Features:

  • Easy editing - PowerDirector can help you easily make a movie. One-click color correction is the unique new feature that can help your video clips to be true-to-life appearance
  • Precision video editing features - PowerDirector 17 optimizes 8 customizable design tools, Plus Chroma Key editing, frame-by-frame motion tracking and video collages & multicam editing
  • Professional grade features & performance - PowerDirector has held the title of world's fastest video editing software for several versions, and supports 4K and 2K Ultra video formats
  • True360 video editing - import equirectangular footage, create a True360 project, edit with a full range of design tools, then export in 360º format
  • Step-by-step tutorials - novice and experienced users alike can find step-by-step guides, videos and tutorials explaining how to get the most from powerdirector's wide array of features
Good, solid software

This software is great. It has many uses, such as creating videos, slide shows and editing video clips, and does it all with a professional flair. Wouldn't use anything else now that I have this.

Inexpensive, easy to install and not difficult to learn...Recommended!

When it comes to video editing, I have been a long time user of Apple’s Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro on my Mac. But when I travel and want something out on YouTube or social media while I’m in another location, I have used a Windows laptop and my go to software has been using CyberLink’s Power Director since version 12. Because I don’t use a souped out laptop while traveling with a lot of memory, I have used CyberLink’s software because it’s affordable for many consumers and when it’s consumer-targeted, it’s typically for a demographic that wants to get into video editing and are more than likely not going to spend on a high end machine but has the appropriate operating system with enough memory and a good amount of free disc space. For basic usage, it works great and if you want to invest in more plugins and effects, CyberLink offers them on their site ranging from $29.99-$49.99. CyberLink’s PowerDirector 17 Ultra didn’t take too long to install. Mostly everything is on one disc, the second disc has he content pack essential which includes the PiP, Title files and menu templates. Installation didn’t take too long and it was quite quick. After installing the main software, then you can add the various plugins (four total on disc 1) and I do recommend these for those who want visual effects and then the second disc afterward. It doesn’t take long. (NOTE: Installation speed is subjective to your PC/Laptop, whether your using an SSD drive or SATA drive, etc.) As for learning curve, that depends on the user but the good news is that a lot of stuff can be found via tutorials online. I did not have the last few previous versions of PowerDirector but the interface and how things work are much more intuitive. I was able to edit a 4K video and a 360 video with no problems. In fact, part of the issue I had with my previous PowerDirector was it didn’t know how to utilize a 360 video file that well, but I was able to do it just fine PowerDirector17 Ultra. Everything that I literally need this software does offer, adding many types of titles at the beginning of my video or doing an overlay. Adding transitions, especially the basic yet important fade in’s and outs in Designer (PiP Designer), ability to reverse or slow down a video or increase the speed (thanks to Video Speed Designer in Power Tools), the ability to unlike my video and audio, add audio fade outs and more. But also importantly, making sure video export options are available, especially if I want to export to 4K and highest output. A lot of those general things that many people will need to make produce videos, may it be for social media or personal videos that require editing, this software does offer it. Granted, the more needs one will need for heavy editing and visual effects, that’s where the more expensive software comes into play or the purchasing of extra filter or sound effects for PowerDirector 17. But for those wanting to edit and produce videos for personal or business use but want to keep things on a budget, at under a $100, you can’t really go wrong. As for the problems with crashing, I’ve already exported projects without any problems with crashing but I think it’s subjective on the PC/laptop you are using. And for those who are wondering if they need a powerful computer, I’m using an i5 laptop for traveling with 8GB memory running Windows 10 on an SSD drive. Not a whole lot of memory but I do keep the files I am editing on an external drive. But for my needs and my use for video editing when I’m traveling overseas, it gets the job done. Overall, while I’m not going to ditch my Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro for CyberLink PowerDirector 17 Ultra for all my video editing, whenever I’m traveling with my laptop, this has and will continue to be my go to software. It’s inexpensive, easy to learn and use, nor does it hog a lot of HD space or eats up a lot of memory. It’s great for those who are new to video editing but also for those who are video editing on a budget, CyberLink PowerDirector 17 Ultra has a lot to offer and is recommended!

Economically Priced. Easy to Install & Intuitive; Powerful Product

Cyberlink PowerDirector 17 Ultra was easy to install on Windows 10. Very powerful yet easy to understand interface - even for the video producing neophyte. At around one hundred bucks, this is a great buy. Some competitors charge 2.5 times that for a similarly featured product.

Very powerful video editing software

This is a great program with tons of plugins to make the editing easier. Multi line sound and effect editing, great online tutorials, direct connection to web upload like YouTube. I was able to publish my first video using PowerDirector in less than one hour. Great for film or slideshows. Also, allows installation of plugins that other users published. The flow of the creation is easy to understand and all steps can be readily followed. I am a novice at this and I really liked it. If you want to get your clip processed with great effects, this is the tool to do it with. Highly recommend it.

A step up with sophistication for the most advanced or even the newbie!

You can create easily or really make some marvelous professional items with this program. It is designed to bring you into the every changing technology world with the 360 degree cameras. I have a 360 degree camera and am amazed at what is captured and how. One of the things that I wanted was the ability to edit and change some of the images which were captured, now with this program I have been able to achieve the changes and they are not difficult at all with the great tutorial which is provided in addition to the tools with which you can achieve excellent results. Installation is very easy and you do this with your DVD drive or can go on line and download from their site if your laptop does not have the DVD capability. You will find there are several icons which will be placed on your desktop which relate to the program, I like the idea of opening a separate folder and putting them all there so you can easily choose which ones to go to next. This way you do not wind up with a desktop of so many places to choose from. In the past I had a desktop full from one side to the other and when others would stop by and look they always wondered if I really knew what I was doing. I look forward to using this program in many of the forays into taking more videos and photos during the warm months. In fact I have been learning a lot about 4K and some of the others HD innovations and can't wait to get at them all!

Easy to use

Perfect for editing and producing decent quality video for YouTube, etc. Maybe a bit of a learning curve for non tech savvy people, but I found it to be very intuitive.

Great software

Just like all the reviews report. Great software. No problem with install. Easy to understand. Fantastic final production.

good upgrade

Cyberlink PowerDirector 17 Ultra is a very good software. I have been using versions of this for many years and this update has a lot of new features that really adds to it. I have been using this software for a while so I am familiar with it, but even someone who is first trying it can catch on pretty quick as to the basic functions and with time get the more complex ones learned with not much difficulty. I would say though that it would be worth the extra bit of money to get the Cyberlink PowerDirector 17 Ultimate as it has more features for not much more expense. However, this software works great and I am very pleased with it. PowerDirector has always been a nice stable platform for my projects and this version is excellent like the others. Reccommended.

powerful, yet not too hard to learn

I ran PowerDirecter 17 Ultra on a Toshiba laptop with 32 GB RAM, a SSD, Intel Core i7vPro CPU, and Windows 7 Pro 64 OS. * Installation The install from a DVD was fast. The first DVD contained the main program and 4 Premium Packs. (PowerDirector 16 only had 3 Premium Packs.) Total install time for this first DVD was 11 minutes. You must uninstall both the older version of PowerDirector, and the older Premium Packs, before installing the new. The second DVD had a Content Pack Essential. Again, you must uninstall the old Content Pack Essential before installing this new one. Install time of 7 minutes. * Same Interface At first glance, PowerDirector 17's interface appears identical to that of PowerDirector 16. I expect I'll find a few near buttons as I use it. But if you're familiar with 16, there's not much of a learning curve in upgrading to 17. * Video Tutorials PowerDirector offers Video Tutorials. It'd be nice if these were all on a DVD, which I could watch at my leisure. Instead, these Video Tutorials are all online, at CyberLink's video tutorial webpage. You can find the same tutorials on YouTube. You can also download them. * User's Guide There's no paper manual included. But the first DVD "contains" a User's Guide. Actually, it's only a link to a CyberLink webpage that contains many PDF manuals for their various programs. I found the manual for PowerDirector Version 17 and downloaded it to my laptop -- 511 pages, so it's pretty comprehensive. * Color Correction Color correction is (for me) one of the more important features in any video editor. Raw footage, straight from a camera, often looks crude and cheap. Color correction helps give a film that slick, professional Hollywood look. I've judged film festivals. Professional color correction often gives a winning edge to film entries. It helps distinguish professional films from amateur efforts. Filmmakers do well to spend time on color correcting their works. PowerDirecter Version 17 touts "simplified color adjustment" for beginners, while also offering more detailed options for the power user. One nice feature is Intelligent Color Match. If you shoot footage from several different cameras (or under different lighting conditions), this can result in varying color hues. PowerDirector 17 allows you to match all hues, for a consistent look, with only "one click." An easy, "dummied down" correction for people who are just beginning to learn how to color correct. There's also a True Theater Color feature. This "optimizes hues and vibrancy." This is another dummied down correction for people seeking a quick "one click" fix. This will often (not always) make your footage seem somewhat nicer. Of course, Power Director also empowers you to perform more detailed and specific color corrections if you're willing to spend the time and effort. * Screen Capture Corel used to be my favorite video editor, because it was the simplest and most intuitive. I tried the more powerful Pinnacle for a while. But PowerDirector has been my favorite for the past several years, largely due to its superior screen capture abilities. PowerDirector takes a smooth capture. When I capture a movie playing on YouTube, transfer it to a flash drive, and play it on my big screen TV, the image and audio quality is usuaully quite good. You often can't tell that it's a screen capture as opposed to store bought DVD. Pinnacle's screen capture was more likely to lag or jitter. Corel's was worse. Of course, those were older editions (many years ago) and they might have improved by now. But PowerDirector's screen capture was good at a time when theirs wasn't. PowerDirector's screen capture offers many options. I can frame a region on my laptop screen for capture, or capture the whole screen. I can control the capture's resolution: Original Resolution, 1080p, 720p, or 480p. This is pretty much what Version 16 offered. But Version 17 has increased the frame rate options. It can capture video at frame rates ranging from 15 FPS to 120 FPS. Version 16 only went up to 60 FPS. * Other PowerDirector runs very fast on my system. I've burned some DVDs with PowerDirector. It renders and burns fairly fast too. I like that PowerDirector supports drop & drag. I can drag video and audio files from a Windows folder, and drop it onto PowerDirector's tracks. Corel also supports drop & drag, but Pinnacle didn't, not when I last used it. With Pinnacle, you had to open video and audio files via the program's drop down menu. PowerDirector and Corel also allow for opening files via drop down menus, but I prefer to drop & drag files directly onto the track. Naturally, PowerDirector has many other bells & whistles. More than I will ever learn or use.

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