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PhotoDirector no longer works with PowerDirector.
Brian108 [Avatar]
Member Joined: Sep 30, 2018 04:41 Messages: 50 Offline
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PhotoDirector crashes when I request it to open through the usual 'Fix/Enhance...PhotoDirector'. It just won't open. I've got around the problem by opening the programme separately and making the adjustments and then 'Export' the finished photo to PowerDirector. That works but it is much more convenient to have the programme available through PDR.

Any suggestions anyone? Thanks in advance for any help.

Brian
optodata
Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline
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I don't think I've ever tried that PD -> PhD -> PD embedded route before, but on my system with PD365, I can't get PhD 365 to open either. It works fine with PD17 as this video shows:



It would be good to have someone test this with PD19 version to see if this issue only occurs with the subscription product or if both PD products are afflicted.
PowerDirector Moderator [Avatar]
Senior Contributor Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan Joined: Oct 18, 2016 00:25 Messages: 2104 Offline
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Quote I don't think I've ever tried that PD -> PhD -> PD embedded route before, but on my system with PD365, I can't get PhD 365 to open either. It works fine with PD17 as this video shows:



It would be good to have someone test this with PD19 version to see if this issue only occurs with the subscription product or if both PD products are afflicted.


Hi,
Can either or both of you give your exact versions of PDR and PhD, please?

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator
optodata
Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline
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Sure. Both are the most recent 365 builds:

PDR = 19.3.2724.0 SR: VDE210222-02
PhD = 12.3.2724.0 SR: PTD210104-03
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Hello Brian, optodata & my fellow mod,

I'm unable to replicate the issue here using both PDR19.0.2808/PhD12.0.2512 and PDR365 Business 19.3.2724/PhD365 19.3.2724.

Here's a screen capture (recorded just now) showing both Liftetime & Subscription versions.



I can't imagine that using PDR365 Business would make any difference.

PIX PIX YouTube channel
optodata
Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline
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Ok - I did some more testing with PD13, 14, 17 and 365 with PhD6, 7 and 365, and I found that the problem is related to the specific images I'd been testing with. I used the technique discussed here to switch which PhD version was called.

When I used any of the sample images that come with PD, every version of PhD I tested came up perfectly with every tested version of PD. I imagine that was the case with PDM and PIX as well.

However, every tested version of PhD failed with every tested version of PD if I used either of the attached clips. One is a panorama and the other is a vertical 4:3 image, and both were taken with the same Pixel 5.

However, the attached JPGs aren't the direct Pixel 5 images (which are much larger and have no problems calling PhD). These are the reduced size/quality versions that came from the Win10 Your Phone app that I originally imported them from. I wonder if it's the odd pixel sizes...

Can anyone else confirm this issue on their system with these clips? I tested Color Director and AudioDirector and didn't see any issues with them (although I obviously couldn't use the attached clips since they contain no video or audio).
[Thumb - Hawk's Nest panorama.jpg]
 Filename
Hawk's Nest panorama.jpg
[Disk]
 Description
problematic panorama clip (3016x522)
 Filesize
966 Kbytes
 Downloaded:
5 time(s)
[Thumb - Hawk's Nest scope.jpg]
 Filename
Hawk's Nest scope.jpg
[Disk]
 Description
problematic vertical 4:3 clip (1078x1438)
 Filesize
900 Kbytes
 Downloaded:
5 time(s)

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at May 02. 2021 16:43

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I can confirm that, optodata.

In PDR19 (lifetime), your two photos will not allow PhD to open via PDR. I tested a variety of other panorama shots, either camera generated or assembled manually, with no similar issues.

Two examples:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r6gSXJGSep4oSMoNTo8bGjwkx5kbL-rF/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lN07Nj0KAa87kydFFSHQKqmMEGvAMpf-/view?usp=sharing

PIX PIX YouTube channel
optodata
Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline
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Thanks for confirming.

I tried saving a few other images from the Your Phone app. One of them failed the first time I tried but then I tried another clip and it worked. When I tried that same clip again it seemed to always work so the repeatable issues are so far confined to the two clips I shared.

Apparently not all images from that app will cause problems, but some sure seem to. Looks like I lucked out(?) picking just these 2 clips. I wonder if Brian108 will see something similar and only some clips don't work.

Also, I noticed that each time an attempt is made, a new copy of the selected clip is created in the same folder so if you do a bunch of testing you'll want to clean up all the extraneous (0), (1), and (0) (0) clips that get abandonded there.
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On a side note, other sample photos from Pixel 5 didn't cause the same problem.

Also, I noticed that each time an attempt is made, a new copy of the selected clip is created in the same folder so if you do a bunch of testing you'll want to clean up all the extraneous (0), (1), and (0) (0) clips that get abandonded there.


You're right. Even when PhD fails to open the photo via PDR, it still generates a copy.

PIX PIX YouTube channel
optodata
Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline
[Post New]
Quote On a side note, other sample photos from Pixel 5 didn't cause the same problem.

Right. I've attached the original versions of the 2 problematic JPGs. PDR/PhD work perfectly with them so the key is what's so different with the lower resolution versions from the Your Phone app.

Do you think this should be reported as a PDR or PhD issue?
[Thumb - PXL_20210426_203453413.PANO.jpg]
 Filename
PXL_20210426_203453413.PANO.jpg
[Disk]
 Description
original panorama from Pixel 5
 Filesize
6835 Kbytes
 Downloaded:
2 time(s)
[Thumb - PXL_20210426_203912788.jpg]
 Filename
PXL_20210426_203912788.jpg
[Disk]
 Description
original 4:3 telescope from Pixel 5
 Filesize
5507 Kbytes
 Downloaded:
2 time(s)
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Do you think this should be reported as a PDR or PhD issue?


PhD, as a standalone, imports the JPGs from both Pixel5 & the YourPhone app.
PhD, in round tripping with PDR, works fine with the original Pixel5 shots but not consistently with the Your Phone app exports.

Another (off-topic) side note: The original pano shot from Pixel5 displays as a 360° in both PhD & PDR, but not so with the Your Phone app export.

Comparing the original Pixel5 photos with the Your Phone app exports in JPEGsnoop, it's clear that a % of the data has been "stripped". Whether that has any impact, I'm not sure.

One thing (off topic again) that is an issue for both PhD & PDR is that neither of them is able to interpret the RAW files (.dng) from Pixel5 correctly.

Back to the original question, & the OP, perhaps there's something particular about the photos Brian was using that tripped up the process. Perhaps...

PIX PIX YouTube channel
optodata
Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline
[Post New]
I only checked with MediaInfo and haven't looked at any EXIF data but I imagine that at least some of these details are relevant.

I also noticed the 360° tag with the original and the lack thereof with the Your Phone clip, so clearly some fairly important info is missing.
Brian108 [Avatar]
Member Joined: Sep 30, 2018 04:41 Messages: 50 Offline
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Here is a short video showing the problem and my PDR version.

https://youtu.be/8OzRcFymT2U

I hope someone can come up with a solution. Thanks in advance

Brian
optodata
Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline
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Thanks for the video. (BTW the "SR number" in the About screen isn't a serial number. It's the software release number and there's no need to mask it)

You seem to be more impacted by the issue and I'm wondering what will happen if you download one of my original images I shared straight from my Pixel 5 or any of the pics from PIXS's Google Drive.

None of those images have any problems on PIX's machine or mine, and it would give us new information if they don't work on your system.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at May 04. 2021 11:09

Brian108 [Avatar]
Member Joined: Sep 30, 2018 04:41 Messages: 50 Offline
[Post New]
Quote Thanks for the video. (BTW the "SR number" in the About screen isn't a serial number. It's the software release number and there's no need to mask it)

You seem to be more impacted by the issue and I'm wondering what will happen if you download one of my original images I shared straight from my Pixel 5 or any of the pics from PIXS's Google Drive.

None of those images have any problems on PIX's machine or mine, and it would give us new information if they don't work on your system.



Thanks Optodata. Tried all 4 files from yourself and Pix. Sorry to report, same problem, PhotoDirector starts to open showing the opening logo and then crashes.
optodata
Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline
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Quote Thanks Optodata. Tried all 4 files from yourself and Pix. Sorry to report, same problem, PhotoDirector starts to open showing the opening logo and then crashes.

So certainly seems to be something different about your system as those pics don't cause any issues with two other computers. I sugggest that you contact CL tech support directly and include a link to this discussion so they can see everything we've shared so far. PIX may have done so already but your situation is more severe,

You can reach them from here, and please post the ticket number (it will start with CS) here to close the loop.

Also, I've found that I no longer receive any email notifications after the first ackowledgement, so you'll want to manually check the My Status > My Support Ticket page at least once a day for a response. Please post back here and keep us updated!
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Hello again Brian,

Yes, your issue with PDR>PhD>PDR round tripping is a far more general issue than optodata's problem with particular images (from Your Phone app).

I'd definitely submit a support ticket, as optodata suggested.

Given that the problem is peculiar to your PC, have you tried uninstalling & reinstalling both PhD & PDR? As you said, the same process has worked for months but was possibly interrupted after a recent update. I'd certainly try that prior to submitting a support ticket.

PIX PIX YouTube channel
Brian108 [Avatar]
Member Joined: Sep 30, 2018 04:41 Messages: 50 Offline
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Hello again Pix and Optodata. I had to finish some work for a client so have been busy. Work done now I can take the time to reply. I submitted a 'ticket' to Cyberlink Tech. The number is Ticket ID: CS002342036. I did everything they asked and provided everything they asked for, dxdiag and system information. The problem remains and they are now just putting it down to my computer (it seems), though I have submitted a new ticket. This is so annoying. I even went back to a previous install of PowerDirector and all its siblings (when there was no problem), but now the problem has now followed me into the previous install. I have now upgraded to June's installation hoping it might have corrected itself. But no luck, in fact it seems to crash even faster (when I try to open PhotoDirector it immediately crashes). If anyone can help it would be much appreciated. PhotoDirector fortunately still opens on its own, but it was so much more convenient to open it within PowerDirector. Thanks in advance.
optodata
Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline
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I don't see any changes with the new versions. Most clips work fine, while the problem clips I shared back in May still don't work on my system.

Unfortunately, until CL can reproduce the problem and come up with a fix, I don't think there's anything any of us on the forum can do. The only thing I can suggest is to make the changes in PhD first then export the edited clip and import that into PD.
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