Mplay32 poor performance

[Guest]

I have video files encoded in Indeo504 at 15 fps at

window size of 400 by 300 and data rate is limited to 200 kb/sec.

They play perfectly from CD using the Windows Media
Player, but same files on same CD stutter and are jerky
when I play them in the Mplay32 Media Player.

This is of concern to me because I am trying to play the
video files within a PoweerPoint presentation, which

uses the Mplay32 media player in Windows to handle video

playback.

The good playback I'm getting in Windows Media Player
rules out considerations such as bad video card
performance, CD transport rate limitation, poor CD

media, or general system throughput issues.

 

[Austin Myers]

I assume you are launching the MCI player from the command line (Run
Command). There is no real reason for it to run slower. Are you certain
the Indio Codec is "registered" in the Windows system registry? I ask as it
sounds like you are using the wrong codec for playback.

Austin Myers
MS PowerPoint MVP Team

 

[Sonia]

I don't fully agree with your conclusions about resources or video card
performance. Remember that the added element is that the presentation is
being played in PowerPoint (or Viewer) and the video is being played in a
different player. There is still the possibility that updating your video
card driver might help and lowering hardware acceleration a notch at a time
might also help. I would also ensure that any anti-virus software is shut
down, as well as other background tasks which might be competing for
resources. An easier way to pin it down would be to try the CD on a few
other systems, including different versions of Windows and/or PowerPoint or
the Viewer.

 

[A. Pedant]

But doesn't the original post say:
"but same files on same CD stutter and are jerky when I play them in the
Mplay32 Media Player."?
I agree with your points but it sounds like the problem is there outside
PowerPoint.

 

[Sonia]

Yes, but it is unclear whether the poster means that mplayer32.exe is
running from the command line or from within PowerPoint because he does say,
"... I am trying to play the video files within a PoweerPoint presentation,
which uses the Mplay32 media player in Windows to handle video playback."

I hope that we can learn more.

 

[A. Pedant]

Well in that case there is some misunderstanding here.
PowerPoint doesn't use mplay32.exe to play multimedia, it uses similar MCI
calls to those which mplay32.exe uses. This isn't the same as playing the
video in a different player - it is a reduced strain on resources.
Just living up to my name

 

[E Fisher]

Thanks for both of your thoughts on this. Let me clarify
for you...

When I play a video within PP (created via
Install/Movies/Files) the playback is not quality. When
running it from the hard drive it is marginal. But when I
burn the PP presentation to CD and playback, it is worse.

In an article by Austin Meyers linked to the PP Faq page,
I believe he states that PP uses the old media player
(mplay32, I believe it is) from the early Windows MCI
development to handle all internal video calls. So,
based on that, I decided to determine whether my problem
is the old media player, or whether it is PP and its
handling of the media player. To determine this, I
burned the video files to CD (stand alone)and watched
them on 3 different computers in both the old media play
and again in the current Windows Media Player (you'd
think that MicroSoft could afford to hire a couple
creative poeple who could come up with new names for
their products, huh?) On all 3 computers, the video files
played noticably smoother from CD in the Windows Media
Player than they did in the old media player. The
difference was not remarkable and I could accept the
lesser, if needed.

However, when I burned the entire PP presentation to CD
with the exact same video files (encoded as described in
my original post), and then viewed the PP presentation
from CD using the Pack and Go player (on the 3 different
computers), the video files are consistently more choppy
and jerky, and visuals often lag behind audio (lip sync).
This is consistent across all 3 computer experiences.

Does this help clarify my problem?

Perhaps you'd like to reply to me directly. I would
appreciate that as I check my email often.

If so...

(e-mail address removed)

Thanks.

 

[Mike M.]

Earl, it has been my experience that all video clips run from within
PowerPoint play worse than outside of it in a player. I believe it is due
to the extra resources PPT consumes when trying to render the video using
the MCI media player/driver. Many times my videos play fine outside PPT but
are unacceptable running from within. The videos play better from within if
you insert a Windows Media Player object instead of letting PPT use the MCI
player.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your response, though I wish it weren't so.

You'd think that MicroSoft in all it's technical prowess
could solve that problem. Otherwise, what's the point in
adding a feature like "insert video" if the playback is
substandard and unacceptable? I guess I'm assuming they
care. Guess I'm also quite irritated. Your suggestion
sounds as if it may be the only solution. However, I
have a design look that I'm trying to maintain where
video images are integrated seamlessly into the
background. Having a player pop up to play video would
totally kill the creative experience for the viewer.

I'd greatly appreciate any other thoughts given that I
don't want to see a player.

(e-mail address removed)

 

[Adam Crowley]

Judging by your initial description of how your videos are encoded I'd be
most shocked if playback suffered at the hands of PowerPoint. It sounds
much more like a codec issue.

If your content must run on a CD have you tried an MPEG1 file?

 

[Austin Myers]

Adam,

I agree, it sure sounds like a codec problem to me. (As in the wrong codec
is being used for playback.) To the poster, can you tell us what codec was
used to create the video file?

Austin Myers
MS PowerPoint MVP Team

 

[Adam Crowley]

It's buried way down at the start of the thread, Austin:

---snip---
I have video files encoded in Indeo504 at 15fps at
window size of 400 by 300 and data rate is
limited to 200 kb/sec.
---snip---

Which is why I can't see why playback should be a problem.

 

[EFisher]

Adam,

Thanks for your response.
No I haven't tried MPEG1 as it is not a codec on my
system: XP Professional... so I assume that others might
likely not have mpeg1 on their computers for playback. If
I'm incorrect and it is supposed to be on all Windows
systems, please let me know and I'll locate it and give
it a try.

Thanks

Earl

 

[Guest]

Austin,

I have compressed all my video files in Indeo5.04 at 15
fps at 75 quality, keyframes at 15, and data rate limit
of 250.

I have also tested Indeo 3.2 and Cinepak-- the other
codecs available on my NT 4.0 computer that look at all
acceptable. (Microsoft MPEG4 codecs give me consistent
error messages, while MS Video1 and RLE look horrible).
Of the 3 codecs that I have tested, I get the exact same
response as described throughout my posts.

But to the issue of the wrong codec being used. If that
was the case, then wouldn't I receive the same kind of
problems when trying to watch the Indeo5.04 video in the
current Windows Media Player? That's not the case. The
video plays fine in the WMP object.

The problems are consistently occuring when the video is
played inside the PP presentation via the old MCI media
player.

Is it possible that PP doesn't manage memory or cache or
data transfer of some sort very well? I ask this as I
have encountered numerous situations where PP will just
poop out for a random slide here and there-- not showing
the master slide background(where my navigation buttons
reside) or only show half of the navigation buttons. I've
experienced many wierd anomolies that seem to reflect a
poor grip on its resource handling. Is there any way to
optimize my presentation (that will hold up during
playback on other computers via CD-ROM? Can the Pack and
Go player be optimized in any way?

Any more thoughts would greatly be appreciated.

Earl Fisher
(e-mail address removed)

 

[John Langhans [MSFT]]

Hi Earl,

One critical step that is often skipped, which can dramatically affect the
quality at which a movie plays back during a PowerPoint slide show,
relative to how it play outside of PowerPoint is.... Don't forget to scale
the video within the slide to a size that is appropriate for best playback
at the resolution at which the presentation will be shown.

Video (like bitmaps) are resolution dependent and to get video and images
to look their best do the following:

1) Select video
2) Format -> Picture ... Switch to "Size" tab
3) Choose option for "Best scale for slide show" and then select the
resolution you will be using to show the presentation
4) Click OK.

Of course, If you (or anyone else reading this message) feel strongly
PowerPoint should provide more tools/options to optmize the playback of
video during slide show, don't forget to send your suggestion to Microsoft
at:

http://register.microsoft.com/mswish/suggestion.asp

As with all product suggestions, it's important that you not just state
your wish but also WHY it is important to you that your product suggestion
be implemented by Microsoft. Microsoft receives thousands of product
suggestions every day and we read each one but, in any given product
development cycle, there are only sufficient resources to address the ones
that are most important to our customers so take the extra time to state
your case as clearly and completely as possible.

IMPORTANT: Each submission should be a single suggestion (not a list of
suggestions).

John Langhans
Microsoft Corporation
Supportability Program Manager
Microsoft Office PowerPoint for Windows
Microsoft Office Picture Manager for Windows

For FAQ's, highlights and top issues, visit the Microsoft PowerPoint
support center at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=ppt
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbhowto

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