Cyberlink PowerProducer - 3.0 User’s Guide

CyberLink

PowerProducer 3

User’s Guide

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of CyberLink Corporation.

To the extent allowed by law, POWERPRODUCER IS PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY WARRANTY FOR INFORMATION, SERVICES, OR PRODUCTS PROVIDED THROUGH OR IN CONNECTION WITH POWERPRODUCER AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. BY USING THIS SOFTWARE, YOU AGREE THAT CYBERLINK WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS ARISING FROM THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE OR MATERIALS CONTAINED EITHER IN THIS PACKAGE.

The terms and conditions here under shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of Taiwan. PowerProducer is a registered trademark along with other company and product names mentioned in this publication, used for identification purposes and remain the exclusive property of their respective owners.

International Headquarters

Mailing Address CyberLink Corporation

15F, #100, Min Chuan Road, Hsin Tian City Taip e i Coun t y, Tai w an

Web Site

Telephone 886-2-8667-1298 Fax 886-2-8667-1300

www.cyberlink.com

Contents

Introduction.............................................. 1

Welcome ....................................................................................... 2

Production Flow .......................................................................... 3

Pre-Production ........................................................................ 3

Disc Production ...................................................................... 4

Ready to Burn ......................................................................... 4

The PowerProducer Program ................................................... 5

PowerProducer Projects ............................................................. 6

Upgrade Your Software ............................................................. 8

Production Preferences .............................................................. 9

Project Preferences ................................................................. 9

Video/Audio Preferences ................................................... 10

Supported Formats ................................................................... 11

System Requirements ............................................................... 12

Produce a Movie Disc ............................. 15

Select a Disc Format .................................................................. 16

Acquire Content ........................................................................ 18

Import Video Files ................................................................ 20

Import Photos ....................................................................... 20

Import Scene on DVD .......................................................... 21

Capture from a DV Camcorder .......................................... 22

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Capture from a HDV Camcorder ....................................... 23

Capture from a TV ............................................................... 25

Capture from a VCR ............................................................ 26

Capture from a PC Camera ................................................. 27

Capture from a Digital Camera .......................................... 28

Adjust a Video Clip’s Aspect Ratio ................................... 29

Edit Clips .................................................................................... 30

AB Cut .................................................................................... 30

Merge ..................................................................................... 31

Split ......................................................................................... 31

Edit a Slide Show ...................................................................... 32

Create a New Album ........................................................... 32

Add Slides to an Album ...................................................... 32

View Album Properties ....................................................... 32

Add Background Music to an Album ............................... 33

Set Durations ......................................................................... 33

Add Transition Effects ......................................................... 34

Back up Slide Show Photos on Disc .................................. 34

Organize Your Story ................................................................. 35

Preview Disc Content ............................................................... 36

Preview Your Production .................................................... 36

View a Clip ............................................................................ 36

View the DVD Structure ...................................................... 37

View the Production Summary .......................................... 37

Customize Your Disc’s Menu Page ........................................ 39

Set Chapters .......................................................................... 43

Add a Playlist ........................................................................ 45

Select a Playlist ...................................................................... 46

Final Output ............................................................................... 47

Set Your Burning Configuration ........................................ 47

Burn Your Production to Disc ............................................ 48

Save Your Production as a Disc Image ............................. 50

Create a DVD Folder ............................................................ 52

Edit a Disc After Burning ......................................................... 54

Contents

Right-to-Disc .......................................... 57

Burn Video from a DV Camcorder to DVD .......................... 58

Burn Video from a HDV Camcorder to DVD ....................... 61

Burn Video from a TV to DVD ............................................... 64

Burn Video from a PC Camera to DVD ................................. 67

Burn Video from a VCR to DVD ............................................ 70

Disc Utilities ........................................... 73

PowerProducer’s Disc Utilities ............................................... 74

Erase a Disc ................................................................................ 76

Copy a Disc ................................................................................ 77

Defragment a Disc .................................................................... 79

Make a Disc DVD Player-Compatible ................................... 80

Burn a Disc From a Disc Image ............................................... 82

Save a Disc Image ..................................................................... 83

Burn a Disc from a DVD Folder .............................................. 84

Export to File ............................................................................. 85

Finalize/Unfinalize a Disc ....................................................... 86

Reference............................................... 87

Technical Support ..................................................................... 88

Web Support ......................................................................... 88

Fax Support ........................................................................... 88

Telephone Support ............................................................... 89

FAQ ............................................................................................. 90

Disc Types & Video Recording Formats ............................... 96

Disc Types ............................................................................. 96

Video Recording Formats ................................................... 98

Disc Type/Format Compatibility ...................................... 99

Formats & Qualities ................................................................ 100

Video Formats ..................................................................... 100

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Video Qualities ................................................................... 101

Audio Formats .................................................................... 102

Glossary .................................................................................... 103

Index ................................................... 109

Chapter 1:

Introduction

This chapter introduces CyberLink PowerProducer and the digital movie production process, including what you need to have on hand before you begin working on a project. If you are looking for instructions on how to start producing a movie immediately, see Produce a Movie Disc on p.15.

This chapter contains the following sections:

• Welcome on p.2

• Production Flow on p.3

• The PowerProducer Program on p.5

• PowerProducer Projects on p.6

• Register Your Software on p.7

• Upgrade Your Software on p.8

• Production Preferences on p.9

• Supported Formats on p.11

• System Requirements on p.12

CyberLink PowerProducer 3

Welcome

Welcome to the CyberLink family of digital video tools! CyberLink PowerProducer allows you to finalize your digital video productions and burn them to disc. You can use PowerProducer for light editing tasks and to capture new media, and when it’s time to polish your movie, CyberLink PowerProducer is the best production tool to use.

What is a production tool?

A production tool turns the movie on your hard drive into a BD, DVD, or CD that you can play on a disc player and share with friends. But that’s not even half the story. PowerProducer’s production functions include the following:

• burns CDs, DVDs, and BDs

• erases discs that contain unwanted content

• copies discs

• defragments discs for burning video content

• burns video straight to DVD from a variety of sources

• creates disc menus with video thumbnails and background

• sets chapters within video content

• adds background music to slide shows and disc menus

• captures from DVD, firewire devices, analog capture cards,

USB devices, and files

• burns discs from a disc image

• makes DVD-VR discs compatible with DVD-Video players

• finalizes and unfinalizes discs

PowerProducer also boasts simple but powerful video editing functions, including the following:

• cuts, merges, and splits video clips

• creates photo slide shows

• matches slide show length to background music duration

• adds transitions to slide shows

• opens CyberLink PowerDirector for advanced editing

Production Flow

The digital movie production process involves a combination of artistry and technology, beginning with raw video footage and ending with a movie production burned to disc. CyberLink PowerProducer provides the easiest way to produce your finished movie and burn it to the medium of your choice.

Pre-Production

Before you produce your movie using CyberLink PowerProducer, you must first gather (or create) its component parts: video files, photos, and background music.

You may collect raw footage yourself with a camcorder or other recording device, or you may simply use non-copyright protected media files that you have on hand.

Chapter 1: Introduction

You may even have already created your own movie in a video editing software program, such as CyberLink PowerDirector.

Whatever the case, you should have all of the bits and pieces of your movie on hand so that the production process goes as smoothly as possible.

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Disc Production

When your movie is ready for production, that’s the time to use PowerProducer. Because PowerProducer offers basic video editing tools, your movie does not have to be perfectly polished at this stage.

If you have your media clips on hand, but have not previously edited and polished your movie, you might expect to use CyberLink PowerProducer to perform the following tasks:

1. Specify the disc type and video quality you want to use.

2. Acquire video content and add a slide show.

3. Cut video content to a desired length.

4. Split your video into chapters for disc navigation.

5. Add background music to a video clip.

6. Specify the buttons, background image, background music, and

layout of your menu page.

7. Preview your production.

8. Burn your production to disc.

Ready to Burn

When you are ready to burn your movie to disc, you should have several discs on hand that are compatible with your burning drive. Make sure not only that the media type is correct (i.e.: that you have DVDs for a DVD drive and so on), but that your discs are all in the correct format (CD-R, DVD+RW, and so on).

Keep several discs on hand in case your first production doesn’t turn out the way you expected, or to make duplicate copies when you are satisfied with the results.

Chapter 1: Introduction

The PowerProducer Program

When you first open PowerProducer, the program appears as follows:

Produce Movie Disc

Acquire media, make photo slide shows, create a movie production.

Open Project

Open an existing PowerProducer project.

Right-to-Disc

Burn video directly to a DVD.

Edit Disc

Edit a disc after burning.

Disc Utilities

Manage your discs and production files.

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PowerProducer Projects

To open a PowerProducer project, click Open Project on the main PowerProducer window. CyberLink PowerProducer saves your project as a .PPP file. This project file is the collection of all of your movie content, your special effects, and your settings, but is not the final production. This file must be rendered (compiled, or created) from its component parts in order to create the final production, much like a batter must be baked to make a cake out of eggs, flour, and milk.

Changes you make to your video clips, audio files, or photos in CyberLink PowerProducer do not affect your original media. Since your settings are all saved in the project file, you can cut, edit, or delete clips in PowerProducer, but still keep your original files on your hard drive, untouched. So let yourself get creative! If you end up changing things too drastically, you can always start over.

You can use the standard Windows buttons to create a new PowerProducer project file, as well as open or save existing files. The buttons for these tasks are located at the top of the window under most PowerProducer function

New

Save

Preferences

Save As

Open

Note: These tools are not always available in all functions.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Register Your Software

After you install the program, a registration window opens, prompting you to register your software. It is important to register your software in order to receive technical support or other information from CyberLink.

To register your software, do this:

1. Enter your personal information in the First Name, Last Name, and Email entry boxes.

• Check one or both of the options to receive information from

CyberLink, or uncheck if you do not wish to receive this information.

2. Click Register now.

• If you have previously registered this product, click I Have

Already Registered. The registration box will no longer open when you run the program.

• If you would like to register this product at a later time, click

Remind Me Later. The registration box will open each time you run the program until you register.

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Upgrade Your Software

Software upgrades may be periodically available from CyberLink. To

upgrade your software, click in the row of buttons across the

top of the window. A web browser window opens to CyberLink’s cyberstore, where you can upgrade your program as well as receive other information about CyberLink and CyberLink’s products.

Note: You must be connected to the Internet to use this feature.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Production Preferences

CyberLink PowerProducer offers a range of preferences to better suit the way you work. To set your preferences, click the button, available on most windows. The Preferences dialog box opens,

displaying the Project tab and the Video/Audio tab, which contain customizable preferences. These preferences are described below.

Project Preferences

• Movie playback mode: Set your video to return to the disc

menu or continue on to the next movie after each movie on the disc finishes playing.

• Working directory: This is the directory that PowerProducer

uses for output. This directory is set during installation. If you change this directory, be sure that the hard disc it is on has enough free space to accommodate your production.

• Temporary directory: This is the directory that

PowerProducer uses for temporary files that are automatically deleted when you exit PowerProducer. This directory is set during installation.

• Default name for captured video: Enter a name to give to

each video file you capture. PowerProducer adds a unique timestamp to distinguish each captured file.

• Split captured video files according to disc size limit: Split

video as you capture to ensure that each captured video file can fit on the type of disc you are using.

• Create new chapter every: Create a new chapter

automatically whenever the set time period is reached.

• Enable Cyberlink MPEG@Best technology: Check to

balance burning speed and video quality when you burn MPEG video.

• Enable video thumbnail: Check to allow chapter thumbnails

to display video on the disc’s menu. If you select this option, you can limit the length of video that displays by entering a value for the User-defined motion menu duration option.

• Back up photos on disc: Make backup copies of your original

photos whose resolution is higher than that of your final movie production.

• Default menu style: Specify your favorite style (.fl file) as the

style for each new PowerProducer project.

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Video/Audio Preferences

Note: The video and audio quality options that are available depend on the disc format that you have selected.

• Video quality: Select a video quality for your disc: High

Quality, Standard Play, Long Play, Extended Play, or Smart Fit. The video quality settings offer different bit rates, resulting in files of different size. The higher the quality of the video, the larger the resulting file and the shorter the length of video that can fit onto a disc. Further, more CPU power is required for capturing and rendering higher quality video. The Smart Fit option automatically adjusts the bit rate to the best quality video file that fits exactly to the capacity of the disc you are using.

• Audio quality: The different audio qualities are as follows:

LPCM is an uncompressed audio format. Dolby Digital audio uses the Dolby Digital Consumer Encoder format. MPEG audio uses the MPEG-1 audio compression format. (This audio format may have compatibility issues in NTSC.) MP3 uses the MPEG-1 Layer 3 audio format.

• Location: Select the location where your disc will be played.

Location determines the TV format (PAL or NTSC) that is used.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Supported Formats

The disc and file formats that PowerProducer supports are listed below:

Supported Disc & File Formats

DVD Types

DVD Formats

CD Types

CD Formats

Audio Input Formats

Image Input Formats

Video Input Formats

DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM

DVD-Video, DVD-VR, DVD+VR

CD-R, CD-RW

VCD, SVCD, Divx

.mp3, .wav, .wma

.bmp, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .tif, .tiff, .psd

.mpg, .mpeg, .avi, .dat, .wmv, .asf, .vob, .dvr-ms

CyberLink PowerProducer 3

System Requirements

The system requirements listed below are recommended as minimums for working with the program. You may find that your system, while meeting these recommended minimums, requires

expanded capacity for specific tasks.

Minimum System Requirements

Memory

CPU

HDD Space

• Windows XP/2000/ME/98SE (Windows XP/2000 recommended)

• 128MB SDRAM (256MB SDRAM recommended)

• 256MB (512MB recommended) for Right-to-Disc

• 512MB for direct HDV-to-BD recording

• VCD (MPEG-1) producing: Intel Pentium II 450 MHz, or AMD Athlon 500 MHz

• DVD (MPEG-2) producing: Intel Pentium III 700 MHz or AMD Athlon 700 MHz

• DV Tape to MPEG-1 real-time capture: Intel Pentium III 800 MHz or AMD Athlon 800 MHz

• DV Tape real-time capture: Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 2400+

• DV Tape non real-time capture: Intel Pentium II 450 MHz or AMD Athlon 500 MHz

• Right-to-Disc: Intel Pentium 4 2.2 GHz (Pentium 4

2.4 GHz recommended) or AMD Athlon XP 2200+

• HDV Tape real-time capture: Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz

• Direct DV-to-DVD recording: Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz (Pentium 4 2.8 GHz recommended) or AMD Athlon XP 2400+

• Direct HDV-to-BD recording: Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz

•1GB for making VCDs

• 5GB for making DVDs

Minimum System Requirements

Chapter 1: Introduction

DV/

• OHCI IEEE 1394 compliant device

HDV

Capture

• Analog video capture: USB or PCI capture devices compliant to WDM standards

• DV Camcorder video capture: IEEE 1394 I/O devices compliant with OHCI standards

• DSC photo import: USB interface

Note: To preview HDV content while capturing the video, a nVidia 6200 (or better) or ATI X700 (or better) graphic card is recommended.

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Chapter 2:

Produce a Movie Disc

This chapter leads you through the process of producing a movie, from capturing content to burning your finished production to disc. It includes instructions for creating a full-feature video production or photo slide show, customizing your DVD, burning DV/HDV directly onto DVD, and editing a disc after burning. The focus of this chapter is on the fun, creative side of production.

This chapter contains the following sections:

• Select a Disc Format on p.16

• Acquire Content on p.18

• Edit Clips on p.30

• Edit a Slide Show on p.32

• Organize Your Story on p.35

• Preview Disc Content on p.36

• Customize Your Disc’s Menu Page on p.39

• Final Output on p.47

• Edit a Disc After Burning on p.54

CyberLink PowerProducer 3

Select a Disc Format

The first step in producing a movie disc is selecting the format of the disc you want to create. Factors that influence the disc format you should use include the type of disc burner you have on your system, the length and quality of the video you use, and the type of player you intend for playback.

To begin producing a movie disc, do this:

1. Open PowerProducer. The program appears as follows:

Chapter 2: Produce a Movie Disc

2. Click Produce Movie Disc. The Select Your Disc window opens.

3. Select the disc format you want to use:

• VCD: to create a lower-quality video or a slide show.

• DVD: to create a longer, high-quality video. (Requires DVD

burner.)

• Blu-ray Disc: to create a high-quality high definition video.

(Requires Blu-ray disc burner.)

4. Set your other options as necessary:

• Video recording format: select a video recording format. For

more information, see Video Recording Formats on p.98.

• Disc capacity: select the capacity of the disc you are using.

• TV Aspect Ratio: select the TV aspect ratio for your disc. For

more information on TV Aspect Ratio, see the FAQ on p.90.

5. Click to continue on to other PowerProducer functions.

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Acquire Content

In order to assemble a video production, you must first acquire your video content. You may already have digital files you simply want to import into PowerProducer, or you may have raw footage from either an analog or a digital source that you need to capture.

Your production can contain a mixture of video and photos. If you would like to mix video clips with still photos, you must separately acquire your video media and create a slide show for your photos (see Import Photos on p.20).

The import and capture functions are located on the Content window within the Produce Movie Disc function.

To get to the Content window, do this:

1. Start CyberLink PowerProducer.

2. Click Produce Movie Disc.

3. Select your disc format, then click . The Content window

opens.

4. Select an import or capture source from the list of available devices on the left-hand side.

Chapter 2: Produce a Movie Disc

The procedures for acquiring content depend on the kind of device used. The sections that follow describe the specific steps to take for importing or capturing content using the available devices on your system.

After import, video clips and photos (in albums) appear in the Author pane as thumbnails. To learn about the actions you can perform on video clips, see Edit Clips on p.30. To learn about the actions you can perform on video clips, see Edit a Slide Show on p.32.

Note: The aspect ratio of the imported video clip is determined by the aspect ratio of the original clip. You can also manually adjust the aspect ratio of a video clip, see Adjust a Video Clip’s Aspect Ratio on p.29.

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Import Video Files

You can import video files (including the audio portion) for use in PowerProducer by clicking Video Files under the Import option on the Content window.

You import video files using a normal Open dialog box, but with one difference: PowerProducer allows you to preview video files before you open them. Use the controls under the preview window to start and stop the preview.

Import Photos

You can import photos for use in PowerProducer as a slide show. A slide show is a presentation that can include photos, transitions, and background music. The photos and settings in a slide show are contained in units called albums. You can add a single background music file and a single transition type to each album in a slide show.

To import photos, do this:

1. Click Photos under the Import option on the Content window. The Add Photos to Album dialog box opens.

2. Open the photos you want to add. The photos appear in the storyboard as slides, and the first slide appears in the album window as a thumbnail.

• To add more slides to the album, click Add Slides, then open

the photos you want to add.

Note: You may add up to 256 photos to an album.

Chapter 2: Produce a Movie Disc

Import Scene on DVD

You can import video scenes (including the audio portion) from a DVD for use in PowerProducer by clicking the Scene on DVD option.

To import a scene on a DVD, do this:

1. Click Scene on DVD under the Import option on the Content window.

2. Insert your disc and select your DVD drive.

3. Locate the content you want to import. You may use the Playlists and Scenes options to better refine your search.

• You can preview the video using the playback controls in the

preview window to ensure that the video content you are importing is the content you want.

Note: Some DVDs are protected by technology that does not allow you to import the content they contain.

4. Click to import the scenes.

CyberLink PowerProducer 3

Capture from a DV Camcorder

You can capture video (including the audio portion) from a DV camcorder for use in PowerProducer by clicking DV Camcorder.

To capture from a DV camcorder, do this:

1. Click Video under the Capture option on the Content window.

2. In the window that opens, click .

3. Locate the content you want to capture.

Note: Be sure that your DV camcorder is set to VCR mode.

• You may use the playback controls under the preview

window.

• You may enter the timecode of the first frame of the video

you want to capture.

• You may enter a duration (in minutes and seconds) in the

Auto-recording duration field to instruct PowerProducer to capture this amount of video from the current position when you begin recording.

4. Click to begin capture.

Chapter 2: Produce a Movie Disc

5. Click to end capture when you have captured the video you want.

Note: Non-realtime capture continues capturing and processing after the video has finished playing in order to ensure that no frames are dropped during capture.

Capture from a HDV Camcorder

You can capture video (including the audio portion) from a HDV camcorder for use in PowerProducer by clicking HDV Camcorder.

To capture from a HDV camcorder, do this:

1. Click Video under the Capture option on the Content window.

2. In the window that opens, click .

3. Locate the content you want to capture.

Note: Be sure that your camcorder is set to VCR mode.

• You may use the playback controls under the preview

window.

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• You may enter the timecode of the first frame of the video

you want to capture.

• You may enter a duration (in minutes and seconds) in the

Auto-recording duration field to instruct PowerProducer to capture this amount of video from the current position when you begin recording.

4. Click to begin capture.

5. Click to end capture when you have captured the video you

want.

Note: Non-realtime capture continues capturing and processing after the video has finished playing in order to ensure that no frames are dropped during capture.

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