Memory required to play videos

[Guest]

Hello all!

Thanks for all the advice I received in the past- it has been quite helpful!

My supervsior runs PowerPoint shows with videos. He wants to be able to
bring them on a disk and leave the laptop at home. PFC Media has been helpful
for converting all videos to Windows Media Format.

However, recently he was giving a presentation and the videos played poorly
because of low memory on the computer.

Is there a "basic requirement" for memory to run PowerPoint shows with
videos? I need to be able to say "the computer must have xxx amount of free
memory and XX RAM" when I send A/V requirements along.

Thanks so much!

Chris T

 

[Austin Myers]

Chris,

It's hard to give a number here without knowing what version of Windows,
Office and other installed software is being used. Obviously it takes more
RAM to run Windows XP than say Windows 98, the same might be said for Office
2003 compared to Office 97. The other issue you may run into is old video
cards that are RAM
"poor". This will greatly effect video playback.

The truth of the matter is that while it may be a hassle to take the lap
top, it really is the only way to have a known platform to work from...


Austin Myers
MS PowerPoint MVP Team

Provider of PFCMedia www.pcmedia.com

 

[Guest]

Dear Austin,

Thanks so much for your response. Is there any way to "guesstimate"? For
instance, so far my A/V requirements request a computer with Windows (later
than 1998), Powerpoint 2002 or 2003 and Windows Media Player 9.

Could I request that the computer be, say 64 MGHz and 128 MB RAM?

Is there a way to make a reasonable request to ensure that in most cases,
we'd be ok?

(My supervisor really prefers not to bring the laptop, though I have relayed
the message that bringing it is the best way to be certain all will work)

thanks!

Chris

 

[Austin Myers]

Chris,

Let me back track a bit. When you used PFCMedia to insert the videos, did
you use the "Legacy" setting? If not that would be my first step. Using
this setting will increase the size of the media files, but they will play
better on older PCs.


Austin Myers
MS PowerPoint MVP Team

Provider of PFCMedia www.pcmedia.com

 

[Guest]

Dear Austin,
Thanks for reminding me about the"legacy" setting.

I think that most of the places my supervisor goes do have up to date
Powerpoint (at least after 2000) because they tend to be hospitals and other
organizations.

So far, the only problem he has had is one time when the computer didn't
have enough memory to run the videos, which leads me to wonder, how much does
one need?

If I could specify the memory requirements, even generally (i.e. more than
64 MHz more than128 MB RAM, 50 MB free space )that would be ideal.

thanks!

Chris