Compile ebooks in Powerpoint format and turn them into video

I am moving into compiling my tutorials in powerpoint and video format. The reason is simple: Video is going to be the big thing! As I am already compiling my tutorials in microsoft format, I just need to turn them into powerpoint. And from here, I can turn them into video. So I found the following article from www.labnol.org very helpful.


This step-by-step guide illustrates how to convert a PowerPoint slide-show into video so you can distribute presentations more easily:

1. You can upload these PowerPoint video files to sites like YouTube or MySpace and some of your creation could go viral.

2. Transfer the PowerPoint slides to an iPod or your mobile phone and enjoy the presentations while on the move.

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.

The possibilities are endless. PowerPoint files converted to video using this technique also preserve all the voice narrations. And as expected, the total cost is $0.

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.com and upload the PPT file you saved in Step 1. AuthorStream is a PowerPoint hosting service where you can PPT files as large as 1 GB. It’s again a good service though not so popular as Slideshare.

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.

There’s more – other than converting PPT to video, 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.

Update: If 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.