Why is this "hit and miss"?

[Chris3jam]

When I try to play a movie clip on a PP presentation, it's a total hit and miss as to whether or not it will keep playing. For instance, for a PP for a song, I will insert the movie clip into the first slide, and then have used just about every combination of set-ups to keep the thing playing (looping) for all the slides. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, not so much. It's getting to where I don't want to use movie clips anymore. . . . which is a shame. Is there something I'm missing? I've edited the movie to loop until stopped, I've set it up in custom animation, etc., etc., etc. And, I can set up one movie one way, and it works, then I can set up another movie the exact same way, and it doesn't work.

Let me add that I am self-taught on the whole PP thing, so it could be that I'm missing some important step/clue.

[shayward]

Have a look here:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/po...729321033.aspx

I know I've had problems with this in the past, if the above link doesn't work post back and I'll have a closer look next week.

What are your computer specs? It's possible that it's hardware -- or it could be a driver problem -- or a codec problem. Are you running XP or Vista?

[Chris3jam]

Originally Posted by shayward

Have a look here:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/po...729321033.aspx

I know I've had problems with this in the past, if the above link doesn't work post back and I'll have a closer look next week.

I've done all those steps in all sorts of combinations. For instance, if I use theh custom animation and designate the number of slides, it "unedits" the movie, which I set to loop until stopped. That's the kind of things that happen. . . . I try one thing, and it undoes another thing I've done, etc.

Ok, my computer information. . . .let's see. . . .AMD Athlon 64 processor, 3200+, 1.99 GHz, 1.25 GB of RAM., ATI Mobility Radeon Xpress 200 series, we upgraded (downloaded) required/suggested CODEC (btw, excuse me if I sound ignorant. . . . . I am, of computer hardware. I focus on just using software *blush*).. . . . .what else do I need to let you know?

RAM seems a little low. Integrated graphics, like the Radeon Xpress 200, aren't always the best -- especially if your RAM is low. Integrated graphics share your system RAM. What could be happening is that your video runs fine for a bit and then chokes because your RAM maxes out. Then sometimes it might run fine because your computer isn't doing anything else in the background and your RAM doesn't max out.

Here are my suggestions:

1) Add more RAM. Ramp it up to 3-4GB (especially if you are using Vista). I can help you determine what kind of RAM you need and where to buy it cheap.
2) Buy a dedicated graphics card. Get one with at least 256MB of RAM, preferably 512MB. I have a couple of extra 512MB nVidia PCIe cards that are excellent. I could get one to you for $30, but we would need to make sure you have a PCIe slot in your computer.

So, two more questions:
XP or Vista?
Does your computer have a make/model?
Do you know if you have a PCIe slot available (emphasis on the "e")?

I hope I can help!

[waynehoskins]

I don't know what my computers would think if I put 512 GB of video memory in them!

(512 megs, though, is useful)

The short simple answer, at least partly, is that Powerpoint sucks. But full motion video with words overlayed takes a fair bit of memory to do right too.

Come on, guys! You KNOW I always do that! I know what I'm thinking but I type the wrong thing.... almost every time. Something's not wired right in my brain, but that's no secret...

As far as PowerPoint "sucking" -- it doesn't, really. You just have to know what you're doing. There are some things that it's not very good at. For it's shortcomings you use some type of worship software -- but there are things that PPT can do very well that worship software can't even touch. Using a combination of the two is the best solution.

[Chris3jam]

Ooops! I forgot! I'm running XP, on a laptop (I don't think laptops have PCIe slots?), it's a HP Pavilion. It's about 6 years old, but it's been upgraded and added on to the max! The PP's run on our church computer, which does have a dedicated graphics card (at least 512 MB RAM), and runs XP pro (it's a Dell). I "create" the PP's on my laptop, and then transfer them to the computer at church to run/display (along with any relevant movies). The movie will run fine if I just leave it on the one slide. Or, if it is a long-play. OH, and I do not have the plug-in that lets me do the video overlay. . . .I have to put the movie on one half of the screen, and the words on the other half.

[Carl Godsoe]

Originally Posted by Tim Eason

...there are things that PPT can do very well that worship software can't even touch. Using a combination of the two is the best solution.

This is what we do. I even use 2 separate computers and a switcher, just so that I don't get things confused.

Originally Posted by Chris3jam

The movie will run fine if I just leave it on the one slide.

AH! That's it! Dual-head cards usually have all of the "beef" on the primary port and the second one isn't as strong (no 3D accelerator, etc.). So, try reversing everything. Reverse your cables, switch the monitor configuration in the display settings, and set output number TWO as your primary monitor. Then change the output settings in PowerPoint and drag screens if you have to. If that doesn't make sense, let me know and I'll post some screenshots for you.

[Arlin]

Originally Posted by Tim Eason

AH! That's it! Dual-head cards usually have all of the "beef" on the primary port and the second one isn't as strong (no 3D accelerator, etc.). So, try reversing everything. Reverse your cables, switch the monitor configuration in the display settings, and set output number TWO as your primary monitor. Then change the output settings in PowerPoint and drag screens if you have to. If that doesn't make sense, let me know and I'll post some screenshots for you.

I think Chris is referring to continuing to run a video even when going to the next slide (sLide, not side).
I have never displayed videos this way, but it does not surprise me that PP has problems with it. PP is very finicky about the videos it plays.
What video format are you working with? From my experience, wmv & mpeg movies seem to work best in PP.