Rating: 
Summary: Better than Ulead VideoStudio & Pinnacle
Review: I've only used the trial of this program, but it looks mostly good, I'm probably going to buy it.
In the trial, you can't burn or create menus, as that part of the program (EZProducer) isn't included in the trial. You can download PowerProducer as a separate trial from Cyberlink, which lets you create menus and burn DVDs, but this product wouldn't even play the MPEG created by Power Director. When you buy PowerDirector, EZProducer (which I believe is a lite version of PowerProducer), comes with it. PowerProducer is a program similar in functionality to Ulead DVD Movie Factory, minus some features, plus some other stuff.The good points of Power Director - It combines the stability of Ulead with most of the features of Pinnacle. (I say most of because the produce movie/create menus part of it resembles Ulead Video Studio- ie you need to render the entire movie as an MPEG first and then create your menus after in a different program)
It also has the following advantages over Pinnacle (based on my use of studio 8)
Scene detection is only done when you choose to, not when opening the video file which is what Pinnacle does, causing my system to freeze.
You can adjust the colour/brightness contrast easily for each separate scene.
More animated titles to choose from.
It doesn't crash all the time.
It doesn't have any other issues unlike Pinnacle which has hundreds of them.
It has the following advantages over Ulead VideoStudio 6:
Ability to detect scenes even if you haven't selected the "detect scenes" option when capturing the video.
More flexible in what you can do with layout of scenes.
More flexible with titles & timeline features.
More easy to use than VideoStudio.
It has the following disadvantages:
Menu creating/burning functionality is not intuitive at all - When producing the movie, for compression settings you need to look at the "remainder" value shown and ensure it's below 4.7GB and I only found this out by guessing. You need to burn a "High Quality DVD" in order for the width/height values to be the correct proportions, and then you can change the compression so that your whole movie fits on the disc, again, not very easy to work out. Once you've "produced" the movie, the menu creation is performed in "EzProduer" or "PowerProducer". I tried using "power producer" but it wouldn't even play the video file.
However, you can then use another program, such as Ulead DVD Movie Factory (which I already own) to create the menus and burn the disc.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended
Review: In October 2003 we purchased the highly recommended Sony DVD Handycam. The movies are recorded directly to DVD in digital format. The DVDs can be played immediately in most DVD players. I have been using the free software that came with the camcorder to edit and manipulate my home movies but the free software didn't offer enough options so I researched which software to purchase. I found several reviews that suggested Power Direct 3 and that's what I decided to buy. I installed the software and then determined that it is incompatible with my Sony camcorder and I am unable to "capture" my digital movies. The software will not allow capture directly from a DVD or from the harddrive. It is NOT an option...which seems like a basic option to me. I contacted the company to find out if they planned an upgrade to add the Sony camcorders into their compatibility system and they suggested that I buy a new camcorder. Give me a break! Then they suggested that before I buy the new camcorder I check its compatibility with Power Director 3 first. As if I would base my $1000 camcorder purchase on the compatibility of a $100 editing software. It never dawned on my that the number one recommended editing software would not work with the number one selling DVD camcorder. This has turned out to be an expensive lesson since I can no longer return the software (I threw away the box). Definitely check to make sure that your camcorder is compatible before purchasing this software. And, do not think that you can rely on Customer Support or Technical Service for anything.
Rating: 
Summary: Check camcorder compatibility!!
Review: In October 2003 we purchased the highly recommended Sony DVD Handycam. The movies are recorded directly to DVD in digital format. The DVDs can be played immediately in most DVD players. I have been using the free software that came with the camcorder to edit and manipulate my home movies but the free software didn't offer enough options so I researched which software to purchase. I found several reviews that suggested Power Direct 3 and that's what I decided to buy. I installed the software and then determined that it is incompatible with my Sony camcorder and I am unable to "capture" my digital movies. The software will not allow capture directly from a DVD or from the harddrive. It is NOT an option...which seems like a basic option to me. I contacted the company to find out if they planned an upgrade to add the Sony camcorders into their compatibility system and they suggested that I buy a new camcorder. Give me a break! Then they suggested that before I buy the new camcorder I check its compatibility with Power Director 3 first. As if I would base my $1000 camcorder purchase on the compatibility of a $100 editing software. It never dawned on my that the number one recommended editing software would not work with the number one selling DVD camcorder. This has turned out to be an expensive lesson since I can no longer return the software (I threw away the box). Definitely check to make sure that your camcorder is compatible before purchasing this software. And, do not think that you can rely on Customer Support or Technical Service for anything.
Rating:
Summary: Worth a look
Review: 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 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. The capture options are difficult to understand.
2. Some of the preferences settings don't seem to work (i.e., prompt for snapshot filename).
3. 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 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. The EZproducer player doesn't give you a way to rapidly scan through the movie. There is no timeline slider bar or timecode box. Without these it takes forever to set chapter points manually or check key points throughout the movie.
b. 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.
c. 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.
Rating:
Summary: buggy, unsupported program
Review: When Power Director works, it's neat. Unfortunately, there are major problems. For example, large jpegs are scrambled in the preview library. Likewise, the burning software does not support newer dvd burners and many camcorders.
At other times, it is impossible to import mp3's; last week they'd import, this week they don't. Compounding matters, on-line tech support is too slow (at least 6 days) and is usually incorrect. Live technical support is available only by calling Taiwan. Lastly, there's only one buggy version (3.00.1208). As of yet, Cyberlink does not offer improved versions. In comparison with similarly priced software producers such as LumaPix (FotoFusion)or PG Music (Band in a Box), Cyberlinks Power Director Pro fails miserably. Good Luck.
Rating:
Summary: buggy, unsupported program
Review: When Power Director works, it's neat. Unfortunately, there are major problems. For example, large jpegs are scrambled in the preview library. Likewise, the burning software does not support newer dvd burners and many camcorders.
At other times, it is impossible to import mp3's; last week they'd import, this week they don't. Compounding matters, on-line tech support is too slow (at least 6 days) and is usually incorrect. Live technical support is available only by calling Taiwan. Lastly, there's only one buggy version (3.00.1208). As of yet, Cyberlink does not offer improved versions. In comparison with similarly priced software producers such as LumaPix (FotoFusion)or PG Music (Band in a Box), Cyberlinks Power Director Pro fails miserably. Good Luck.
Rating: 
Summary: ?????
Review: Would like to purchase this but have searched the net for customer reviews and (to my dismay) have not found any but the two listed here.
Rating: 
Summary: Really fantastic product!!!
Review: Wow! So easy to use. So easy to install. So easy to output your final product back to tape or burn to DVD. I used another editing product 2 years ago and swore to never do it again. It was a complete nightmare with constant crashes and media being deleted from my work without explanation. This product however was wonderful. I plan on using it again and again. I took a trip to Africa and edited the footage and have showed friends and family the final product and they were all blown away! The effects and titles are smooth and don't look cheap. Go for it! This one is well worth it.
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