I used to get frustrated with PowerPoint when I occasionally wanted to add videos to a presentation.
Sometimes the videos would play, but many times they would not. I would get either a blank white screen or black screen.
And I could never find a common denominator for what worked and what didn’t. I tried googling for help solving the problem without luck. I also tried different experiments to see if I could locate common denominators but also without luck.
Then I tried something that worked —- and it has worked for me ever since.
It is a simple solution too…
The Solution:
Take whatever video you want to add that won’t play initially —- and remake it using the free Windows Movie Maker that comes with Windows XP…
That’s it…
[Update]
This will not work with mov QuickTime videos or other formats that don’t work with MovieMaker — but — all you have to do is get a video conversion program and convert the mov or flv or other file to avi or wmv or another format that MM can use. There are also websites for people with fast connections that will covert videos online too.
[Back to the original post]
Here it is step-by-step…
1. Remember what folder the movie file is in.
2. Go to and click the “Start” button on the bottom left of the screen.
3. Look in All Programs > then Accessories > then click on Windows Movie Maker.
4. Under the category 1. Capture Video click on Import Video.
5. When the video appears in the column to the right, click and drag it to the timeline.
6. Then, under the category 3. Finish Movie click on Save to My Computer. I always use the highest quality setting.
The resulting video should be PowerPoint friendly.
Before I found this fix, I used a variety of video converting programs and tried all the different formats – avi, mpeg, mov, and even wmv. Nothing worked.
I have even had to convert wmv vids to wmv using Windows Movie Maker….???…….It just seems PowerPoint is finicky with what format of video it will play — even to the point of coming up with errors on wmv files made by non-Microsoft products….
But, the solution above should work for you regardless of what format you are starting out with. It hasn’t failed me since I found it.
Note: From the comments section – someone once noted that PowerPoint also has trouble if the file address to your video file is too long — meaning: if your movie file is located inside a folder that is inside a folder that is inside a folder….and so on…..the path address for it will be very long and PP doesn’t like that.
I’ve never had this problem myself, because I always create a new folder on my Desktop and place any image or video files I plan to add to a PowerPoint presentation in that folder – as well as save the PP presentation I’m working on in it – which means the path addresses are always short. I recommend you do the same with yours.
- Another commenter stated that the file path length was the problem he encountered with this fix and he tested the path limits when it all worked out. You can read his comment here.
Note: Another common problem that could interfere with the seeming success of my fix is —— if the video file you want to use is not located on the computer or within the folder you used when you created the PowerPoint.
When you put an image or video or sound file into a PowerPoint presentation – it doesn’t embed or code that file into the presentation —— No. When you place something like a video in PowerPoint – it simply tells the program where to look to use that file.
So – if you make a PowerPoint on one computer, and take it somewhere to play on another computer — you have to take the entire file folder with you – with all of the images, videos, and sounds you want to use.
….You can’t simply cut&paste or copy the main PowerPoint ppt file to your flashdrive or CD or email it and then use it on another computer. PowerPoint needs the video and other files brought along for the ride & in the same folder. — That is another reason why it is good practice to always create a new folder on your Desktop and place all presentation material in it as you work on your PP presentation. That way — you can easily cut&paste or copy or email the entire folder when you need to take it where ever you are giving the presentation.
Hope this helps…I know how frustrating it can be to have a presentation held up due to some malfunction like this…
Tags: powerpoint videos play error white black screen how to
November 13, 2007 at 4:42 pm |
Thanks for this u are awesome!
November 17, 2007 at 9:02 pm |
I concur. Awesome! You have saved me a lot of time!!
November 29, 2007 at 5:05 am |
Thanks for the tip…was pulling out my hair (what’s left!) until I found your suggestion. It worked perfectly…..Thanks!
April 19, 2008 at 11:16 am |
Very HELPFUL! thanks a bunch! Quick and easy.
May 4, 2008 at 6:19 pm |
Thought that I would need to buy expensive software. You just saved me a ton of money. Thanks for the information!
May 8, 2008 at 5:16 am |
Fantastic, one hour to go and I still couldn’t make it work, thanks large.
May 10, 2008 at 11:10 am |
Excellent! The only thing I’ve found that will actually play! but the final output quality isn’t great, do you have any suggestions, eg setting that need tweaking in Movie Maker to make the output quality closer to the original quality?
May 10, 2008 at 8:30 pm |
No. Sorry.
The quality of the video has always been good enough for any purpose I was using a PowerPoint presentation. I guess I haven’t ever really tried to use any DVD-quality clips in a presentation.
I just always use the highest setting when making the movie in Movie Maker.
May 31, 2008 at 7:00 pm |
You’re a life-saver. Got my PP presentation to work on other pc’s at last. Thanks a million!!!
Pete
September 4, 2008 at 2:38 pm |
Thank you so much for posting this hint!
September 23, 2008 at 6:22 pm |
Thank you so, so much for this! I have a french lesson plan due in 2 days and I’m presenting in a room with no internet access. This has allowed me to show my clip in my powerpoint presentation. You’re a lifesaver!
September 28, 2008 at 8:42 am |
awesome solution!!! hats off to u yaaar!! i’d this problem from last 1 week….thanx a lot!!!!
October 15, 2008 at 8:23 am |
Bummer, I tried it and it still doesn’t work. I’ve never had this problem before. My Powerpoint always played WMV’s, but now it doesn’t play most. Hmmm. Any updates to your creative genius?
October 16, 2008 at 4:34 pm |
If using Movie Maker to redo even wmv files to wmv and it doesn’t work, I don’t know?
It has always worked for me and you’re the first for whom it hasn’t.
Have you upgraded the Windows Media Player lately?
If wmvs worked in powerpoint for you before but aren’t now – the same ones that worked before, I would think about what program upgrades I might have done recently….
Also, I’d try the new powerpoint on another computer to see if it works on it….
Have you done anything different with the file this time?
Someone commented once that if the file folder you have the material in is in several other folders —- making the link path to the wmv rather long – it might cause problems in powerpoint…
I don’t know if that is true or not, but someone said so in a comment here once.
I always have the powerpoints I’m working on in a folder on my desktop, so the file path is short.
Let us know if you solve the problem and how…..
Good luck
October 21, 2008 at 1:47 am |
yus! wmv works! thanks so much as I had exactly this problem. Saved me a lot of time and effort and now I can do some jazzy powerpoint!
November 20, 2008 at 1:00 am |
Hey, I hadn’t thought about trying that out with Windows Movie Maker. I just checked on the PC that’s in our church soundbooth, and it doesn’t have WMM, but it does have Adobe Premier Pro CS3. Have you heard of anyone having the same luck with that?
I actually discovered this program called PFCpro (Play For Sure pro) and they offered a free 14 day trial. I just used it to insert several videos into a powerpoint presentation, and it worked amazingly well. BUT, then I checked out what the price tag was after the trial period……. $129.95! Can you believe that? For something that is simply an add-on to Powerpoint. They sure know how to rope you in. I just hope they buy me dinner after that;o)
One thing I did notice though was that it saves the videos that it converts into the C: folder. What you said about saving files in as few folders (layers) as possible would seem to be true here. Let me know if anyone else has some bright ideas. Check out PFCpro and then get bitter like me when you realize that it’s a good program but way over-priced.
November 26, 2008 at 1:09 am |
Yes. You are amazing. I have working on this for two weeks straight with no success and multiple downloads (PFC, mpeg-2, media player11, etc. etc) We should send you money, guy!
November 26, 2008 at 10:25 am |
You can check out my other blog where I have a donate button…
http://usinkorea.org/blogupdates/
I created this post due to the frustration of trying to find answers on the internet and trying a lot of stuff and failing and pulling my hair out.
I am happy just to be saving some people from that.
But, I am also probably saving some people a fair amount of money who would have bought more programs trying to fix this problem. This is by far my most popular post with a few dozen hits a day. That is probably a fair amount of money not spent.
So — by all means — feel free to visit my other (issue focused) blog and make a donation…
….I promise not to refuse it….
December 10, 2008 at 8:41 pm |
I saved my avi files as wmv as indicated above. Inserted them into PowerPoint save it as a show and emailed it. It still did not play for the receipient. Any thoughts?
December 11, 2008 at 4:58 am |
Is the video in a folder attached with the PowerPoint?
For any video or audio file to play in PP, it has to be on the computer in use or linked through the Internet.
PP simply displays the video via a connection. Like a webpage does a photo.
So, when you plug one into PP, it memorizes the link address. If you move the video to a different folder, PP won’t play it.
And so, if you emailed a PowerPoint without the video file included in some root folder, it won’t play.
December 17, 2008 at 2:44 pm |
I tried your suggestion but each time I try to import my .wmv file (three different ones) into Windows Movie Maker I get one of the following replies: could not be imported. The selected file is not valid or is corrupted.
Or: could not be imported. An interface has too many methods to fire events from.
Or: is not indexed and cannot be imported.
December 18, 2008 at 12:10 am |
It sounds like that particular file might be corrupted if it isn’t working in Movie Maker.
Does it play if you double click it?
If it works in Windows Media Player, but not Movie Maker — I’d try this — convert it using one of the common programs for that — try converting it to avi or mpeg — then try that file in Movie Maker.
If the file won’t work with one or more of the common conversion programs, it must be a problem with that video file itself.
Can you get a new copy of that video?
If not, I’d try this: use a program like SnagIt — a program that grabs screen shots or records segments of your monitor screen.
— If your file will play in Windows Media Player or whatever default video player you have —- you can use a program like SnagIt to highlight the video image location and “record” it as it plays – then save it as a new file.
Then use that in Movie Maker.
The Movie Maker fix I found and describe —– fixes a common, general problem that I had with many videos I tried to put in a PowerPoint presentation — and that I found many other people had when I tried to Google a solution.
Your problem sounds like it is limited to a specific video file.
And I’d try the suggestions I noted above….
January 23, 2009 at 12:29 am |
I tried your suggestion of remaking my movie in Movie Maker. However, PowerPoint still would not play it! At the end of your blog you mentioned that the file name could be too long.
I tried shortening my file name and that worked! I ran some tests and found that a video file name of 43 characters or less would run in PowerPoint. A file name of 44 characters or more did not work!
I then took my video and imported it into Adobe Premiere Elements 7 so that I could output an AVI file. This took my 5 MB WMV file and made it a 100 MB+ file size.
Same thing happened. If I named the .AVI file with a name that was longer than 43 characters, I got the white screen in PowerPoint. When I made the file name 43 characters or less, the video worked in PowerPoint!
I then converted the video to MPEG 2. Same result. I also tried different Codecs and bit rates. It all came down to the length of the file name.
So, for me, it did not matter what video format I used, what Codec I tried (I tried many an Premiere Elements), what bit rate I tried (I tried 200 to 2000 kbps) or what program (Movie Maker or Premiere Elements). I just had to make my file name 43 characters or less.
January 23, 2009 at 9:21 pm |
Thanks for the update.
File length does make a difference.
But, file length isn’t the only issue here — which reading the last part of your message brought to mind.
I have almost always used a new folder on my desktop when I worked on a PowerPoint presentation or a new folder within a folder on my desktop.
I never had the file length problem.
I have also successfully used non-wmv or MovieMaker-made video files with PowerPoint.
BUT —– sometimes movie files would not play.
I could never figure out why based on file type (besides mov – which didn’t work ever).
Some avi files would play. Some wouldn’t.
Sometimes – I’ve had wmv videos that wouldn’t play – but when I remade it into another wmv file but redone with MovieMaker — it worked.
I don’t know why PP doesn’t work with some media files – whether it is a codec or other issue…..???…..I have no clue.
But —- I’ve always had success after I’ve remade any video using MovieMaker.
February 4, 2009 at 10:26 pm |
Great tip! Never occurred to me to try this! Thanks!
March 11, 2009 at 3:05 am |
Thank you so, so much! I feel like crying I’m so happy – after like TWO HOURS of trying everything from a million websites, it turns out that the problem was my file address was too long! PPT hates it!!
Stupid MS!! yay for this site!!
March 19, 2009 at 9:27 pm |
Good tip, and thanks for posting this. Now, another question. I’d love to have those embedded videos showing in my slide sorter with their first frames (key frames), so that I can visually remind myself what the clip is going to be about. But… when I do that, playing them starts with a frozen frame, then a jerk as it starts to play. So far the only workaround was to edit a 1 second fade from black transition on to the front of the video clip, which mean slide sorter sees a lot of black spaces…
Do you know any cleverer way to do this, a combination of a Powerpoint “play the movie, jaa” mixed with “and fade it in in x.x seconds from background…”?
takk fyrir,
mike
March 20, 2009 at 3:09 pm |
I have no idea.
If it were me – if I just wanted to have an image for reverence, I’d use a program like “Snag It!” to take a screen shot of some scene in the clip —
— then add both the video and that screen shot jpg to the slide.
— then use the action formating to have the powerpoint hide the jpg and play the video when clicked…
I believe that is how it’d work.
I haven’t had to use powerpoint for awhile, but if I were to start now, that is what I’d try first —
— I frequently have images move and appear/disappear and blink and expand/contract — to make the slides more dynamic and animated-looking.
So, I think you could do what I noted above: place both an image and video into the slide and have the image disappear when you click.
March 22, 2009 at 12:28 pm |
Thanks man!!! Your method works like a charm. If only it was higher up on the search engine result, then i wouldnt have wasted so much time with other half baked solutions.
March 26, 2009 at 11:08 am |
……….finally……..thanks!!
April 4, 2009 at 6:37 am |
You’re the man. Thank you.
April 5, 2009 at 4:29 pm |
Just a tip- re portability. I think if you select Package For CD from the file menu and then opt to include all the movies in your presentation power point will automatically create a folder with the assets in it and reference that in the show. Saves a bit of effort …
July 20, 2009 at 5:40 am |
My dear, that was great! Thank you so-so much! Me and my colleagues have almost given up hope that we would make videos play in our Powerpoint presentation!
August 2, 2009 at 2:52 am |
I also was able to solve the problem by shortening the path name. Thank You!!!
August 3, 2009 at 6:46 pm |
Works like a charm. Thanks!
August 6, 2009 at 8:43 pm |
Dude, you are totally awesome…Good juju for you for blogging this.
September 4, 2009 at 5:53 pm |
One big problem with playing wmv’s inside a power point hasn’t been mentioned.
The recipient must put the files in exactly the same path on their machine as it is on yours!
Microsoft uses absolute paths for the video. With this, it is basically impossible for others to play it on their machine. Even if you instruct them to put it on the root (how many users even know what that means?). And not all primary drives are given C: as the letter.
This basically kills using your Powerpoint for generalized distribution, such as a video collateral piece.
September 5, 2009 at 1:31 am |
Thanks.
I did mention this somewhere up above – in the part where I recommended putting everything into a new folder on the desktop.
If the computer you take the presentation to uses a different drive than C: I guess that would be a problem.
But, I don’t think “it is basically impossible for others to play it on their machine” is true. That’s too strong…
Because, I’ve carried presentations including video and music to different college classes without trouble.
I also usually go to another college library closer to home to check a presentation to see if it looks the same on a different monitor.
I’ve done the same going to my sister’s house.
I’ve never had a problem using a powerpoint with video on another computer if I put everything in a file on the desktop and then transferred the file to a flash drive to take with me.
September 10, 2009 at 3:24 am |
Wooow. You really helped me, big bro.
I have tried various ways too, but it won’t work.
Thanks!
October 7, 2009 at 8:19 pm |
I must be doing something wrong in Windows Movie Maker. When I save the project, it only will allow it to save as a MSWMM and PowerPoint 07 won’t let me insert a MSWMM.
How do you take a wmv through movie maker and still have it come out as a wmv…? Probably a stupid question, but any input would be greatly appreciated…
October 7, 2009 at 11:54 pm |
You don’t put a MSWMM file into a PP. That is just the Movie Maker file that is a working movie edit. You have to complete the editing process by making a movie file in Step 3 of the MM program.
When you do that, it saves it in wmv form.
In Step 1 – you import video files. Some videos won’t be recognized by MM. If it is, and you use it in the edit, when you go to Step 3 to save it, it saves in wmv form. So, if one of those clips you use to make your movie is in wmv form or avi or whatever, it comes out as wmv when you finish your movie in Step 3…
If you just want to use MM to re-make an entire video you want to use in PP that won’t work, you import it in Step 1. Drop and drag it to the timeline at the bottom. Then, go to Step 3 and make the movie. If the original video was in wmv, it will be in wmv again but created by MM – which seems to clear up problems with wmv files made by any product PP rejects…
October 8, 2009 at 1:57 pm |
Thanks,
HA! – it looks like it works now. It played properly when I emailed it to a guy in a zipped folder, he copied all the files onto his desktop, opened the pptx on his desktop – and both movies played properly. Before they begin a black box flashes just before the movie begins – any suggestions on how to get rid of that?
Thanks again…
October 8, 2009 at 3:35 pm |
I don’t know. I’d have to see it…
When you play just the vid file by double clicking it in the folder, does it do it? It might be something at the start of the movie itself. Try cutting out a couple of seconds or so at the start and making it again…
October 12, 2009 at 5:51 am |
I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU THIS HELPED ME OUT SO MUCH AND ONLY HOURS BEFORE ITS DUE! THANK YOU!!!! I CAN NOW GO TO SLEEP PEACEFULLY!!!!!!!!!!!
November 2, 2009 at 7:16 pm |
Thanks worked for me and was really easy
November 7, 2009 at 4:33 am |
Thx, this has definitely made my day!
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