CyberLink Power Director 8 Review P.2
PowerDirector 8 supports a wide range of video output formats.
You can output to MPEG-1, MPEG-2 (HDV), MOV, WMV, DV-AVI, QuickTime and RealMedia, iPod and PSP, H.264 (AVCHD), and MPEG-4. You can write back to HDV tape or a HDD camcorder and MPEG2 also comes with full Dolby support.
You can output to MPEG-1, MPEG-2 (HDV), MOV, WMV, DV-AVI, QuickTime and RealMedia, iPod and PSP, H.264 (AVCHD), and MPEG-4. You can write back to HDV tape or a HDD camcorder and MPEG2 also comes with full Dolby support.
Video File Output
The white balance feature is of particular value given that most of us will be using footage from consumer cams and sometimes the auto white balance in these cams can be a little... err... "inconsistent!"
A new addition in Power Director 8 are what they have dubbed Power Tools. They include the ability to correct the white balance of any footage you have, crop or rotate the video as well as to reverse the direction of the footage.
As you can see from the screen shot below the tools are easy to understand and use as well as providing real time display of the changes you are making as you go.
PowerDirector 8 Power Tools
Direct uploading YouTube or Facebook is easy from within PowerDirector 8 by just providing your account information and the video is directly uploaded.
PowerDirector 8 also supports uploading HD content to YouTube via the direct upload interface.
PowerDirector 8 also supports uploading HD content to YouTube via the direct upload interface.
The Create Disc module within Power Director 8 handles CD, DVD, Blu-ray and AVCHD disc creation with great control over menus and functionality. It provides full access to the design and layout of menus and titles as well as scene selection and motion menus. It supports the inclusion of subtitles using SRT or TXT files.
A point to note here is that the Director Zone feature included with Power Director 8 gives you free access to hundreds of menus designed by other users so that you can achieve very professional results.
A point to note here is that the Director Zone feature included with Power Director 8 gives you free access to hundreds of menus designed by other users so that you can achieve very professional results.
PowerDirector 8 has a huge selection of effects and filters (about 100) and well over 150 transitions many of which can be extensively customized.
They have also introduced new technology, again from their TrueTheater product, to deal with slow-motion in a manner far superior to anything else around. The inherent choppiness that most effects editors have not been able to eliminate is truly dealt with here and the result is smooth slow motion like the pros.
They have also introduced new technology, again from their TrueTheater product, to deal with slow-motion in a manner far superior to anything else around. The inherent choppiness that most effects editors have not been able to eliminate is truly dealt with here and the result is smooth slow motion like the pros.
The Particle Effects Designer doesn't just let you... ummm... design particles! It is actually a module that allows the creation of Motion Paths. If you look at the image you see a line drawn on the frame. Any particle you want will follow that line on the final video. So in reality you could make a particle of your own... maybe your friends head, and have it float around the video.
Pro software has this ability and Power Director 8 is one of the few consumer level programs to introduce it. Way cool!
Pro software has this ability and Power Director 8 is one of the few consumer level programs to introduce it. Way cool!
This feature can be used for two main purposes:
First you can run your old projects through the software to simply upscale the whole thing to HD.
However the most useful application of this up-scaling technology is to convert your existing SD footage and be able to mix it on the timeline seamlessly into a high definition project. This really does take away the pain of converting your camcorder and equipment to high definition by keeping your old footage usable.
First you can run your old projects through the software to simply upscale the whole thing to HD.
However the most useful application of this up-scaling technology is to convert your existing SD footage and be able to mix it on the timeline seamlessly into a high definition project. This really does take away the pain of converting your camcorder and equipment to high definition by keeping your old footage usable.
DVD, Blu-ray, AVCHD Disc Creation
Standard Definition to High Definition Upscaling
Video Editing Effects - Video Transitions
PowerDirector 8 also offers CyberLink's new SD to HD upscaling technology. This is part of their TrueTheater product range that they have incorporated into a number of their software products.
Whilst it is impossible really to make HD from SD the result that can be achieved by this technology are very impressive and will most likely improve into the future.
Whilst it is impossible really to make HD from SD the result that can be achieved by this technology are very impressive and will most likely improve into the future.
CyberLink PowerDirector 8 Conclusion
Particle Effects / Motion Paths
Take a look at the image below to see the particle effects designer. For many it may be hard to understand exactly why this is a notable feature. You may be thinking,"I guess would be sort of ok to be able to make snow or rain effects... or something." That would be a major underestimation of this feature.
The bottom line is that at whatever level of expertise you are at PowerDirector 8 will provide you with not only a pleasant user experience but also access to some very powerful and effective video editing features.
As I always recommend, click the link below and take the free trial for a run first on your computer to be sure everyone plays nice!
So rather than go on and on about this forever let's get this wrapped up. In addition to what you have seen here Power Director 8 also has very good audio mixing abilities and audio file compatibility with the same going for still images.
It allows any of the video tracks to be used for overlaying images or other footage onto the original track and transitions can be used in overlays as well, the features go on and on.
It allows any of the video tracks to be used for overlaying images or other footage onto the original track and transitions can be used in overlays as well, the features go on and on.
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