Features:

  • The best value video and photo editing combination - it includes both the award-winning PowerDirector & PhotoDirector, offering the most complete video and photo editing solutions
  • PowerDirector for video editing - PowerDirector delivers professional-grade video editing and production for creators of all levels, including 360˚, Ultra HD 4K or even the latest online media formats
  • PhotoDirector for photo editing - PhotoDirector features a wide range of professional-quality tools built for turning your photos into stunning artwork no matter how you shoot
  • Workflow & format support - PowerDirector has held the title of world's fastest video editing software for several versions and supports end-to-end editing of 4K and 2K ultrahd video formats
  • 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 & photodirector's features
Simple to use

nothing to dislike … personal use

This Graphic Designer and Web Developer Loves it!!!

I want to start off by saying that this will not be a highly technical review so I'm solely focusing on my experience using it as a graphic designer. I have several software programs that I use to complete projects for clients and personal projects for myself and I have to say that this is one of the easiest programs to master for video and photo editing. If you are a beginner and don't have a clue as to what you're doing then this will be perfect for you because the learning curve is minimum and you basically can drag and drop to get things done. There are a wide range of dynamic creative tools at your fingertips to create a professionally looking project so you don't have to worry about looking like an amateur. I also use Lightroom and I've noticed that this program is somewhat similar which was a plus for me. I don't use many of the provided templates because some of them are pretty dated. The ease of the chrome key editing was a huge plus for me because adding unique backgrounds for my YouTube videos was a no brainer using this program! Overall I'm extremely happy with this program and totally recommend it! You won't be disappointed especially if you're a graphic designer and web developer. You can get a lot done in a short a amount of time.

Good, solid software.

Haven't needed Tech Support. I'm just a novice, but found the software to be fairly straight forward to use. Would suggest to others. Wish they had a MAC version.

My favorite video editing software

Over the past couple decades, I have tried and tested many different consumer video editors, from the simple Windows Movie Maker to Pinnacle Studio, Adobe Premier Elements, Ulead/Corel VideoStudio and Cyberlink PowerDirector. I have not tested the higher end software for professionals like Vegas, Final Cut, Avid, HitFilm because I don't really have a need for special effects, plug ins and add-ons. PowerDirector is my favorite video editor over the other consumer packages because of its ease of use and good software quality (no crashes or bugs). You may have other qualities you look for in a video editor, but I like having the basic tools in a menu on the side of the video library. If I need a title, I click the Titles icon. If I need a transition, I click the Transitions icon. Simple. And editing clips on the timeline is quick and easy -- you can expand or shrink the timeline by just a click-drag, and it's easy to move or split clips and cut/paste right on the timeline with the right-button menu. So the basic features serve most of my needs of creating quick videos for demostrating something, or uploading to Amazon for a product review, or to YouTube (which is done directly from the software). If you have a decent computer, you can 'scrub' the clips to zip to the point where you want to cut/paste or split a clip. I just drop the clips onto the timeline, shuffle or cut/paste as needed, then go to the Produce tab and render the video to whatever format I need. Rendering is pretty quick, especially if you keep your output format close to or the same as the clips format (they include their "SVRT" to help with that). I also appreciate having the tools available if I want to get more fancy with my videos, for example I have compiled all my old video tape home movies into a DVD collection using PowerDirector. I have a template project with the intro video already linked and menus set up. Then I just import enough clips to fill up one DVD. Then I use the Create Disc function to set up the chapters, first play video, etc. and then write to the DVD. DVD labels are printed from Microsoft Publisher, and I'm done. There is also some more advanced audio editing tools if you need to overlay or do simple tweaks of the source audio, like a commentary track or "director's cut" track. Also included is motion tracking, chroma key, masking, video collage, and other things I generally don't use day-to-day, but are there for you to play with. I am thinking of redoing my DVD collection into a continuous video on a large external hard drive or SSD so I can search all my home videos for keywords or by date. That will be quite a project, with over 60 DVDs dating back to the late 1980s, but I'm hoping PowerDirector will help me organize it. Regarding PhotoDirector 10 Ultra included in this package, it's an OK photo editor that is really meant for beginners. You can both edit and catalog your photos. It even includes "layers" like Photoshop, so you can make changes to the picture in stages and back out or redo certain steps without affecting the other layers. You can then create animated GIFs, slideshows, or print your photos. I have not used this software much, I as I am attached and am happy with my Photoshop Elements for editing, and I use IMatch for my photo library/catalog.

Fantastic software for experimentation without intimidation!

While there is a learning curve with this software, it is such that you are able to watch a few tutorials and get the most out of every single feature as long as you practice every day. I am nowhere near a filmmaker, but I do love to edit videos of family events and capture beautiful photos from them as well. This software has helped me really become a better photographer and videographer and wear my amateur button with pride! I am never going to pursue any of this professionally, but now I feel confident enough to share my work and have SO much fun messing around with the software. I haven't had to call tech support, so I can't rate that, but that also says something about just how easy this is to use!

I'm loving Photodirector in particular, awesome multi-monitor support

This was a very easy, painless install. It does have a registration key that is on the CD envelopes, and once the program is installed, you have a screen to register it before it opens the first time. The Interfaces of both programs are very intuitive. There's a lot of support on the product's website for both programs. If you register for the website, you can download all sorts of free video effects, photo effects, and presets for working with photos. I love that this has good multimonitor support. It's not quite as advanced as Photoshop where tools and pictures can be spread out among different screens, but it doesn't crash and it allows some flexibility in seeing your work on different monitors. A LOT of less expensive photo editors just crash, or try to restrict you to your primary monitor, so I really appreciate that. I like that I can tag photos. It makes it easy to call up a specific group I need to work with. I love that it makes animated gifs and slideshows so very easy. The PowerDirector software to me is just a huge bonus. It runs as a 64bit program well and I've not had any crashes, though large files take some time to render. It allows you to work in timeline mode, storyboard mode, or slideshow creator mode. It does have the ability to make 360 degree videos. Those have some limitations for publishing but would be great to say, sell a house with, or showcase a hotel room. I find it to be fairly intuitive and easy to use for straightforward simple projects. I think it would also be good for 'beginner' level video creators, because it has all the features needed, and once a person learns to work in timeline mode, more expensive, pro packages will be easy to transition to. It does allow for DVD creation, or Internet publishing.

not too much change, but the best consumer editing program

I'm not seeing as much difference between powerdirector 16 and 17. It has a couple additions and enhancements. The biggest thing is that it seems a little faster than 16. They say they have better support for some CPUs so maybe that's why it's faster. The new precut feature which allows you to trim or cut before putting the videos on your timeline is the best new feature. It's really the same split/trim tool you can use later, but it gives you access to it before you even put the videos in your timeline! It's a real time saver! If you don't remove the precuts, they will still exist from project to project. If It seems more an evolution than a huge change. It's been very stable for me and it's worked well. I used to say that adobe premiere elements was the best consumer program, but I think that was because I was an adobe snob. I think that powerdirector really has the best feature set for a consumer video editing program. If you're new to this stuff, watch the Powerdirector university videos on youtube!

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