I think that the prob. may be related to the codec that your laptop is using to playback the video files - the codec or codec mix (audio/video etc) might not be compatible with some of these other apps.

To check which codec is being applied to decode in wmplayer, open the clip and go to properties under the file menu.

At Virtualdub.org , in the notes pertaining to latest release, is an interesting tidbit re: mp3 codecs. http://www.nwlink.com/~zachd/ has some interesting stuff, including I believe a bit about playing video in powerpoint. This post a while back might also contain something that'll be useful in fixing your prob.: http://www.sonicfoundry.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=4&MessageID=184421

Thanks for that, kinda like the Matrix Re-loaded, nothing makes any sense but
it sure is fun to watch. That guy is on-track as the .mpg 1 files I made were
with a ligos codec, so I just tried re-encoding with Main concept but that did not solve the problem, I also tried an .avi and that worked so it is some codec issue but not
sure what to un-install or install at this point?

Might try this...

If you've got the 3 ligos .ax files in your windows\system or system32 folder, you can try renaming them. If that doesn't help, according to the wmplayer developer's faq, the mainconcept files can cause havoc with other windows stuff, so try renaming the folder houseing your mainconcept stuff (shared plugins?).

If that doesn't work, try going to doom9.org and downloading codec or other packs - you're looking for other versions of the 3 ligos files, so should be named the same - might do a google search. I've seen dates from 97 to 2003 - this is what you may have to go by.

Once you have different versions of these files, mix and match versions to *break the Ligos codec". If you can do that, another codec should take over, and you can get rid of the ligos files.

Adding new codecs usually doesn't help. FWIW, here's an excerpt from someone else's post in the MS forums - perhaps a longshot, but indicates prob. with MS software, which PP of course is:

Clashing with .ax files
=================
A review of the last 3,350 posts to the
microsoft.public.windowsxp.moviemaker newsgroup shows that MM2 can clash
with one or more of seven .ax files.

Check these seven first. Find them on your computer, rename them to
something like *.ax_ and then see if MM2 works OK. If these seven don't
resolve your issue, you might try renaming additional .ax files.


claud.ax (3 posts) - MPEG codec re-distributed by PowerDVD - check Cyberlink
for a patch that resolves this - PDVDxp4_Patch_2417.exe

clvsd.ax (3 posts) - MPEG codec re-distributed by PowerDVD - maybe the
Cyberlink patch resolves this one too

cmaudio.ax (21 posts) - from C-Media Inc. (sound card, or audio chip)

divxaf.ax (44posts) - 'Digital Anti-Freeze' - part of the Nimo Codec
package - causes crashes when trying to preview or play transitions and
effects

iviaudio.ax (25 posts) - ships with WinDVD (effects MP3 files over 160kbps -
chipmunk sounds, clipping sounds) - installed in a couple folders - also
found in InterVideo folder

subtitds.ax (6 posts) - installed by SLD Codec pack - in System32 folder

wtwmplug.ax (5 posts) - apparently associated with Wild Tangent games


It's' best to first rename any of the seven you have, in case MM2 clashes
with more than one. If MM2 works OK after renaming them, you might rename
them back, one at a time, until you determine which one(s) are clashing.
Then think about how to continue to use MM2 and the other software that uses
the .ax file(s). You can leave the files on your computer and use MM2 or the
other software, but not both at the same time.

If you find that renaming another .ax file than these seven resolves your
problem, please let us know by posting on
microsoft.public.windows.moviemaker or sending me an email.

I've had the best quality results using Windows Media Player 9 files for Powerpoint presentations. Second-best has been MPG1. You should stay away from MPG2 since most machines can't run that unless you're going through Windows Media Player and are connected to the internet: the codec is only loaded long enough to run the clip, it gets unloaded as soon as you close the file.

MPG2 is a proprietary codec and must be licensed for distribution so most business computers will not have an MPG2 decoder installed. But the WM9 files look great and are reasonably sized even at the highest quality setting of 3Mbps.

Sid, I tried .wmv 9 but even crunched down using a 256K templete it
still would not play as good as an .mpg 1
Plus I found the problem.
Here are the files that would not let .mpg run in PP.

lmpgspl.ax C:\Program Files\Sonic Foundry\Shared Plug-Ins\File Formats\MPEG
lmpgvd.ax C:\Program Files\Sonic Foundry\Shared Plug-Ins\File Formats\MPEG
mcdsmpeg.ax C:\Program Files\Sonic Foundry\Shared Plug-Ins\File Formats\MCMPEG
mcesmpeg.ax C:\Program Files\Sonic Foundry\Shared Plug-Ins\File Formats\MCMPEG
mcspmpeg.ax C:\Program Files\Sonic Foundry\Shared Plug-Ins\File Formats\MCMPEG

I just renamed each with .ax_ extension.

What do these files do in VV4?

I guess I will just have to go and re-name as needed?

Apologies - know my writing's not the best, especially with the longer more tech post: http://www.sonicfoundry.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=4&MessageID=184421

If you download/install dxman, it will tell you what the file does along with the file name - of course you might have to name them back to get a good read in DXman.

the 2 starting in L are ligos files, the ones with M, mainconcept stuff that vegas uses. The ligos stuff is not used as much anymore, probably left over from a prem, ulead, or vegas install in the past, so no harm letting them go. RE: the vegas files, might be a better alternative to just rename the plugin folders as this would be one step instead of 3 when putting the names back.

An alternative, though a bit of work, would be to allow the mainconcept files to remain, but as I wrote earlier, this might involve having to break the ligos stuff, & I really know of no shortcuts there besides mixing versions or reinstalling/repair-installing windows.

re: winmedia 9, it is much more processor intensive then most anything else out there, and running at 3m/sec is iffy on a laptop when embedded in PP. Wmv might work (depending on the scenes) if you tweak the encode settings, and perhaps let the graphics system blow it up -> encode a small frame size. But at any rate, mpg1/2 are less cpu intensive so are a fair choice.

FWIW, mpg1 decoding is built into xp wmplayer9 (at least), but not mpg2. There are free decoder files available, though you'd have to research to make sure the particular files you choose aren't just warez repackaged. Assuming they're cool, two small files are involved that normally include a .bat file to register with windows. Registering the files and leaving them on the CD should have no effect on the host windows system once the CD is removed, though a caveat, altering the registry on a corp machine isn't allways allowed.

"You should stay away from MPG2 since most machines can't run that unless you're going through Windows Media Player and are connected to the internet: the codec is only loaded long enough to run the clip, it gets unloaded as soon as you close the file."

I've personally never heard of that... You might want to check your setup (s) if that's the case... I have seen similar behavior and the system in question was broke.