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You may have to run a registry cleaner.
Do a Google search for "Wise Registry Cleaner", download, install, and run it.
This is a free program and on my system does an excellent job of quickly cleaning up my registry.
Uninstalling a program may remove it from your system but will often leave some info in Windows Registry and that may be where your system tells you the trial version is still installed.
Hope this helps. Post your results here.
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James,
Don't judge the quality of the render by playing back in Power Director, judge by playing it back using an appropriate player.
For instance if you rendered to an HD WMV file, play it back in Windows Media Player. The results should be VERY GOOD.
Video almost never looks very good in an editing program unless that editing program has some provision for high quality playback.
It does sound like you system will handle it.
I recently picked up Western Digitals new hardware media player that has USB input and outputs to HD TV on HDMI. This is one amazing way for us to now view our edited HD video content. Look for my post on it in a separate thread.
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Isabel,
I had the exact problem you describe. I have a Dell XPS 420 with Intel Core 2 Quad core Q6600 processor running at 2.4Ghz, 4 GB RAM, and an ATI Radeon HD 4200 XT graphics card.
I could hear the audio but the video window was blank when trying to play from the timeline. Sometimes when viewing media clips individually from the collection above the timeline, video would play but not from the timeline.
The culprit was the ATI graphics card. The 256MB memory on the graphics card was not enough.
I replaced the ATI card with an Nvidia GeForce 8800GT that had 512MB of memory and that solved the problem.
I was attempting to edit AVCHD from the Canon HF100.
If you would post the specs on your XPS 420 here, others may have suggestions to offer.
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Quote:
can someone please answer my questions of what GPU transcoding is supposed to do...
1. Is ATIs transcoding only goint to help me to convert the avchd movie to a easier editing format as mpeg2.
2. Or am I going to have faster rendering time using my original avchd-files (cutting, joining, adding effects, adding sound)
3. Have i totally misunderstood what ATI is goint to do, and the ATI patch is not going to replace the need for a faster computer.
I don't believe graphics acceleration is going to replace the need for a faster computer.
I have a computer with a quad core processer at 2.4Ghz and with the software I used to use (the last 2 versions of which support AVCHD without transcoding) that processor speed was too slow and caused problems plus long rendering times. The lack of enough processor speed caused the NLE to have to shut off graphics card acceleration and that caused no end of editing inconveniences and problems.
Power Director is noticeably less demanding of computer resources (and has cut my HD rendering times to about 25% of what the other NLE did) but when I tried to use it on a dual core computer that met the minimum specs performance was very dicey.
No matter which way you slice it, whatever graphics card resources you have, AVCHD at 17Mbps bitrate or higher will likely require either a fast quad core (2.66Ghz as a bare minimum) or an extremely fast dual core.
I don't see any way out of a serious computer upgrade/replacement.
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If you have the original captured video on that old hard drive you could import it as media into PD7 and at least be able to re-edit. Or use PD7 to capture from the original tapes if you still have them.
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Very well done!
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In Studio 9 with your project on the timeline, go to the "Make Movie" tab and once there select create file. Select full size AVI and render out to an AVI file, it may be pretty large (On typical 3 minute video challenge projects mine would turn out to be 600-700MB.
Copy this AVI over to the laptop into a folder where you can import it in PowerDirector as media, and drag it down to the timeline. You will then be able to continue working on it and edit it although all your titles and transitions will be "hard rendered" into place.
I haven't tried scene detection (I converted from tape to flash memory gear and no longer have to "capture") but if the imported AVI media can be treated as if it were a captured file you may be able to run scene detection on it and then be able to drag 'n drop individual clips.
I started with Pinnacle StudioDV and upgraded to 7, then 8, 9, 10, and 11 then recently purchased 12. While I still use it, I'm moving more and more to PowerDirector. You'll find PD7 to be quite an "upgrade" over Studio 9.
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Quote:
and while I considered adding a color board to the beginning to "take up" that first chapter space....doing so would require that all pips/titles/music etc. be moved and until I can find a way to make that happen as a GROUP.....I chose not to mess with the timeline.
You must have your tracks unlocked somehow. I just took the current project I'm working on and dropped color boards at the beginning and in various other places.
In all instances music, PiP, titles, etc. all shifted position to remain with the main video track clips they were with.
I don't have time right now to go dig up where you lock or unlock tracks right now as I'm taking a brief break from that current project but that's part of your problem.
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Boris,
I can give you a bit more specific information. A couple of HP machines with dual core 4200+ and 5000+ processors handled HDV from a Canon HV20 OK but nowhere near as fast as I was used to editing standard DV and miniDV. The rendering process (Produce or Create Disk in PD7) was somewhat slow, though, and if more than one "effect" was added to some clips rendering those took a lot longer.
When I started using Canon HF100's (AVCHD) things took on a whole different aspect. The HP dual core 5000+ could just barely do it if the camera quality setting was taken down from 1920x1080 to 1440x1080 but was agonizingly slow and for me unworkable.
My (then) new quad core Q6600 2.4Ghz would not edit 1920x1080 until I replaced the video card with an Nvidia GeForece 8800GT 512MB one. Of the two pieces of software I've been working with, PD7 Ultra seems to be a bit less demanding of computer resources.
I consider the quad core I have now as just barely adequate for the HF100's files but I need to find out from Dell what the fastest quad core processor I can put on my current mother board would be. I sure wish what I have was a lot lot faster.
So that's where I come from when I say I'd go for the very fastest I could make myself afford.
I guess at 70 I'm just a kid to you...Hope my info is useful to you.
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Go to Control Panel (select Control Panel Home if not already there) and find the Programs icon. Double click on "Uninstall a Program", then find Power Director.
Uninstall it and then exit the Control Panel and run your Registry Cleaner again and that should do it.
The registry cleaner doesn't uninstall things, just cleans up leftover registry data and inconsistencies.
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Nina, I have one suggestion. For this, your first project, you might do what I have to do for now and find a menu template you can "live with" and try to modify it for your purposes.
If none of the supplied templates are close to what you want, the Director Zone has many that can be downloaded.
PD has a very "quirky" setup in that the menu edit function will let you add text but not edit any that originally exists in the template.
You have to be in the "create disk" mode to change something like "My Videos" to whatever the title of your project is. And there will be 2 or 3 menu pages that will need editing.
I realize this is not the answer you wanted but I hope this gets you started.
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I have an Intel Q6600 quad core 2.4Ghz processor in my editing machine and am running a test render to a 1280x720 WMV file right now. Task manager Performance shows 4 cores at work running 67-80%.
I'd still get the very fastest quad core I could, something faster than what I have to cover for future developments and even higher bitrates.
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Steve:
Couple of things apply here. The timeline preview is almost always going to be "soft". There is a "media" window in which the video image will be shown sharper than the timeline, click on the "screen" symbol next to the speaker icon below the preview window to get this media player.
When you put material on the timeline there are a lot of things going on in the way of "processing" that probably take a lot of "resources" and none of the NLE's I've worked with had a really sharp timeline image.
When you render (produce) to a finished form, almost nothing is going to look as good as your TV can show. Regular DVD is standard definition not high definition and it is not going to have the same resolution as your still images. Blu-ray will come a lot closer if you have that capability and can play it back on a BD player.
Dafydd's suggestion of 720p should show your final "render" fairly sharp and while I am editing a project in PowerDirector I stop from time to time and do a render to 1280x720p WMV just to get an idea of how the image is going to look in high def.
Hope this helps some.
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The title function doesn't do it.
You do it. At the time you make the recording you write down the date and any other information you may need later like location, scene and take number (if you're working from a script or storyboard), and any other pertinent data.
A convenient way to do this is to write it down on "director's slate" and "film" that for a few seconds at the start of each "take".
The title function in PowerDirector is a way for you to display any of that information you feel your viewers need. One example in a short I did on Ft. Chadbourne as the cavalry rode slowly towards the camera I had a title on the lower part of the screen that said, "1867 - Patrol out of Ft. Chadbourne". This showed for about 4 seconds as the cavalry re-enactors rode past the camera.
I thought something like that was what you meant. I guess all you wanted is to be able to read the data. I saw something about a software utility that was able to display some of that data, try some Google searches and see what turns up.
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Sounds like some memory buffer's not being cleared.
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You can enter the date in scenes with the title function. I recently started "slating" most scenes with info I like to have available with a $16.95 white acrylic slate that has no clapboards attached. Got it from B&H, search for Birns & Sawyer. Small enough to fit in most mid size video bags this is great for organizing your shoot by scenes.
Anyway assuming you make some record of the date and location you can easily put this info at the bottom of the fram with the title track function. Like in some feature length movies: "36 hours earlier", "West Texas", "1871", you get the idea.
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See your other thread on this.
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Folks, no one is trying to "not share" with you.
Just a couple days ago I "stumbled" on a few things while trying to "feel" my way through using the template with one video frame and 2 "items".
One: The edit mode appears to allow you to add text but not edit existing text. It may allow you add other things but I don't have time to go play with that now.
Two: Editing of existing text on the menu template must be done in the non edit mode (can't remember if it's called "review" or what but you can play and test video and menu function there. You can edit the existing menu template text there and you can set where you want the video showing in menu "window" by positioning the "scrubber" (the vertical line you move through the video with) where you want the few seconds of video in that window to start.
And there is a second menu page that needs the text edited. It will show when your video program reaches the end. And there may be a third "end" page I haven't found yet.
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Seems like all I had to do was position the "scrubber" on the point on the timeline where I wanted the video to appear in the frame on one of the menu templates. I can't remember which mode I was in, the review mode or edit mode, but it works both for the main menu and the Item 1 menu.
The program when burned to disk showed the video in a frame on the right of the menu screen and the video played for several seconds from the start point I had indicated with the "scrubber". Item 1 I had renamed to "Play Program", when I clicked on that the program started at the beginning and played through. Then when the program finished it went to a second menu page that had the image on the left now and the Item 1 command as the only one visible. The motion video played on the menu same as before.
I found this while "feeling it out". My problem is I had started the editing in build 1915 and know better than to run an update patch until done. When finished I got bit by two bugs at least one of which 2105 fixes. But I cannot use the edit I finished in 1915 because the audio got out of sync.
So I get to follow my own advice to others and start over.
My point is you don't see me posting "bellyaching". I look for ways to press on and get my video done.
I do apologized for not catching what your problem was and offering the solution I just described, but I am just another forum user and often buried with one or two video projects.
Maybe the best advice is this:
"Smash forehead against keyboard to continue"
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Quote:
Hi Cranston,
Paint.NET, this is a free photo editing program and contains most of the functions of Adobe, Ulead, etc. albeit to a lessor extent of options.
It is a very good free program, it has most of the standard functions, including layers, masks, transparencies, lasso, so give it a try, it won't cost you anything other than some time.
Robert
That is useful for me to know. I have to keep evaluating stuff like FastStone and Picasa (both also free) for our photo club members here and while it's amazing what they do neither has layers, masks, or the other tools you mention. Looks like I need to grab that one from the editor's stuff and evaluate it for the non video folks I wind up advising.
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Seems like I got Photo Now bundled with something a few years ago. Had to classify it as one of those "not for me" photo editing programs.
I had an old version of Photoshop 3 I got cheap and when the air force photo lab I worked in converted to digital we had version 5. I got Photoshop Elements 2.0 bundled with a Canon 300D, and purchased Elements 5 when it came out. Version 6 came pre-installed on both a Dell desktop and a Dell laptop so I'm spoiled.
Look on ebay and see if version Photoshop 5 Elements is available at dropping prices now that 7 is being released.
In any Photoshop Elements version you can get right down to the pixel level if you have to, you can work with layers and all sorts of easy goodies that none of the others can touch.
Just my thoughts.
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