How to Insert Video into
PowerPoint

Type of File
• Quicktime or .mov files do NOT work in
PowerPoint on the PC. MPEG’s do as well
but the preferred format is .wmv.

Type of File
• Microsoft's Windows Media Video (.wmv)
gives high quality playback. The video should
have the same aspect ratio as a PowerPoint
slide which is 4:3.
• Save your video as a .wmv at 640 x 480 size,
which has the same aspect ratio

Insert
• PowerPoint does not actually embed the video in the
presentation file. It only creates a link
• Put the video file(s) in the same folder (before you
insert it) as your PowerPoint presentation. It’s
recommended that you make a folder on your desktop
• If you later move the PowerPoint presentation to
another PC, copy the entire folder (presentation and
videos)
• Keeping your video in the same folder as your
presentation guarantees that the link(s) will still work

Insert
• Open your PowerPoint presentation and go to the slide
you want the video clip to play
• On the Insert menu, point to Movies and Sounds, and
then click Movie from File. Choose the video you want
to use and then click OK
• TIP: If your video does not play, or a blank box appears
on the slide where you inserted the media file, the file
name might be too long. Rename the video so that the
filename and the full path to it (all the folders and
subfolders) are less than 128 characters long