How to embed movies in powerpoint file so that it'sself-contained (plays on other machines)?

[Levin, Michael]

I've got a PPT file (PowerPoint v.X on Mac OS X Panther) which embeds a
quicktime movie. It works fine on Macs, but if I take it onto a PC, it won't
play the movie. Is there any way for me to embed the movie in the PPT file
itself so that I won't have to move more than one file to show it on another
machine, and more importantly, so that it will play on PCs?

Mike

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I've got a PPT file (PowerPoint v.X on Mac OS X Panther) which embeds a
quicktime movie. It works fine on Macs, but if I take it onto a PC, it won't
play the movie. Is there any way for me to embed the movie in the PPT file
itself so that I won't have to move more than one file to show it on another
machine, and more importantly, so that it will play on PCs?

PowerPoint only allows linked movies.
On the PC you can choose Insert Object to embed some types of movies; that may
be possible on Mac as well. Worth a try.

But you need to know that most PCs don't have Quicktime so probably won't be
able to play your movie whether it's embedded, linked or handed to them on a
silver platter.

================================================
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

 

[Levin, Michael]

PowerPoint only allows linked movies.
On the PC you can choose Insert Object to embed some types of movies; that
may
be possible on Mac as well. Worth a try.

But you need to know that most PCs don't have Quicktime so probably won't be
able to play your movie whether it's embedded, linked or handed to them on a
silver platter.

ugh... What do I do? Any way to convert quicktime MPGs to something
universally playable? And, what's the best way to bring all the files onto
another machine to play the presentation - will it automatically look for
them in the same directory or do I have to re-make the link on the new
machine?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

ugh... What do I do? Any way to convert quicktime MPGs to something
universally playable? And, what's the best way to bring all the files onto
another machine to play the presentation - will it automatically look for
them in the same directory or do I have to re-make the link on the new
machine?

You want to convert the videos to AVI using something like the Cinepak codec,
which should be part of all Windows installations.

Put the files in the same folder as your PPT and only then insert them into the
presentation.

Then if you keep the videos and PPT together in the same folder, PPT should be
able to find everything.

================================================
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

 

[Levin, Michael]

You want to convert the videos to AVI using something like the Cinepak codec,
which should be part of all Windows installations.

great. Is there a Mac way of doing the conversion? Will it still play on
Macs?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

great. Is there a Mac way of doing the conversion? Will it still play on
Macs?

Ah. You mean you haven't noticed my pronounced Windows accent? The lessons must
be working. ;-)

Seriously, I'll have to let one of the *real* Mac users help with this one.
All I know is that I've tried converting a few QT movies to AVI using QT Pro and
haven't been pleased with the results. The conversions seem to work on either
platform but the quality's left a lot to be desired.

I'm sure there are better apps for this, though.


================================================
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

 

[buck_brown]

MNac PPT has the option to Save as QuickTime. It will work even with
an inserted movie. Just do File | Save As | PowerPoint Movie. You'll
then have a MOV file that will play in QuickTime. Of course, the PC
will need QuickTime for Windows to see it. There's also some
limitations for certain PPT features, so be warned. (ex: Certain
animations will map to Fly In from Left, etc).