Powerpoint Codec 64 Bits

[Ceola Roefaro]

I get an error that says: 'PowerPoint cannot insert an audio from the selected file. Verify that the necessary codecfor this media format is installed, and try again.' I've tried on two different computers, and I can't get the audio fileto play. Have you ever run into this before?"

Yes. I get this question all the time. It comes in various forms. How do I open this file in Audacity? Why can't WindowsMedia Player play this file? How come I can't play this recording I made on my phone on my desktop? In fact, the reasonI'm writing this post because I hear this question so frequently that I want to have a resource I can point peopleto that will help explain what's going on.

It can be puzzling for sure. The problem: you have an audio file with an extension that's ubiquitous, though none of thesoftware you have can open the file, but you can open other files with the same extension. So what gives?

An audio codec is a process by which an audio file is compressed and decompressed. A codec specifies how audio datashould be encoded and decoded, which is what allows the data to be edited, saved, transferred and played on variousdevices. Think of a codec as a key. When data is encoded, or changed from one format to another, a codec is used to lockthe data into a pattern; when data is decoded, like when you play an audio file, a codec is used to unlock the data anddescribes the pattern in which it was stored so that it can be reconstituted.

If a codec is a key that locks up data, a container is the box in which data is stored. A container can also be called aformat. Whereas codecs are more mysterious in their presentation, a container can be recognized more easily by lookingat a file's extension. MP3, for example, is the file extension for the MPEG-1 Layer-3 audio container. (If you'recurious, the "MPEG" stands for Motion Picture Experts Group, the organization that maintains the standard; the "3"refers to one of the sections of the standard that specifically covers audio encoding. Check out moretidbits and talking points at the bottom of this post!)

First, recognize that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of codec/container combinations possible. Just because yourmedia player can play one MP3 file doesn't mean it'll be able to play them all. The key is the codec. If your deviceand/or software doesn't recognize the codec, you won't be able to unlock the data.

Second, recognize that the issue is environment dependent. An audio file that works in PowerPoint 2016 may not work inPowerPoint 2010; an audio file that can be played on your Apple device may not play on your Windows device; an audiofile that opens on your personal computer may not open on your work computer, even if you use the same software.

For the technically inclined, the first step is to figure out what is the codec in question. I like to usethe FFmpeg commandffprobe ($ ffprobe [options] [input_file]). This will print out the codec for a file and from there you canseek out the codec and install it on your device so the file can be manipulated. Or, if the codec is obscure and youjust need to get the file into a format you can hand over to someone else, you can use FFmpeg to transcode the file to amore universal format. Have an audio file that won't play in PowerPoint? Easiest thing to do is to re-encode the file asMP3, using a common codec to do the encoding. Windows Media Player won't open your file? Convert it to a WMA. Pulled aCAF file from your phone? Convert it to an AAC.

For audio playback, check outthe VLC mediaplayer (free). In my experience there have been very few files VLC hasn't been able to play right out the box. Foraudio editing or re-encoding, checkout Audacity (alsofree). Again, it opens most files I've thrown at it without a problem. And those that it did have a problem opening, itprovided pretty detailed error messaging, which made resolving the issue easier.

The pro tip addresses re-encoding files so they work with other software. Let's say you have a MP3 file that you canopen in VLC but for some reason can't embed in PowerPoint. In VLC, click File > Convert/Stream... and a dialogue boxshould open that will walk you through re-encoding a file. Many media players have a feature that enables you to "save"or "export" or "convert" a file from one format to another, including iTunes, Windows Media Player and VLC.

It's relatively the same thing you can do with FFmpeg and Audacity, usually just with less precision or with feweroptions. And it's not uncommon to re-encode a file to the same type of file, e.g. re-encode a MP3 file as a MP3 file.This is often the quickest way to fix encoding errors that occurred in the original file and/or ensure your file isusing a universally recognized codec. Just select the MP3 "profile" in your converter software and let it handle therest of the details.

The degree of compression that happens during encoding affects audio quality and file size among other things. Encodingis generally categorized as either uncompressed or compressed, and if compressed, either lossless or lossy. A WAV fileis an example of uncompressed audio. A FLAC file is an example of lossless compressed audio. A MP3 file is an example oflossy compressed audio.

WAV files are limited in size to 4 gigabytes, whereas, CAF files use 64-bit file offsets, eliminating practical limits.A standard CAF file can hold audio data with a playback duration of hundreds of years.

Typically, encoding goes from an uncompressed, raw source file format to a compressed format. Converting files in theother direction, from compressed to uncompressed, doesn't improve audio quality. Encoding a compressed file to anuncompressed or lossless format cannot replace data that is non-existent, and it's the data in an audio file thatdetermines the quality of the sound. At best, the file will maintain its quality. But more likely, the audio willdegrade a little each time it is re-encoded.

Technically, encoding audio means going from analog to digital. The conversion of one digital audio format to adifferent digital audio format is called transcoding. However, today the two words are used mostly synonymously.

In my spare time I like to compose music, which I link to from the playground along with all of my other side projects. I also spend a lot of time reading, mostly about web design and user experience with the occasional book on string theory or building time machines. Beyond that, I enjoy traveling, cooking, and playing World of Warcraft, where I main a Fire Mage named Wildford.

I make meditation videos. They have binaural beats and still images. Some of my videos are 7 hours long (down from 8 as WM was only willing to make an 8 hour video one time and then it started giving phoney memory errors)

I had to set the bitrate to 4000 kbps and 20 frames per second to reduce file size. There is no indication in WM what kind of bitrate is being set. My videos have mostly still images with transitions between them. What would be the best settings in shotcut?

Given the length of the videos (7+ hours), it may be helpful to consider the Slide Deck H.264 preset as well. It exports 3x-5x faster than the HEVC version. The HEVC version can reduce file size by 30-50% over H.264, though. So there are two options depending on whether the priority is fast export time or smallest file size. For a slideshow of still images, the H.264 version will produce a very small file from the start.

Thank you for the suggestions. If I decide to continue with Shotcut I will experiment with those settings.

It looks like will be moving to Openshot due to Shotcuts confusing aspect ratio settings (which should not ever be a setting as it is determined by the resolution) and false metadata in exported video.

I have another post on those problems.

The Slide Deck presets are designed to create super-small file sizes that can ideally fit within email attachment size limits for screencast and PowerPoint-style projects under 15-20 minutes. To achieve these small sizes, the presets export audio as mono. Since your projects have binaural sound, the preset would need to be tweaked on the Advanced export page to be Stereo. For better quality sound, the audio bitrate can also be bumped up to 192kbps.

I have looked at the slide deck options and I do not see anything that would reduce file size that much. The quality settings are a bit lower than the YouTube preset. I was wondering about maybe using the YouTube preset and then changing it to average bitrate at 5Mbs. I guess I could do this with the slide deck option. It seems bit rate has the biggest impact on file size. Are there some advantages to slide deck I am not seeing?

If a sample 10-minute section of your meditation video is exported with both Slide Deck and average 5 Mbps bitrate, what is the difference between them in terms of playback quality and file size? If the quality of Slide Deck is not sufficient, the Quality parameter could be bumped up more until it meets your needs, and still likely be smaller in file size than average bitrate.

Average bitrate is usually not the best option for a photo slideshow or a PowerPoint presentation because the codec will continue to burn disk space when nothing is changing on the screen during a static image. The Slide Deck preset goes the extra mile to prevent burning any more bits than necessary when nothing on-screen is moving. This is what the Other tab options do.

I'm so excited about Storyline! I need a solution that will work on the ipad. I have three 200 slide presentations in Presenter that have narration and embedded flash videos. I'd like to import the powerpoints and then improve the experience and create some branching.

I have had the same experience. Powerpoint imports do take a long time and after the import was complete no audio or background music. I did like that my directory structure with indented subtopics imported just fine.

Importing PowerPoint content into Storyline is not an exact one-to-one conversion. As a result, text may look a bit different. And although most features in PowerPoint and Articulate Presenter are supported in Storyline, some are not.

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