I have had CyberLink PowerDirector as my choice for the best video editing software for the home user, hobbyist or even aspirational amateur for some time now.
Over the years they have managed to stay ahead of the pack by adding useful features rather just “shiny stuff” to attract attention and have worked steadily to keep the software user friendly and stable.
This latest release sees them in my eyes extending their lead by a long way. They haven’t focused on adding new stuff for the sake of adding new stuff or because everyone else added new stuff!
They did something many, many other software manufacturers really should do every few years or so.
They stopped, took note of the changed landscape with regards to computers, video files, consumer expectations, bit the bullet and completely rebuilt the software internally to suit those changes.
User Interface
Not much has changed here since the last version and to be honest not much really needed to be changed.
PowerDirector 9 has always had a reasonably good interface to work with and I would call it as no better or worse than the rest.
Modern video editing software has to incorporate access to an enormous array of functionality these days and this invariably leads to problems with the interface becoming cluttered or confusing.
PowerDirector 9 does a good job of keeping things where they should be or at least where you would logically expect to find them.
They have retained their Magic Movie Wizard feature which allows almost automatic creation of completed projects for those who are not that interested in hours of editing.
There are other easily accessible tools for removing the shakes from footage as well as fix little problems like red-eye. There is a feature to correct out of focus shots but don’t expect miracles here!
You can create slide-show and add a “pan and zoom” effect to the still images or to images in your video projects as well.
Obviously you can cut your footage using the editor but there is also a feature to make multiple cuts to the one scene which is a real time saver.
Video Editing
PowerDirector 9 handles all editing tasks with ease and there really is no need to go into this at length.
It all works on the basis of dragging and dropping onto the timeline and this goes for video files, audio files, still images, transitions or whatever.
Honestly if PowerDirector 9 can’t do what you want as far as pure editing goes then I doubt very much that you should be using software at this level. It cuts, chops, slices and dices with ease.
You can reverse clips, slow them down, speed them up, rotate them, freeze them, crop them and zoom in on them. This all comes within a group of tools called PowerTools that can be easily accessed from within the application.
Video Capture – Video Playback:
Capturing into PowerDirector 9 as you would expect in a mature video editor, is totally covered and all the common video files are catered for.
Here is a list of most of the files it will handle: HD MPEG-2, DVR-MS, DV-AVI, DAT, DivX, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, VOB, VRO, ASF, WMV, WMV HD, MOV, MOD, TOD AVCHD, MPEG-4, AVC (H.264), TS, MTS, M2TS and WTV (single channel), FLV and MKV.
As far as high definition goes HDV and AVCHD are not only compatible but there is no need for any conversion to another file type for editing. Coupled with the new TrueVelocity Accelerator PowerDirector is easily best in class for these types of video files.
It also supports capture or transfer from a wide range of devices such as DVD recorders, mobile devices and on and on… If you are uncertain just check the website to see f your device or file format is covered.
Next Page: CyberLink PowerDirector 9 Ultra Review p.3
Previous Page: CyberLink PowerDirector 9 Ultra Review p.1
Click Here to See CyberLink PowerDirector for Yourself
