Cross for me too, much easier to manage

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

Cross for me too! Alienware Aurora ALX R4 - Intel i7-4820 4.2 GHz - 32GB DDR3 RAM - Crucial 512GB SSD - 1TB Seagate HDD - 3TB WD Green HDD - 4TB WD Green HDD - MSI NVIDIA GTX 1070 8GB

Sony HDR-PJ810 and HDR-PJ530

Quote: Both when they function correctly and move TL correctly, it's a user preference, put a tick to select overlap or cross as default in Preferences > Editing > where the control for default transition duration currently is.

I agree with this, as long as there is an option to choose your default, it allows the editor to use whatever is more comfortable for them. Mind you I still would like to set the duration per transition.

I guess I'd have to say I prefer cross.

That being said, I have issues with the way transitions work in PD9. If overlap transitions worked the way I think they should, I might change my position. Jerry Schwartz

I'd vote for cross as the default mode as it keeps the original total duration of the two clips untouched and hence avoids unwanted async (unexpected async for unexperienced users) of timeline events that have been (frame acurate) lined up on other tracks.

Having started with a cross transition, one can transform it into an overlapping one by dragging start/end of it to the left/right while at the same time keeping the total duration untouched.
Dragging both the start and the end of a cross transition to the right seems to automatically add the needed "leeway" to the first clip. Q6600-2.4ghz-4gb - GF8800GTS-512mb - Win 7-64

The short answer is that obviously the default should be user-selectable.

My personal preference would be a cross transition, but only if it is correctly implemented.


Currently the choice offered is between a buggy cross transition, or a correct overlap transition that moves clips. Not a good choice. Don't let's allow the choice offered to conceal the actual problem.

Now for the longer answer - sorry to ignore the request in the original post, but it's essential that the full picture is taken into account.

First - in a properly edited video there need be no difference between the outcome of a cross transition and an overlap transition. The difference is not in the end result, but in the means used to arrive there. It's all in the trimming style you prefer.

Unfortunately there is a fatal flaw in the PD9 cross overlap programming, such that there is always a difference in its cross and overlap transitions. This is a serious problem at the heart of the program.

Overlap transitions in PD9 are true transitions where all the motion seen in the clips involved continues throughout the transition. If the edit involves two clips of a man walking along a road, throughout the transition you see him continue to walk.

Cross transitions in PD9 are not true transitions, but are implemented using frozen frames, so that in the same example of two clips showing a man walking along a road, at the point where the transition begins you see a man standing frozen in mid-pace fading in, as the image of a moving man in the first clip fades out. At the middle of the transition you see the the image of the fading out man suddenly freeze in mid-pace, while the fading in man suddenly unfreezes and is seen walking along.

Such a transition should never be seen in other than beginners' videos as it is normally symptomatic of the editor not understanding how to construct a proper cross transition (use of untrimmed clips, see following). Of course if there is little or no movement in the shot (or it's a still) or the transition is very short the fault may not be evident, but otherwise it's likely to be obvious and jarring.

A properly functioning cross transition works like this. Assume that the total transition length is two seconds. The two clips are first each trimmed by the user by at least one second (half the length of the transition) at the point where they are to join. Then they are butted together and the transition is dragged across the join. Internally, the program then extends the length of the first clip by one second to the right (using the frames following the end of the trimmed clip) and extends the length of the second clip by one second to the left (using the frames preceding the beginning of the trimmed clip). The result would visually be the same as an overlap transition (using clips not trimmed for the transition), except that the clips remain where you've placed them, not moved to accomplish the necessary overlapping frames.

A properly functioning cross transition also has to take into account what must happen if the user does not understand how to work with a cross transition, and who uses untrimmed or insufficiently trimmed clips. In that case, there may be insufficient frames available after the end of the outgoing clip, or before the beginning of the incoming clip, to extend the clips as described in the preceding paragraph to form the necessary overlap. So, there is no option other than for the program internally to repeat the last available frame in the outgoing clip, and/or the first available frame in the incoming clip, enough time to provide material for the transition. This leads to frozen motion of course - it's a "freeze frame".

Unfortunately in PD9 the developers have seen fit to assume that the user will always be ignorant of how to construct a cross transition, and the transition is therefore always created by repeating the last yrimmed frame of the outgoing clip, and the first trimmed frame of the incoming clip, each for half the length of the transition, leading to the unacceptable frozen motion described earlier.

SO - right now, if they provided the obvious user preference for default cross or overlap transitions, they might have to label the options thus -

Cross Transition default - this will cause frozen frames during transitions
Overlap Transition default - this will move the clips on the timeline by the length of the transition.

If however they implemented true, usable cross transitions, then the options might then be labelled (notionally)

Cross Transition default - this requires you to trim your clips to provide enough material for the transition to be created
Overlap Transition default - this will move the clips on the timeline but you don't have to trim the clips first.

Preferred Default = "Cross" Click here PDtoots for a collection of PowerDirector Tutorials and Tips

An arteeeest of few words. HP Envy Phoenix/4thGen i7-4770(4@3.4GHz~turbo>3.9)
Nvidia GTX 960(4GB)/16GB DDR3/
Canon Vixia HV30/HF-M40/HF-M41/HF-G20/Olympus E-PL5.
Tape capture using 6 VCR, TBC-1000, Elite BVP4+, Sony D8 camcorder with TBC.
https://www.facebook.com/BarryAFTT

Click here PDtoots for a collection of PowerDirector Tutorials and Tips

crosstransition is better.

Yes, so I'll go with cross transitions, but giving the user the option to change the default is a good idea as said by others

Cross is the least worst in PD9, but I'd much prefer an option to set the default, as per the earlier posts.

I hate it when any editing tool modifies the timeline without warning. This is especially a problem when I'm modifying a fade early in the timeline, but there are dozens of other fades or time-related overlays, etc,later on. Unless there's a way of locking the remainder of the timeline?

I second OzPeter's excellent discussion point. Usually the overlap looks better because there's no stretching and filling, but it's much easier to use the cross without affecting all my carefully placed edits.

HTH! Data is not Information; Information is not Knowledge; Knowledge is not Wisdom.

Cross for me too, smooth and effortless. Not too flash, a nice simple easy on the eye transition. Running AMD Turion Dual Core Mobile RM-70 2.00Ghz, 3.00GB Ram, Win Vista 32Bit Service Pack 2, 256 dedicated graphics, on a HP Pavillion Laptop.

I also prefer cross transitions for similar reasons as above. Would support giving the user the option to nominate their preferred default.

Cheers, Con Windows 7 - i7 860, 8Gb RAM, 2 x 1 TB HDD, GTS 250 1Gb Video

Definitely CROSS for me .Gives flexibility. Can position the transition where desired by dragging the duration of transition to the left and right. Reinstatement of the duration button needed. Why it was removed in the first place I do not know

CROSS probably for every reason already mentioned ...

Created slide slow ... added music ... I then applied the transitions ... my pictures no longer aligned with my music.

Did not catch that until a little bit ... I had to go back and redo all of my transitions to CROSS. Dell Studio 1558 (laptop) * I5-520 * AMD HD 5470 * 4GB RAM - 1066MHz DDR3 * 320GB 7200RPM Hard Drive * Windows 7 Pro 64 bit * BluRay Burner

Hi,
I prefer cross. However I would like the ability to set personal preferences for any effect. As a side note, I just upgraded to 9 and my transition called CROSS does not work properly whether it's in cross mode or not. All other transitions in that folder function properly. The outgoing vid transitions seemlessly to the incoming vid. The CROSS however does a weird cut to the outgoing vid at about 50% of level then transtions to the incoming vid. Wassu wit dat? Thanks for any input.

Cross for sure PD9 ULTRA BUILD 3505
Camera: Cannon Vixia hfs20
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_gdr.100618-1621)
System Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
System Model: HP G71 Notebook PC
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: Intel(R) Core

Yes I preferr Cross....AT LEAST MAKE THIS A OPTION TO CHOOSE IN SETUP.