Convert PowerPoint Presentations to Video
1. You can upload PowerPoint videos to YouTube, Facebook, etc. and some of your creations could go viral.
2. You can transer PowerPoint slides to an iPod or a mobile phone and enjoy the presentations while on the move even without a PowerPoint viewer app.
3. If your slideshow is like a photo album with lot of images, convert the PowerPoint to video and burn onto a DVD – you can now watch the presentations on a large TV screen.
How to convert PowerPoint into Video for YouTube or iPod
All you need a copy of Microsoft PowerPoint (any version), the PPT file, a webcam or microphone (if you want to record audio) and Internet access. OK, let’s get started:
Step 1: Open your PPT presentation file inside PowerPoint and switch to Slide Show menu to setup the exact time duration for each slide. You have two choices here:
a) Use Record Narration if you want to include audio in your presentations. Record your voice as your move through the slides and say yes when you are prompted to save the changes.
b) Use Rehearse Timings for silent PowerPoint videos. This option lets you define how long a slide should display on the screen before the presentation move to the next slide.
Step 2: Now go to authorstream and upload the PPT file you saved in Step 1. AuthorStream is a PowerPoint hosting service where you can upload PowerPoint files as large as 1 GB.
Step 3: When you are done uploading the PPT file to the web, Author Stream will convert the PowerPoint file into a MPEG4 video (mp4) that can be directly uploaded to YouTube or you can watch it on an iPod.
This process may take some time but you’ll get an email notification as soon as your PowerPoint video is ready for download from the web.
The conversion is not instant but definitely worth the wait. And the quality of video created from PPT files is brilliant.
Another Way
AuthorStream will also create a video podcast version of your presentation that can be directly imported into iTunes. This could a good opportunity for educators who have piles of PPT files on their computer that can be shared with the world.
camtasia-powerpointIf you have the budget, you can use a screen recording application like Camtasia Studio to record PowerPoint presentations as video on your desktop.
Free screencasting software like Camstudio may also also record PPT playback but I think the above method is simpler as it takes care of conversion as well as video hosting.