There is really any better hdr support in the latest PD21 over PD17. See this thread and make up your own mind: https://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/97172.page#390902 . There is not any new video import format over that from PD20 in the specs: https://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector-video-editing-software/specs_en_US.html .

Quote There is really any better hdr support in the latest PD21 over PD17.

Thanks for the response. I'm assuming you really meant "isn't" instead of "is". I would have thought it would have improved over the last 5 releases.

Is there a relatively inexpensive third-party converter/processor that does a good job of converting SDR to HDR? I understand that doing it with software is only emulating a true HDR camera that takes multiple pictures, and the same results shouldn't be expected, but I'd like to "dress up" some of my videos with HDR like colors, lighting, and textures. Previously known as PDuser97031 (had to create a new user after changing email address)

Quote Has the HDR effect processing and results improved any since PD17? In other words, is it worth it to upgrade from 17 to 21 to get much better HDR effect results? Has anything changed?

Thanks!

I assume you mean the Fix / Enhance > HDR Effect capability vs any HDR video import improvements. This PD HDR Effect has not been listed as an "enhanced" or "improved" feature in any release since PD17.

About the best upscale success for me has been Topaz Video AI. They just released a new version which I've got little experience with but used the prior release significantly. It is very time consuming, compute intensive, and has specific hardware requirements but often does a very good job of upscale. I'm not sure what relatively inexpensive is, for the new release they offer it at $159 through 11/4. Free updates for 1 year and you own it, none of this lease crap. They do offer a full trial to see how it works for your source content.

Jeff

Quote

I assume you mean the Fix / Enhance > HDR Effect capability vs any HDR video import improvements. This PD HDR Effect has not been listed as an "enhanced" or "improved" feature in any release since PD17.

About the best upscale success for me has been Topaz Video AI. They just released a new version which I've got little experience with but used the prior release significantly. It is very time consuming, compute intensive, and has specific hardware requirements but often does a very good job of upscale. I'm not sure what relatively inexpensive is, for the new release they offer it at $159 through 11/4. Free updates for 1 year and you own it, none of this lease crap. They do offer a full trial to see how it works for your source content.

Jeff

Thanks for the info!