Power Director 3

by Avanquest

Product Features

• Enhance camcorder videos and produce professional home movies
• Great for both advanced or entry-level video editors
• Intuitive new interface; PiP and title designer; SVRT II; DV QuickScan
• Improved editing interface, CD/DVD authoring program, and more
• Creating eye-catching movies has never been easier

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000VYK1O
• Item model number: 3520
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 31, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,454 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)

Product Description

PowerDirector 3 - it's everything you need to enhance your camcorder videos! Turn simple home movies into high-quality productions, with the suite of editing tools included here. SVRT II DV QuickScan for faster scanning and rendering of digital video Burn your recordings right to CD or DVD with the easy authoring program Dolby Digital & AC3 decoding support for better audio and even soundtracks

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Fantastic Program, March 11, 2004

By 

Jesse L. Whittington (Columbia, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Power Director 3 (CD-ROM)

I haven't had experience with similar programs in this price range. However, I did some research on line before I bought this package and it was rated higher than Ulead, Pinnacle & others. (check out this comparison chart: http://www.video-editing-software-review.com/index.html) I have to say that this software has blown me away. Rendering time is fast, it has been bug free and it will save to any type of format that you require. It even includes picture-in-picture. Not just a still image picture-in-picture but full motion video.

My main use for this program is to import images from my digital video camera and make my own DvDs. It is a snap to do this and even throw in some background music or record a voice over. Sound levels are as simple as dragging a sound line up and down. There are three different volume level controls for sound included in the video file, voice recorded through a microhpone and imported sound file. This gives incredible control over the overall volume and allows you to bring volume levels up & down in various places for each of these. Editing is intuitive and easy. I can't say too much about the features that this software offers.

Any savvy computer user will have no problems picking up the controls. I can't imagine that there could be software that was easier to use. However, don't confuse simplicity with weakness. This is one powerful program. Just get it and see for yourself. Have fun!

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy to use, but lacks a few features, November 20, 2004

By 

gman863 "gman863" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Power Director 3 (CD-ROM)

After going through a crash-fest trying to install Pinnacle Studio 9.0, I finally decided to download a free trial version of Power Director 3.0 from the manufacturer's website, www.cyberlink.com.

Editing with Power Director 3.0 is easy, and the results are great. My only issue is that, to effectively author a DVD with multiple chapters, you need to use CyberLink's Power Producer. While an "Express" version of Power Producer is included at no charge as part of Power Director, it's menu options (such as moving preview/chapter windows and adding title text) are very limited. If you want the real version of Power Producer which does all this, prepare to shell out $69.95 for the latest full version.

If you don't mind a basic DVD as a finished product, Power Director is a great choice for beginning or intermediate software - just don't expect to be able to do disc intros and menus that are Hollywood quality.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth a look, April 19, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Power Director 3 (CD-ROM)

There seems to be a lack of stable, quality products for non-professionals trying to make a DVD or VCD from a DV tape. I've tried two, Cyberlink Power Director 3 and Sonic myDVD 5. Unless you aren't planning to edit, Power Director 3 is superior. It has useful "scene detection by change in video frames" option for analog conversions. It has a very intuitive timeline editing mode that will allow you to be very creative. I was able to easily create title effects, add transitions and backround music for may project. You can save your work to DVD, VCD and streaming media. The boxed version comes with a useful, printed manual.

There are some downsides.

1. Some of the preferences settings don't seem to work (i.e., prompt for snapshot filename).
2. The burn functions aren't integrated into PowerDirector program, but rely on a separate program called EZproducer. The programs don't work together seamlessly. It took me a while to get the sound working using EZproducer (the same audio mixer settings didn't work for both programs). There is an unnecessary overlap in editing features which is confusing. Also EZProducer doesn't have some features that would be expected:
a. If there are menus created, there isn't an autoplay option so disc will play automatically when first inserted. If you don't create menus, it will autoplay, but repeat in a continuous loop.
b. It doesn't allow different formats for top level (main menu) versus lower level chapter menus.

Another major weakness: The tech support is terrible. It takes 2-3 business days to get a useless response. The FAQs are not helpful.

Final advice: If you have broadband, definitely try the trial versions before making a purchase.

Addendum: Version 4 has now been released. Also, now that Adobe Premiere Elements is available, would strongly recommend considering this product instead.