Reviews CyberLink PowerDirector 10 Deluxe

This video editing software earns the TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award for the great HD video, audio and photo editing features. It's easy to use, too – just upload the files you want to include in your movie and start editing. And the cherry on top of this creamy treat: PowerDirector's 3D capabilities are perfect for those who want all the newest visual tricks for their videos. If you need help learning how to use the application, you can consult the comprehensive help and support available from the manufacturer. It is not hard to see why we ranked this application number one; it's the best video editing application in the price range.

Fantastic rendering speed is one of PowerDirector's most tantalizing attributes. Other video editing software packages on the market have a nasty habit of slowing down your computer. (With some applications, this problem can become so severe at times that it might not even seem worth the launch time for minor edits.) PowerDirector is the cure for the slow-motion plague; this application comes with solutions like Intelligent SVRT and TrueVelocity 2.
Intelligent SVRT performs complex calculations to optimize the rendering process. It breaks down videos into their separate media components and selects the best output settings for each file type, ensuring that the render runs quickly and effectively.



Long-time Cyberlink users will remember the original TrueVelocity from previous versions of PowerDirector. This combination of software and hardware is unique to CyberLink products and optimizes performance for a significant speed boost. Best of all, the newest version is faster than ever, improving upon PowerDirector 9's render time by more than 38%. The first technological innovation in the TrueVelocity bundle is the Parallel Engine, which exploits all cores and threads (in dual and quad core processors) simultaneously for fast video production. This involves a secondary process called "general-purpose computation on graphics processing units," or GPGPU for short. Put simply, it utilizes the computing power of high-end GPUs for purposes other than creating graphics. This capability stems from OpenCL technology, which controls the heterogeneous processing. (That's fancy talk for big-time data crunching on multiple processors.) OpenCL is capable of boosting speed by as much as 360% in optimal conditions.
Additionally, TrueVelocity Accelerator augments production speed further by accelerating the video decoding and encoding process. By using Direct Memory Access (also known as DMA), content moves from video memory to system memory far more efficiently. This technology allows the content to bypass the CPU, which leaves it free to accomplish other production chores.
FastRender technology saves time by allowing you to produce videos without re-encoding an entire video. That means that unchanged portions of a video that have already been rendered at least once before won’t have to be decoded then rendered again – that's a real time saver, because rendering can be the slowest part of the video creation process. As an added benefit, there’s no loss of quality because the result is identical to the source material.
Perhaps the most significant factor in PowerDirector 10's excellent speed is the native 64-bit processing, available with the upgraded Cyberlink PowerDirector 10 Ultra video editing software. It’s well worth the small extra investment if your computer is equipped with a 64-bit operating system. Other time-saving technologies packed into TrueVelocity 2 include UltraSeek, which rapidly locates and indexes frames for full HD video previewing in real time, and RapidEffect, which further exploits the GPU and speeds up video rendering.

Video Capture/Playback

Capturing video using CyberLink Power Director video editing software is simple, thanks to the logically designed capture window. You can access this feature by clicking the Capture button on the main user interface. From there, you can capture an extensive array of file types from just about any device. This video editing software provides ample support for standard and high-definition input file types, from the most common to cutting-edge new formats. This includes HD MPEG-2, DVR-MS, DV-AVI, DAT, DivX, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, VOB, VRO, ASF, WMV, WMV HD, MOV, MOD, MPEG-4, AVC (H.264), TS, MTS, M2TS and WTV (single channel). FLV and MKV formats, which have become preferred for high definition for the internet, are also available. New to this version of PowerDirector is the ability to capture all kinds of exciting 3D video content. You can import them from digital files on your computer or directly from your 3D camera or camcorder.
You can use CyberLink PowerDirector to capture full HD directly from your HDV camcorder. (AVCHD video capture and importation requires the Ultra version upgrade). This digital format does not require conversion before you can start your edits. Similarly, you can capture footage from a DV without any pesky conversions. Batch capture is particularly convenient for capturing multiple video clips automatically, but you can also grab individual segments using the single scene capture mode. You can even transfer the footage from your camcorder directly to a DVD using CyberLink PowerDirector's DV Backup functionality. Of course, camcorders are not the only devices that can transfer files to CyberLink PowerDirector video editing software. You can also capture scenes from a webcam, DVD, CD, microphone or even a TV signal. New to PowerDirector 10 is the ability to capture from Blu-ray Discs. Regardless of the format or source of the material, all captured content appears in the Media Room library as soon as you return to edit your video.

Ease of Use

CyberLink PowerDirector video editing software features an extensive drag-and-drop interface that is easy to learn. You can get started by simply dragging clips from the Media Room to the timeline. Adding transitions and effects, trimming and splitting clips, and setting clip duration are all just few clicks away.
The Magic Movie Wizard is even easier. New users can easily experience the satisfaction of creating a high-quality movie, complete with edited video blended with professional-looking effects and transitions by using this automatic programming. There are a number of other Magic features as well, which serve to make beginners look like seasoned pros and more experienced users look even better. The Magic Fix function can remove shakiness from footage, remove red eye or enhance the focus of photos. The Magic Motion Designer allows you to add custom panning and zooming to your videos. It can even animate still photos, which opens up the floodgates of creativity. The Magic Cut feature automatically condenses long clips into shorter ones that contain only the highest quality footage. Finally, Magic Style gives you the ability to add pre-designed style templates for a professional look.

Editing Tools

The whole point of video editing software is to enhance raw footage that generally contains unwanted or low-quality images. CyberLink PowerDirector provides a seemingly endless array of tools to solve these issues. You will be able to show off a final product that you can be proud of and that your audience will enjoy. You will accomplish most of the work in the drag-and-drop timeline, which allows for reordering clips as well as adding effects and transitions to make your movie look its best. With 200 video and audio tracks (which is far more than most users could ever hope to fill), the timeline is also a great creativity tool.
A group of functions called Power Tools is also included as part of this video editing software. These tools include the ability to play a selected clip in reverse, crop and zoom in on selected portions of a clip, adjust the video speed, freeze frame and even rotate the clip within the video.
Clip splitting is one of the most useful features of this video editing software. You can split a clip as many times as you like and move it wherever you choose on the timeline. You can also trim unwanted portions of video and audio content from your final product. A particularly useful property of trimming is that it doesn't delete anything from your original content, so accidents are easily repaired. You can also modify the duration of by simply dragging the beginning or end points on the timeline.
TrueTheater video enhancements are available to perform a number of impressive editing tasks. The ability to upscale standard-definition video content to HD quality is among our favorites, but you can also enhance image details, naturalize colors, automatically adjust chroma and luminance, and the list goes on. You can remove annoying grain from clips, stabilize shaky images in real time and even convert 2D videos and photos into 3D – all thanks to Cyberlink PowerDirector's TrueTheater package.

Export/Production

The explosion in popularity of social networking sites has made sharing videos on the internet extremely popular. When you've finished editing your videos, this video editing software makes it easy to upload them to YouTube, Facebook and other popular video sharing websites like Vimeo, DailyMotion and NicoNicoDouga. Loading your videos to portable devices like the iPad, iPod or iPhone is also a snap. So too is transferring them to a BlackBerry or many other mobile phones, as well as to a PSP, Zune or similar devices.
This latest version of PowerDirector brings a plentitude of new 3D export options to the table as well. Now you can create 3D movies in MVC, Side-by-Side and Anaglyph formats, depending on your needs and preferences. (Anaglyph, for example, is much cheaper for most people because it uses inexpensive red and blue 3D glasses.)

Editing Effects/Transitions

CyberLink PowerDirector offers a wealth of effects and transitions that will make your video look even more polished and professional. One of the most creative effects – unique to this video editing software – is the Particle Effect function. With it, you can make a huge selection of dazzling images trail across your video. You can even direct the path of images for just the right look. Adding picture-in-picture images is a snap, and adding from an enormous library of transitions and titles, including 3D ones, is easily done on the timeline.

Disc Creation

CyberLink PowerDirector makes it easy to burn your finished movie to a disc. You can choose to burn to single or dual-layer DVDs and Blu-ray Discs. Included is the ability to add professional-looking title sets and chapter navigation. If you choose to upgrade to the Ultra version, you have the additional option of burning to the new BDXL discs with their enormous 128GB storage capacity.
PowerDirector 10 now brings 3D disc burning into the CyberLink fold. It is capable of outputting to any 3D format, including 3D Blu-ray, 3D DVD and 3D AVCHD. When you are finished, you can watch your videos on your 3DTV in the comfort of your own home.

Audio & Photo Editing

This video editing software takes photo editing to a new level. It includes the ability to import video footage or still images from many DSLR cameras. This includes importing still photos in RAW file format. Once you import a photo to the application, all of the extraordinary editing features are available, including the ability to make slideshows that include 3D and motion effects. You can export images in a variety of formats, including JPS and MPO.
You can edit audio, including 5.1 surround sound, using the integrated WaveEditor. It allows you to adjust volume and pitch, change speed and reduce noise effectively. Audio content can be separated from video for greater flexibility and creative control.
This version of PowerDirector introduces the Beat Marker, which analyzes your audio content and places markers at prominent beat locations. This is hugely useful for timing transitions and applying other editing techniques. To further enhance audio quality, the auto-normalizer corrects all audio files in the timeline for equal consistency throughout your clips.

Help & Support

The DirectorZone is one of the most valuable features of CyberLink PowerDirector video editing software. It's an online community that allows users to download more than 200,000 effects, templates and tutorials. That's double the amount of resources available with prior versions of PowerDirector. Users can upload their completed projects to the site, allowing others to see them. Learning from the successes and shortcomings of others is easy; viewers can see not only completed movies, but also the project timeline. That allows you to see exactly what others have done to make their movies sparkle. CyberLink's website includes a searchable FAQs section, tutorials and downloadable user manuals. You can reach tech support by email if necessary.

Summary

If you are looking for video editing software that has great editing features, multiple export options and reliable help and support, our recommendation is CyberLink PowerDirector 10. And if you need even more advanced functionality, check out CyberLink PowerDirector 10 Ultra. With this application you will be sure to have a great experience turning your home videos into movies that your friends and family will enjoy watching. This is video editing software at its best, and it's at your fingertips
by toptenreviews.com