The fade is still there. I'm not sure what you want on the other question unless you are talking about a clock counter that sits in the corner, for example. I don't know of an add on, but you should be able to make one that could be used in PiP. __________________________________
CORNBLOSSOM

Hi Gary & Jaime -

Jaime is right. A timecode video can easily be inserted into one of the PIP tracks. You can download a variety of these at http://www.mediacollege.com/downloads/video/timecode/

In PD, there is no instant "Fade to/from Black". To achieve this, all you need to do is:
1. Insert a black colour board.
2. Insert a fade transition.
3. Adjust duration of each to suit your needs.

Cheers - Tony
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Fade to black can be achieved by simply placing a fade at the end of the project. If you have an audio or PiP which extends beyond the video track the fade will just go to black. The media in any track determines the length of the project.
Note: Titles are not media files.

Hope that makes sense....

Dafydd
[Moderator]

Ok, very good. Thats what I thought. Actually I sent the same questions into tech support at Cyberlink before posting here and they said neither function existed for this product. I just couldn't believe that and I should have posted here with users in the first place.

What I really would like to have is the time/date code data straight from the camera but with HD you cant get that as I have been told. I have an analog camera that will show the data when captured through a dazzle contraption but the picture quality is fairly low.
So I can use a counter that counts up from zero and accomplish nearly the same thing. Anything that that lawyer can refer to at an exact moment. Sometimes the depositions go for for 3-4 hours at a time. Imagine trying to remember where the client said something particular and then trying to search. Its easy for them to jot down the time that they asked the question, during questioning and then they can go straight to it. While sitting there I have no idea what is important and what isn't. I just record. So if I cant get the time/date stamped, a counter is the next best thing.

Thanks for your replies. Before I throw the switch and purchase, what do you like about this level of editing software? As opposed to maybe Pinnacle12 or Corel12. Pinnacle is a bit glitchy at times but it does do most all my needs. I was hoping that PD would play nicer with the .tod and avchd files since it is bundled with the camera. For around a $65.00 upgrade I thought it might be worth it.

Thanks again,

Gary B.

There's another timestamp here :-

http://www.2writers.com/download.htm

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.

If your computer is up to it and you have the proper codecs installed PD8 works well with AVCHD. I have a Canon HG20 which records at 24 Mb/s AVCHD at 1920x1080i and PD gives me no problems. However, I'm using a quad core Q9300 CPU. I also have a dual core laptop at 2 GHz and it can barely keep up with the CPU usage near 100%. Q9300 2.5 GHz
4 GB Ram
Nvidia 9800 GT

Thanks for this topic, I and new to PowerDirector but have been using Pinancle Studio for a couple of years.

I like to display opening titles against a black background. i guess I need a black "video" to put on the video timeline. Same thing at the end.


I'm still trying to figure out the menus. Pinnacle has been my standard and PowerDirector is, well, different.

One really nice thing is how fast V8 rendered a 1920X1080 Blu Ray disc. A 10 minute project was rendered and burned in about 11 minutes. Nice.

AMD 9950 Phenom X4 2.6GHZ
HIS ATI 4870
4GB RAM
Vista Ultimate SP2, 32 bit
mkh productions

At the risk of repeating myself...

Quote:
1. Insert a black colour board.
2. Insert a fade transition.
3. Adjust duration of each to suit your needs.

Just insert your title under the black colour board... but if you'd rather have a black video clip, that's up to you.

Cheers - Tony
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forgive me, I am a newbie . . .

What is a colour board? Where does it go?

The timeline has:

Movie track
Effect track
Pip track
transition track
voice track
music track


Thanks mkh productions

Nevermind, I found it . . . . thanks. mkh productions

Well, now I have a new question, how do apply the fade to the title? The fade seems to be affecting only the movie track. Thanks. mkh productions

Bob,

- Highlight your title in the timeline.
- Click on the Modify tab.
- Once in the Title Designer, highlight your text on the screen.
- Look to the top left of the Title Designer screen.
- Click on the middle Modify Animation tab (star symbol with 2 little stars).
- Click on the More tabs for applying the starting and ending effects you desire.

There are many title animation options to choose from.


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Thank you, I will try this tonight . . . . mkh productions

Thanks guys. Your advice really does help and we do appreciate it.. Its just daunting to change programs when I know right where/how all my stuff works in Pinnacle. Honestly I wouldn't change as I am very happy with the results from Pinnacle.
Its just that every once in awhile when I work directly with .tod files from the JVC, I drop one in the time-line and it is cut off about a minute or so. I have to re-copy it from the camera nd re-introduce it to Pinnacle in order to get the entire video.
Sometimes the audio gets out of sync on a fade. And I know as soon as I ask JVC tech support they will say, "why aren't you using the supplied software?" .mpg's are perfect. No issues at all.

But for the nice cheap price of upgrading PD, I wouldn't mind seeing if I could get past those two issues. Truthfully, I don't need much more than the one fade effect and the timedate stamp out of a software program and if PD can help me in those regards, I'll take the plunge.

Bob, I keep a black .jpg for my black background. Titles fade in nicely on that. It works as a great blend slide. But, looks like PD gives us the black color thinghys built right into program. Pretty cool.

Guys, thanks again for the help. Look for me again for a nudge in the right direction from you guys.

Gary B.

I got a chance to try this tonight. . . . . the color board and effect on titles worked exactly as advertised. But it is different from Pinnacle Studio so I have some learning to do. Now that title fades are conquered I need help with menus, but that will wait until next week. mkh productions

Bob -

Glad it's working for you. Dafydd's tutorial on DVD Authoring will give you some excellent information to help with menus http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=CyberLinkChannel#p/u/17/HJMYmFNWLjo

Cheers - Tony
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