PPT 2003 - Video won't play; *will* play in MCI player

[steven_chambers]

Upgraded to 2003; using WinXP Pro; tested clips and they play fine wit
the MCI Player directly; won't play in PowerPoint...Just blac
rectangles and no video appears.

Our Media Production Company told me that PowerPoint 2003 has "mor
bugs than a Brazillian rain forest" with respect to multimedia, an
particularly video. I hope not, because I create multimedia shows wit
PowerPoint and I just upgraded, so I'm hoping it's not a ste
backwards.

I've updated to the most current Windows update and DirectX updates.
I've also read the (fantastic) "Microsoft PowerPoint and Multimedia
document. [The videos don't play in SAFE mode, either]

Is there a problem with video in PPT 2003? If it's buggy, I'll go bac
to 2002, but I'd really like to work this out considering the upgrad
wasn't free. ;-

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I'm not the resident media wizard (this pointy thing on my head IS my head,
not a hat, y'see).
While we're waiting for the thunderclap and puff of smoke followed by the
sound of Austin coughing his lungs out that signals the appearance of a real
wizard, a few things to check:

- Are you running the presentation on your primary monitor? Video in PPT
may only display on the primary, with some video cards.
- Have you tried setting hardware accelleration back?

 

[Austin Myers]

Steven,

This is a very rare situation. (Plays in MCI player but not PPT.) The very
first thing I would do is see if there is a newer video driver for your
hardware. The ones that shipped with WindowsXP leave a wee bit to be
desired. <g> Your production company missed the mark on this as there was
little that changed in how multimedia is handled between 2002 and 2003.
(Some changes but nothing big.)

Can you tell me what sort of video hardware set up you are using. (ATI,
Nvidia, dual monitors, etc.)

Austin Myers
MS PowerPoint MVP Team