Movies Play on Some Computers, Not Others

1. Movies Play on Some Computers, Not Others

2. PowerPoint 2000 Movie Troubleshooter • http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=%2Fsupport%2Fpowerpoint%2Fppt2000%2Fmmedia%2Finfo.asp • http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q266983

3. What does Active Movie have to do with all of this? • Another step in troubleshooting media files with PowerPoint is to reinstall Active Movie. • Active Movie is included in the Microsoft Office 97 CD, in the ValuPack folder.

4. Whether the movie can be played in PowerPoint? • To test whether the movie codec is compatible with PowerPoint and whether the movie can be played in PowerPoint, test whether the movie can be played in Media Player (not Windows Media Player). • Note that Media Player, Mplayer.exe or Mplay32.exe, depending on the operating system that is installed, is not the same program as the Windows Media Player. • Media Player is included with various versions of the Microsoft Windows operating systems, and is an MCI-compliant device. • However, Windows Media Player is a new technology that does not rely on MCI for its capabilities to play various forms of media, therefore Windows Media Player can play a wider range of video and audio formats than Media Player.

5. What types of movies can Microsoft PowerPoint insert? • The types of movies that Microsoft PowerPoint can insert depend on a Microsoft Windows component called MCI (Media Control Interface). • When you play a movie in PowerPoint, PowerPoint passes the request to MCI. • MCI interacts with the Audio and Video CODEC managers, finds the correct decompressor and appropriate driver to decompress the movie, and passes that information to Windows.

6. When PowerPoint attempts to play a movie, the following process takes place:

7. When PowerPoint attempts to play a movie, the following process takes place: The Audio-Video Interleaved (AVI) file is inserted into PowerPoint and activated (played). PowerPoint passes this request to Windows, and gives Windows the file name and coordinates of the movie. PowerPoint uses the standard Windows interface, also called MCI. <Back to diagram> Windows receives the request to play the movie and passes this request to MMSYSTEM.DLL through WINMM.DLL. (WINMM.DLL ensures compatibility between 16-bit and 32-bit multimedia services, and then passes the request to MMSYSTEM.DLL.) <Back to diagram> MMSYSTEM.DLL attempts to locate the proper CODECs for the movie file by making requests to the Audio and Video Compression Managers. The Audio and Video Compression Managers keep track of the various CODECs that are installed on your computer. The Compression Managers return the proper CODEC information to MMSYSTEM.DLL. <Back to diagram> If the proper CODECs are installed, MMSYSTEM.DLL forwards the information to MCI (Media Control Interface). If the CODEC information is missing or invalid, MMSYSTEM.DLL returns an error. <Back to diagram> MCI searches the WIN.INI file to determine what type of media file the AVI is. In this case, AVI=AVIVideo. <Back to diagram> MCI then searches SYSTEM.INI to determine what type of driver handles AVIVideo media files. In this case, AVIVideo=mciavi.drv. <Back to diagram> MCI passes the request and CODEC information to the appropriate media driver listed in the WIN.INI file. <Back to diagram> The driver instantiates a window on top of the PowerPoint presentation, by using the CODECs and coordinates passed to it, and plays the movie in front of PowerPoint. <Back to diagram> The AVI file appears to play in the slide show, when in actuality it is being played by a multimedia device driver in front of the presentation.

8. Who makes CODECs, and how can I install a particular CODEC? • Cinepak - Supermatch Cinepak Video CODEC is included with Windows 95 and 98. Other versions of the Cinepak CODEC are included with versions of Apple QuickTime v3.0 and later. • Intel Indio 3.1, 3.2, 5.5, 5.11 - Intel Indeo R3.1 and 3.2 is included with Windows 95 and 98. Indeo CODECs are available for download from the Ligos company. (The Ligos Company acquired the rights to Indeo technology from Intel.) • MPEG Layer III (MP3) - The MP3 CODEC is installed with Windows Media Player 7.0, as well as many other programs. • Motion JPEG (MJPEG) - The MJPEG CODEC is installed with Apple Quicktime 2.5 and later. • RealVideo G2 - This CODEC is available with the RealPlayer. • Sorenson - Sorenson CODEC is included with Apple QuickTime versions 3 and 4. • Windows Media Video(WMV) - The WMV CODEC is installed with Windows Media Player 7.0.

9. Workaround

10. PPT2000: QuickTime Movies Play on Some Computers, Not Others • http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q266983

11. Media Control Interface (MCI) compatible codecs • Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 can only play back QuickTime movies (*.mov files) that use compression schemes which have corresponding Media Control Interface (MCI) compatible codecs.

12. Create a Hyperlink to the .mov File • When you create a hyperlink to a .mov file, the QuickTime player for Windows plays the file rather than Windows Media Player. It will be played in it's own Quicktime window and it will not play automatically. • Create or select an object or text that you want to use as the source of a hyperlink. • On the Insert menu, click Hyperlink. • In the Link to area, click Existing File or Web Page. • In the Browse For section, click File. Find the .mov file that you want to play and then click OK. • Click OK. • During the slide show, all you need to do is click the linked object or text. If a valid player is available, it will start and play the Quicktime movie.

13. Create a Hyperlink to the .mov File • Sample QuickTime Movie

14. Convert Movies to a Compatible Format • Following is a list of standard codecs that are usually present on Windows: • Standard Compression Formats • BMP • Cinepak • DV-NTSC • DV-PAL • Intel Indeo Video R3.2 • Intel RAW • None

15. Software to Convert Movies to a Compatible Format • QuickTime 4.0 Pro • 1st Video Converter 4.4.2 • Hero Video Convert 2.0.2 • avi2mpeg • VirtualDub-1.5.4 - Free

16. Identify what codec the QuickTime movie (*.mov) file uses. To do this, use one of the following methods.

17. 1. Determine Video Codec Using Media Player • To determine video codec by using Media Player, follow these steps: • Open the .mov file in Microsoft Windows Media Player. • Click File, and then click Properties. The Video codec setting identifies which video codec was used to compress the movie. • If Method 1 does not work, or the video codec is identified as “Unknown”, try Method 2

18. 2. Determine Video Codec Using QuickTime Player • To determine video codec by using QuickTime Player, follow these steps: • Download and install the free QuickTime Player from the following Apple Web site:http:// www.apple.com/quicktime • Open the movie in QuickTime Player. • Click Window, and then click Show Movie Info. The Format setting identifies which video codec was used to compress the movie. • Determine if the codec used by the QuickTime movie (*.mov) file is installed on the computer that will be used to display the QuickTime movie (*.mov) file in a PowerPoint presentation. To do this, follow these steps.

19. Microsoft Windows 2000: • Click Start, Settings, and then click Control Panel. • Click Sounds and Multimedia. • Click the Hardware tab. • Click Video Codecs in the Devices box, and then click Properties. This will open the Video Codec Properties dialog box. • In the Video Codec Properties dialog box, click the Properties tab, and then identify if the codec is installed.

20. Confirm the codec is compatible with PowerPoint • Confirm that the codec used to compress the QuickTime movie (*.mov) file is compatible with PowerPoint.To test whether the movie codec is compatible with PowerPoint and whether the movie can be played in PowerPoint, test whether the movie can be played in Media Player (not Windows Media Player). Note that Media Player, Mplayer.exe or Mplay32.exe, depending on the operating system that is installed, is not the same program as the Windows Media Player. Media Player is included with various versions of the Microsoft Windows operating systems, and is an MCI-compliant device. However, Windows Media Player is a new technology that does not rely on MCI for its capabilities to play various forms of media, therefore Windows Media Player can play a wider range of video and audio formats than Media Player.

21. If the movie will play in Media Player? • To verify if the movie is or is not compatible and if the movie can be inserted or played, or both, in PowerPoint, determine if the movie will play in Media Player (not Windows Media Player). • To do this, follow these steps: • Click Start, and then click Run. • In the Open box, type the appropriate command for your operating system.

22. Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me): • Type mplayer.exe

23. Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows XP: • Type mplay32.exe • Click OK to start Media Player. • On the File menu, click Open. • Select the QuickTime movie that you want to verify, and then click Open.

24. May be a problem with PowerPoint or with the MCI settings • If the QuickTime movie is compatible, Media Player will open the movie and play it. • If the movie opens and plays in Media Player (not Windows Media Player), but will not insert or play in PowerPoint, there may be a problem with PowerPoint or with the MCI settings.