Inserting a movie into PowerPoint isn't terribly difficult. In fact, you can do it in just a few simple steps..
For best results, your video should be high resolution. It should also have the same aspect ratio as your PowerPoint slide.
Most PowerPoint slide shows have a 4:3 aspect ratio. That's the same as standard DVD resolution. Other aspect ratios can make videos look distorted.
In PowerPoint 2003, click the Insert menu. Select Movies and Sounds. Click Movie from File. Select your video and click OK.
You'll receive a message asking how you want the movie to start. You can have it start automatically. Or, start it by clicking it.
You may want to resize the video. All you need do is drag the sizing handles around the images. Hint: use the corner handles to maintain aspect ratio.
Of course, your video may not be the same aspect ratio as the PowerPoint slide. In that case, use the controls to adjust the aspect ratios while resizing.
Things are slightly different if you're using PowerPoint 2007. Open the Insert ribbon. Then, find the Media Clips section. Click Movie. Navigate to your video file and select it. The rest of the steps remain the same as in PowerPoint 2003.
Not all movie formats are supported in PowerPoint. WMV files will work, as will AVI and MPEG2. You can also use some QuickTime (MOV) movies. But only versions 3 and earlier of QuickTime are supported. If necessary, you can convert movie formats. I'll have more on that in a minute.
PowerPoint doesn't provide native support for Flash videos. This is the type of video format used on YouTube and many other sites.
You can enable PowerPoint to work with Flash videos. But I would skip the hassle. You would then need to download your flash video from YouTube. That's becoming increasingly difficult. And inserting a Flash video isn't as easy as inserting other formats.
Fortunately, there is an easier solution: Convert Flash videos to a different format with Zamzar. Zamzar converts files between a variety of formats.
For example, you can enter a URL for a YouTube video. Zamzar can convert it to a format supported by PowerPoint. The service is fast and free.
In the Zamzar upload box, click the URL link. The box will change slightly. Enter the Web address for a page containing a Flash video.
Finally, a word of advice. Create a folder for your PowerPoint presentation. Put related videos in the folder, too. This helps ensure that links still work, even when changing machines.
In this case, test your presentation before delivering it. You may need to reinsert your videos.