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Power Point 2016 doesn't allow me to add my old videos correctly

Anonymous
2016-03-30T02:43:51+00:00

I have videos I created a while back. These are videos created in MATLAB with MJPEG Compressor and .avi file ending. When I added those videos in PowerPoint 2010, they worked well. I now upgraded to PowerPoint 2016, and the old .pptx files with the videos still work. The problem: When I want to add a video (same type, created around 2014 like the other one) to a presentation in PowerPoint 2016, a box comes up and afterwards the video is blank. The message is the box says 'PowerPoint is upgrading this media file to optimize compatibility and playback. Depending on the size of the file, this take some time. If you cancel, the media will not be inserted'. I could cancel, but that doesn't make sense.

I didn't find information, but I assume PowerPoint tries to make the videos independent of the codecs installed on my PC. Would be a nice feature, but it makes my videos black. Additionally, my videos have well defines luminance values and colors, and I always create them on the computer I will give the presentation on.

My question: How can I switch that feature off? Please don't tell me I have to go back to Powerpoint 2010...

Thanks, Till

Microsoft 365 and Office | PowerPoint | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-06-29T02:31:08+00:00

    Hi Till,

    Thank you for sharing the video files!

    The reason PowerPoint 2016 does the ‘PowerPoint is upgrading this media file to optimize compatibility…’ when you insert a media object is because we wanted to solve the customer complaints where presentations with embedded videos on one system would fail to play on another system. This happens when a user installed extra codecs that were not installed by default on every system. Our solution to the problem was to convert the files to mp4 format on insert as this is the most widely supported and highest quality codec.

    Internally to PowerPoint on Windows we also changed which OS component we use to handle media, which was done to support the more modern media formats like mp4 that were now available. In PowerPoint 2010 we used a component called DirectShow, and in the next version we started using a component called MediaFoundation. We still kept the DirectShow code inside PowerPoint to be used as a fallback when the new version doesn’t work, which is why PowerPoint can play media files that the OS media player will not.

    Unfortunately we’re not sure why one video works and the other doesn’t. We looked at the video information and the only difference between the two (besides resolution) is that the one that won’t play has an ‘Original Height’ property where the working one does not. We’re not sure if this is what is causing the problem. (We used Media Player Classic to look at the media details, it could play both versions fine)

    One possible workaround is to try converting your .avi file into .mp4 before inserting it into PowerPoint. Give it a try and see whether it works for you.

    Thanks!

    Lishan

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-03-31T18:50:08+00:00

    Hi Till,

    If what Mohan suggested doesn't fix your issue, do you mind sharing one of those videos with us, so that the PowerPoint team can take a deeper look?

    If so, you may put it on your OneDrive and share the link in this thread. Or, we can create a private communication channel with you to get the file, with your consent. Please let us know what works the best for you.

    Thanks!

    Lishan

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-04-01T00:27:06+00:00

    Hi,

    here the link:

    does_not_work.avi

    Also, I have a video with a different resolution but using the same codec (Motion JPEG Video (MJPG)) that does work:

    does_work.avi

    Let me know whether you understand why one video works and the other doesn't.

    Thanks, Till

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-03-31T23:56:09+00:00

    Hi,

    Both options were already un-checked.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-03-30T07:42:58+00:00

    Hello Till,

    Welcome to Microsoft Community.

    You may try the following step in PowerPoint 2016 and check if it helps.

    1. In PowerPoint 2016 click on File > Options > Advanced > Display.
    2. Make sure to disable/un-check the two options: Disable hardware graphics acceleration and Disable Slide Show hardware graphics acceleration.
    3. Save the changes made by clicking on OK.

    Close and reopen PowerPoint 2016.

    Check if you are able to add your old videos in the presentation in PowerPoint 2016.

    Hope the above information helps.

    Thank you.

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