Gone are the days when video editing tools were strictly for professionals. Nowadays, they are mostly catered towards the average users who want to edit vlogs, create compilations, and create mini movies. Because of this, applications have simplified most of their features while still providing high-quality transition, effects, and animations to still create good video clips. CyberLink PowerDirector is one of the well-known applications for this. It is their newest and most improved version that has a “prosumer” image as it caters to all consumers while still having enhanced features. These include support for 360-degrees videos, vertical video editing, and more.
The application comes in multiple versions which differ in terms of price and features. First is the Deluxe version which gives full access to the application’s features. Next is the Ultra version which gives 25 GB of space for their Cloud service where you can store your edits and access them at any time as long as you have an internet connection. There is also the Ultimate version that offers additional templates and video packs that you can quickly apply to your video with no hassle and create amazing transitions and effects for them. These are called the NewBlue and proDAD augmentations. The Ultimate Suite adds premium content to your application with its ColorDirector5 and AudioDirector that makes editing these aspects of the video much easier. It also expands the space for cloud up to 50GB which can be accessed for a year. The last one is the Director Suite which adds the PhotoDirector tool. In our Cyberlink PowerDirector review we found this title to be close to the top of the ratings when compared to competitors.
Being a video editor, the interface is one of the most important aspects to keep users comfortable and efficient while using it. PowerDirector 15 has an interface similar to iMovie and Filmora which are very simple yet professional in their design. With the application, users can freely access the different features while having a fast rendering on the top right-side part to monitor any changes. Within the interface, the users can see the timeline of the clips, images, and songs. They can also freely click and drag the different photo and video effects, the tools for adding texts, the tool for changing audio, and more. The icons are familiar and simply inserted to make it more comfortable to use. The different proportions of the different toolbars are also well-designed to make it harmonious with each other.
One of the features that makes CyberLink PowerDirector standout is the 360-degree video editing. With this, the application takes you to a separate editor wherein you will be given lots of transitions, effects, and designing tools for your videos. Users can freely change the x or y-axis anytime to see the video at any angle of their liking. Users can also customize the video to be aimed towards specific social media platforms such as Youtube or Facebook which both support 360-degree videos. You can also view the one you are editing in either 2D or 3D mode to simplify the editing process.
Next, they also have a vertical video editor that can be accessed with the video ratio of 9:16 which is the standard when shooting these videos through your mobile phone. Aside from this, they also have the standard rations of 16:9 and 4:3 that are mostly used. Upon testing, the editing for the newer ratio feels the same with the others and is easy to do.
The application uses TrueVelocity6 for its video engine which we also recommend. The speed of this engine can especially be seen with how fast it can create renders for the editor to be guided all throughout. Aside from this, it also has reliable video compiling, cutting, and audio synchronization for the best video clips.
They can also optimize videos to run for up to 120 to 240 FPS which is mostly preferred by those who edit video games and the likes. They can even run videos that have 4k quality.
They also have a new tool called the Mask Designer that allows you to make parts of the video transparent to create transitions and effects. They also allow the merging of multiple video clips.
They also boast of the True Theatre color that can bring out the best contrast and photo quality with the use of color enhancement and correction. Specific frames can be selected for a certain design so that variation can exist within the video.
They also have the Action Camera Center that allows you to put more effects for the video such as vignette and fisheye. They also have a video stabilizer to lessen camera shake which is especially handy for home videos and vertical videos. They also have new effects like slow motion and pan and zoom to add more variations in the video editing.