Well I finally did it

Walker

Member Joined: Dec 19, 2008 18:57 Messages: 97 Offline

Solved by

Apr 11, 2009 22:18

I uinstalled PD7 and then deleted the digital copy I paid for (while waving my middle finger in the air). I'd like to thank Cyberlink for making a product so buggy and patched so bad that every project I made became a nightmare.

Then I manned up and bought the Adobe CS4 Creative Suite. Let me tell you - it's like going from a '76 Pinto to a Lotus. I've been going through video tutorials all day trying to catch up.

The main points for me are the seamless integration of the:
-Adobe Media Encoder
-Adobe Premier
-Adobe After Effects

I mean wow - you can have Premier and After Effects open at the same time updating a project section in one which will instantly update in the other project. It's just freaky. And the amount of control and coolness - so many things I had no idea I was missing.

For my last trick... I've been thinking about this for a long time. For the past few months every time Power Director 7 stops working, stops responding, or crashes, I've used screenshots and Fraps recordings to capture all those messages. My first Adobe project is going to be a "Power Director 7 sucks - SAVE YOUR MONEY" video which I will enjoy putting on Youtube and will list every single problem I've had with PD7. crash crash crash.

Cyberlink deserves to go out of business charging what it does for such a horrible product.

Bye Bye Bye... I won't be back! I pity all of you still using PD7.

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at Apr 13. 2009 13:58

Matt

Newbie Joined: Mar 23, 2009 22:17 Messages: 17 Offline

Apr 11, 2009 22:47

Man. I think I might be next. PowerDirector continually crashes on me. I tried doing a 'SAVE AS' and the program wrote over my original file as well as the new one so I have to copies of the same thing. Cost me HOURS of work. I'm really getting fed up with this program.

vn800rider

Senior Contributor Location: Darwen, UK Joined: May 15, 2008 04:32 Messages: 1949 Offline

Apr 12, 2009 01:48

Hi Walker,

Just out of interest, how much was the Adobe CS4 package?

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.

pjc

Senior Member Location: Aus Joined: Sep 12, 2008 03:48 Messages: 262 Offline

Apr 12, 2009 02:27

The cheapest online CS4 including Premiere will cost me AUD3435.
Just a tad more than the AUD99 I paid for PD7

vn800rider

Senior Contributor Location: Darwen, UK Joined: May 15, 2008 04:32 Messages: 1949 Offline

Apr 12, 2009 03:50

Mmmmh, that's what I thought too. The UK prices are something like this :-

PD7 Ultra £79
CS4 Production £1,467

methinks comparing apples and oranges or indeed pinto and lotus.

Now I'd be really annoyed if CS4 had any problem at that price like this guy seems to have but .....
http://7-0-7.co.uk/extra/cs4.php

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Apr 12. 2009 03:51

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.

Cranston

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

Apr 12, 2009 05:05

Geez, do you think we should reach out and warn the Adobe forum members of what they're in for?
Or just let them experience it for themselves.
Hahahaha. Click here PDtoots for a collection of PowerDirector Tutorials and Tips

pjc

Senior Member Location: Aus Joined: Sep 12, 2008 03:48 Messages: 262 Offline

Apr 12, 2009 05:27

There is no doubt PD is buggy but at the price point it compares favourably with it's competitors. I get constant hanging and "need to close" messages with VS and some of the others don't handle the Pana AVCHD at all.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Apr 12. 2009 05:28

James W

Senior Contributor Location: Lakeland, FL USA Joined: Aug 18, 2008 10:36 Messages: 911 Offline

Apr 12, 2009 08:34

I agree that PD compares well with its competitors at the ~$100 US price point, but that does not mean we all should be happy. It's unfortunate we as the consumers have to put up with all the bugs and crashing. When you invest time, money, and effort you expect a working product. While we may not like the tone of Walker's messages, we do have to acknowledge that a useful feature, magic motion, has not worked properly for the past couple of builds (If anyone has a solution please let me know).

I tried contacting customer support about this problem and they responded promptly within 12 hours. They told me to uninstall my current version of PD and they provided me a link to download a new version of PD with the latest build. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I'm not very optimistic.

Despite my current frustrations with PD I have in general been rather satisfied. Had I invested a small fortune in Adobe that would be a different story.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Apr 12. 2009 08:36

Q9300 2.5 GHz
4 GB Ram
Nvidia 9800 GT

babindia

Senior Contributor Location: India Joined: Aug 16, 2007 06:11 Messages: 884 Offline

Apr 12, 2009 08:44

Walker is looking for a space shuttle technology after paying 80 quids. Well I hope his Adobe CS4 space shuttle just does not crash as bad as his PD 7 did

This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at Apr 13. 2009 11:03

PC specs :
OS Windows 10.0 Pro
MB - AS rock Z77 extreme 11
Intel 3770K @ 4.0 Ghz OC
Gskill 32 GB RAM 1800 Mhz
6 TB HDD, SSD bootable
nVidia ASUS GTX 660 Ti
BenQ 22" LCD monitor 1920x1080

Matt

Newbie Joined: Mar 23, 2009 22:17 Messages: 17 Offline

Apr 12, 2009 12:53

PD does have fantastic options, features, etc, however, I would trade a few of those for some increased stability and reliability with the program. All the bells and whistles in the world don't do anyone any good if they only work when the sun hits your roof just right.
I truly believe that if Cyberlink plugged the leaks with PD7 (and any future versions) they would dominate the market with the price and features that already exist. They just need to hire a new software development staff.

vn800rider

Senior Contributor Location: Darwen, UK Joined: May 15, 2008 04:32 Messages: 1949 Offline

Apr 12, 2009 14:08

Yeah, I absolutely agree. It would be great if software did what it said on the box, all the time , every time, but in 30 yrs of IT experience it never does.

Maybe I'm old and grumpy but hey, I'm not sure I believe the marketeers. In the end does PD give me £80 worth? probably but not without frustrations.

Would I spend £1400 on NLE software? My scuba video gear cost £800 so far, so if I spend a lot of time filming maybe Adobe's the next step, until then PD is OK (but not perfect) for the money. As always life's a compromise!

Cheers
Adrian Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. (see below)
Confucius
AMD Phenom IIX6 1055T, win10, 5 internal drives, 7 usb drives, struggling power supply.

Tony

Member Location: Australia Joined: Jan 05, 2009 15:31 Messages: 148 Offline

Apr 12, 2009 16:06

If we were to combine all the above comments, we'd have produced a pretty good facsimile of what leads PD users to become PD users. It sounds to me that price is a major consideration when selecting software for purchase. For me, it is very important. Truth is, I looked at the advertised features of each, read reviews, watched demos... you know - 'cos we all, including "the one who walked", probably went through a similar process... and I made my final choice based on value for money. I knew I wasn't getting the same brilliant features to which Walker has referred - nor did I expect PD7 to perform like its pro-level alternatives. You get what you pay for.

Adrian, James, Matt - yes - absolutely true. The software should do what it says it does... and I'm pretty sure Cyberlink has that message loud and clear. Matt - loved your comment - I don't think the sun will ever hit the roof right for PD7's motion effects.

Anyway - well spoken everyone - this forum has just lost a venting little bundle of negative energy and will possibly be better for it!

To me, the advice, questions, contributions and sense of community in this forum are worth way more than the software itself. POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!

Cheers everyone -

Tony Tread gently and you'll hear the daisies grow...

Cranston

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

Apr 12, 2009 18:56

Hi Everyone,

Brilliant comments all.

I totally agree that PD7 does have it’s issues. And the Magic Motion issue, and Cyberlink’s seemingly apathetic approach towards resolving or publicly commenting on it, is certainly not one of their most endearing qualities.

Yes, there are indeed disappointing aspects of PD. And I believe that anyone should be able to express their disappointment with PD here on the forum. Even if they aren’t really requesting help, but just want to complain that it appears that their hard earned money was spent in vain on an unsatisfactory product, owing to a “specific issue”.
And that they will be requesting a refund owing to whatever issues they are having with PD. And then just leaving it at that.
However, Tony is also absolutely right. Bundles of negative energy add nothing to the value of this forum.

And that’s a line that is too often crossed by some members who can’t seem to get issues resolved. They appear to start making their posts more about “themselves”, than about the “issues”. That's not an endearing quality either.

Perhaps I’m wrong in my thinking. And I am open to being corrected.
But that's my 2 cents worth.

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at Apr 12. 2009 19:27

Click here PDtoots for a collection of PowerDirector Tutorials and Tips

Dafydd B

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

Apr 13, 2009 14:04

Quote: Man. I think I might be next. PowerDirector continually crashes on me. I tried doing a 'SAVE AS' and the program wrote over my original file as well as the new one so I have to copies of the same thing. Cost me HOURS of work. I'm really getting fed up with this program.

The Save Project File as option requires you to give a new name to a file you are saving! If you don't... then you OVERWRITE the previous named pds file! I think the issue there is your error and not PD's. You also should opt to save manually and remove the auto-save which create a bak file etc.

I cant comment on the crashing you're experiencing because you haven't elaborated sufficiently. Please post your issue as a new topic.

Dafydd

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at Apr 13. 2009 14:09