so did you install one of the other languages for media player 7.1? or did you find an english version somewhere else?
I am working on this tomrrow, one of our office laptops needs this working and I am quickly running out of things to try!

thanx,

Don

Hi Don,

I think you missed the link I included for the English version of Windows Media Player from download.com:

http://download.com.com/3000-2139-5948260.html?tag=lst-0-1

I could see how you would have missed that link though so I have updated my entry to clearly show the download link.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Derek

I still cannot insert picture with .wmv extension. I already follow the solution you suggest. Is there another way i can fix it. I got to present my powerpoint next week but i cannot insert the video yet.

Shielena

Hi Don, I too am trying to insert a .wmv file into a ppt presentation. I followed your directions and installed Quicktime 5 and Windows Media Player 7.1.

I now can insert the movie, however, I can only hear the audio. There is no picture.

Any ideas?

Thank you very much!
Carrie

Hi Carrie,

I think the WMV file you have might have been encoded using a newer video codec (i.e. codec version 8.0) that Windows Media Player 7.1 can't properly decode. See if you have the same problem just opening the WMV file in Windows Media Player. If so, then I'm pretty sure you'll have to re-encode the video using a version 7.0 or below codec.

Hope this helps! :-)

Cheers,
Derek

Awesome!

thanks dude, you saved my day :)

-joonas

i find I have no trouble inserting a wmv movie in PowerPoint, but when I play it in a PowerPoint show, the movie shows on my laptop but not on the projector screen. QuickTime movies by contrast play fine on both the laptop and the big screen. Any suggestions?

If you are still having problems, make sure you are running Windows 98se or better operating system, with the latest Microsoft Media player, have seen this dozens of times.

Hi Ned,

I'm quite certain the problem is related to your laptop's video card - either a buggy driver or a limitation of the video chip used:

1. If the problem is a buggy driver, updating it to the latest version might fix it.
2. If the problem is a limitation of the video chip used, you might have to take certain steps to get video on the external diplay (projector or monitor) working, as detailed below. The following info and solution applies to the Sony VAIO PCD-GR18C model but it might actually apply to your laptop as well if it uses the same/or similar ATI video chip.

http://www.css.ap.sony.com/vaio/support/solution.asp?id=008344&productGroup=VAIO+Notebook

How to playback motion pictures on external display devices?

Article ID : 008344 (modified: Tuesday, April 30, 2002 )

Applicable Models : PCG-GR18C

Problem/Question:

How to playback motion pictures on external display devices?

Solution/Answer:

Due to the limitation of the ATI Mobility-M1 and Mobility Radeon video chip, motion pictures can only be displayed on display devices that is set to Primary.

Follow the steps below to set the display device to Primary:

1. Right-click an empty area on the desktop and click Properties.
   
2. Click the Settings tab and click Advanced.
   
3. Click the Display tab.
   
4. Click the green button located on the upper-left hand of the display which is to be set as a Primary display device.
   
5. Click OK.

Let me know if this helps.

Cheers,
Derek

Hi Carrie,

This info should help with your problem:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;818224&Product=ppt2003

Can Only Hear Sound (Not See Movie) for Some .avi Files

SYMPTOMS
When you create a PowerPoint 2003 presentation with .avi files, the sound plays but the video does not.

CAUSE
This issue may occur if the display adapter in your computer is using an outdated display driver.

WORKAROUND
If the movie is in a format that does not support windowless playback in PowerPoint through MCI, you may be able to play it in your default Movie Player.

To work around this issue by using your default Movie Player, follow these steps:

1. Display the slide that you want to add the movie to in PowerPoint, click Insert, and then click Object.
2. Click the Create New radial button.
3. In the Object type window, click Media Clip.
4. Click OK.
5. On the Insert Clip menu, click Video for Windows.
6. In the Files of type list, click All files.
7. Select the file that you want to add, and then click Open.
8. To insert the file in your slide, click outside the movie frame.
9. Click Media Clip Object.
10. Right-click Media Clip Object, and then click Convert....
11. Click to check the Display as icon check box.
12. Click OK.

This method does not work for automated slide shows and requires the viewer to click to play the slide.

Note For more information about working with various movie formats in PowerPoint see the topic "Troubleshoot movies" in Microsoft PowerPoint Help.

RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, lower video acceleration. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Start Windows Media Player.
2. Click Tools, and then Options.
3. Click the Performance tab.
4. In the Video acceleration section, move the slider all the way to the left to None.
5. Click Apply, and then click OK.

Contact your hardware manufacturer to inquire about how to obtain and install the latest version of the display driver.