Messages posted by Larkascending

PepsiMan,

I just wanted to say, thanks very much again for all this info.

Some things came up to fully occupy my time and I am now just beginning to trawl through a lot of reading around what you've advised, as well as going off on many tangents to provide additional learning and relevant insights to it all.
There is obviously a lot to it! I'm getting a lot better informed, but wow, there's a long way to go still.

Cheers for your help.

Thank you.

I will read through all this asap.

Thank you for your time and advice, PepsiMan.

I will look into all this asap.

Dear forum members,

Powerdirector version used: 14.0.1931.0
SR no: VDE150629-01
Running on Windows 10 Home edition.

I need to purchase a new desktop PC, but seriously need some of your kind advice!

It will be used to run Powerdirector (as above) and aside from that just to watch iplayer, browse the web etc.
The video editing capability is my priority, and I’m assuming the PC will then be easily capable of the other, but please correct me wherever I’m wrong here.
More (hopefully relevant) details follow about where I’m at with this (sorry this is not very brief!):

I’m thinking of going with a self-build, (perhaps from Novatech, owing to good all-round customer reviews from Which?)
Going the self-build route seems to make sense, but throws up so many questions - I’m not a ‘techie’ person in general so I’ve been doing a lot of learning, which it’s obvious could go on forever.
Perhaps I’m worrying too much about details beyond my understanding, but though I feel I’ve read a lot I still don’t feel qualified to make the necessary decisions. It’s hard to know which bits not to worry about, if there are any!
I’d like to spend about £500 max on the PC itself (ideally less), since I need also to buy a monitor, keyboard and OS. My budget really couldn’t stretch much above this. My attempts at the self-build so far are coming out at a higher price. Perhaps for my needs I could get by with a much more basic desktop?

Importantly, I want to ensure my desktop PC will, at the least, outperform my laptop for the editing, which is an HP Notebook, I’ve attached a screenshot showing the specs for this.
The laptop cost £370-ish when new two years ago, and of course being a laptop that includes monitor, keyboard and OS in the price, which a self-build desktop doesn’t. I have made some videos on this laptop. It just about copes with what I’m doing come the finished project, but will crash if I don’t perform each operation slowly, allowing it time to catch up.
My videos are probably not very complicated in terms of what Powerdirector is capable of. (I’m making films of how to paint watercolours!)

I’m given to believe that if I spend as much on a desktop as a laptop then in general it should be at least as good or better in terms of performance/processing ability. But this must be a generalisation, and I guess I can’t assume it to be true regarding video editing needs.
It seems my laptop is actually pretty good (for a laptop, and at that price) for the job, as indeed to shop assistant told me at the time.

In terms of a self-build, I’m tempted to want:
An SSD, say of 240GB
An HDD of just one TB, and store mainly on a couple of external H Drives as backups anyway. In fact I’m tempted to save money here and not even have an HDD, just the SSD. Bad idea?
The processor - I’ve read a lot about them but still feel unqualified to make a decision from the ones available if I go with a self-build.
An Intel core i3, or perhaps i5. Good idea or not?? Perhaps I don’t need such a good one as an i5 for my needs. Or even the i3!
Then there are the AMD options….?
I am thinking I will not need Blu-ray capability.

One specific question regarding using Powerdirector 14 on the PC:
Do i need a processor that is made for ‘multi-threading’, or ‘single threading’ to use Powerdirector 14? My understanding of this term is not clear at all, but is it the case that individual software uses either one or the other ?

I need to keep the price down, but when googling for ‘Video editing PC’ (i.e. finding a shop-ready PC rather than self-building) the results are mainly way above my budget, presumably aiming at those doing projects more professional and complex than I am.
A lot are also in fact PCs built mainly for gaming, which I do none of. The latter have a high Graphics spec perhaps making up a lot of the cost, which I’ve read is not very important for video editing.

Any advice on anything here would be very much appreciated!
Please let me know if I need to provide more info of any type.

Thank you very much in advance.

Quote The low speed is more suitable for burning

THanks!

Quote You need to insert a blank disc in the drive first. Windows can then determine the type and speed of optical medium in the drive. A short time after the spinning stops, it is in then you can set the appropriate speed allowed for the medium in PD14 or any other software.

Let us know if this solves the problem.

Hi Tomasc,

Thank you. I think you're right. I must have not put the disc into the drive until after I looked at the burn speed drop-down menu. I've just tried it again now with a blank disc in the drive and there are now options. It's a 16x disc, and the options I get are 8x and downwards. I'm guessing this is because the drive can't go as fast as 16x (?).Anyway, that's okay.

Thanks v much again.

Jem

Quote This is a new one on me! Has the drive worked normally in the past? Have you previously been able to select a range of burn speeds. To be offered only 24x when using 16x blank media indicates something badly wrong. Can you post the output from dxdiag from your laptop and that may give some clue and also a screenshot of what you're seeing in the burn dialogue.

p.s. - you don't say but are you on Windows10? I wonder if this is part of the aftermath of Microsoft's recent updates. If so, a system restore might just be in order.

Hi again,

Thanks once again for your help.

I am on Windows 10, and I think Tomasc has just identified the problem.

I really appreciate your time.

What I must have done is not put the disc into the drive until after I looked at the burn speed drop-down menu.

I've just tried it again now with a blank disc in the drive and there are now options. It's a 16x disc, and the options I get are 8x and downwards. I'm guessing this is because the drive can't go as fast as 16x (?).

Anyway, that's okay.

Thanks v much again.

Hi Longedge, and thank you for your reply.

Yes, your screenshot shows exactly the right page. Where you have that list of options I simply have '24' defaulting at the top and when I click on the drop down I just get the (only other) option of '0' !

It's as if my laptop built in dvd burner drive will only burn at one speed, that being 24.

I've also just opened up Power2go 8 and in the options there I only have 'maximum' - no others to choose from in the relevant dropdown menu.

I wondered if there may be somewhere on my PC itself I need to go to change some settings?

THanks again if you have any suggestions at all.

All the best,

Jem

Quote Hello Larkascending and welcome to the forum.

That doesn't right at all, I see a full range of burn speed options (see screenshot). How about posting a shot of what you're seeing onscreen.

Hi.

I can't find the answer to this anywhere so would really appreciate anyone's help.

Using Powerdirector 14, and when I click on 'Burn in 2D' and then the Burn Settings icon, the 'Recording Speed' drop down menu only gives me '24' or '0' to choose from. No other speed options.

I'm actually using 16x discs, and they are coming out okay, but I keep reading about how slower burn speeds can lead to better, more reliable burns. I'd like to burn more slowly, as I'm going to be selling these discs and want them to be reliable, but there doesn't seem to be any option to.

Is this just me/my laptop burner? (Is is normal not to be able to choose a lower speed? I've not come across anyone apparently with this issue so far.)

Thank you very much for any ideas.