Display a PowerPoint presentation on a 16:9 display
Posted by Steve Wylie in Live vision systems, Speaker support content on November 4, 2008
The use of Plasma screens, LCD monitors, and modern 16:9 ratio projectors are becoming a common alternative to the traditional 4:3 projector screen for PowerPoint presentations. If you need to display a PowerPoint presentation on a 16:9 monitor, here are a few tips:
If you have the luxury of creating your PowerPoint presentation solely for a 16:9 screen, you can format your presentation in 16:9 – adjust the ‘Page Setup’ menu – in PowerPoint 2007, select the 16:9 slide preset, or in PowerPoint 2003 or earlier, enter a custom size of 16 in by 9 in.
Pillarboxed 4:3 slide on a 16:9 display
Letterboxed 16:9 slide on a 4:3 display
Unless you know the resolution of the projector, LCD, or Plasma display that you’ll be using, the most generic widescreen resolution is 1280×720 (which is the resolution for 720p HDTV).
If you want to display a 4:3 presentation on a 16:9 display, you still need to set the display output resolution of your computer or laptop to a 16:9 ratio, like 1280×720, but then simply run your 4:3 presentation, and PowerPoint will automatically Pillarbox it for you.
The reverse will apply if you want to display a 16:9 presentation on a 4:3 display – just set your display output to a 4:3 resolution such as 1024×768, and run your presentation, and PowerPoint will automatically letterbox the presentation for you.
Suggested resolutions and parameters for Video in PowerPoint
Posted by Steve Wylie in Speaker support content, Video and motion graphics on November 4, 2008
When inserting video into PowerPoint, you need to balance between quality and performance. It is common for PowerPoint to perform poorly when trying to play back video files that are too large.
Consider trying the following settings, but you should also experiment depending on the capabilities of your computer:
For high definition video in PowerPoint:
- Windows Media Video High definition (WMV HD)
- 1280×720 (720p) resolution
- 25 or 30 frames per second (try to keep it the same as the source video)
- Approx 5mbps bitrate
For standard definition video in PowerPoint:
- Windows Media Video (WMV)
- 640×480 resolution
- 25 or 30 frames per second (try to keep it the same as the source video)
- Approx 2mbps bitrate
If you are using PowerPoint for Mac, use the same resolution, frame rates, and bit rates as above, but encode your video to QuickTime H.264 instead of Windows Media Video.
Always remember to place your video files in the same directory as the PowerPoint presentation. If you move the PowerPoint file to another computer, you need to move the video files with it, as these are not embedded in the PPT or PPTX file.
View more information about converting video and flash files for use in Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows or Mac.
Insert Video into PowerPoint
Posted by Steve Wylie in Speaker support content, Video and motion graphics on November 4, 2008
PowerPoint can be temperamental when playing back video files. Typically, where I have the choice, I would rather switch to a DVD or videotape and then switch back to the presentation again.
However, for those situations where you do need to insert video into PowerPoint, here are a couple of tips:
Generally speaking, you will achieve the best results if you use Windows Media Video (WMV) files for PowerPoint on Windows, or QuickTime H.264 files for PowerPoint on a Mac. Other QuickTime CODECs are supported on Mac, but H.264 is one of the best around for presentation use.
PowerPoint also supports a select few AVI CODECs (including the popular Video for Windows, or MS DV AVI), however these formats will typically produce files which are too large for a computer to handle seamless playback, especially when inserted in a PowerPoint presentation.
If you need to make the video in your PowerPoint presentation compatible with both Windows and Mac, your best bet is to either create 2 versions of the video – a Windows Media Video (WMV) and a QuickTime H.264 (or another QuickTime CODEC).
There are a couple of essential tools for converting video to work with PowerPoint:
Microsoft Windows Media Encoder (Free): Microsoft’s free Windows Media Encoder will take files from a range of common formats and convert them to Windows Media Video (WMV) format, which is likely to play far better when embedded into PowerPoint.
Swiff Point Player (Free): Swiff Point Player is a free utility that assists in inserting SWF Flash movie files into PowerPoint on Windows. It’s possible to achieve this without this utility, using instructions from Adobe – however this utility greatly simplifies the process.
QuickTime Pro: If you need to convert your files to run on a Mac, or if you have files that aren’t playing correctly in PowerPoint on your Mac, then you can purchase QuickTime Pro for either Windows or Mac and convert your video files to a range of QuickTime formats, including H.264.
Flip4Mac: Offers a range of utilities (at a range of prices) that allows you to play Windows Media Video (WMV) files on a Mac from within QuickTime. Flip4Mac also gives QuickTime the ability to convert files to and from WMV format.
Thomson Grass Valley Procoder: If you have a little more money to spend, and are after a great video converter which will accept and output almost any video CODEC, consider Canopus Procoder.
View more information on ideal resolutions, frame rates, and other parameters for inserting video into PowerPoint.
Matrox TripleHead2Go as a background source for Barco Encore
Posted by Steve Wylie in Live vision systems, Presentation IT on November 2, 2008
Matrox TripleHead2Go Digital
Barco makes this process a little easier with the options in its ‘Widescreen’ configuration menu (Output Setup). When using a triple-head display card or device, such as the Matrox TripleHead2Go, choose the background format as ‘Edge-butted’, and choose to centre the background content – while you’re there, ensure Data Doubling is ‘Enabled’ to make sure that the PIP content matches across the blend regions.
The Matrox TripleHead2Go makes a suitable unscaled DVI background source for Encore with a couple of considerations:
1. The TripleHead2Go is designed primarily for extending the desktop of a computer across multiple monitors, and as such, isn’t best suited to running heavy graphics and video – you will find that the stress that the unit places on your display computer’s graphics card will make it near impossible to display fluid transitions in Keynote or PowerPoint, or play back full resolution video.
2. When designing content, ensure you leave adequate space to the left and right of your content to compensate for the blend overlap (i.e. if you have 2x 1920×1080 projectors on a 3.333:1 screen, your total pixel space will not be 3840×1080, but rather 3600×1080). In PowerPoint or Keynote this is easy – just choose a slide format in 3.333:1 ratio (or a resolution of 3600×1080 in Keynote) and when you run the presentation, both PowerPoint and Keynote will automatically pillarbox the left and right of the output to compensate.
3. The Matrox TripleHead2Go does not yet support the common projection resolution of SXGA+ (1400×1050) out of the box. While it may be possible to ‘hack’ the TripleHead2Go device to support this resolution using a tool like PowerStrip, I’ve never tried it, and wouldn’t suggest that it’s worth relying on (if anyone has achieved this please feel free to comment!).
4. There are a maximum of 3 outputs using this device – and only 2 outputs if you’re using a high resolution such as 1920×1080 – so keep this in mind if you have larger edge-blending requirements. For true scalability, you would be better off using a system like AVStumpfl Wings or Dataton Watchout, both systems would run video and transitions a lot more fluidly, and would provide a much greater capacity to scale.
Barco Encore Preset Manager
Posted by Steve Wylie in Live vision systems, Presentation IT on November 2, 2008
Preset Manager is a program which Barco don’t make a huge fuss about, but anyone who operates more than the most basic of shows, especially using the Encore SC console, will appreciate the ability to save, edit, and recall all of their presets, colour-code and name those presets, and insert presets in a timed, or manually triggered cue list – functionality that you can’t yet get with Encore out of the box.
You can run Preset Manager on a Mac or PC connected to your Encore network.
Barco Encore Preset Manager
Relationship between page size and screen resolution in PowerPoint
Posted by Steve Wylie in Speaker support content on November 2, 2008
PowerPoint2007 Page Setup
But how does the ratio relate to the resolution? You can create a 16:9 PowerPoint presentation, but output that presentation at 1920×1080 or 1280×720 (both 16:9 ratio resolutions).
Windows Vista, Display settings
What this means is that you will need to ensure your source images and content is suitable for being scaled to the resolution that you wish to output at – for instance, if you want to insert a photograph that will consume half of the width of a slide, and you want to output your slides at 1920×1080 resolution, then you will need to ensure your photograph is at least 540 pixels in width, or else quality will be compromised.
Interestingly, though, you can use page sizes to give yourself some more screen real-estate when designing slides – for instance, if you create a presentation that is 16 in by 9 in, and insert a photograph, the photo might take up the entire slide, and you will need to size it down to fit anything else on the slide – whereas if you create a presentation with dimensions of 160 in by 90 in, and insert the same photo, it’s likely to consume only a small percentage of the slide – you can then size it up, or use the space to add other elements to the slide.
Regardless of the page size, remember that so long as your source image is at least the same resolution as your output screen resolution, the image will show up without any loss in quality.
PowerPoint Slide 16x10
PowerPoint Slide 32x20
Troubleshooting Barco Encore and ScreenPRO II network issues
Posted by Steve Wylie in Live vision systems on November 2, 2008
Barco Encore
- 10/100 Ethernet switch
- CAT5e compliant network cables
- A dedicated network (no other devices attached to the switch)
Despite this advice, it is common to notice problems with Encore and ScreenPRO II systems including issues where one VP (video processor) will transition out of time to another VP, or router inputs won’t be recalled correctly, or won’t be recalled in time. The ScreenPRO II units are more susceptible to these sorts of issues if running with a BlendPRO II unit to create a widescreen blend, as not only are there more devices attached to the network, but it also becomes more critical that they all run in sync.
If you are experiencing sync or communications issues with your Encore or BlendPRO II system, try the following:
Ensure you are using an Ethernet switch:
(rather than a hub or a router) A hub will not intelligently address each device attached to it, and is prone to ‘packet collisions’ which can mean that information being sent by the Encore controller is not delivered to some or all attached devices. A router is designed for connecting computers to the Internet or another network, and will often include functions like DHCP hosting, which will conflict with the Encore controller.
Use a high quality switch:
The price of Ethernet switches can range from tens to thousands of dollars depending on the feature set and quality. It is important to choose a switch that supports high-reliability packet switching, as Encore isn’t intelligent enough to correct any errors that may be introduced by cheaper switches – while the network switch you’re using might work fine for a computer network, you could still notice issues when running Encore.
A managed switch will contain a whole bunch of features which are unnecessary for Encore (like Quality of Service and VLAN support), however due to the higher quality construction and overall capacity and capabilities of these switches, they’re likely to be a better choice than an unmanaged switch.
Don’t worry about gigabit:
Encore supports 10/100 Ethernet – and in a recent software update, Barco suggested ensuring the use of a switch that supports 100mbit/s data rates instead of just 10mbit/s, however the Encore and ScreenPRO II units do not support gigabit Ethernet, so there’s no benefit in using a gigabit switch – you’re better off spending the extra money on a higher quality 10/100 switch.
Check your cables:
It’s so important to make sure that you Ethernet cables fully support the true CAT5e (CAT5 Enhanced) standard. That means ensuring that the cable, terminators, and the color-order of termination conform to the CAT5e standard. CAT5 cables rely on the specific color-coded twisted pairs of the cable to be in the correct order, allowing phase cancellation to prevent interference from other devices, and minimize packet loss. Check this guide for creating compliant CAT5e cables.
It’s also worth trying to keep all the cables in your system as short as possible, and of similar length – although length is unlikely to cause any significant delay, it can theoretically increase the chance of data loss through interference.
Reccomendations:
Consider using store-bought CAT5e certified Ethernet cables, or at least ensuring the cables you use truly meet the CAT5e specification.
Linksys 10/100 Ethernet Switch
Define: “High definition”
Posted by Steve Wylie in Video and motion graphics on August 7, 2006
1080i and 720p, 2k and 4k “digital film”, 35mm optical film, and 576p are all bad enough – add to that, the fact that most equipment can’t handle those higher-high-definition formats, so companies like Sony and Panasonic are “modifying” them to create sub-standards which are backwards or forwards compatible – but never quite work that way – CineAlta, ProHD, DVCPro 100, HDV… the list goes on… then you get to ingest, where you have to choose your storage format – MPEG2 HD, uncompressed HD, WMV HD for storage and archive – do you record to hard disk, tape, or flash media? What about data transfer? HDSDI? FireWire? Ethernet?
The industry is in the messy phase of trying to sort through which formats are garbage and which formats are feasible in the long term – add to that the fact that processing power is changing so quickly that a format which was unthinkable 12 months ago is now considered too basic by today’s standards.
I think it’s clear that multi-platform systems are the only path for content development, production, and presentation applications – systems which are, in essence or reality, a PC with multiple codecs which is capable of ingress from a variety of methods or formats, and perform faster-than-real-time encoding to a single format for storage and replay, and can then also export to a variety of formats and using a variety of data transfer methods – let’s face it – it’s time to throw out your VTRs and buy PCs.
Configure your laptop for a presentation
Posted by Steve Wylie in Presentation IT, Speaker support content on March 23, 2006
If you’re giving a presentation and you don’t have the option of using a “show machine” provided by your AV company or the event organisers, then there are a few things you should do to prepare your laptop for use in a production environment.
Disable everything
Most people use their laptop for e-mail, instant messaging, downloading files, syncing their mobile phone and PDA, watching movies, playing games, speech recognition, and so on – all of these activities require software, much of which loads itself, or its helper applications into memory so that it can run in the background, launch more quickly, or provide notices and messages without manual interaction. Not only do all of these things take up valuable memory, CPU power, and hard disk access, but they also run the risk of popping up during your presentation and distracting you and your audience.Disable power management and screen savers
The last thing you want to have in the middle of your keynote speech is a screensaver with your family photos popping up over the top of your PowerPoint slides. You should run through and make sure all the screen savers and “lock computer” (or password protect) options are disabled, and that your system is set to “never” stand by, or turn off its screen or hard disks.
Prepare well for video
Playing video files embedded into a PowerPoint presentation isn’t ever smooth sailing. For starters, it requires a powerful computer to load and play the embedded object on demand – you will usually notice a significant delay that can worry or bore your audience.
What’s more, most laptop graphics cards aren’t capable of displaying the video on both the external display (your data projector or similar) and your laptop’s screen – so don’t be surprised if either you, or your audience aren’t able to see the video.
If you do choose to embed video into your presentation, make sure you inform the event organisers if they will need to provide sound output for your laptop, and then disable all your system sounds to prevent interruptions during the show.
Check your versions
If you create your presentation on a different computer to the one you intend to play it from, make sure you test it on the “show computer” – don’t just assume it will work – often there will be different versions of PowerPoint, different screen resolutions or graphics cards, different fonts, and various other factors that can prevent your show machine from displaying the presentation as intended.Run off hard diskA USB drive, floppy disk, or CD-ROM will not be the most reliable or the fastest option – PowerPoint will load up each slide as it’s advanced to, rather than preloading them – which means if your presentation isn’t stored on the hard disk, you could notice a delay in the time it takes to pull up a slide – particularly one with video or photos embedded. What’s more, a hard disk is more reliable than removable mediums – it’s possible you have a scratched CD, demagnetized floppy disk, or that you bump the USB drive and knock it out of the port.
Profile it
If you want to keep all of your normal settings intact, but still want a successful presentation, consider creating a separate user profile on your laptop for presentations, – which can be set up with the ideal settings for a presentation, but will not affect things like your screen saver and start-up programs for normal use.