PowerPoint & QuickTime
by Geetesh Bajaj and Jim Gordon , updated
November 30 2006
If you have just 2 minutes, read this...
If you don't have time to read two pages and want a quick
solution to inserting QuickTime content in PowerPoint for
Windows, you can either:
- Ask the source of the QuickTime video/movie if they have
the same clip available in a PowerPoint for Windows friendly
format like AVI, MPEG, or WMV.
- Buy a license of the QTVR ActiveX control and insert
all sorts of QuickTime content in your PowerPoint slides
- be aware though that this will only run on the single
machine that has the ActiveX control installed - and
the conrol itself is expensive at US$ 150 - and you'll
have to follow the instructions
here.... (and
that will take at least half an hour). Also, it's not
known if this will work within PowerPoint 2007.
- Convert your QuickTime MOV videos/movies to the AVI format
using QuickTime Professional or some video converter products
- instructions can be found
here... (assuming you have the video conversion program,
this might still take half an hour).
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Introduction
QuickTime Versions And Compressions
A Few PowerPoint-QuickTime Links
Inserting QuickTime in PowerPoint / Macintosh
Inserting QuickTime in PowerPoint / Windows
Inserting QuickTime Conventionally
Linked QuickTime Movie
Continued on Page 2...
Introduction
When one talks about using PowerPoint with QuickTime, you'll
be forgiven for imagining we are working on the Macintosh. Actually,
we are not discussing the Mac or Windows -- we're just looking
at ways to use both PowerPoint and QuickTime together. While
it is true that the relationship is without perils on the Mac,
usage in Windows does have its pitfalls -- and we'll try to avoid
those very pitfalls.
With so many unfathomable depths, you cannot fault those who
suggest avoiding QuickTime altogether in the PowerPoint scheme
of things. Yet, in today's world it is almost impossible to avoid
QuickTime -- the format is everywhere -- from movie trailers
to digital camera outputs and everywhere in between.
This seems a good time to discuss the framework of this article
-- we'll take a brief look at QuickTime, its cross platform virtues
and vices, usage of QuickTime media in both Mac and Windows versions
of PowerPoint -- and helpful hints to avoid bottlenecks. We'll
wrap up with a look at QuickTime viewing technologies as well
as QuickTime Professional.
Back
QuickTime Versions & Compressions
What's QuickTime? It's almost unbelievable that I'm asking this
question here -- but more often that not, most of the problems
occur because users don't understand the very concept of QuickTime.
QuickTime is a video compression and delivery format from Apple
Computer -- first announced in May 1991. The first release of
QuickTime on the Macintosh was launched on December 1991. The
first Windows version of QuickTime was version 2, launched in
November 1994. A complete QuickTime chronology can be found at
the following site:
QuickTime
History
The current version of QuickTime is 7.x - you can find more
information at the QuickTime site:
QuickTime
Due to the restrictions in licenses, Windows versions of PowerPoint
are not as QuickTime-friendly as their Mac counterparts. While
you can insert almost any QuickTime movie in PowerPoint 98, 2001,
'X' or 2004 on the Macintosh, the same does not hold true for
PowerPoint 97, 2000, 2002, 2003, or 2007 on Windows. These restrictions
are more due to the way PowerPoint handles multimedia, specifically
on the Windows platform, where you can only insert QuickTime
version 1, 2 and 2.5 files. You can read more specifics and details
at Austin Myer's famous PowerPoint multimedia treatise:
PowerPoint And Multimedia
George Birbilis who creates the QTVR ActiveX
Control has provided more info:
On the Mac version of PowerPoint, Microsoft uses the QuickTime
API but on Windows they don't use it; they seem to use their
own libraries or QuickTime for Windows (that is actually QuickTime
2.0, which can coexist with QuickTime 3 and higher, for example
QuickTime 6. Unfotunately, QuickTime 2 was only a subset of the
MacOS QuickTime and not a cross-platform MacOS/Windows API as
QT3+ is.
Now that we have a basic understanding of QuickTime involvement
in the PowerPoint world, we can proceed to look at more ideas,
resources and techniques.
Back
A Few PowerPoint-QuickTime Links
An excellent introduction to QuickTime authoring on the Mac using
PowerPoint 2001 by Derrick Story can be found OReilly's
MacDevcenter.
Edu-Tech
Center provides a rather informational introduction to PowerPoint
multimedia.
You might also want to check up these Knowledge Base articles
from Microsoft:
PPT:
Error inserting QuickTime Movie (*.mov)
PPT98:
QuickTime Movie Flashes, Blinks with Slide Transition
PPT97:
Slide Show Hangs Playing QuickTime Movies on Windows NT
PPT2000:
Unable to Insert QuickTime Movies
PPT2000:
QuickTime Movies Play on Some Computers, Not Others
Here are a few links to Mactopia, the Mac section on Microsoft's
site. These links were recommended by Jim Gordon:
Present
with PowerPoint on any platform
Taking
your PowerPoint presentations on the road
Collecting
linked files in PowerPoint Packages
Back
Inserting QuickTime in PowerPoint / Macintosh
Jim Gordon, a fellow MVP for PowerPoint has kindly provided this
information:
QuickTime is supported directly in
PowerPoint 98, 2001, X and 2004. The latest versions of PowerPoint
(PPT X and 2004) have the most up to date QuickTime support.
It's very easy to insert a QuickTime movie. Just go to View -> Toolbars
-> Movie to display the Movie toolbar. Click the Insert Movie
button. You can choose a frame to display, set looping, etc. Or
use Insert -> Movie from the file menu. Or put a button for
this on any toolbar by customizing it.
Back
Inserting QuickTime in PowerPoint / Windows
As such, PowerPoint versions 97, 2000, 2002 and 2003 allow you
to insert QuickTime movies upto version 2.5 or any QuickTime movie
that's rendered with the QuickTime Cinepak codec - unfortunately,
newer QuickTime formats are not natively supported. In such a scenario,
you can either link to a QuickTime movie as an object or convert
your QuickTime movie to the AVI format or an older QuickTime format
- we'll examine all these techniques on this page.
Back
Inserting QuickTime Conventionally
This is the easiest route - eminently suitable if your QuickTime
movie is pre version 2.5. Follow these steps:
- In PowerPoint, choose Insert -> Movies & Sounds -> Movie
From File and navigate to your QuickTime movie.
- PowerPoint will prompt you if you want your movie to play automatically
or not - choose your option. You're done!
Back
Linked QuickTime Movie
This procedure links to a QuickTime movie - and is dependent on
the availability of a QuickTime viewing engine such as QuickTime
Player on the delivery machine.
- Create a text box or insert a picture to hyperlink from.
- Choose Insert -> Hyperlink.
- In the resultant dialog box, select 'Existing File or Web Page'
on the Links pane on the left. Click the 'Browse' button to navigate
to the QuickTime movie you want to play.
- During an actual show you can click this hyperlink to play
the QuickTime movie if an associated viewing engine is available.
Back
Continued on Page 2...
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