OBS Studio vs. PowerDirector

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
OBS Studio
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
OBS Studio is free and open source software for video recording and live streaming, featuring real time video/audio capturing and mixing. Users can create scenes made up of multiple sources including window captures, images, text, browser windows, webcams, and capture cards.
$0
PowerDirector
Score 5.0 out of 10
N/A
CyberLink in Taiwan offers PowerDirector as a consumer-grade video editing platform with a wide array of features and capability of publishing to social media sites.N/A
Pricing
OBS StudioPowerDirector
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
OBS StudioPowerDirector
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details——
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
OBS StudioPowerDirector
Best Alternatives
OBS StudioPowerDirector
Small Businesses
Zoom Events & Webinars
Zoom Events & Webinars
Score 8.7 out of 10
iMovie
iMovie
Score 9.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Zoom Events & Webinars
Zoom Events & Webinars
Score 8.7 out of 10
iMovie
iMovie
Score 9.9 out of 10
Enterprises
Zoom Events & Webinars
Zoom Events & Webinars
Score 8.7 out of 10
Adobe Express
Adobe Express
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
OBS StudioPowerDirector
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(13 ratings)
8.0
(5 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(3 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
OBS StudioPowerDirector
Likelihood to Recommend
Open Source
From simple streaming to bigger events, OBS has been able to handle all of it with full confidence from us. Have never questioned if it was going to be unreliable in a specific situation, even with minimal training. Software identified the external input source easily and had no issues setting that up (Blackmagic Mini Recorder), and great for pulling in separate audio from the computer input.
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CyberLink Corp.
Definitely suited for a business that has a presence on the internet. It is a relatively easy program to use and will make your video quality look professional. It doesn't matter what business you are into, if video is something that will take your company to another level than this is a good program to get the job done.
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Pros
Open Source
  • RTMP Streaming with customizable bitrate
  • Scene Composition and Switching + source control which allows for creators and our customers to move between different types of content they might have (different video feeds, slides etc)
  • Audio mixer and audio control - noise gating, a/v syncing, audio source control
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CyberLink Corp.
  • Quick and easy video and audio editing.
  • Great transition options.
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Cons
Open Source
  • OBS can be a little clunky sometimes, the lots of features can be a bit overwhelming
  • I can multitask with it, but can't run heavy software like Premiere alongside it
  • No way to make adjustments to file after it's done, have to use After Effects or Premiere for that
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CyberLink Corp.
  • The advertisements to upgrade need to go. I understand you guys gotta make money but I already paid for the product I have and I don't need a popup every time I open the program telling me there is an upgrade available for $xx.99.
  • Better documentation on how to use certain plugins.
  • DirectorZone is pointless.
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Usability
Open Source
Very usable because it is free and has had a lot of people helping to suggest improvements and sponsors have allowed the product to grow in sophistication and suitability across a variety of situations and use needs. It is very logical to use once you get started, although the dashboard can seem intimidating at first.
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CyberLink Corp.
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Open Source
For a free product, a range of support is available. There are plenty of ways to find out answers to questions, because there are probably thousands of people using the product who are willing to share what they have learned. It usually works as designed, so needs for support are limited.
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CyberLink Corp.
Again, I haven't tried a whole lot of different video editing software over the years, but of the ones I tried, PowerDirector seemed to be the right fit for me and the team I worked with. It helped solve the need for tutorial videos and it allowed us to create a bunch of videos in a very small time frame. I recommend it especially for people without a lot of video editing experience
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Alternatives Considered
Open Source
I have also used TinyTake by Mango Apps and I prefer OBS studio because the video quality results are better and OBS allows you to record an unlimited length of the video. OBS also lets you record an entire screen instead of manually having to draw your parameters, which can create oddly sizes videos if you miss by a few pixels.
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CyberLink Corp.
I choose PD because it is user-friendly and easy to learn.
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Return on Investment
Open Source
  • It was great to have a platform that is free that I can experiment with without having to use our business capital on.
  • It took time to learn, but it helped me understand a lot of things, so it was a great learning experience.
  • It was a great balance of cost and time with the high-quality product we got from it.
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CyberLink Corp.
  • Fast turn around on editing.
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ScreenShots