PD7 - Oh how I want to love this program!

Dan

Newbie Joined: Sep 03, 2008 17:02 Messages: 16 Offline

Solved by

Sep 03, 2008 17:40

I've used another product for the past several years and have been frustrated with the way they will use products from other companies to handle the things their own product should be able to do. I've also been frustrated at the way they will charge you every time you turn around for a transition or template that isn't included in the base package.

So, here comes Cyberlink with their highly rated Power Director 7. I installed the trial version on a machine I've used successfully with two other video editors only to find that after a short while, my CPU usage will skyrocket, my hard drive will run constantly, and the program will basically freeze. Everything else works fine but I'm dead in the water with PD7! I then attempted to use it on another machine and all seems OK until I go to render a very short video and PD7 freezes again!

Cyberlink's response? "...make sure that you have un-install the Anti Spy ware program, if any." For real? They then suggest I reinstall the software. I JUST INSTALLED IT on each of two machines. Another suggestion was to disable RichVideo. Though they don't detail much about RichVideo it would appear I would loose my date and time detail from my footage. I'd consider that a big compromise. A quick search in this and other forums indicates I'm not alone yet Cyberlink's canned responses fall far short of any substantive help.

Anyway, I really like the features of this program and how easy they make it to do some rather high end things. If only they could make it a stable product...

Dafydd B

Senior Contributor Joined: Aug 26, 2006 08:20 Messages: 11973 Offline

Sep 04, 2008 04:15

Hi Dan,

I've read your post.... and I can see why you're at a "hair pulling stage".... and you shouldn't be.

Please can you state what video format you are using? What build version of PD7 you have - look in Help/About?

I have sent you a PM.

Dafydd

Dan

Newbie Joined: Sep 03, 2008 17:02 Messages: 16 Offline

Sep 04, 2008 08:24

Thank you, Dafydd.

I used a variety of video formats from the AVI of a Sony MiniDV to a .FLV turned DivX AVI.

The PD7 build is 7.00.1829 (just downloaded it a couple days ago).

I did receive your PM and will provide more information when able.

I've done video editing long enough to appreciate the feature set of PD7 - not the least of which is the shared content. The stability issue, though, is reminiscent of a product I used 6 years ago.

Thanks again!

Dafydd B

Senior Contributor Joined: Aug 26, 2006 08:20 Messages: 11973 Offline

Sep 04, 2008 08:41

Hi Dan,

The latest build is 1915... so I'm wondering why you weren't supplied with that version.

Please visit: http://www.cyberlink.com/multi/download/dl_patch_621_4_ENU.html
and get the upgrade patch. It might reolve some of the issues you're experiencing.

I look forward to your report etc.

Dafydd

Dan

Newbie Joined: Sep 03, 2008 17:02 Messages: 16 Offline

Sep 04, 2008 12:43

Thank you, Dafydd. I will address as soon as I can.

In addition, I just received a response from Cyberlink saying "Please uninstall [MME] and [PS] and then use PowerDirector as it is causing conflict. "

Now it may sound reasonable that there is a conflict but PD7 must be an extremely sensitive product if it can crash simply because there are other video editors installed.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Sep 04. 2008 12:51

Dan

Newbie Joined: Sep 03, 2008 17:02 Messages: 16 Offline

Sep 04, 2008 21:20

Well, Dafydd, I attempted to install the patch only to have PD7 say I was not allowed to install it because my current installation is the trial version and not the purchased one. So, if the patch is the fix, I can't find out unless I buy the product first. Seems rather backward to me.

Anyway, in accord with Cyberlink support I spent a fair amount of time removing all traces of the two other video editors I had installed only to find that once again, after just a few minutes, PD7 made my hard drive get extremely busy, my CPU usage go to a minimum of 50%, and become totally unresponsive no matter what I try. Other processes continue to operate normally.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Sep 04. 2008 21:43

Cranston

Senior Contributor Location: USA Joined: Aug 17, 2007 02:26 Messages: 1667 Offline

Sep 05, 2008 00:47

Hi Dan,

I should probably know better than to jump in here with my 2 cents worth, as you have "dafydd" working on this issue for you. (he definitely knows his stuff and has been very helpful with me.)

But I also once had an issue about PD being sensitive to other vid editors being nearby. PD seems to like being the only editor in the neighborhood. So for what it’s worth, from my experience, removing all remnants of other editors or a suite editing programs/burners/etc should help. (If you’re using Vista, well that a whole other can of worms as I understand it.)
BTW, I did upgrade to v7, but went back to v6 as I thought it just ran better for a few reasons that I won’t bore you with here.

Anyway, I was just intrigued by your title…”so want to love this program". I’ve been using PD (versions 4 through 6) for about 2 years now, and it is indeed a fine program for the price. Now I must say here, as I've said before, Cyberlink's customer service/support aspect of their business model is certainly not their most endearing quality, and this forum has been far more helpful. The senior contributors are very responsive, and like I said... know their stuff.
So I really hope that you can get these initial bugs worked out, and then I think you’ll find that you will become quite found of the program too.
Good Luck!

-Cranston-
Click here PDtoots for a collection of PowerDirector Tutorials and Tips

Bif

Member Location: San Angelo TX Joined: Aug 14, 2008 01:48 Messages: 147 Offline

Sep 05, 2008 02:06

Quote: Well, Dafydd, I attempted to install the patch only to have PD7 say I was not allowed to install it because my current installation is the trial version and not the purchased one. So, if the patch is the fix, I can't find out unless I buy the product first. Seems rather backward to me.

You can download the current trial version, it is build 1915. Be sure to uninstall the older trial version first and if you can't find the instructions on what to do in the registry download and run the free Wise Registry Cleaner (www.wisecleaner.com/download.html). Then install the new trial version.

Dan

Newbie Joined: Sep 03, 2008 17:02 Messages: 16 Offline

Sep 05, 2008 07:50

Quote:
You can download the current trial version, it is build 1915. Be sure to uninstall the older trial version first and if you can't find the instructions on what to do in the registry download and run the free Wise Registry Cleaner (www.wisecleaner.com/download.html). Then install the new trial version.

Bif,

That's precisely what I did and I still get the older build. Would really like to try the most current!

To summarize, I've done the following things to deal with the constant "freezing up" of Cyberlink's PowerDirector 7 after a few minutes of use:
- Uninstalled any Anti-Virus / Anti-Spyware Apps
- Shut off background tasks
- Complete uninstalled all other video editors
- Checked virtual memory (have twice the recommended)
- Attempted to update build but couldn't because I have a trial version
- Reinstalled PD7 after COMPLETELY removing all traces of the previous install
- Installed it on a second machine only to have it freeze up on it as well

I have not tried disabeling RichVideo as I require its features.
I do intend to try PD7 with "all start-up items disabled" per Cyberlink's recommendation to see if it makes a difference but find it difficult to accept that I should have to disable anything when other editors work and all other applications work just fine.

Thanks to the good people in this forum! You should be on Cyberlink's payroll.

Dan

Newbie Joined: Sep 03, 2008 17:02 Messages: 16 Offline

Sep 06, 2008 11:27

I received another message from CyberLink duplicating a message sent previously.

I normally would have given up on this product a long time ago but it has some incredible features making it superior to any of the 5 other video editors I've tried.

Here's an update on all the things I've done to deal with the constant "freezing up" of Cyberlink's PowerDirector 7 after a few minutes of use:
- Uninstalled any Anti-Virus / Anti-Spyware Apps
- Turned off all start-up applications and shut off all background tasks/processes
- Completely uninstalled all other video editors
- Checked virtual memory (have twice the recommended)
- Attempted to update build but couldn't because I have a trial version
- Reinstalled PD7 after COMPLETELY removing all traces of the previous install
- Updated the video driver
- Checked the audio driver (the latest was already installed)
- Reinstalled DirectX 9c
- Updated the BIOS
- Installed it on a second machine only to have it freeze up on it as well

The most luck I've had is about 1/2 an hour of use and that is without disableing start-up apps and stopping/closing all other processes. When I did disable start-up apps and all other processes, PD7 locked up in less than 2 minutes.

I have not tried yet disableing RichVideo but will do so today. I really would hate to loose its features.

Bif

Member Location: San Angelo TX Joined: Aug 14, 2008 01:48 Messages: 147 Offline

Sep 06, 2008 16:46

Quote:

Quote:
You can download the current trial version, it is build 1915. Be sure to uninstall the older trial version first and if you can't find the instructions on what to do in the registry download and run the free Wise Registry Cleaner (www.wisecleaner.com/download.html). Then install the new trial version.

Bif,

That's precisely what I did and I still get the older build. Would really like to try the most current!

Something is really going wrong here. About 3-4 weeks ago I downloaded the trial version from http://www.cyberlink.com/multi/download/trials_4_ENU.html and it was build 1915. If you're downloading the trial version from any other site it is very likely that older build.

Or the uninstall you are doing may not be a full and clean uninstall. And when you uninstall you need to delete and get rid of the all trial versions then download the current one from the URL above.

To clean out the registry after the uninstall I used Wise Registry Cleaner (a free program...do a Google search on that to find the download).

But the current file from Cyberlink is the 1915 and needs no patch.

And when you do purchase the full version I advise ordering the "box" version either from the online store or from a retailer who carries it. That way you avoid the potential for corrupted download files or failed downloads some are experiencing.

A "box" copy from a retailer may very well be an older build but for me it was a simple thing to download and run the patch.

Robert

Newbie Joined: Sep 06, 2008 03:34 Messages: 4 Offline

Sep 06, 2008 18:10

Were you having the same problem with version 6? I though version 7 would be less buggy and less problems than version 6. Having to clean the registry seems like big hassle. Just by having Cyberlink on your computer you could have conflicts with other programs. I already have Vegas 8 and Movie Edit Pro 11. Why should your video software force you uninstall all other video editing programs just to use it?

Dan

Newbie Joined: Sep 03, 2008 17:02 Messages: 16 Offline

Sep 06, 2008 18:42

I've never used PowerDirector prior to version 7.

I can't speak to the fact that the download of the trial version is not as new as the build you receive when you purchase the product except to say that I've tried it twice, manually edited the registry and use TuneUp Utilities 2008 (a very nice system utility), and still do not show the latest build.

Regardless, today I tried several things and it seems to be running OK even with several background process running (Skype, Avast Anti-Virus, FolderShare, Windows Search, and Huey Pro). I can assure myself of a freeze if I attempt to change the background video of a menu with any one of a few AVI's that came from a digital camera back in 2004. And just a moment ago I tried to launch PD7 when it failed and wanted to send an error report. I was downloading the latest trial again so it may not have liked the delay in communication with the mother ship.

So, I'll be careful about which background videos I add to a menu and should be OK.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Sep 06. 2008 18:44