Cyberlink PowerProducer - 4.0 User’s Guide

CyberLink

PowerProducer 4

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 NONINFRINGEMENT.

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

Web Site www.cyberlink.com Telephone Fax

CyberLink Corporation 15F, #100, Minchiuan Road, Shindian City Taipei 231, Taiwan

886-2-8667-1298

886-2-8667-1300

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 ........................................................................................7

Production Preferences ........................................................................................ 8

Project Preferences ...........................................................................................8

Video/Audio Preferences ................................................................................ 9

Supported Formats ..............................................................................................10

System Requirements .........................................................................................11

Produce a Movie Disc ............................ 13

Select a Disc Format .............................................................................................14

Acquire Content ....................................................................................................16

Import Video Files ...........................................................................................18

Import Photos ...................................................................................................18

Capture from a DV Camcorder ...................................................................19

Capture from an HDV Camcorder .............................................................21

Capture from a TV ...........................................................................................22

Capture from a VCR ........................................................................................23

Capture from a PC Camera ...........................................................................24

CyberLink PowerProducer

Capture from a Digital Camera ...................................................................25

Adjust a Video Clip’s Aspect Ratio .............................................................26

Edit Clips ...................................................................................................................27

AB Cut ..................................................................................................................27

Merge ...................................................................................................................28

Split .......................................................................................................................28

Advanced Editing for Video (Optional) ...................................................29

Create a Photo Slide Show ................................................................................30

Create a New Album ......................................................................................30

Add Photos to an Album ..............................................................................31

View Album Properties ..................................................................................31

Add Background Music to an Album .......................................................31

Set Durations ....................................................................................................32

Back up Photos on Disc .................................................................................32

Set Photo as Title Thumbnail ......................................................................32

Advanced Editing for Photos (Optional) .................................................33

Organize Your Story .............................................................................................34

Customize Your Disc’s Menu Page .................................................................36

Select a Menu Page Template ....................................................................37

Set Chapters ............................................................................................................41

Set Chapters Automatically .........................................................................41

Set Chapters Manually ...................................................................................42

Remove a Chapter ...........................................................................................42

Add a Playlist ..........................................................................................................43

Select a Playlist .................................................................................................44

Preview Disc Content ..........................................................................................45

Preview Your Production ..............................................................................45

View the DVD Structure ......................................................................................47

View Clip Properties .......................................................................................47

View the Production Summary ..................................................................48

Final Output ............................................................................................................49

Set Your Burning Configuration .................................................................49

Burn Your Production to Disc .....................................................................50

Save Your Production as a Disc Image ....................................................52

Contents

Create a DVD Folder .......................................................................................54

Edit a Disc After Burning ....................................................................................56

Right-to-Disc ......................................... 59

Burn Video from a DV Camcorder to DVD or Blu-ray Disc .....................60

Burn Video from an HDV Camcorder to Blu-ray Disc ...............................63

Burn Video from a TV to DVD or Blu-ray Disc ..............................................66

Burn Video from a PC Camera to DVD or Blu-ray Disc .............................69

Burn Video from a VCR to DVD or Blu-ray Disc ...........................................72

Disc Utilities........................................... 75

PowerProducer’s Disc Utilities .........................................................................76

Erase a Disc ..............................................................................................................78

Copy a Disc ..............................................................................................................79

Burn a Disc From a Disc Image .........................................................................81

Save a Disc Image .................................................................................................82

Burn a Disc from a DVD Folder .........................................................................83

Reference .............................................. 85

FAQ ............................................................................................................................86

Disc Types & Video Recording Formats ........................................................88

Disc Types ..........................................................................................................88

Video Recording Formats .............................................................................91

Disc Type/Format Compatibility ................................................................92

Formats & Qualities ..............................................................................................93

Video Formats ...................................................................................................93

Video Qualities .................................................................................................94

Audio Formats ..................................................................................................95

iii

CyberLink PowerProducer

Technical Support.................................. 97

Before Contacting Technical Support ...........................................................98

Web Support .....................................................................................................99

Telephone Support .........................................................................................99

Email Support ................................................................................................ 100

Index ................................................... 101

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 page 13.

This chapter contains the following sections:

• "Welcome" on page 2

• "Production Flow" on page 3

• "The PowerProducer Program" on page 5

• "PowerProducer Projects" on page 6

• "Upgrade Your Software" on page 7

• "Production Preferences" on page 8

• "Supported Formats" on page 10

• "System Requirements" on page 11

CyberLink PowerProducer

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 CyberLink PowerProducer for light editing tasks and to capture new media. 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 Blu-ray Disc, HD DVD, DVD or VCD that you can play on a disc player and share with friends. But that’s not even half the story. CyberLink PowerProducer’s production functions include the following:

• Importing and Capturing Media

• imports video files and photos

• captures from a DV or HDV camcorder

• captures from a TV or VCR

• captures from a web cam or digital camera

• Video and Picture Editing

• cuts, merges and splits video clips

• matches slide show length to background music duration

• adds transitions to slide shows

• Customizing Your Disc

• creates disc menus with video thumbnails and background

• sets chapters within video content

• adds background music to disc menus

• Disc Burning and Utilities

• burns CDs, DVDs, HD DVDs and Blu-ray Discs

• burns video right to disc from a variety of sources

• erases discs that contain unwanted content

• copies discs and burns discs from a disc image

Note: The functions available to you may differ due to the version installed on your computer.

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.

CyberLink PowerProducer

Disc Production

When your movie is ready for production, that’s the time to use CyberLink PowerProducer. Because CyberLink 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, BD-RE, HD DVD-R 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 CyberLink PowerProducer, the program appears as follows:

Produce Movie Disc

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

Right-to-Disc

Burn video directly to a DVD.

Edit Disc

Edit a disc after burning.

Disc Utilities

Manage your discs and production files.

Open Project

Open an existing CyberLink PowerProducer project.

CyberLink PowerProducer

PowerProducer Projects

To open a CyberLink PowerProducer project, click Open Project on the main CyberLink 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 CyberLink PowerProducer, but still keep your original files untouched on your hard drive. 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 CyberLink 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 CyberLink PowerProducer function

New Save Preferences

Open Save As Help

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

Upgrade

Chapter 1: Introduction

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.

CyberLink PowerProducer

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

Note: The project options that are available depend on the disc format that you have selected.

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

• Default name for captured video: Enter a name to give to each video file you capture. CyberLink 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.

• Add thumbnail index: Check to add a thumbnail index to the disc’s menu.

• Enable video thumbnail: Check to allow chapter thumbnails to display moving 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.

• Eject after erasing: Check to have CyberLink PowerProducer automatically eject a disc after erasing is complete.

• Display TV safe zone: Check to display a box in the Author window that indicates the safe zone when creating the disc menu. Utilizing this feature ensures that menu items, including text, thumbnails and buttons, will be within the display range of most TVs.

• Default menu style: Specify your favorite style (.fl file) as the style for each new CyberLink PowerProducer project.

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: HD (High Definition), SD (Standard Definition), HQ (High Quality), SP (Standard Play), LP (Long Play), EP (Extended Play) or Smart Fit. The video quality settings offer different bit rates, resulting in

files of different sizes. 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

CyberLink PowerProducer

Supported Formats

CyberLink PowerProducer allows you to import files into the program in the following formats:

Audio Input Formats: .mp3, .wav, .wma

Image Input Formats: .bmp, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .tif, .tiff, .psd

Video Input Formats: .mpg, .mpeg, .avi, .dat, .wmv, .asf, .vob, .dvr-ms

The disc and file formats that CyberLink PowerProducer supports are

listed below:

Disc Types File Formats

BD-RE, BD-R BDAV

HD DVD-R HD DVD Video

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

CD-R, CD-RW VCD, SVCD

DVD-Video, DVD-VR, DVD+VR

Chapter 1: Introduction

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 Vista/XP/2000

• 128MB SDRAM (256MB SDRAM recommended)

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

• 512MB for direct HDV-to-Blu-ray Disc 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-Blu-ray Disc recording: Intel Pentium 4

2.4 GHz

•1GB for making VCDs

• 5GB for making DVDs

• 15GB for making HD DVDs

• 25GB for making Blu-ray Discs

CyberLink PowerProducer

Minimum System Requirements

DV/HDV

Capture

• OHCI IEEE 1394 compliant device

• 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.

Note: Some camcorders are recognized as external disk drives on your PC, and therefore the Right-to-Disc feature is not available. In this case you should use the Import Video Files function to import the files directly from the external drive (camcorder) to your hard drive.

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 disc 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 page 14

• "Acquire Content" on page 16

• "Edit Clips" on page 27

• "Create a Photo Slide Show" on page 30

• "Organize Your Story" on page 34

• "Customize Your Disc’s Menu Page" on page 36

• "Set Chapters" on page 41

• "Add a Playlist" on page 43

• "Preview Disc Content" on page 45

• "View the DVD Structure" on page 47

• "Final Output" on page 49

• "Edit a Disc After Burning" on page 56

Note: The functions available to you may differ due to the version installed on your computer.

CyberLink PowerProducer

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 CyberLink PowerProducer.

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 a DVD burner.)

• Blu-ray Disc: to create a high-quality high definition video that will play back on a Blu-ray Disc player. (Requires a Blu-ray Disc burner.)

• HD DVD: to create a high-quality high definition video that will play back on an HD DVD player. (Requires an HD DVD burner.)

4. Set your other options as necessary:

• Video recording format: select a video recording format. For more information, see "Video Recording Formats" on page 91.

• 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 page 86.

5. Click to continue.

CyberLink PowerProducer

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 CyberLink PowerProducer, or you may have raw footage from either an analog or a digital source that you need to capture.

Note: Some camcorders are recognized as external disk drives on your PC. In this case you can use the directly from the external drive (camcorder) to your hard drive.

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 page 18).

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.

Import Video Files function to import the files

Chapter 2: Produce a Movie Disc

3. Select your disc type and then click . The Content window opens.

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

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 page 27. To learn about the actions you can perform on your photos, see "Create a Photo Slide Show" on page

30.

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 page 26.

CyberLink PowerProducer

Import Video Files

You can import video files (including the audio portion) for use in CyberLink 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: CyberLink PowerProducer allows you to preview video files before you open them. Use the controls under the preview window to start and stop the preview.

Note: When you import files in the DVR-MS format, CyberLink PowerProducer converts them into MPEG files for processing. These MPEG files are kept on your hard disk drive for future use unless you manually remove them.

Import Photos

You can import photos for use in CyberLink 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:

Chapter 2: Produce a Movie Disc

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, with the first slide appearing in the album window as a thumbnail.

• To add more slides to the album, click Add Photos, then open the photos you want to add.

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

Capture from a DV Camcorder

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

To capture from a DV camcorder, do this:

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

CyberLink PowerProducer

2. In the window that opens, select DV camcorder from the dropdown.

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 time code 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 CyberLink 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.

Chapter 2: Produce a Movie Disc

Capture from an HDV Camcorder

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

To capture from an HDV camcorder, do this:

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

2. In the window that opens, select HDV camcorder from the dropdown.

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.

• You may enter the time code of the first frame of the video you want to capture.

CyberLink PowerProducer

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.

Capture from a TV

You can capture video (including the audio portion) from a TV for use in CyberLink PowerProducer by selecting the TV option.

To capture from a TV, do this:

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

2. In the window that opens, select Analog TV from the drop-down.

3. Select the channel you wish to record.

Chapter 2: Produce a Movie Disc

• You may enter a duration (in minutes and seconds) in the Autorecording duration field to instruct CyberLink PowerProducer to

capture this amount of video from the time you begin recording.

• Click to open a dialog box in which you can set other configuration options.

4. Click to begin capture.

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

Capture from a VCR

You can capture video (including the audio portion) from a VCR for use in CyberLink PowerProducer by selecting the VCR option.

To capture from a VCR, do this:

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

2. In the window that opens, select VCR from the drop-down.

CyberLink PowerProducer

• Click to open a dialog box in which you can set other configuration options.

3. Click to begin capture.

• You may enter a duration (in minutes and seconds) in the Auto- recording duration field to instruct CyberLink PowerProducer to capture this amount of video from the time you begin recording.

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

Capture from a PC Camera

You can capture video from a PC camera (webcam) for use in CyberLink PowerProducer by selecting the PC Camera option.

To capture from a PC camera, do this:

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

2. In the window that opens, select PC camera from the drop-down.

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