How to Embed Videos in PowerPoint
Do you groan inwardly the moment someone at work opens a PowerPoint presentation? I don’t blame you! Sitting and staring at endless slides of text and maybe some graphics is enough to fog your brain. Sure, nothing is easier than using PowerPoint to create your presentation, but it is also a sure-fire way to make it forgettable – if you don’t pep it up with a video. Research shows that an audience responds, absorbs, retains, and reproduce better in multisensory environments. But mix it up with interesting audio or video, and you will have the audience in rapt attention, and be able to influence them. In this video we’re going to look at how to embed a video in PowerPoint.
So how are you going to add video to PowerPoint?
Relax, we’ve got you covered. But there’s something you need to bear in mind: It’s not enough to simply embed just any video into your presentation. You must ensure that it is engaging and relevant, and adds value to your audience. Without that, you can wave goodbye to their attention.
Depending on the location of the video you want to embed in PowerPoint, the process of doing it varies.
Embedding an Online Video in PowerPoint
You can embed video in PowerPoint from YouTube or other sites. The exact process depends on the version of PowerPoint you use and your operating system. Bear in mind that you can only perform this action if you have the web version of PowerPoint.
The biggest advantage of embedding an online video in your PowerPoint presentation is that it keeps your file size small, as the video will stream live online.
The disadvantage is that without a good internet connection, your video may lag and buffer, making your audience restless – and causing you embarrassment.
To insert an online video into a presentation in PowerPoint 365:
- Click on Insert Video
- Select Online Video
- Open the site on which the video is – YouTube, SlideShare, etc.
- Copy the URL and paste into PowerPoint
To insert an online video into a presentation in PowerPoint 2019, 2016, 2013, and 2010:
- Go to the site where the video you want to embed is
- Click on the Share button below the video’s frame
- Select Embed
- Wait for a popup screen that says Embed Video. Click Copy – a button in the right lower corner to copy the embed code. It should start with ‘with <iframe width’.
- Go to PowerPoint and choose which slide you want the video to play on
- Click on Insert; you will get options on inserting various objects
- Select Video, and then click on Online Video. (In PowerPoint 2019 and earlier versions, select ‘Video from Website’)
- Click on Paste Embed Code Here, and paste the code you copied earlier. (Select ‘Insert Video from Website’ if using PowerPoint 2010.)
- Select the video and click on ‘Playback’.
- Click on the Start menu, and choose how you want the video to play – this is an essential step for the video to work.
- Make sure you’re connected to the internet when you click on Play, as you need to be online for the video to work.
How to embed a video in PowerPoint on a Mac
- Go to YouTube and find your video
- Click on Share – a button below the video’s frame
- Copy the link that is displayed
- Open your PowerPoint presentation and choose the slide you want to display the video on
- Click on Insert, then select Add-ins, and next, choose Store
- In the search bar, type ‘Web Video Player’, and press Enter
- Select Web Video Player, and click on Add
- Paste the link you copied in the Web Video Player window that pops up
- Click on Set Video
Finishing Touches
Once you have gone through all these steps, your PowerPoint presentation with the embedded video is ready to be sent to others! Well, not just quite yet. Here are some finishing touches that are recommended to be followed to ensure that everything works perfectly.
Create a PowerPoint Show first
To make sure that your PowerPoint presentation cannot be edited or tampered with, convert it into a PowerPoint Show. Once you do this, your file will be saved with a .ppsx extension. This, in essence, turns it into a Read Only or View Only PowerPoint presentation.
In the desktop version of your PowerPoint:
- Select File
- Click on Save As
- Choose a name for your presentation
- From the drop-down menu under the name box, select PowerPoint Show
Your PowerPoint file is now ready to be emailed or uploaded to Google Drive or any other cloud service, allowing your audience to view your presentation as a PowerPoint Show.
Make sure that you have a stable internet connection
It is essential that you have a steady internet connection to be able to play embedded online videos whenever you want. With an erratic connection, you will not only lose time fixing the issue, but you will also lose the attention and interest of your audience. You can check beforehand to see if the connection is good by reaching the venue early. You could also play the videos at various resolutions to test whether the video keeps buffering or stopping frequently. If you find that this happens, it might be a better thing to save the video on your computer so that you can play it regardless of whether an internet connection is available or not.
How to Embed a Video in PowerPoint Stored on Your Computer
Earlier, we saw how to embed a video in PowerPoint from YouTube or other sites. You can also embed videos saved on your computer, and for this, you don’t need to be connected to the internet.
Further, the stored videos are your best bet when it comes to making presentations in person regardless of audience size, where you have little control over the internet speed. Videos can usually be downloaded from most video sites like YouTube, Vimeo, etc. using the Download button below the video player.
Now there are two ways in which you can embed videos stored on your computer:
- Inserting an embedded video from your PC or Mac
- Linking to a video file saved on your PC or Mac.
Let us first examine Method 1: embedding a video, its advantages, and disadvantages:
By embedding a video in PowerPoint, you basically insert the video directly into PowerPoint. The chief benefit is that when you send this PowerPoint presentation to someone, they will be able to view the video without hassles.
However, the size of your PowerPoint file will be pretty large.
The steps involved in embedding a video in PowerPoint stored on your computer
- Select the slide in your PowerPoint on which you want the video to play
- Click on Menu, and then on Insert
- In the right-hand corner at the top, click on Video, and select Video on My PC
- Choose the video you wish to embed in the presentation, and click on Insert
- In the Video Format toolbar, configure the settings of your choice
Go to the Video Format toolbar, and check the settings to ensure that the video you embedded plays how you want it to. For example, you can select the options Play Full Screen and Start Automatically, to make the video play in the full screen as soon as anyone clicks on the slide.
Trimming
When you embed videos stored on your computer, you can also trim them with the help of the trimming command in PowerPoint. This lets you configure when your video should start and stop. The steps involved are:
- Selecting your video
- Going to the Playback tab
- Selecting Trim Video
- Set the Start Time cursor (green)
- Set the End Time cursor (red)
- Click on OK to finish
Thumbnails
You can also add a thumbnail of your video, called Poster Frame in PowerPoint. You can either import a custom image to use as a thumbnail or select a frame from the video as the thumbnail. This image is displayed before your video is played, and can become a vital element of your overall theme for slide design. The very first video frame is automatically set as the Poster Frame if you don’t specify your own. It is completely optional but allows you to improve the design.
The final step in embedding a video in your PowerPoint presentation is making sure that your video plays just the way you want it to. For this, you need to Preview your presentation. If it is playing as expected, your job is done!
Inserting and playing a video file link from your PC or Mac
If you don’t want to embed the video in your presentation, you can simply add a link to a video that is saved on your PC or Mac. However, the process is not vastly different from that of video embedding.
The biggest advantage of linking to a file saved on your computer is that you can ensure that the size of your PowerPoint file stays small.
The major disadvantage of this method is that there is a tendency or possibility of the links breaking, or videos getting corrupted or deleted from the computer storage.
Remember, that to be able to play the video in your PowerPoint presentation, you must have the actual video saved on your PC or Mac. If you select this option for adding a video to your PPT, make sure that the video and the PowerPoint presentation are both saved in the same folder on your computer.
Further, when you send this PowerPoint presentation to another person, remember to send the linked video too.
These are the steps involved in inserting and playing a video file link from your PC or Mac:
- Select the PowerPoint slide you want to add the video to
- Navigate to Menu, and select Insert
- Click on Video, and select Video on my PC
- Go to the video you want to add and click on Link to File.
I am not able to embed a video in PowerPoint. Why?
If you are not able to embed a video in PowerPoint from your computer, the main reason could be that you are using a video format that is not supported. The video format must be MP4, EMV, or ASF. The recommendation from Microsoft is that you embed a video file in the MP4 format that is encoded with H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC).
Play The Video Before Your Presentation to See How It Looks
It is important that your video looks flawless on the screen on which you actually present it to an audience, and not just on your computer. If it looks pixelated, too bright, or too small, your presentation may not achieve the result you hoped for.
It’s a good idea to play your video on the screen where you are scheduled to present it, to ascertain that it plays as expected. If not, you may need to make some adjustments to the size and position of the video.
Remember that the most essential visual elements must be prominently visible. Say the slide with the video has some text and headers; make sure that the video is larger than those elements, as you want viewer attention on the video.
Make adjustments in the Video Format tab to alter its appearance – make it darker or brighter, so that every element can be clearly seen. The Colour tab allows you to adjust the tone, shade, and hue to make the video more appealing.
You’re all set! How helpful did you find this article? Do let us know.
