Manage your digital videos with Cyberlink PowerDirector Ultra | Mar Berg

Thanks to Cyberlink’s reputation as one the finest software developers when it comes to all things video, the latest iteration of PowerDirector -- PowerDirector 15 Ultra -- doesn’t disappoint. With a remarkably easy-to-use interface, and complete support for some of the leading-edge video formats today, PowerDirector 15 Ultra brings unprecedented video editing capabilities to the table -- including support for the 360° video format. The inclusion of various technologies such as TrueTheater, Orientation SVRT, and Accelerated Video Production allows for efficient video production suitable for any circumstance. Powered by Cyberlink’s proprietary TrueVelocity 6 rendering engine, you also don’t have to be worried about any performance issues while editing your videos.

Working with the User Interface

Rather than confusing you with an array of video editing options, PowerDirector 15 Ultra instead features multiple modes that you can choose upon starting the application -- Full Feature Editor, Easy Editor, 360° Editor, Express Project, Theme Designer, and Slideshow Creator. Just click on what you want to accomplish with your videos and PowerDirector 15 Ultra instantly opens up in a mode fully adjusted to the task.

Full Feature Editor is your default PowerDirector 15 Ultra mode, which gives you access to most of the options available for video editing. Comprising of a preview pane, an interactive timeline, and a toolbox, the Full Feature Editor mode allows for unprecedented video editing capabilities. With the interactive timeline, you can perform all sorts of video edits to your video -- cut, crop, splice, etc. -- and add various visual effects via the toolbox. Simply use the preview pane to view your edits in real-time.

Next in line, you have the Easy Editor mode, which provides a wizard-based approach to video editing but lacks any of the more sophisticated tools -- ideal for novice users. When it’s time to work with videos shot in 360° format, you have a completely separate mode tailored for the format with the 360° Editor -- the user interface consists of the same components as the Full Feature Editor, allowing you easily make adjustments and enhancements to your 360° videos.

On the other hand, the Express Project mode allows you near-instant video editing, where you can just drag n’ drop the segments that you want present in the video, and add any special effects, transitions, and other additions. Videos can be produced and instantly shared with others on major social media websites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Vimeo. The other two modes present -- Theme Designer and Slideshow Creator -- lets you create custom themes and slideshows in practically no time.

Support for Leading-Edge Formats

PowerDirector 15 Ultra has absolutely no problem with whatever the type of video format that you are looking to edit. Thanks to the inclusion of numerous codecs for both common and leading-edge video formats alike, you don’t have to worry whether you are editing a 4K UltraHD, AVCHD, XAVC-S, or H.265 file. As mentioned above, PowerDirector 15 Ultra also supports videos shot in the 360-degree format, and it even features a dedicated video editing mode just for that.

Regardless of the type of video format that are about to edit, PowerDirector 15 Ultra uses very few system resources thanks to the TrueVelocity 6 rendering engine that powers it up. With optimized use of multiple cores and 64-bit architectures, PowerDirector 15 Ultra runs quickly and efficiently than earlier iterations. The video editing application also makes use of Orientation SVRT and Accelerated Video Production technologies that allow for faster video previewing and production.

Highly Customizable Design Tools

PowerDirector 15 Ultra includes various highly customizable design tools, allowing you to make various edits to your videos not possible via special effects. Tools such as the Mask Designer, Title Designer, Theme Designer, and Transition Designer all exist to help you make better transitions, menus, titles, etc. Further, PowerDirector 15 Ultra also brings to the table features such as Motion Tracking and MultiCam Designer that lets you focus videos on specific frames and objects quickly and efficiently.

The Action Camera Center, a toolkit unique to PowerDirector 15 Ultra, brings in several additional tools that lets you take your videos to the extreme. Creating stop-motion videos, adding zoom and pan effects, applying slow motion to segments, and stabilizing videos are made doubly easy thanks to the Action Camera Center. PowerDirector 15 Ultra also includes another new tool dubbed Video Blending that lets you merge clips on different time tracks for truly phenomenal results.

True-to-Life Color Enhancement

If there’s one thing that separates PowerDirector 15 Ultra from the numerous other video editing applications -- even some of the extremely good ones -- is the inclusion of Cyberlink’s proprietary TrueTheater Color technology. With the ability to intelligently analyze video footages, TrueTheater Color automatically applies appropriate color settings and optimizes both hues and vibrancy. If you are looking for Hollywood-grade cinematic color enhancements, you get that with TrueTheater Color.

Should I Buy It?

PowerDirector 15 Ultra’s crisp and clear controls, coupled with the video editing tools required for any circumstance, make it a must-buy application for both video enthusiasts and professionals alike. With the ability to import videos of any format -- even the latest and most sophisticated formats today such as 4K UltraHD and 360° videos -- from nearly any device that you can imagine, you won’t ever run into incompatibles regarding video codecs.

Add to the fact that PowerDirector 15 Ultra runs on the TrueVelocity 6 rendering engine, and you have access to one of the faster video editing tools in today’s fiercely competitive video editing software market. Features such as Action Camera Center, Video Blending, and TrueTheater Color, combined with dozens of highly customizable design tools, make PowerDirector 15 Ultra a truly versatile video editing application suitable for both new and professional users alike.