3mbs template works for my dad.

**It will be distributed for use on a number of computers, so don't have the specs on all the machines on which it will be shown.**A huge caution:
WMV is not natively supported on Macs. For widest compatibility, and I have done tons of these for educational presentations, the most portable format is still MPEG-1. It fits like a glove with Powerpoint, and I've never seen a box that will not play it. Quality is surprisingly good, and slower video cards will not stutter on it.

yeah, that's 100% true. mpeg-1 is supported on pretty much anything, out of the box, since the mid 90's or so.

but I don't think it supports anything fancy like PAR, but that might not matter.

Out of curiosity, I just checked, and custom MPEG-1 PAR and aspects are supported in the Vegas render properties.

Quite a surprise to me actually, as I remember long long ago in the MCI days, the options were limited to a few fixed ratios at 1.0 PAR of course.

really? Does it work? I was always under the impression mpeg-1 didn't support PAR & always rendered in square pixel. :)

I have had good luck using the 3 mbps template for WMV. I don't believe Powerpoint will natively use mpg. It is important to test playback to make sure the hard drive, video card, etc. can handle smooth playback. Also, make sure your graphics aren't too high of a resolution or you'll get some creepy crawlers in line drawings and such.

**I don't believe Powerpoint will natively use mpg.**

Powerpoint originally used MPEG-1 and AVI exclusively in the early 1990's and has supported it natively ever since.

I've been putting MPEG-1 in Powerpoint at least since Windows 95a, and done too many to count since then.
Edited because I was impolite.

@ HappyFriar

I was as surprised as you were. I will test it tomorrow morning since I have a little time.

Most of the stuff I did was from square pixel source, so I have no recent experience. I will test with some DV-AVI and MPEG-2 Widescreen source and report back. The only thing I checked earlier were the render options in Vegas and they are there.

I haven't used PowerPoint for a couple of years, but back then the key to making it playable on virtually any computer was to save it using "Pack to Go," located on the "File" pull-down. This included a PowerPoint stand-alone player with the presentation which, when loaded onto the recipient's computer, allowed all the effects, fonts, etc., in the PowerPoint presentation to be viewed correctly.

I think the name of the utility (Pack to Go) has since changed, but I believe the current version of PowerPoint still contains this.

Jack

So are there any computers that don't use square pixels for Windows?

I remember when I was helping my dad with putting video in his p-point we decided upon wmv for a reason. I forget what the reason might of been, but I know we also tried mpeg-1 & quicktime. Might be because WMV had a nice preset all set & worked best on his laptop.

I just made a 16:9 Widescreen clip in MPEG-1 from DV-AVI 16:9 source and it looks and plays perfectly. It also plays inside a Powerpoint (2000-SP3). A little more math in setting the render, but it works.

Wish I could post it but I am bound by our organization's copyright restrictions.

Hope this settles some of the questions.

No doubt WMV is better if you are sure it will be played on PC only.
Again, WMV does not play natively on Mac, no more than MOV plays natively on PC. It's a big pi**ing contest.

If you'll read back, the OP wasn't sure what machines it would be played on. This means he will have no guarantees that owners of the Mac OS will have downloaded the additional components from their competitors to be able to play WMA/WMV files on their machines.

My response that MPEG-1 inside Powerpoint is still the most playable and portable solution stands without further comment on my part.

Whether it is saved as PPT or the Pack-and-Go format makes absolutely no difference in the playability (or lack thereof) of video files embedded in the presentation.

Again, WMV does not play natively on Mac, no more than MOV plays natively on PC. It's a big pi**ing contest.

Every mac'er I know can play WMV right out of the box. No issues. I know, I've given them a WMV to try!

Thanks for the mpeg 1 tip musicvid

I get annoying phone calls form wingy winny folks who need to run some of my content for PP “it plays on this laptop and not that one” and on and on
The same thing happened today …renderd out at mpeg 1 and problem solved

So do I have to use sq PAR ?

I normally used to render out at mpeg 2 for content and render out the same clip smaller for PP and always had issues

Rory

Thanks for the feedback.

For the most part, the video will be played on PCs. I'll give the 3mb template a shot. If I do render to mpeg 1, any recommendations on bitrate?

HappyFriar,
It has always been my understanding that WMV support in Mac was not "out of the box," but requires a separate download of Media Player for Mac, or a plugin that lets you play WMA / WMV in the QT Player. Has this changed recently? I would be surprised, but maybe someone with a new Mac can enlighten us.

This is the parallel of Windows users having to download Quicktime to play MOV files. I know that many people do not readily understand or are not inclined to make the optional download, because I got plenty of complaints when I was posting QT on the web. Posting both MOV and WMV solved the problem. Now I just embed Youtube because its easier.

Alas, Powerpoint does not support MOV either, so making a second version is not an option.

HappyFriar,

someone @ work got a brand new mac a few months ago, I gave them my USB stick drive with a WMV on there, it played no issues. In the QT player.

linux also supports both out of the box. All the linux installs I've done (redhat, ubuntu, mandrake) supported both wmv & qt right after install.

When I go to Apple's website and type "wmv" into the search box, this is what pops up.
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/flip4macwmvstudiopro.html

If that plugin is now included in the OSX software bundle, and I can not find any indication of that on the internet, it would have to be a very recent addition, because as recently as 18 months ago I remember talking about it with a new Mac owner who could not play wmv. I am quite certain that not all Mac owners have it and even more certain that it has not been natively supported in the past.

Then there's Apples specs for Quicktime that do not mention WMA /WMV support:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/player/specs.html

And, this quote from a thread on the Apple forums from July 20, 2008:
"No, it's not included, you must have downloaded it. There are two versions of Flip4Mac: one free reader for .wmv files, and one shareware file converter which shows a logo until you pay for it!"
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7681003&tstart=0

Nor do Microsoft's or flip4mac's download sites mention anything about that plugin being included in OSX.

I have gone to some length here, because I know that the average tech-challenged, over 40 casual user is much less likely to download and install optional software to open files, whether they be movies, pdfs, zips, flash, javascript updates, whatever. I have a coworker who couldn't do any of the above until I installed all of the necessary free readers / players for him. So I think putting media "out there" should involve some caution to keep it in the most universally playable formats possible, or else face the certainty that not everyone will have previously installed the components necessary to do so. One might call my approach conservative (I dislike that word), but it is one I know will work -- every time.