Movie formats for PC and MAC in PP

[sh]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Power PC

Can you please tell me what movie formats I can use in a PP prepared on a Mac and then presented/projected on a PC?

Thanks!

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Power PC

Can you please tell me what movie formats I can use in a PP prepared on a Mac and then presented/projected on a PC?

Thanks!

Short answer:
use wmv

Longer answer:
use uncompressed avi

Caveat: Install Flip4Mac (free) on the Mac so that QuickTime can play
wmv files.

PowerPoint uses QuickTime. Mac PowerPoint can play anything that
QuickTime plays as a consequence.

wmv offers the best file compression and quality combination on both
platforms.

-Jim

 

[sh]

Thanks Jim. Just to clarify, does the PC version of PP play QuickTime too?

Also, do you suggest I create a PowerPoint package and send to the person on the PC?

Thanks!

 

[sh]

I have a movie saved as a .wmv file. Inserted into PP on my Mac it plays. When I "Package Powerpoint", zip the folder, send through an FTP service to people on PCs the movie doesn't play. Any thoughts?

Also does Microsoft have paid technical support? Where can I find them (URL or phone number). I must get this working fast. Or does anybody know where to find a knowledgeable consultant to hire?

Thanks!

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Thanks Jim. Just to clarify, does the PC version of PP play QuickTime too?

No. Actually, PowerPoint (Mac or PC) doesn't play any movies. It passes the movie off
to the system's multimedia software.

What happens on the PC is insanely complicated and can depend on PowerPoint version,
Windows version, what other media software is installed on the PC and more.

If the end user has Quicktime installed on their PC, Quicktime movies may work, but you
can't count on Quicktime being there.

 

[sh]

hhmmm (thanks for the info)...so I guess the next step is to find out if QT is on their PCs.

This is very worrisome because ultimately this PP is being sent to a conference organizer. It will be presented there. How will I determine if "THEY" have QT? Is there any way around all this?

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

hhmmm (thanks for the info)...so I guess the next step is to find out if QT is on their PCs.

This is very worrisome because ultimately this PP is being sent to a

conference organizer. It will be presented there. How will I determine if "THEY"
have QT? Is there any way around all this?

I'd be inclined to stick with Jim's advice ... use WMV instead (assuming that
the conference organizer's on Windows instead of Mac).

Also, for a better understanding of how all this works in Windows, you can't do
better than:

http://www.playsforcertain.com/

And if you have access to a PC, you might want to try their software. They
offer a free trial (full function, time limited)

 

[Jim Gordon MVP]

I have a movie saved as a .wmv file. Inserted into PP on my Mac it plays. When I "Package Powerpoint", zip the folder, send through an FTP service to people on PCs the movie doesn't play. Any thoughts?

Also does Microsoft have paid technical support? Where can I find them (URL or phone number). I must get this working fast. Or does anybody know where to find a knowledgeable consultant to hire?

Thanks!

Hi,

Did you look in the package file to make sure that a copy of the wmv
actually made it into the package? There was a bug in one of the
updates to PowerPoint whereby the media didn't make it into the package.
You can manually copy the media to the package, or install the Office
updates, which fixed this problem, and then make a new package.

-Jim