MPG-1 video files won't play in slide show on Mac

[stacy]

Hello,

I'm attempting to create a good cross-platform CD with a PPT and movie
clips. Familiar refrain, I know, but bear with me here.

Based on some of the information I've read online, I chose the Mpeg-1
format, made the movies in Cleaner 5, moved them into the same folder as
the PPT, and used insert > movie from file. Works great on the Mac.
Burned to CD (all files in one folder).

Now, when I run the presentation on the PC, instead of showing the first
frame of the clips, there is text that the says something like "yuv
compressor/Quicktime needed to view clip", although when you click them
they _will_ play. But I can't deliver the presentation to the client
with the erroneous error message on each clip...

I decided to go the other way. Moved clips and pres to a Windows box.
Followed same procedure as above, but now in Powerpoint 2003. Plays fine
on a PC. Burned to a CD and inserted into my Mac (OS 10.3.9). Now this
is weird. The clips work fine when double clicked while in View > normal
mode. But if you run a Slide show, all you hear is the audio. No video
plays.

I can't figure out which platform to troubleshoot! Do I honestly need to
provide two separate presentations on the CD? One saved on a Mac and one
saved on a PC? This doesn't seem like a codec issue, since the clips
will actually play. Any suggestions of a path to take in troubleshooting?

 

[ChemicalPete]

Hi Stacy,

You are not wrong in the steps that you took to insert the movies...
Either on the Mac or PC. The problem is not the codec. The problem
isn't even the operating systems (entirely) =P The frustrations that
you are experiencing are due to the default movie softwares that each
operating system, and in turn, Powerpoint rely on. On a Mac, the movie
rendering software that Powerpoint requires is Quicktime. On a PC, it
is Windows Media Player. Each has it's own secret sauce as to how it
inserts the movies into Powerpoint. That is why Mac's won't play WMV
in PPT and PC's can't play MOV.

I commend your efforts for trying to make a cross-platform solution.
God knows that with around 900 presentations that I create a year, I
have sure tried. The best solution for you is to create a Mac and a PC
version. Even in trying to use Toaster to create a Hybrid CD, it will
mess up the PC file. (the reason for that is: Macs us the ds.store
file to keep track of files. PC's need an actual file path. [i.e.,
C:\Presentations\My July talks\the mysterys of tacos.ppt] or something
like that. It is a very simple problem with complex and often
frustrating solutions.

Hope this helps. Let me know if I can answer any other questions that
you may have.

ChemicalPete~