avi won't play in PowerPoint except in full screen mode

[Guest]

I am using Windows XP professional and PowerPoint 2003. Windows media player
10. With the implementation of PowerPoint 2003, some avi files that we have
successfully used in previous versions of PowerPoint will not play, unless
you right mouse click on the avi in PowerPoint, Edit Movie Object, and check
on "Zoom to Full Screen". Then the avio plays full screen, but that's the
only way.
When examining the properties of avi's that WILL play normally in PowerPoint
they show either Cinepak Codec or MS-CRAM under video compression.
The ones that do not play normally have no video compression listed under
properties.
There is a workaround that I have found that works on some machines but not
others.
By opening the avi in Windows media player go to Tools, Options,
Performance, and then click on the Advanced button. Under Video Acceleration,
Un-check "Use video mixing renederer." This worked on two other machines
where I work, but would not work on my machine.
Could it be a driver issue? Or possibly a codec issue?

 

[Austin Myers]

See my reply to your first post.



Austin Myers
MS PowerPoint MVP Team

Provider of PFCMedia http://www.pfcmedia.com

 

[Guest]

Austin,
Didn't realize when I posted there was a delay inthe thread showing up,
until after I posted it again. Now it appears that the thread in which you
posted your solution may have been deleted as a duplicate. Could you post
your solution again?
Secondly, I still don't understand how it could play in the full screen mode
but not play without checking that box on. When inserted normally and put
into slide show mode it just appears as a black box when playing. I knoe the
file name/path is not too long. I'm using all the most current updates. I
don't get it. Changing the file ext worked, so I'll probably keep doing that,
but I hate an unsolved mystery.

 

[Austin Myers]

I'll try to make some sense of it. When something is called an AVI (has the
*.avi extension) you could just as well call it a movie because any video
with sound included is an AVI. AVI simply means the Audio and Video are
Interleaved in the same file. Sooo, a Mpeg is a AVI, a WMV is a AVI, a DivX
is a AVI, etc. etc..

When PowerPoint (the MCI player really) is called to play an AVI it tries to
determine the proper codec to be used to play the media. (There are
hundreds of them.) *Most* times this works fairly well, but not always. In
many cases the video doesn't meet the standard set for a particular codec or
format. The result is that either the video doesn't play, or it doesn't
play properly. (As you seen.)

By your changing the extension to mpeg you told PowerPoint (MCI player) to
eliminate all codecs from the list except the ones for mpeg playback and the
player selected one of them that worked on your system. Call it a lucky
guess. <g>

Be aware!!! It may not work if you move the presentation to another PC!!!
Why you ask? Because the other PC may or may not have the codec you are
using on your machine.

For more information on this subject take a look at the tutorial I put
together on the subject.

http://www.pfcmedia.com/Tutorial.htm


Austin Myers
MS PowerPoint MVP Team

Provider of PFCMedia http://www.pfcmedia.com