Go steady in 360 degrees with PowerDirector's new image stabilization algorithm

By Hillary K. Grigonis Published September 22, 2017

PowerDirector 16 | No. 1 Choice for Video Editors

Capturing 360 footage is as easy as spending a few hundred dollars on a consumer camera and pressing a few buttons — and now editing immersive video content is getting just as consumer-friendly. The Taiwan-based CyberLink Corp. announced on Tuesday, September 19, the latest version of its beginner-friendly video software in the Director series with PowerDirector 16, ColorDirector 6, and AudioDirector 8 with several updates geared towards editing shots from those consumer 360 cameras.

PowerDirector 16, the video-editing program, is the first to put 360 stabilization into a consumer-level program that’s capable of editing video from multiple camera brands, according to the company. (The Garmin Virb Edit software also offers stabilization, but only with the Garmin Virb 360 camera and it’s slew of built-in sensors.) The software uses a stabilization algorithm that identifies then adjusts for rotational and translational camera motion, according to the company.

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Along with the stabilization, new 360 features include titles and transitions designed for the immersive format, avoiding the warping that occurs when using templates designed for a standard point of view. ColorDirector 6 is also now compatible with color grading for 360 videos. The company’s audio software, AudioDirector 8, is now also compatible with 360 videos.

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Along with the new features designed for 360 footage, PowerDirector 16 includes a number of different features for standard video as well. The program now includes built-in color matching to create consistency across clips by matching factors like lighting, saturation, and color. New LUT support also allows users to use color tables to create film looks. The update also includes new effects and plug-ins.

Inside ColorDirector 6, new features include a one-click tone adjustment. A dehaze tool, similar to Lightroom’s, for removing fog, smog, and haze from footage and a noise reduction tool is also included in the update.

For AudioDirector 8, the update brings a codec preview, an ambiance creator to help blend clips without white noise with shots with white noise, and auto-fit music, which adjusts audio tracks to the length of the video.

The updated software comes with several purchase options starting at around $70 for PowerDirector 16 Deluxe. The entire suite of software, as well as PhotoDirector 9, retails for $300 or a $100 one-year subscription. The software is available directly from CyberLink, as well as from several retail stores.

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Hillary K. Grigonis

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…

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