Switched to PowerDirector 17, extremely broken

goody_fyre11

Member Joined: Jul 10, 2018 21:18 Messages: 56 Offline

Solved by

Apr 16, 2019 18:50

This one is pretty weird and lenghty, and I couldn't find any reports of this happening with PowerDirector 17 specifically.

I recently upgraded to 17 from 15, but it's causing me nothing but problems:

- The program is VERY slow, often crashing when opening very simple project files PowerDirector 15 was blazing fast.

- The preview almost never works. 99.99999% of the time it gets stuck on one frame. Even manually adjusting it or lowering the preview resolution doesn't fix it. Here's the weird part - if part of a clip has its preview get stuck, that part will also freeze on the exact same frame in the finished product. This shouldn't be happening consideing that's just a preview.

- The "continuous timeline" feature keeps getting stuck. The option is supposed to show you thumbnails for easy reference, but it always stops early. I have to move the slider a bit to get it to keep updating the "continuous" thumbnails.

- Adding clips into my Library is extremely slow, often crashing when adding very small clips.

- The first few seconds of every piece of imported audio, whether from a video clip or just audio, is always delayed or completely missing.

PowerDirector 15 worked perfectly 100% of the time. I only switched to 17 because 15 didn't work with the latest NVIDIA drivers, and this is also my gaming rig.

I have the latest Windows updates, the latest NVIDIA drivers, and PowerDirector 17 is completely up-to-date. I've done malware scans with many different PAID versions of anti-malware programs, such as Malwarebytes. All of them say my PC is 100% clean.
It's an SSD, so there's no need to defrag. I have all the latest drivers installed.

My specs:

Intel Core i7-6700K @ 4.00 GHz (8 CPUs)
NVIDIA GTX 1080
16 GB of RAM
Running on an SSD, all clips stored on same SSD as the program uses.
Windows 10 Home 64-bit

What I've tried so far:

- Everything on the CyberLink forums
- Re-installed the program
- Virus scans
- Re-installed NVIDIA driver
- Disconnected from the internet during editing
- Tried the program without any patches
- Cleared Temp folder
- Tried with Shadow Files (I didn't need them when using 15, but I tried anyways)
- Disabled Hardware Accelleration features

I guarantee that EVERYTHING any automatic website comment-bot would say doesn't work. Don't recommend the simple things, such as "Did you restart your computer?" or anything that I've listed.

Once again, the ONLY TWO THINGS that changed on my computer was PowerDirector 15 being removed and PowerDirector 17 being installed, and the latest NVIDIA driver being instaled. Nothing else. PowerDirector 15 worked perfectly 100% of the time.

I really hope this isn't another "Sorry, there's nothing we can do for you" situation, because I've been having WAY too many of those.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Apr 16. 2019 18:53

optodata

Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline

Apr 16, 2019 21:05

Sorry to hear that you're having trouble. First, we're all fellow users who volunteer our time, and nobody is going to tell you "We can't help you." Cyberlink tech support wouldn't say that either, but it might take a while to get through to them.

The best thing to do is to break this down into simple steps rather than looking at every problem at once.

You said you've tried everything on the forums, yet you haven't provided the key diagnostic, which is the DxDiag test results. Please follow the steps in the Read Me Before Posting sticky thread, and also please post a screenshot of PD's version screen. There is important info there that isn't available when just reporting the version number.

The next step would be to use only the sample clips that are provided with PD. Check the lower box from the Preferences > Project screen to automatically load them if you've disabled that option.

Place the Skateboard.mp4 clip on the timeline and let us know if you can preview that with the quality set to Full HD Preview Resolution. Produce it to any HD profile and verify that it plays without the freeze.

If PD can't do these simple tasks, we'll need to look at some foundational issues. If it can do these correctly but has trouble with your clips, we'll want to take a closer look at those, and uploading a sample to a cloud folder and pasting the link to it would be very helpful.

goody_fyre11

Member Joined: Jul 10, 2018 21:18 Messages: 56 Offline

Apr 16, 2019 23:42

Sorry, I was a bit frustrated when I was typing this. By "everything on the CyberLink forums" I meant posts like "this worked for me" or "SOLVED" posts, not standard procedure. The DxDiag log and a screenshot of what I think is the version screen are attatched.

I should also clarify something I didn't before - clips placed straight into the timeline usually work without many issues, but only when I use the "Split" option do the problems start. It seems 17 has trouble handling clips which have been split. That's an issue since I need to use that option for my style of YouTube videos. That's not to say untouched clips don't have issues - they do, but they're more likely to if they are split.

As the clips themselves, my recording method and recording settings are exactly the same as when I used PowerDirector 15. Paid version of Bandicam, screenshot of Bandicam settings is attatched.


Filename	Version Screen.PNG	Download
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Filename	Bandicam Settings.PNG	Download
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Filesize	11 Kbytes
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Filename	DxDiag.txt	Download
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Filesize	97 Kbytes
Downloaded:	332 time(s)

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Apr 16. 2019 23:44

optodata

Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline

Apr 17, 2019 01:36

Quote I should also clarify something I didn't before - clips placed straight into the timeline usually work without many issues, but only when I use the "Split" option do the problems start. It seems 17 has trouble handling clips which have been split. That's an issue since I need to use that option for my style of YouTube videos. That's not to say untouched clips don't have issues - they do, but they're more likely to if they are split.

Thanks very much for the new info. There are actually newer versions for your nVidia GTX 1080 (425.31 came out a few days ago; you're running 419.67). The Intel driver for your embedded HD Graphics 530 GPU is a year and a half out of date, and even your BIOS has been updated two versions (according to the Dell/Alienware support page for your Aurora R5).

Also, you haven't yet installed the 2720 beta patch for PD17. That update solves a large number of issues but introduced a few others, so look over the fixed issues and the new ones to see if you want to update PD. Make a system image or system restore point before you update so you can easily go back to the current configuration.

goody_fyre11

Member Joined: Jul 10, 2018 21:18 Messages: 56 Offline

Apr 17, 2019 07:23

There's something else I should mention. Since the only other thing that changed was the (at the time) newest NVIDIA driver being installed, I think the driver might be screwing with things. That audio lag is also happening in other programs such as VLC Media Player and the intro movies of some video games.

However I couldn't find any reports of that happening, so I went to ask for help about the program that was giving me the most problems. It was the only other thing that changed. I'll try updating those things, although updating the BIOS sounds risky.

optodata

Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline

Apr 17, 2019 11:14

Quote There's something else I should mention. Since the only other thing that changed was the (at the time) newest NVIDIA driver being installed, I think the driver might be screwing with things. That audio lag is also happening in other programs such as VLC Media Player and the intro movies of some video games.

However I couldn't find any reports of that happening, so I went to ask for help about the program that was giving me the most problems. It was the only other thing that changed. I'll try updating those things, although updating the BIOS sounds risky.

You can remove the existing nVidia driver using the normal Windows app uninstall procedure and download an older version from the nVidia website to test out your theory. The BIOS updates are marked "Urgent" by Dell, and the process is nothing like the old days, however it's certainly your call whether to act on this or not.

Genrally speaking, audio lag across apps can be a symptom of the system running near full capacity, meaning that 1 or more systems are near their upper bandwidth limits. You can open up Task Manager and see if CPU, Disk or GPU percentages are up near 100%, and then look at what processes are pushing your PC to run this hard.

In my experience, there is also a performance issue with PD17 whenever a browser is open, especially Edge. For some reason, having the browser running (regardless of how many tabs are open or what their contents are) always slows down PD's opening and saving times, and can even slow PD to a crawl as described here when working with titles. This happens even though Task Manager shows plenty of bandwidth available.

goody_fyre11

Member Joined: Jul 10, 2018 21:18 Messages: 56 Offline

Apr 17, 2019 14:22

I can confirm that GPU, CPU, Disk, and RAM never exceed 20% when using PowerDirector 17. Not even with PowerDirector 15.

I just updated my NVIDIA driver again, the problems didn't go away. Also it seems my onboard Intel Graphics are up-to-date, the new driver you saw was probably the DCH driver, which refuses to install on my system because it's not compatible.

I've tried looking for other NVIDIA users with this problem, but either I'm the first or I can't find any posts because any Google search with "NVIDIA" in it brings up 10 pages of NVIDIA-promoted pages, FAQ's about ray-tracing, or general troubleshooting which doesn't apply to my problems.

Also yes - I use titles for text in my videos, however even when there's no text-based items in the timeline, all the problems still happen.

Over the years I've encountered so many computer issues that had no solution and still don't, probably a few dozen issues in the past few months. Sometimes support is so dumbfounded by this problem that they call the developers, only for them to contact me and say "Your computer is cursed or you're lying. There is no way our software is malfunctioning the way you're describing it." In one of these instances I sent the developer visual proof of the problem, and he said "Okay, yeah, your computer is haunted. Get a new one I guess?"

I'm hoping this is not one of those problems since I'm famous for finding ones like these.

optodata

Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline

Apr 17, 2019 17:19

Quote I'm hoping this is not one of those problems since I'm famous for finding ones like these.

Well since you clearly have a knack for doing this, that might be the case again here

Changing/updating video drivers is SOP for dealing with all kinds of PD and video problems, but that doesn't mean that your issues have anything to do with nVidia.

Can you go back and try my earlier suggestion of working with the sample Skateboard clip? Make a screen recording (and maybe try using the Cyberlink Screen Recorder2 that gets installed with PD to rule out any Bandicam issues). See if doing your normal split edits cause the same issues with the sample clip. Use additional copies and/or any of the other sample clips if needed.

If everything works normally there, then use one of the clips or projects where you've seen the issue in the past. Watching your workflow and seeing how your system responds may give us some deeper insight into the problems you're seeing.

goody_fyre11

Member Joined: Jul 10, 2018 21:18 Messages: 56 Offline

Apr 18, 2019 14:10

While the sample clips don't exhibit any problems, they're not sufficient enough to test these problems. My clips are much longer, most of them are 20 minutes at their smallest. My clips also have a higher bitrate and data rate. The sample Skateboarding clip is only a few seconds long and has a low bitrate, plus it's not even 1080p. The sample clip also has that "first bit of audio missing" glitch when played in VLC, it didn't do that before whatever happened happened.

I've made a copy of one of the problematic clips and the Skadebaording sample clip, and I've let a few programs analyze them both. I've attatched screenshots of the results for both clips when analyzed by Windows' Properties menu, VLC Media Player's Codec Information menu, and RAD Video Tools' File Info option. Everything except for the resolution and bitrate is the same, yet only my clips have problems. Either that or the sample clip is way too short, and the problem is length.


Filename	Windows Comparison.png	Download
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Filename	RAD Video Comparison.png	Download
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Filename	VLC Comparison.png	Download
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optodata

Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline

Apr 20, 2019 13:49

Quote While the sample clips don't exhibit any problems, they're not sufficient enough to test these problems. My clips are much longer, most of them are 20 minutes at their smallest. My clips also have a higher bitrate and data rate. The sample Skateboarding clip is only a few seconds long and has a low bitrate, plus it's not even 1080p. The sample clip also has that "first bit of audio missing" glitch when played in VLC, it didn't do that before whatever happened happened..

I suggested these tests to try and narrow down the possible range of issues, and since the skateboard clip doesn't show the issues, that's actually good news. We aren't yet at the point of declaring that only higher bitrate/length clips are affected, but those are more likely to be relevent.

Since you're experiencing a number of issues that seem to be unique to your system and/or workflow, one thing that would help is to share one of your projects so others can see how things respond on their end. Obviously, only do this if you're comfortable sharing your edits and source clips!

To do that use File > Pack Project Materials... and save everything to a cloud folder, then paste the link to it here. You can't just attach the PDS file, it has to be packed first and then all of your source clips will be included.

By sharing a problematic project, it should be pretty easy to tell if indeed PD actually has issues with the splits in your project or if that's a clue to something specifically happening on your system. Another step in understanding what's going on.

goody_fyre11

Member Joined: Jul 10, 2018 21:18 Messages: 56 Offline

Apr 20, 2019 20:09

Well I went back to all the problematic ones, and they all work. It seems that the problems only occur after editing them for a while, the projects themselves are only glitched until I produce them, then they work fine. But the produced video is also glitched.

It also seems to be completely random - I can't find any projects that don't work, but yesterday none of them worked. The longer I use the program, the more it breaks. That's the best theory I can come up with.

Since it breaks the longer I use the program, all my projects will work perfectly on your end. This is really weird. One day it works, the next day it doesn't, a few hours later on the same day it starts crashing, the next day it works - there's no rhyme or reason to this.

Here, I've attatched a download link to a video that had the video delay issue. Remember how I said that if a preview of a clip got stuck, the clip in the finished product will also get stuck in the same place? I'll attatch a rendered video that has these freezes.

https://mega.nz/#!KMRz1aQQ!N8XFQS91cCWtmdzaiQz6Y4DhnR5vsq5M4zJJGk9jj9Y

Notice that pause everytime it cuts to the next clip? The individual clips I recorded did not have that pause, only the video preview had those pauses. This is a pretty tame example. I deleted the clip, but once I had the preview freeze on one frame for half of the entire video, and the rendered video got stuck on that same frame for the rest of the video. I wish I had saved it.

optodata

Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline

Apr 20, 2019 22:07

Quote Notice that pause everytime it cuts to the next clip? The individual clips I recorded did not have that pause, only the video preview had those pauses. This is a pretty tame example. I deleted the clip, but once I had the preview freeze on one frame for half of the entire video, and the rendered video got stuck on that same frame for the rest of the video. I wish I had saved it.

I'm not a gamer, so I honestly can't tell when one clip ends and the next begins

I would guess that 1:17 and 3:46 show the freeze you're describing, but the (apparent) transitions between clips @ 1:57 and again at 5:15 don't freeze.

Your description of the timing of things is similar to my experience with several vexing PD issues over the years. Death by Titles is still a problem whenever I have Edge open, and this one took years before the right combination of users managed to find a significant clue and Cyberlink was finally able to resolve the issue.

With the current version of PD17, I will eventually run into a problem with the clip prevew not updating when I make a significant edit, like zooming in 2x, and I've found that that's the right time to undo that change and save the project, then close PD and reopen it.

It's possible that something like that is affecting you as well, and maybe you've ended up producing whatever anomaly is present. I can't tell if you've already done this, but can you try (or confirm that you've already tried) to produce one of the projects again that had the freeze in the final vid? If the issue is something that only afffects the "live" project but isn't actually in the PDS code, you might see a good outcome when you re-try.

goody_fyre11

Member Joined: Jul 10, 2018 21:18 Messages: 56 Offline

Apr 21, 2019 17:19

I deleted all those projects out of frustration. It's completely random when it happens and how long the freeze is. I'll have to make a lot of long, detailed projects before I make one that ends up breaking.

Also I don't have any other programs open while editing, and I don't use Edge.