Cyberlink PowerDirector 7

Interfaces don't much get better looking than Cyberlink PowerDirector 7, nor do they get easier to use.

Although arranged into the standard media, preview, and timeline three-pane window, Cyberlink PowerDirector 7's icons are easier than most to understand.

Editing in Cyberlink PowerDirector 7 is done by splits rather than setting start and end points — a method which grows on you after a few uses — and you can import virtually any kind of media.

Cyberlink PowerDirector 7 walks you through most operations, it's fast and we've yet to view a transcoding that wasn't up to snuff. It also imports any video supported by a DirectShow codec though it only outputs using its own codecs (and FX), including MPEG-2 for DVDs, MP4 for iPods and the like, as well as older AVI and MPEG-1.

Cyberlink PowerDirector 7 comes in three basic flavours: the HE version packaged with the DVD Suite, which offers Blu-ray support; the Ultra version, which offers Blu-ray support, more video tracks, and more templates; and the Deluxe version, which forgoes support for AVCHD MP4 and Blu-ray. The trial demo version of Deluxe works for 30 days and limits iPod format encodings to a total of 50.