How to Setup Videos to use in PowerPoint

How to Setup Videos to use in PowerPoint MOUG Presentation 28 August 2002 1 How to Setup PowerPoint to use Videos MOUG Presentation 28 August 2002 2 Introduction Brian Greminger and Greg Barker Multimedia Specialists Video and Streaming Media Services Computing Services Design, implement and support video and multimedia initiatives within UMBS 3 Introduction Disclaimers This is not a class about editing video  We’re assuming that typically you will be handed a digital video file to place into a PowerPoint presentation I am not a PowerPoint expert 4 Introduction 5 Introduction Why Use Video?     Visually Demonstrate Emotionally Impact Actively Engage Technologically Impress 6 Introduction Learning how to insert video into PowerPoint is a fifteen minute task... Learning what questions to ask when, for some obscure reason, the video misbehaves... ...that takes a bit longer 7 Introduction If you’re responsible for delivering a “missioncritical” PowerPoint with video, a little background on video and computers will make your job much easier, so that’s where we’ll start We want to provide you enough information to:  avoid the avoidable, and  quickly solve the quickly solvable 8 The Formal Agenda What is Video? Using Computers for Playing Video Using Video with PowerPoint 9 The Real Agenda How big is the trailer? How big a truck do we need? How do we hook the trailer up to the truck? 10 What is Video? (How big is the trailer?) Video is recorded by camcorders in two basic flavors:   Analog – VHS, High-8, Betacam SP Digital – Digital-8, DV, DVCAM, DVCPro, Digital Beta Whatever the source, video must be in or converted to a digital file format for your computer to play it back  These can include the digital recording formats, but there are also specialized digital delivery formats, such as MPEG-2, Real Media, Windows Media, QuickTime, and others 11 What is Video? (How big is the trailer?) Your computer screen is a grid of dots, or pixels To create an image on your screen, your computer has to track each pixel and control its color    An 800 x 600 screen = 480,000 pixels 16-bit color = 65,536 possible colors per pixel This also equals a lot of information! 12 What is Video? (How big is the trailer?) Moving images (full-screen video) changes this information 24 - 30 times a second! Video also adds a “river” of sound, that has to play back in sync with the images  How frequently do we measure the river? (22Hz, 44.1Hz, 48Hz) How precisely do we measure at each measuring point? (8 bit = 256 poss. values, 16 bit = 65,536 poss. values) Stereo? Double the amount of data 13   What is Video? (How big is the trailer?) Video: Huge stream of timesensitive data for a computer to process DV: 720 x 480 pixels 2 channels of 48 Hz 16 bit sound 6 minutes of DV = 1.3 GBs of hard drive 14 What is Video? (How big is the trailer?) Ten years ago, this was what the play-decent-qualityvideo-on-the-computer task looked like… Things have improved since then, but there still are only two ways to improve video performance: Try to shrink the trailer Try to grow the truck 15 What is Video? (How big is the trailer?) So, how can we shrink the trailer? 1) Reduce the trailer’s overall size (640 x 480, 320 x 240, 160 x 120…) 2)  Squeeze the contents of the trailer To do this, we use software Codecs (Compression and Decompression algorithms) 16 What is Video? (How big is the trailer?) Codecs compress video in part by throwing “non-critical” information away  Reduce color and sound depth (i.e. only fifteen shades of red allowed vs. fifteen hundred)  Encode color and sound information (i.e. make the next twenty five pixels in this row the same shade of blue) The harder you squeeze, the more quality suffers  The general goal is to find the right balance between a functional file size and usable quality 17 What is Video? (How big is the trailer?) One Perhaps Rather Big Gotcha... The same codec that compressed your video needs to be installed on the playback computer, to tell it how to decompress and display the video Different video editing systems, and delivery file formats, can use very different codecs… So codecs (and formats) are rather like the trailer hitch... 18 What is Video? (How big is the trailer?) If your computer (and its software) doesn’t have the right codec to “hook on” to your specific video file, you won’t be able to view it properly  Fortunately, if PowerPoint can’t recognize your video’s format / codec, it won’t let you insert the video file  Test the hookup before your deadline! 19 What is Video? (How big is the trailer?) Burning Questions? 20 Using Computers for Playing Video (How big a truck do we need?) “Hey, what’s the big deal? My TV at home can play video just fine, and it doesn’t require all this codec nonsense, and it’s much cheaper, too!” 21 Using Computers for Playing Video (How big a truck do we need?) “Well... When was the last time you asked your TV to calculate your taxes?” 22 Using Computers for Playing Video (How big a truck do we need?)     One function system One standard format One quality Linear playback     Multifunction system Multiple formats Higher quality possible Non-linear playback 23 Using Computers for Playing Video (How big a truck do we need?) To process digital video, your computer has to manage a very complex dance between the data stream and the computer’s components Your computer’s video playback performance is determined mostly by the following components: 24 Using Computers for Playing Video (How big a truck do we need?)  Processor Speed faster is better  Graphics Card (Quality and Video RAM) newer / more / faster is better  Screen Resolution and Color Depth midrange generally better  Unused Room on Hard Drive none is bad  Hard Drive / CD / Network Speed faster is better  Room Projection System newer is better  System Memory (RAM) more and faster is better  Other Open Applications fewer is better 25 Using Computers for Playing Video (How big a truck do we need?) So, How Big a Truck Do We Really Need? 1. 2. As big as we can get! Big enough to do the job – how big is the trailer? Newer computers (less than a year or two old) can generally do the job for most video, but it also depends on the size of the video The only way to know is to test the computer – with the video! 26 Using Computers for Playing Video (How big a truck do we need?) General Tips To Get The Best Performance... Bring your own truck, not just the trailer  You can’t easily predict or control the quality or configuration of supplied computers Get your trailer as close to the truck as possible  Get the video onto the computer’s hard drive if you can – this can avoid all sorts of issues with CD and network speed 27 Using Computers for Playing Video (How big a truck do we need?) General Tips To Get The Best Performance... Unload unnecessary stuff from the truck   Close down unneeded applications; don’t overlook those little widgets in the taskbar Make sure you have additional unused room on the hard drive Test the truck and trailer before you have to deliver 28 Using Computers for Playing Video (How big a truck do we need?) Burning Questions? 29 Using Video with PowerPoint (How do we hook the trailer up to the truck?) PowerPoint can deliver the following digital video formats  .avi, .mov, .qt, .mpg, mpeg, .asf, and .wmv The format and codec used to create the video have to be ones PowerPoint can use! 30  Using Video with PowerPoint (How do we hook the trailer up to the truck?) There are many ways to insert video into PowerPoint; we will cover three approaches 1. 2. 3. The “Use the Clip Organizer” Approach The “Keep All The Files In One Place” Approach The “PowerPoint Can’t Handle It” Approach PowerPoint never embeds video files into the presentation, it always links them, so you will have to keep track of where your video files are... 31 Using Video with PowerPoint (How do we hook the trailer up to the truck?) The “Use the Clip Organizer” Approach  The Clip Organizer is a database tool that is part of Office XP It can scan your computer to locate all media files (pictures, sounds, animated gif “movies”, video “movies”), and keep track of them for you It also gives you an easy way to insert them into PowerPoint 32   Using Video with PowerPoint (How do we hook the trailer up to the truck?) Select “Insert / Movies and Sounds / Movie from Clip Organizer”  This opens a sidebar (Task Pane) where you can search based on keywords or other criteria, and view thumbnails of different files You can also open the Clip Organizer interface by selecting “Clip Organizer” at the bottom of this Task Pane If you’ve not already done so, it will prompt you to scan your computer and build the database 33   Using Video with PowerPoint (How do we hook the trailer up to the truck?) If you want, right-click on a thumbnail and select “Preview/Properties”  This brings up a window where you can see the file’s properties, including its path (important!) You can simply drag and drop the thumbnail onto the slide, and drag it into position 34 Using Video with PowerPoint (How do we hook the trailer up to the truck?) If you need to move the presentation to a different computer, use “File / Pack and Go”  This will open a wizard to assist you on packaging your presentation Be sure to select “Include Linked Files”  You can also use a different approach... 35 Using Video with PowerPoint (How do we hook the trailer up to the truck?) The “Keep All The Files In One Place” Approach   Create a separate folder for each presentation Create your PowerPoint file in that folder   Physically copy the video files into that folder Use the “Insert / Movies and Sounds / Movie from File” method to insert those video files into that PowerPoint 36 Using Video with PowerPoint (How do we hook the trailer up to the truck?) Select “Insert / Movies and Sounds / Movie from File”  This opens a dialog box where you can browse to the folder and video file Select the video clip and click “OK”  When it’s time to transfer the presentation, you can grab the whole folder, and you don’t have to worry (as much) about where the parts are... 37 Using Video with PowerPoint (How do we hook the trailer up to the truck?) The “PowerPoint Can’t Handle It” Approach This approach is useful when: 1. PowerPoint can’t play the video file, but your Windows Media Player/RealPlayer/QuickTime player can, AND You don’t have the time to get the source video reencoded into a format PowerPoint can play, AND 2. 3. Playing the video is more important than a seamless presentation 38 Using Video with PowerPoint (How do we hook the trailer up to the truck?) Highlight some text or an object, and select “Insert / Hyperlink”  A dialog box will open - use this to either navigate to the file, or enter the hyperlink directly  The file can be local, on the network, or on the web   Select the file, and click “OK” When you click on that text / object, the associated player will open in front of PowerPoint, and try to play the video 39 Using Video with PowerPoint (How do we hook the trailer up to the truck?) Some General Network Link Caveats – If you link to a file on the network or the web, you’ll have to have network access to play the video The speed of your network connection (Ethernet, Dial-up modem) will be a big factor in how well your video will play  If you’re on the road, especially, the speed you get may not be the speed you want 40 Using Video with PowerPoint (How do we hook the trailer up to the truck?) Tweaks and Special Effects  You can animate the arrival of the video on the slide (appearance)  You can automatically start video playback as slide appears, or you can require a mouse click You can resize the video object, once it’s inserted  41 Using Video with PowerPoint (How do we hook the trailer up to the truck?) Distributing Your Presentation Chances are pretty good you won’t be able to fit the presentation folder with video files onto a floppy disk... You may need to use a ZipDrive, burn a CD, or use network file space to transfer the presentation folder onto the playback computer Don’t forget to test performance, and, of course, make sure the PowerPoint versions match! 42 The Real Agenda How big is the trailer? How big a truck do we need? How do we hook the trailer up to the truck? 43 The Takeaway (What we hope you got out of this...) You understand why video can be such a big “trailer,” and a bit about what tricks we use to make the trailer an easier load to haul You understand a bit about the codec “trailer hitch” issues, and you have a checklist for how to “tune” the “truck” for better video playback You know there’s more than one way in PowerPoint to hook them up, and you have a sense of which approach to use in which situation 44 Anything Else? Burning (And Other) Questions? 45