Quote Running PowerDirector 16. Infrequent user doing simple editing.

This must have been covered before, but I am not finding the right search terms to use to find related posts.

If I import a single video file and the only edits are to remove segments from it, how can I get PowerDirector to simply output the file in the input format? Why is it necessary to choose a format from a limited list or to go to the trouble of trying to create a custom format? I have gotten SVRT to do this once or twice, but normally it is a no-go.

Thanks for any help.

I guess one answer would be that PD can import video files but it can't produce that same format (sometimes license restrictions), hence, one needs to select a produce format.

If PD16 Intelligent SVRT can't find an acceptable profile for your source video, the next best option is usually to simply create one that has similar frame size, encode format, bitrate, and fps and encode the video without the benefit of SVRT. If your source footage is from any of the popular cell phones, SVRT use will typically fail as SVRT requires a near constant frame rate and bitrate and most cell phone footage can be highly variable in both aspects depending on scene shot.

Jeff

Quote Why is it necessary to choose a format from a limited list or to go to the trouble of trying to create a custom format?

Because only you know what you want to do with the final video. If you're going to burn it to disc, upload it to YouTube or use it in another video, those have very different encoding needs and there's no way that PD would "know" what pixel size and format you'd want to use for each project.

Once you've selected an output profile, PD should remember it as the default so if your source clips and output goals are the same with each project, you shouldn't need to make any changes when producing.

Starting in PD17, there's a tool on the Produce page called Profile Analyzer, which looks at the details of your timeline clips and will suggest (or even create) the best profile for you.

In PD16, you can see whether SVRT is available for your current project by typing Alt+S or by right-clicking on a blank section of the timeline and choosing Show SVRT Track.

A green bar above the clip(s) means you can use SVRT, and you'll just need to write down the details shown in the Custom Profile box that appears above the timeline. Then find the closest Default profile on the Produce page and click on the + button to create the custom version and make the necessary changes.

Once you've created that (or used a default profile if one gives you the SVRT option when it's selected), PD will remember that until you change it.