We have now new 3D capabilites - and maybe my first testing impressions are also of interest here. Due to my personal passion for 3D, I have tested the PD10 on my 3D system (i7 2600K, 4.2 Ghz overclocked, 16 GB Ram, nvidia 3D vision (no pro), Quadro 2000D, ssd 128 GB, 6 TB raid 5). I have not done extensive testing now, given the fact that the software was launched at the beginning of the week, but I had the opportunity to discuss my finding with the Cyberlink team, what has a strong passion to improve the performance of their software - a point that is really cool.

I think the software is a great product for the beginner segment - who is looking for a software for a more professional requirements could tend to continue to use Vegas Pro 10e or the upcoming Vegas Pro 11. But for somebody who wants to have a sound solution for the beginning, will find a nice opportunity with PD10.

Yes, the software can import both MVC-Sony TD10 files but also MVC-JVC TD1 files. That is a great point given the fact that TD1 users are still looking for a good editing solution. You can work also with other 3D formates (e.g. side by side, top bottom). What does not work as far as I have seen up to now, is that you cannot import two video streams, one with the left and one with the right video stream. Vegas 11 is able to pair two streams, I have not seen that the PD10 can do so.

It would also be great if Cyberlink would foresee the capability to import an MVC-stream as rendered by another software, like Vegas. I had some questions about that - the MVC-stream from Vegas is splitted up in two (video) parts, and it would be great if the PD10 could reimport that footage for additional cutting, and muxe the two files together.

You can edit 3D also with an anaglyphic preview, both with one monitor but also with a second monitor. Preview quality is fine if you set it to high resolution, anaglyphic preview has the well-known limitations in colour. You can also use a 3D graphic card with a 3D HDTV - but that is something that I have not tested. It works also with the high end solution 120 Hz monitor and nvidia 3D vision and a Quadro (you do not need a Quadro for that product), but there is one major constrain compared with Vegas Pro 10e - you will only have a full-monitor preview as long as your GUI is on the 3D monitor. So what does not work is that you put the GUI on your 2D display, and use the 3D display for the preview picture. But what you can do is to switch between the full-monitor preview and the GUI, even if I think that this is a clear limitation for 3D editing. At least with my Quadro, when switching between full-monitor 3D preview and GUI I have seen some crashes. But it works also withou that - what I like is that you see a 3D preview picture with nvidia 3D vision also in the smaller internal preview, what is not possible with Vegas for example.

A major drawback are the limited possibilities to adjust settings, e.g. for rendering. For example, you have an MVC encoder what is great since that is only the second product beside Vegas that delivers that (except high-end broadcast solutions). But if you render to MVC, you have only the choice between 720p and 1080p - but you are not able to adjust here also the framerate but also not the data rate. For the framerate I had the impression that with PAL settings it would be 720 50p, and with NTSC settings it would be 720 60p. Wrong, as far as I have seen up to now it seems to be always 720 60p - what is fine for a lot of users especially here in the States, but not great for Users in Europe. That are the points were you see differences to a product like Vegas, what will give you more freedom in what you can do.

Another issue are the MVC-files - a project with nvidia 3D vision and MVC files results sometimes in something where you see short freezes in the software, even on my high-performance system. The Cyberlink guys have been able to repro that too and look into it - maybe it can be improved in the future. So when you have an older processor be aware that this may cause your system to fall asleepe sometimes, where you may not be sure if the system has crashed or not.

Where the PD10 is unique at the moment is the capability to burn true 3D Blu Rays, based on MVC and BDMV structures - and that with easy but with menus. Even the more professional Vegas renders 3D Blu Rays from the timeline only, with some markers only but without any menus up to now. That is something that is great for the users, because true 3D authoring is something that has been available only at $-0000 upwards up to now.

So yes, I think PD10 is a software that we can recommend. Futher improvements in the 3D capabilies would increase the impressive capabilities further!
Kind regards,
Wolfgang