Hi NickMalone,

Sorry to hear you are having problems. I have never had an issue like you describe.

Can you import the sample clips that come with Power Director? They should appear when you open PD unless you have turned off that option in your preferences. If you are able to load the sample clips onto the timeline then I would focus on the clips you were using as the potential cause of the problem. What kind of video clips are they? From what video camera? or downloaded from the Web? Can you tell us more about them? What is the frame rate and resolution. More information would help tremendously. You can download an application called Media Info that will give you all the information regarding your video clips.

Also a huge factor with stability is the specifications of your hardware. The Dell you mentioned can be equipped in a variety of ways. What is the graphic card that you have installed on your laptop?

Kevin
Check out PDtoots. PowerDirector Tutorials and more! Over 5,000 Subscribers.

What are your camera specs. and file format, please add your camera

http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/8727.page

Add your computer specs

http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/8445.page

Attach a Dxdiag

Robert Intel i7 930, 16GB ram, Radeon HD 5770 1Gb,Ver. 14.12 Win7 64 bit
Intel i7 7700 HQ, 16 GB ram Nvidia GTX 1050Ti 4GB dual drives 1 TB SSD + 1 TB HDD Win 10

PDtoots

Yes, it works fine when I add the sample clips. Anything else crashes it. wmv, mts, etc. I hope this helps.

1 224-3652 Studio 15 Notebook (Studio 1555)
1 311-9923 Intel Core 2 Duo T9550 2.66GHz, 1066Mhz, 6M L2 Cache
1 311-8624 4GB, DDR2, 800MHz 2 Dimm
1 320-8007 15.6Inch Full High Definition (1080p) High Brightness LED Display with TrueLife and Camera
1 330-2936 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570
1 341-8428 250G 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive Free Fall Sensor
Nick Malone
nick@burnoutradio.com
www.burnoutradio.com

Hi again,

Interesting set of circumstances....and I am sure very frustrating for you....

Your hardware specs should be able to handle everything ok....

Just to verify: Where are your clips originating from? The wmv and the mts clips you referred to.....From a video camera?...It can help us figure out the problem when we know specifics about the files....It is possible that something about these clips are causing the program to crash.

If the sample clips were placed on the timeline without incident then that confirms that the program is more or less functioning correctly.

Can you provide more information about the mts and wmv clips that didn't work?

Kevin
Check out PDtoots. PowerDirector Tutorials and more! Over 5,000 Subscribers.

The .mts files come from a High Def Canon HF21. My friend and I share this camera for our hobby. He uses Powerdirector 8 and suggested it to me. He hasn't had this problem, but he uses Windows 7 on an HP Laptop. You think it may have something to do with a Dell driver, or lack of? Nick Malone
nick@burnoutradio.com
www.burnoutradio.com

There should be nothing wrong with your computer, my wife has the same model and specs as you, no issues with PDR8. Possible codec issue?

Have you installed the Canon software that would have been provided with the camera, if not do so, then import via ZoomBrowser (if still called that on modern Canon's). Then play the clips, do they play correctly, if so, import the clips into PD and try again, this is really just a test to see if the Canon software adds any additional codecs which may solve your problem.

Other than making sure your graphics card drivers are up to date it's difficult to ascertain what the issue could be, but it would not appear to be a problem with PDR8

Robert Intel i7 930, 16GB ram, Radeon HD 5770 1Gb,Ver. 14.12 Win7 64 bit
Intel i7 7700 HQ, 16 GB ram Nvidia GTX 1050Ti 4GB dual drives 1 TB SSD + 1 TB HDD Win 10

PDtoots

I installed a fresh copy of all the software that came with the Canon. Didn't help. and I can't import them from the camera anymore since the files are no longer on it. I have them all backed up though. Any other ideas? Nick Malone
nick@burnoutradio.com
www.burnoutradio.com

Hi Nick,

We're all going to give you some try this or what about this answers as we're all guessing.
Robert has asked for a diagnostic file - that would help us all a great deal more than the info you've actually given. Part B below. Thanks.

Where is the source video material stored - the hard drive location and connection. Is it a USB?

Robert also asked what the video file you're attempting to edit is? My guess is that you've recorded at the highest capability of your camera - 1080. What is the format progressive or interlaced and was it 60 fps or 60 fields per second? If you can use it, try out MediaInfo to read your video file data and attach the text file it produces.

Kevin has eluded to the need to check your drivers for your card - sensible suggestion to take up. He's also asked a number of important questions to assist us to undo the puzzle.

I'm concerned about your PC spec which isn't good enough to edit 1080 footage as raw material and has to rely upon your PC producing ShadowFiles to edit. The ShadowFiles need to be produced before you start editing and this can take some time. I think you're stressing your PC beyond its capabilities with the video footage and the ask you're placing on it. To Edit 1080 you need a better PC - look up Kevin's: http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/8445.page#36074


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You can not pinpoint the issue BUT you can give more detail of content and provide a visual image as well as a diagnostic of your set up. Please note that 3 (x100kb) images/files can be attached to your reply.

http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/7958.page
Subject: PowerDirector - information we request and tasks to carry out.
PART A - name it
PART B - provide it
PART F - use them
PART E - an alternative
PART D - presentation is important

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Dafydd
[Moderator]