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Hi, Dan!
Thereby hangs the problem with PD14! The requirement for internet access to complete an activation process which, in previous versions only required the typing in of the CD Key(and a few other details). I struck this upon installation of PD14 last November. I required the internet to complete the process because, with PD14, simply typing in the key is no longer enough(after filling out other details). PD7 and PD8 installed easily without the internet(When I first got PD7 I did not have the internet, when I got PD8 I had the net for only a year or so). That's something Cyberlink should get back to, ease of installation where internet access is unavailable. After all, the only real purpose of the registration is access to this website and forum. That can be gained at any time. I had PD7 for over a year(probably two years) before I had internet access and was finally able to register it, and all that did was give me access to this site and forum.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, all!
I've struck this "Encounter Improper Argument"(when is there a Proper argument? ha-ha) in PD14 when applying transitions. I have a standard length of transition, 5 seconds. If I'm editing something and a split is required(due do a scene change, or a change in camera position, or whichever reason), a transition is inserted at that split, but if another split is required inside four seconds of the previous, then the previously-inserted transition is removed and that 4 seconds of video is deleted. However, if the next split is 6 seconds away, I apply a transition at that second split, set it to cross(rather than overlap), then go back and insert the transition at the split 6 seconds earlier, this way I can avoid that "Improper Argument" and its accompanying "bonk" sound.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, all!
Based on the preceeding discussion, I will, if I spot NewBlue Titler Pro 4 offered for sale anywhere, I'll sidestep it and give it the "flick-pass". NewBlue Titler Pro 4 seems to be giving a lot of grief to several people and that's grief I can do without. I've got enough to deal with already. As an example, I opened PD14 and then pulled a video in and opened the Chapter room so I could properly explain the use of chapters in another thread. Now, when I pull anything into my timeline I immediately get an unwanted chapter marker at the start of the clip that I never got in previous uses of PD14, and I have no way of removing it. It's a pest! So while that situation is not the same as the problems generated by NewBlue Titler Pro 4, it is, nonetheless, still something I can well do without!
Cheers!
Neil.
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Neil
I am aware of that and this is why I have to know how to make one on my own.
Hello, Karab!
Your desire to create your own lens profile may be realised sometime in the future, probably in PD version 20 or so, but I honestly doubt it will turn up in PD15.
And Barry, your quip: "Now I'll go find a company whose R&D has the customers calling the shots so I can see them go out of business", I don't think any of us really want to "call the shots" as such, but based on what we've seen lacking in PD14(in my case, the ability to author at DVD-SP for 16:9 AR digital content, or analogue 4:3 which I converted to 16:9 through CLPV, for example), I think we'd like to see some features and methods of use reinstated that had proved useful in previous versions of Power Director.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Thanks Neil and Barry for your comments. I have loaded all my clips which unedited came to 2.25 hrs. On occasions during editing it down CyberLink hesitate and sometimes CL/Windows 7 would briefly display CL not responding but it would recover OK and I haven't lost any editing yet.
Hi, Eric!
Just a cautionary note here when dealing with lengths of time. If you type 2.25 hrs, I assume you're referring to 2 and a quarter hours, which translates to 2 hours, 15 minutes, it would have been better to write the time thus(2 hours, 15 minutes), as in calculating time, the dot is NOT a decimal point! Too often I see that dot misused in situations such as this. We're not dealing with decimal fractions here(sorry to seem pedantic, but it's a point[sorry, pun not intended] I need to get across). A minute is 60 seconds, not 100; an hour is 60 minutes, not 100. So to write(type) 2.25 is to say either 2 hours, 25 minutes, or 2 minutes, 25 seconds.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, PepsiMan!
Yep, I figured that train(and the loco that pulled it, most likely diesel) would be a museum piece by now, and here's the scary bit... it's 50 years this year since that record was issued on the Colgems label(US market) and RCA everywhere else. It might make a good subject for a video, you could put the song on the soundtrack, though not for public consumption, of course, unless you cleared it with Bertelsmann Music Group(who own the mechanical copyright[recording]) and BMI, who administer the publishing rights on behalf of Screen Gems Music Inc., even then, YouTube would "flag" it and give you some grief over the song's use.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, Eric!
For the purposes of content on disc, I've retained PD8 on my computer alongside PD14, the reason is because I can burn(author) a 4.7 GB DVD at DVD-SP and can accommodate close to 2 hours and 25(or slightly more) minutes on the disc. I found, to my dismay, that PD14 only offers DVD-HQ or "Smart Fit", the latter, I suspect, may "chop out" bits of my clips..... thoroughly undersirable! So, even though I'll edit in PD14, when it comes to authoring the disc, it's PD8 for me!
Cheers!
Neil
P.S. Picture quality's okay on a standard player and I don't get stutter and freezing either.
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Hi all!
Like SoNic67, I was also having my bit of fun with this one!(the printed attempt at slurred drunken speech, for instance). But you could have quite a lot of fun with $220 whichever nation's currency it's in(a night out on the town!) Buying software though, is a different matter. Exchange rates between countries have a huge bearing on the cost of, say, PD14in different markets. In US dollars it won't be too expensive, but here in Australia the product may come in at close to 150 bucks!.... Not cheap! Ouch!
Cheers!
Neil.
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Neil,
Cyberlink puts out a new version every year, they decide what is implemented, and if they try too much I suspect a ton of bugs and a whole bunch of upset people using it. Now then, if you want all the whizzbang stuff RIGHT NOW, you can drop uber $$$ for another pro-level NLE. I'll repeat myself just once, price and target audience. This is a great program at a great price, with this SUPERB forum of volunteers.
Hi, Barry!
I'm not after "whizz-bang"! I, like you, or many others in this forum, desire ease of use, so that we're not "bamboozled" by "bells & whistles" features that we're likely never to use. Your comment: They decide what is implemented sums it up neatly! Yes, it is them at Cyberlink who'll determine what goes into Power Director 15, and that's been what I've been trying(in my clumsy way) to say, all along. Our Polish friend, Karab44, wants "lens profiles", It's 99% likely he won't get that! All we can do now is wait for PD15 to surface, and read the packet to see what the new features are.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, Samuel L.(Sorlie)!
Thank's for the comments, I'm quite chuffed about the "direcor's chair" bit, nice touch! As Carl pointed out, and from other people's experiences of YouTube, they(YouTube) keep "flagging" any music that's heard on clips posted there, even personally-produced stuff like you're intending to use. YouTube are, apparently, becoming tyrannical about this, they'll even "flag" you if your video includes music inadvertantly caught playing on a nearby radio or CD/cassette player that your camera's microphone picked up by accident.
As you are intending to put your videos onto disc for viewing only by family and friends(which I also do), then you have escaped the "minefield" that is music copyright issues relating to home video clips. Honestly, YouTube really deserve a "kick up the arse" to make them wake up to themselves before they drive away all their contributing videographers.
Cheers!
Neil
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Hello, Pepsiman!
I'll knock a few of these over, piece by piece:
1) "sorry, you can't ride it. it is permanently parked at Commerce St & S 10th St. sightseeing is free." - I was having a little joke there(re: "Last Train To Clarkesville", which was the first hit record for The Monkees, no offence was intended).
2) "so show me, which analog video recorders had this magical NTSC 24Hz recording???" I was not referring to recording, I was referring to the power supply system, which is 117 volts at 60 hz, perhaps I guessed wrong at the number of "frames per second"
3) "sorry again, been there and done that" I may yet do this, to see for myself what DVD-HQ capture will do(I half-expect to prove myself correct, based on already trying DVD-SP capture). I went for DVD-LP capture because I saw for myself that I would get a reasonble quality "lift" from the tapes, which could later be "spruced up" using fix/enhance tools and the CLPV system, so I'll continue to use DVD-LP for VHS capture(or from any other tape-based system except for DV tapes....a friend of mine has a couple of those type of cameras, DVD-SP will be used for them).
That's it then. Just to be clear, I do have a few digital video cameras, two of which save to SD cards as MPEG2, the third gives me the option of either MP4 or AVCHD, I chose MP4, but, for the "capturing" of content from these cameras, no "capture card" is required. I either hook the cameras up to my computer and they behave like external hard-drives, or I extract the SD cards and insert those into a card reader, either way I copy the content to my internal hard-drive. For old VHS stuff I usually do this for friends(I've done several of my own tapes a few times over). I don't perform this service commercially(for any fee) I just do it for friends or family. I think it's safe to end this subject(thread) at this point.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, Spies12345!
You can do what you've asked about by setting chapter markers. Drop your MP4 clip onto the timeline, then click on the "chapter" room(identified by a film strip with 1,2,3 on it). Chapter 1 will always be at the very beginning of the clip(fixed, unalterable), as you view through your clip, you add new chapters by clicking on the C+ icon at the point you want(where the song begins) and continue to add at each successive point(where the next songs begin, in their turn). After adding your chapters, you go to Create Disc and choose your wanted menu style by clicking on "Menu Preferences" On PD14, which I'm basing these tips there is a missing element on some of the menu templates, and that is the provision to select how many "thumbnails" appear on the menu(that's obviously one for the "Suggestions For PD15" forum). As you cannot in PD14 choose how many thumbnails in a menu, as you're using PD13, look to see if you have the option in that version. I do have it in PD8 which is also on my computer. The only thing I can suggest is have an even number of chapters that can be divided by 2, 3 or 4(2, 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12). Hope this is of help.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hello Pepsiman!
Sorry, I prefer generic branded cola myself(ha-ha). I was just trying, as best as I could, to explain a method of getting that valuable content off the old VHS(or other format) tapes before they "croak". It's clear my experiences are at odds with yours and Jeff's(JL_JL). As I've said already(a few times now), if I try to capture from VHS using DVD-SP profile, I get an unwanted effect on the video of what appear to be "scan-lines", and though admittedly I haven't tried DVD-HQ profile for the capture, I would expect that same unwanted effect would manifest itself in the resultant "capture". It's by a bit of experimentation that I came across my desired result from using DVD-LP, where I DON'T get that unwanted effect on my video captures. Just to settle the argument, next time I do a VHS capture I'll do it using DVD-HQ, take a frame snapshot and post it here so you can see what I'm talking about.
As for not having "frames per second" in the boob tube days, of course they existed! Each scanned field represented one frame! in the vastly superior PAL colour system, a "field" consisted of 625 lines(nominal) scanned twice per each frame. In each frame, lines 1, 3, 5, and so on to line 625 would be scanned first, then lines 2, 4, 6, 8 and so on, to line 624 would be scanned, these two scans, first the odd, then the even, would occur in 1/25th of a second, thus giving the rate of 25 frames per second, in keeping with the frame rate for film. The number of lines and the frame rate were designed for countries that used the PAL system where their poser supply was fed at 240-250 volts/50 Hz, that included several Euro countries(that opted for PAL) Britain, Australia and New Zealand. The countries that went with the woefully inferior French SECAM system also used 240-250 volts/50 Hz so when those countries finally abandoned the SECAM system, PAL would just slot neatly into place. NTSC was built for a 117 volt/60 Hz power system so the frame rate would be slightly slower. 24 fps was probably chosen as it was 2-fifths of 60 so it neatly divided into the 60 Hz line frequency of the US power system. Why was PAL superior? Because the method had conquered the problems of "phase-shift" which caused the image on screen to go "negative"(red for green, black for white, brown for blue and so on). In the SECAM system, this happened when they switched cameras. it got so bad that French TV stations had to equip themselves with PAL-system cameras, VTRs, Telecine and other gear, then transcode the signal to SECAM at the final stage, the transmitter. That's why SECAM is such a woefully-bad, diabolical system. It was junk even when it was new!
Just wondering, noting where you live, if you ride the rails home, and you get home late at night, I guess that would put you on the "Last Train To Clarkesville"!... Sorry, just Monkee-ing around(not intending malice, you've probably heard this before in any case).
Cheers!
Neil.
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Beer?
Hi, Dante Andres!
"Hic!" aaah whaaaa.wazzzzerrrr quesssshhhion? (hic)" Seriously, depending on which currency, Australian, New Zealander, Canadian or American dollars, it could buy quite a bit! I expect you'll pocket some change after buying PD14. If you already have PD14, then 220 bucks could buy the latest Power DVD, Audio Director.... I don't think any Cyberlink product would exceed $US100.00(that's a decimal point in there, not a comma, okay!). Can't quite say the same about the Aussie dollar though!
Cheers!
Neil ("Hic.... burp!")
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Hi, Samuel L.
It's not so much you want to use these inbuilt music libraries, but rather, your own music. I don't know if you've been following the threads on SmartSound and some of its users who've been "flagged" for unjust copyright claims when the music was "licensed" for YouTube use. Your situation may mean you avoid such grief. The proceedure is simple enough, if you have a third-party audio recording programme(like Sound Forge or Cool Edit) and you have already produced your music in MP3 audio files,(or even WAV files), to bring your audio files into Power Director(any version) simply click on "Import Media"(or words to this effect, they vary from PD version to PD version). When you've imported all the music you want to use with your video, it's just a matter of dropping the wanted musical piece onto the Music track(indicated by two music notes). You can also put the music onto the narration track but if you require that track for its original purpose, but still need extra audio tracks, in PD9 through to 14, you can call up an extra 98 audio tracks(not that you'll ever need that many) or you can use the audio track directly under Video Track 2(indicated with a "speaker). To call up the extra audio tracks, click on "Track Manager"(shown as film with plus sign). There are any number of ways to add your music to a video. Hope this is of help.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hello, Barry!
You think my view is pessimistic? well, it is, because there's so much "gadgetry" on the market these days that if you asked yourself the question, "do I really NEED this stuff?", your likely answer would be "NO". Tech companies like Cyberlink, Pinnacle, Corel and others, enlist these people, whom I refer to as "Boffins", to dream up and bring to fruition all this whiz-bang technology that does just about everything short of making a decent cup of coffee and washing the cup afterwards(ha-ha). PD15 should really be held off for a year or two so people can get used to PD14 and its features. Whether any of the suggestions we've made find their way into PD15, I'm very doubtful, but we can but wait and see what transpires, but "don't hold your breath". It's more than likely that very, VERY few, if any of our suggested innovations or corrections would actually be implemented.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, Tomasc!
That's partly what I was trying to get at in relation to older VHS content. Just as an aside, in analogue TV, PAL's nominal field was 625 lines while NTSC's field(for "field" read, on-screen image) was 525 lines. The image would scan at 25 frames per second(PAL)or 24 fps(NTSC) and would scan odd lines first, then even lines. Each frame was built up in this fashion, 1-3-5-7-9-..... 625(or 525) then 2-4-6-8-10-.....624(or 524) for an individual frame, repeated 24 more times in one second for PAL or repeated 23 more times for NTSC. That aside, the older VHS content(tape playing at its normal speed) is best captured at DVD-LP. I found this by experimentation after attempting capture at DVD-SP setting, I noticed what looked like "scan-lines" in the captured clip. I tried DVD-SP in both PD14 and in PD8 and got the same unwanted effect. Resetting the capture profile in PD8 back to DVD-LP, I got the clean(as clean as I could get) image, without those "scan-lines", so I reset the capture profile to DVD-LP in PD14 when I used that to capture the content from another tape I was transferring to DVD for a friend, again I got the desired quality without those ugly "scan-lines". Upon finishing the captures, I "processed" them for later editing, or at least the PD8 capture was edited later(video of a private birthday party), the PD14-captured clip(a tourist island resort's promotional video) was processed(by processing, I mean, through fix/enhance, the contrast & brightness was tweaked, video denoise was applied, then the aspect ratio was converted via CLPV). The birthday clip was edited in a third-party software but brought back to PD8 for authoring. When I played the discs I'd made, they were stunning, that old content really scrubbed up well! This is what I was trying to do, and why I offered the tip. The tip was intended not for those who were using DV-format cameras, with those you would of course gravitate to the higher quality capture profile, I was aiming the tip to those who were looking to save their old VHS/Beta/Video-8/Hi-8 content and reserve same on DVD. Another aside here and I noted that if you dubbed Video-8 or Hi-8 content to VHS or Beta, you could use the resultant VHS or Beta tape as your "master" to capture into MPEG2. However, if you dub VHS(or even VHS-C) to VHS or Beta to Beta, or even from one to the other(VHS to Beta or vice-versa), the one-generation-removed tape will be "rubbish" for capturing to MPEG-2.
Those are just a couple of my experiences in dealing with video content from old tape-based formats.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, TotalFluke and Terminal!
I have to say that the transition effects in PD14 are working as they should for me. I suspect something might've been corrupted in your installation. Did either of you install PD14 from a packaged disc(retail market version) or from a download? The download might somehow have been corrupted. If disc, something may have been corrupted post-installation, have either of you used any upgrade patch? Try uninstall/re-install and see if this cures the problem(retail disc). As for a fresh download(in the possible event of a corrupted first download), I'll leave that for others to advise, but if your download was free of any corruption, then something might've happened within your respective computers to cause the corruption. Store your download elsewhere for the time being(on DVD or external drive) and run an anti-virus check on your internal drive(if you have AVG free edition, or Norton, or any other such software, give it a run and see if you can detect anything that might've caused the strange transition behaviour. If all is clear, re-install PD14(from disc or download). If in doubt, consult your regular computer technician, who may be able to help.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Hi, Jeff!
I think you may have missed my point ast to why I selected DVD-LP as the capture profile. After a bit of experimentation, I tried DVD-SP in botyh PD8and PD14, I noticed a queer effect on the captured video, what looked to be like scan-lines(in older analogue TVs). I was not happy with that result so I dumped the resultant captures without using them. Resetting my PD8 capture profile back to DVD-LP cured that problem, The resultant capture appeared without those strange-looking line effects, and so I proceeded to edit the video, after applying some "tweaking" of the contrast, a little tweaking of brightness, then adding a touch of the video denoise. The resultant video scrubbed up very well indeed after rendering in DVD-SP. There were two "clips" I worked on for a friend, one of which was a tourist island resort's promotional video, the other was my friend's "21st X 2" Birthday(read as: 42nd birthday ha-ha). The friend works at a local branch of the Newcastle Permanent Building Society(that's the equivalent of a "Savings & Loan" society in Britain, or, possibly, the USA). When I authored the tourist island video(which I converted to 16:9 aspect ratio from its origial 4:3), I played the disc on my DVD player.... Beautiful to watch! I did the Birthday vid in PD8 capture(DVD-LP) but edited in a third-party editing software. I did the tourist video in Power Director, PD14 for capture(DVD-LP) and edit, the edit was little more than putting a colour board at the beginning and end, cutting away the excess lead-in and putting a fade transition at the beginning and end of the video. The authoring to disc was done in PD8, so that I could author(burn) at DVD-SP, which is not available for 16:9 content in PD14. There you have it, Jeff.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Gee, Jeff! you're a bit harsh, there.
I was looking at those who've recently bought Power Director and have a stack of old tapes that they've waited a long time to convert to DVD, and have only just now had the where-with-all to do so. The end of your comment about the quality of the image, ".....and that by any current standard is terrible". tends to sell the analogue sytem a bit short. The old analogue stuff can, and will, with a bit of "tweaking", scrub up quite okay, especially when seen on LED screens. The electronics shops continue to market capture cards for just such a purpose as conversion of tape to disc and there are those out there who've been waiting for their opportunity to do exactly that. The software that comes with them is almost always a cut-down version of Power Director. I don't believe they expect their DVD copies to look as sharp as what the new digital cameras are capable of producing, but the software and hardware compinations being sold are capable of some surprising results all the same. My tip was intended to avoid seeing those "lines"(looking something like analogue TV scan lines) appearing on the screen. Capturing in both PD8 and PD14 at DVD-SP profile made those "lines" appear, but when I tried a new "capture" at DVD-LP profile, I got my desired result, and was able to produce a file that I could readily edit, after some tweaking of the contrast and brightness and a bit of video denoise in the fix/enhance module. The final produce came up looking quite good.
Cheers!
Neil.
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Morris F asked: "At what point will Cyberlink review and publish user requests for PD 15?" My answer is that it's more than likely they won't publish any of them! As for the suggestions we have made thus far, I'd be very surprised if even one suggestion made it into the final version of PD15.
Let's not kid ourselves. We've been making suggestions for PD15 through this thread for, what? 6 months or more? The "boffins" at Cyberlink are not going to take the slightest bit of heed to our suggestions, they'll cram PD15 full of what THEY think we want or need.
I think this thread will turn out to be a futile execise. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm 99.98% sure I'm right.
Cheers!
Neil
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