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Ideal WMV recording settings for PowerPoint
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jamotter  
Posted : Sunday, August 26, 2007 5:10:05 AM(UTC)
Joined: 8/24/2007(UTC)
Posts: 2
I am extracting video segments from DVDs for use as movies in PowerPoint presentations. When I get the files copied to my hard drive, I will use Video Edit Magic to extract and trim the segments I want from the chapter files and perhaps to add a few effects .

My question is this: what settings are ideal for WMV files when used in PowerPoint? I plan to use 640x480, but I am not sure what bitrate setting is best--2000bps or 4000bps. What are your thoughts?
DeskShare - Support  
Posted : Monday, August 27, 2007 1:23:29 PM(UTC)
DeskShare - Support

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Rather than rip the DVD, I suggest that you copy the VOB files from the DVD to your hard drive and edit them directly. The files on the DVD that end in .VOB contain the video and audio, and Video Edit Magic can (in most cases) add them directly to the Timeline. Since uncompressing and recompressing audio/video lowers the quality, the fewer conversion steps (like ripping) that you do, the higher the final quality of your finished movie.

We have published an article on Working with DVDs and VOB files that may be helpful to you.
jamotter  
Posted : Tuesday, August 28, 2007 2:59:21 AM(UTC)
Joined: 8/24/2007(UTC)
Posts: 2
Thanks for your reply. However, I need a bit more help, please. Your reply suggests I not rip the DVD, but copy the VOB files. I tried once to work with VOB, even renaming it as an MPG file, but the resulting clip had only video and no audio. Perhaps I did something wrong.

Since my goal is only to drop video movies into PowerPoint, and not to create a new DVD, do you still suggest that I work with VOB files? On the other hand, if I rip the DVD to WMV files on my hard drive, what settings do you recommend that I use.

I believe 640x480 with letterbox seems to be the right resolution, but please advise if you recommend something different. What I am not clear about is the bitrate for the recording. Should I use as high a bitrate as possible, such as 4000 bps, or something less, such as 2000 bps. So far, everything I have ripped I have used 4000, but I have not yet gone the next step of trimming and editing with Video Edit Magic to create the clip to be dropped into PowerPoint. I want to avoid any big surprises later when I try to playback the PowerPoint presentation that might be caused by using the wrong settings.

Your counsel would be greatly appreciated.
DeskShare - Support  
Posted : Wednesday, August 29, 2007 9:48:59 AM(UTC)
DeskShare - Support

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Joined: 2/27/2004(UTC)
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Video Edit Magic can edit all standard VOB files (that don't contain chapters) directly. You may need to install the free (GPL) MPEG Decoder, which we make available for download here:

https://www.deskshare.com/download/mpeg2decoder.exe

As I wrote, each time you convert a video file from one format to another, you reduce the quality. Since editing VOBs is easy and takes less time than ripping, yes, I do recommend that you do so.

As for final bit rate, 4000 kbps is [strong]very[/strong] high. DVD quality is dramatically less than that, for instance. I think 2000 kbps would be more than adequate for embedding video in PowerPoint files. In fact, I would suggest you try a lower bit rate first to see if it suits your needs.

To avoid surprises, I always recommend practicing a presentation using the same computer before presenting in front of an audience.
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