This is far more than most people will need, but it bodes well for AVCHD editing on slower PCs. PowerDirector has the best preview performance of any home-oriented editing software, playing back seven simultaneous AVCHD streams on our Core i7 test PC. If you don’t need HD disc burning, consider PowerDirector 8 Deluxe, which costs £33 including VAT. Otherwise, export options are impressive, with the ability to burn DVD, Blu-ray and AVCHD discs. Importing 24fps footage doesn’t produce any warning, though, and it’s impossible to export at this frame rate, resorting instead to 25fps export with a repeated frame every second. It would be even better if it pointed users towards the control for switching the timeline’s frame rate.
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We like how the software warns when importing 30fps footage to a 25fps timeline and vice versa. PowerDirector had no problem with any of these cameras’ footage.
Virtually all editing software supports standardised camera formats such as AVCHD and HDV, but we’ve had less success with HD cameras from Samsung, Toshiba and others that don’t adhere to a recognised standard, even though the software in question supports the video and audio codecs used. PowerDirector 8 excels in its handling of proprietary camera formats. We’re more impressed by the new Video Speed control, which analyses footage and interpolates movement to create additional frames for smooth slow-motion effects. Version 8 introduces the Particle Effects Designer, which generates flurries of sparkles or falling petals with which to adorn your videos. That latter could be better implemented, though. There are 10 video tracks, full-screen previews on a second monitor, plus keyframe editing for effects settings that vary over time. PowerDirector has always had a beginner-friendly feel to it, but in recent years it has gained some increasingly sophisticated features.