Re: Best Video Format?
- From: "Austin Myers" <austinm@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2006 12:02:43 -0500
Brian,
WMV is the format I would use (in fact that is what PFCMedia uses). However
(you knew it was coming) there are several codecs and methods that can be
used to create a WMV file and not all of them are compatible with the MCI
player (used in PPT). If you are going to encode them to a WMV format (or
rather have the doctors do it) you/they really need to spend some time to
read and understand video formatting for use in PowerPoint. (Things to
consider are data rates, codec compatibility, color depth, native
resolution, motion, I & P frames, etc.)
I sympathize with the fact the Docs show up and you don't have time to
straighten it all out before it's time to put on the show. sigh...
Unfortunately this happens far too often. But regardless of what you use to
encode the video, it's still going to take time.
As far as being more Mac like... Naw, I run into just as many problems on
that side of the fence as I do the Windows side. Go figure...
Perhaps the real solution if to give the Docs (have them download it) a copy
of the trial version of PFCMedia and let them have the presentations ready
when they show up. ;-)
Austin Myers
MS PowerPoint MVP Team
Provider of PFCMedia http://www.pfcmedia.com
"Brian Lynn" <BrianLynn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:F1B2EC03-8D19-45B6-8A11-61F0769DF49C@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Assuming file size is not an issue, what is the best format to ensure
compatability of video clips with PowerPoint?
I have used mplay32.exe to test and test and test and have come to the
conclusion that it doesnt matter if mplay32.exe can play a video... only
half
of the videos that test OK in mplay32.exe play OK in PowerPoint. And of
course WiMP is useless for testing since only around 15% of what plays in
WiMP is reliable in PowerPoint.
I am trying to get a group of doctors to all conform to a single format.
Right now I am getting .avi using dozens of different codecs... Cinepak
Radius (half of those work in PPT half do not), Ligos Indeo (super
frustrating rip off that you have to pay for...), TSCC (Techsmith Screen
Capture Codec, used by many medical devices to out put flouroscope scans,
sonograms, etc.), Sony DV, MPEG-1, M-JPEG, Morgan Multimedia M-JPEG codec,
and many many more... I have come to dread .avi video for use in
PowerPoint
simply due to the amount of clashing codecs that .avi can use to encode.
Unfortunately no one seems to know what .wmv is or that you can often
re-code a video that runs on one PC, make it a .wmv and it will play on
another PC, and the software to make that is free from MS.
Is .wmv the best format to use to ensure compatiblity across PC platforms?
.mpeg as far as i know is just as convoluted as .avi with many possible
codecs available. But I may be wrong about that. .mpeg seems to work
around
50% of the time.
I know there is the "PFS" that can be used but most of the time I don't
have
the access to use PFS or the time... Doctors presenting presentations with
20
videos talks are 20 minutes long and none of them bring be their files
until
2 minutes before the go on. No time to recode a video before they go up
to
garuntee playback.
So... is .wmv the preferred format for video in PowerPoint? PFS uses it so
I
am assuming so... I need to be able to give my client a request for
formats
in the future but with my experiences so far there has been no easy
answer. I
am hoping for easier, not even hoping for totally easy...
Thanks for the info to anyone who responds.
Rant:
PowerPoint needs to get off its proverbial behind and take their heads out
of the hole that's found there... Keynote handles multimedia with ease...
it
has better transitions, better text handling by lightyears, and PowerPoint
is
quickly loosing ground to presenters who just want it to WORK. I do tons
of
adjustments to my Windows PCs to make them as widely acceptable of videos,
etc. and still I can't get past 50% reliability when I am dealing with
videos
that I did not create or have input into. Release a verison in 2002, and
another in 2003?? 2003 should have been a patch. Wish M$ would give us
preview of what's to come so I can choose to jump ship now, forever,
before I
take more time, and waste more of my clients time using PowerPoint.
.
- Follow-Ups:
- Re: Best Video Format?
- From: Brian Lynn
- Re: Best Video Format?
- Prev by Date: Re: Copying ppt slides from one version of ppt to another
- Next by Date: Re: Movies from gifs.
- Previous by thread: RE: Best Video Format?
- Next by thread: Re: Best Video Format?
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
