in the process.

Thanks,

Derek

Quote If you buy the perpetual (lifetime, or standalone) license, you're only allowed to install PD on a single computer. In your case, to comply with the license terms, you'd need to buy 2 licenses.

If you buy the subscription version, you are allowed to install the program on more than one computer provided that you don't operate them simultaneously.

Thanks for your clear reply. It's not what I wanted to hear of course. Not only am I not a fan of subscription, but it is irritating that the licence conditions are not equal across the two types of plan.

For me, the cost of using PD on two computers. circa £170 with an upgrade and also the purchase of a new licence, means some serious consideration.

Derek

I've read, and reread, the licence agreement for Power Director but have ended up none the wiser, and no better informed.

How many computers can I install the programme on?

I have it on my desktop, but would also like it on my laptop. It's not for business, so personal use, and the only person to use my desktop is me. My wife occasionally uses my laptop for browsing.

If it is only one, can I buy a two-computer licence?

Thanks