Direct X 9 (c) problem with Powerpoint 2003 and AVI files...wonder why?

[muse]

Thankyou to Sonia, Taj and Austin for their ideas with regards to why my
AVIs would not play in Powerpoint 2003 (Win XP Home SP1)..however

It turns out that it is Direct X 9 (c) that causes problems. Before updating
from 8.1 to 9.0 c the AVI files play in powerpoint 2003 on one of my drives
.. After upgrading they don't. After system restoring to 8.1 they work again.
Could explain why SP2 also caused this problem on another system ( not sure
if it is 9.0c that it updates to but I suspect it as a version of 9)

Not sure how to solve this one though as it does not seem to be a video card
driver issue ( safe mode does not solve the problem).

I must admit I would have thought more people would have run into this
problem though......(given SP2s circulation and also many new games require
Direct X 9)

Anyone any ideas how to fix this??

Cheers

 

[Sonia]

Did you run Dxdiag and run all of the video tests? Go to Start > Run, type
dxdiag and click OK.

I found your original thread and you didn't respond to my question about the
source of the AVI. If it came from a digital camera, try changing the extension
to MPG.

 

[muse]

Hi Sonia

I did reply (physically) but I notice for some reason it did not show
up..sorry for not checking earlier

Yes the videos were from a dv camera (camcorder) encoded in Sony Vegas.

Changing the extension has no effect (mpg)

Ran dxdiag which shows the video card drivers as signed..and it passed all
the video ("display") tests

As mentioned I have a"plain vanilla" winxp/office2003 (directx8.1) drive
which runs the avis fine. The exact same drive when direct x 9c is installed
no longer allows AVIs to be played, The exact same drive when rolled back to
8.1 allows the AVIs to be played again

Unsure whats happening here..or how to fix it...and dont really want to be
changing the notebook hard drive every time I want to run a presentation (
nor create a new partition which will take up precious notebook harddrive
space)

Cheers

 

[muse]

PS..changing the location of the file has no effect ( is not a file path
length issue)

Cheers

 

[John Langhans [MSFT]]

[CRITICAL UPDATE - Anyone using Office 2003 should install the Critical
Update or Service Pack 1 for Office 2003 as soon as possible. From
PowerPoint, choose "Help -> Check for Updates".]

[TOP ISSUE - Are you having difficulty opening presentations in PowerPoint
that you just created (you can save, but not open)? -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=329820]

Hello,

When you open the AVI file in Windows Media Player (prior to installing
DirectX 9) and choose File -> Properties, what are the following properties?

* Length
* Bit rate
* Video size
* Audio codec
* Video codec


John Langhans
Microsoft Corporation
Supportability Program Manager
Microsoft Office PowerPoint for Windows
Microsoft Office Picture Manager for Windows

For FAQ's, highlights and top issues, visit the Microsoft PowerPoint
support center at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=ppt
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbhowto

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[muse]

Hi John

Thanks for your reply

in Windows Media player ( version 8.00.00.4487) -which is the version on the
install that works (directX 8.1) the details are:

Length: 00.05
Bit rate: Unknown
Media type: Video
Audio codec Unknown
Video codec: DV Video Decoder

Interestingly mplay32.exe will not play the file ...get the vids:vcsd error
...but powerpoint will play the file ( I thought they used the same system
level calls?)

Windows Media Player (8,9 or 10) can always play the file..even when
powerpoint wont ( e.g. the direct x 9c install)..which I gather is expected
as mplay32 and WMP use 2 different codec systems etc

Thanks again for your help

Cheers

 

[John Langhans [MSFT]]

Hello,

Have you tried reducing the hardware acceleration setting for your display?

1) Open the Display control panel
2) Click on "Advanced" button in the "Settings" tab
3) In the "Troubleshoot" tab move the Hardware acceleration setting to
"None"
4) Click "OK" and click "OK"

John Langhans
Microsoft Corporation
Supportability Program Manager
Microsoft Office PowerPoint for Windows
Microsoft Office Picture Manager for Windows

For FAQ's, highlights and top issues, visit the Microsoft PowerPoint
support center at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=ppt
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbhowto

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[muse]

Hi Again John

Thankyou....the reduce hardware accel to "none" worked. I have actually
tried that before but it did not seem to work..(also starting in safe mode
which should have disabled the drivers has not worked in the past)..glad it
is now though ( was becoming a bit despondent). Does this mean it is a
driver issue ? Unfortunately Dell are not that quick in updating the ATI
drivers and because it is a mobility version, ATI do not supply the drivers
to the public themselves

Thanks once again

Cheers

 

[John Langhans [MSFT]]

Hello,

| Does this mean it is a driver issue?

Because of so many factors involved (PowerPoint, Display hardware, Display
driver, Video encoder, etc.) it's impossible to state, categorically, that
the display driver is the root cause of the problem. If there were a
version of a compatible display driver out there that would allow the movie
to play in PowerPoint when hardware acceleration was set to hight, it would
be stronger evidence that the current display driver is the cause of the
problem.

John Langhans
Microsoft Corporation
Supportability Program Manager
Microsoft Office PowerPoint for Windows
Microsoft Office Picture Manager for Windows

For FAQ's, highlights and top issues, visit the Microsoft PowerPoint
support center at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=ppt
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbhowto

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.