CyberLink PowerDirector
6
by Douglas Dixon,
Manifest Technology
Capture Mode
Edit Mode
Produce Mode
Create Disc Mode
CyberLink PowerDirector 6
is designed to make video editing
straightforward and simple, especially for
home users who want good results quickly and
with a minimum of fuss (www.cyberlink.com).
While PowerDirector supports higher-end
features like the new high-def formats and
widescreen DVD, its focus is on "magic"
automated assists for video editing, and
sharing through portable devices (Apple iPod
and Sony PSP) and the Web (YouTube).
Key
new features include improved Magic editing
tools, advanced options for PiP overlays,
support for high-definition video and
widescreen aspect ratios, a new DVD template
designer, and easy publishing on the web.
There's now just a single
version of PowerDirector priced at $89
(instead of the previous Standard, Deluxe,
and Premium - plus additional add-ins).
Released in March 2007, it's available as a
boxed retail product, or as a 417 MB
download.
You can try out CyberLink
PowerDirector for yourself by downloading
the trial version from the CyberLink website
-- it's a 30-day trial with some other
limitations, and 192 MB.
The PowerDirector interface
is built around a four-step workflow, using
the Mode buttons at the top of the screen:
-
Capture mode:
Capture from camcorders (DV, HDV), TV,
PC cameras, CD, DVD
Batch capture, Detect scenes
-
Edit mode: Import
Media, Trim, Fix/Enhance with Magic
Tools
Add Effects, PiP Picture in Picture
Objects, Titles, Transitions,
Audio Mixing, Voice-Over Recording,
DVD Chapters, DVD Subtitles
-
Produce mode:
Export to Video File, Streaming Video
Write to DV/HDV Tape, Upload to
YouTube/MediaMax
-
Create Disc mode:
Author and burn DVD, Design menus
CyberLink PowerDirector 6 with Magic
Movie Wizard
See below for a summary of
these workflow modes, highlighting the new
features.
Find
CyberLink PowerDirector on
Amazon.com.
Input Devices
Select input device icon at
the top left of the screen
DV camcorder, HDV camcorder
Channels from TV, Digital TV
Live from PC Camera, Audio from PC
Microphone
Rip tracks from CD
Titles and chapters from DVD
Capture formats: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4,
AVI, DivX
DV Capture
DV Backup: Capture
direct to DVD burner
DV Batch Capture:
- Manual: Select clips by In/Out
time
- Automated: DV QuickScan splits
tapes into clips, then select clips to batch
capture
Special Features
Add Text Captions: To
DV/TV media, as overlays
Still Snapshot: Grab
still while previewing in Capture mode or
playing clips in Edit mode
Scene Detection
After capture, analyze clips
in Capture or Edit modes
Detect by changed timecodes (DV), or by
analyzing content of scenes
Extract audio: From clips in Media
Library
Import Media to Media
Library
Video: HD MPEG-2, DVR-MS,
DV-AVI, DAT
MPEG-1, MPEG-2, VOB, VRO,
WMV, WMV-HD, MOV, MOD, 7DivX, live
capture
Image: GIF, BMP, JPG, TIF, PNG, PSD
Audio: WAV, MP3, WMA
Media Library - "Rooms"
Media Room - Library
of clips
Effects Room - Video or image effects
NEW: Multiple video effects onscreen
PiP Objects Room - Picture in Picture
overlays (static, motion, decorative)
Alpha-blended objects
NEW: Preset and user-defined motion
paths, accompanying PiP audio
Titles Room - Text titles
NEW: Dialog / speech balloons
Transitions Room - Transition effects
between clips
Audio Mixing Room - Mixing across
audio tracks
Voice-Over Recording Room - Record
narration from microphone
Chapters Room - Set chapter markers
for DVD (manual, or regular intervals)
Subtitles Room - Text captions
NEW: Video subtitles, Import txt and
export srt files
Storyboard / Timeline
Storyboard view:
Arrange clips in sequence
Timeline view: Edit multiple elements
over time
Master Video Track: Main video
and image clips
Effect Track: Special effects
applied to clips in Master Video Track
PiP Track: Video/image clips and
objects over clips in Master Video Track
Title Track: Title overlays and
effects over clips in Master Video Track
Voice Track: Narrative voice-over
or second audio clip
Music Track: Main audio and music
clips
Editing Clips
Trim duration (can use
separate Media Viewer), Multi-trim, Split,
Align
Adjust playback speed: 1/2 to 2X with audio,
1/10 to 10X when muted
Adjust color and brightness
NEW: Adjust Aspect ratio: 4:3 or 16:9
NEW: Auto save projects
Slideshow Designer
NEW: Create photo slide
show, to specified style
Normal, motion, cell, collage, photo
scrapbook styles
Magic Tools
Magic Movie Wizard:
Automatically build edited movie from
collection of clips
Use pre-defined style, add transitions,
effects, additional music track
Control balance of use of videos and
photos
Then can do further editing and
refinement before exporting
Magic Style: Creates
professional movies with pre-designed style
template
Opening sequences / title, transitions
and effects
NEW: Particle effects and alpha-blended
PiPs, Closing video
Magic Cut: Condenses
long videos into shorter clips
(like Magic Movie Wizard, but on a
single clip)
Choose scenes with dialog, moving
objects
Select longer or shorter duration
Magic Clean: Cleans
audio, video and image clips.
Photo/video: Color, lighting adjustment,
white balance
NEW: Correct backlight & lighting, white
calibration
Audio: Noise reduction
Magic Fix: Stabilizes
videos, enhances photos
NEW: Video: Stabilizes shaky videos
using motion compensation
Photo: Remove red-eye and sharpen photos
to enhance focus
Magic Motion: Adds
zooms and pans to image clips
Random, Zoom, Pan and Zoom, set focus
Magic Music: Adds
background music to fit durations (SmartSound)
Select music by style, adjusts the
playback to fit video / slideshow length
Fine-tunes audio for smooth cut-off
Production Wizard
Export to Video File:
For computer playback
AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, DivX
NEW: High-definition MPEG-4 AVC (H.264)
NEW: Export file for Apple iPod / Sony
PSP
Export to Streaming Video: For Web
playback
Windows Media WMV, RealVideo or
QuickTime Movie
Write Back to DV Tape: Record back to
DV camcorder
NEW: Write Back to HDV Tape:
Record back to HDV camcorder
Upload to YouTube: Share on the Web
NEW: Upload to MediaMax:
Archive/share on the Web
Streamload.com - 25 MB of free online
storage
NEW: Batch Produce:
Multiple projects to multiple formats
DVD Menu Designer
Menu style, customize
buttons, text, objects, music, background
NEW: Widescreen menus
NEW: Moveable buttons and thumbnails,
Support imported images
Burn to DVD: DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW,
DVD-RAM
VCD/SVCD: CD-R, CD-RW
Burn to DVD folder
Manifest
Technology®
Copyright 1999-2007,
Douglas Dixon, All Rights Reserved
Manifest Technology is a registered
trademark of Douglas Dixon
