Troubleshoot movies

I tried to insert a movie, but I got a message saying PowerPoint can't play the file.

If the movie is in a format that Microsoft PowerPoint doesn't support, you might be able to play it in the Microsoft Windows Media Player. If the movie is a QuickTime file, see also the next item in this troubleshooter.

1. In Microsoft Windows, launch Windows Media Player (from the Start button, on the Accessories submenu).
2. On the File menu in Windows Media Player, click Open, and then type the path or browse for the file you want to insert, and click OK.
   • If the movie opens and plays, complete the remaining steps in this task.
   • If the movie cannot play, then it won't play when you open the Windows Media Player in PowerPoint, so don't complete this task. You can consult Windows Media Player Help to try to troubleshoot the problem. Also, see the next item in this troubleshooter regarding QuickTime movies.
3. Display the slide you want the movie on in PowerPoint, and on the Insert menu, click Object.
4. Under Object Type, click Media Clip, and make sure Create new is selected. If you want the movie to display as an icon, select the Display as icon check box.
5. Click OK.
6. On the Insert Clip menu in Windows Media Player, click Video for Windows.
7. In the Files of type list, select All Files, select the file, and then click Open.
8. To play it, click the Play button just below the menu bar, on the upper left; to insert it onto your slide, click outside the movie frame.

When you insert a movie as an object, you cannot make it part of a custom animation.

PowerPoint won't play my QuickTime movie file in either PowerPoint or Microsoft Windows Media Player.

Try to play the movie in Microsoft PowerPoint by creating a link to an application that will play it. The application must be installed on your computer.

1. Open the movie file from your desktop to see if you have another application installed that will play the file. If you can play the movie, continue with this task.

   If you don't have a program that will play the movie, try downloading the appropriate QuickTime program from the Apple Computer, Inc., Web site, and proceed with this task.

2. Display the slide you want the movie on in PowerPoint, and on the Slide Show menu, point to Action Buttons, then select the Movie action button.
3. Draw a button on the slide. The Action Settings dialog box appears; click Run program and then click Browse. 
4. In the Browse dialog box, change Files of type to All Files. Then browse to your movie file and click OK.
5. Click OK in the Action Settings dialog box.

During a presentation, when you get to the slide with the movie object on it, click the movie object to launch the application that plays the movie. If the application doesn't automatically play the movie, you will have to click a command within the application to launch the movie.

The above steps are also useful for running other applications during a presentation when you want to use an unsupported multimedia type.

My movie is not smooth; how can I improve its playback quality?

• It may be that the computer you're playing it on doesn't have adequate memory (RAM) to play the movie smoothly. Other factors that affect playback are the type of computer processor and its speed, plus the RPM speed of your hard disk.
• Video compression can affect playback. With greater video compression, there's less information to process and performance is enhanced.
• You may have to make the movie smaller. Try setting it to the best scale for a presentation:
  1. Click the movie to select it.
  2. On the Format menu, click Picture, and then click the Size tab.
  3. Select the Best scale for slide show check box, and then click Reset.
• For generally better performance, play movies from the presentation directory rather than from a CD or network.

Can I use my DVD to add a digital video movie?

This isn't possible in Microsoft PowerPoint 2002. However, some third-party companies manufacture add-ins that allow PowerPoint to play DVD video during a presentation.