when adding video clip (avi) the video does not play

[Guest]

I am trying to insert an avi file into a powerpoint presentation. The video
plays fine in media player but I get an error "cannot display this type of
sound or movie" when trying to insert a movie from file. When trying to
insert an object/media clip I receive an error "video not available cannot
find vids:dvsd decompressor." Can you help?

Thanks

 

[Sonia]

Is this AVI from a digital camera, by chance? If so, try renaming it to give it
a file extension of MPG and then insert it and test. Let us know if that makes
a difference.
--

Sonia Coleman
Microsoft PowerPoint MVP Team
Autorun Software, Templates and Tutorials
http://www.soniacoleman.com

 

[Guest]

The file was a video tape that had been converted.

 

[Sonia]

Do you know who converted it and what codec was used? That would be a good
start at pinning it down.

 

[Guest]

The conversion and codec are unknown. The clip plays fine when launched in
media player and if inserted with an action button but not when inserted as
an object or movie.

 

[Sonia]

First, try renaming the file, giving it an extension of MPG. If that doesn't
work, try downloading and installing the latest version of Windows Media Player.

If you go to Start > Run and type mplay32.exe and open the video, does it play?
If not, then it won't play in PowerPoint. See
http://www.soniacoleman.com/Tutorials/PowerPoint/multimedia.htm for a detailed
description of how PowerPoint plays media files. Section 3 should be read and
your settings checked. Also read the section on codecs.

Let us know if anything helps.