SlideRocket Blog

Embed YouTube in PowerPoint – Now With Extra Boring

By John Rode on January 11, 2011

Microsoft has with each new version of PowerPoint made it progressively less painful to embed a YouTube video. But loading a PowerPoint to a website, blog, or other online site (much less emailing it to someone) is exhausting. YouTube and desktop software do not make a happy marriage.

So, put down the PowerPoint widget, converter, compressor, or whatever it is you’re using to try and salvage your project to insert a YouTube into PowerPoint. Sign-up for a free trial of SlideRocket and take your YouTube video to a much happier place.

PowerPoint Won’t Play a YouTube “Live” From a Website

On the surface, PowerPoint makes it pretty easy to embed a YouTube by just taking the embed code from the YouTube video and inserting it into your slide. But, if you then try to load the PowerPoint to a website, the link with the YouTube video breaks. This is bizarre. YouTube is online…the PowerPoint is online…this should be easy, right?

Workaround – Jam YouTube Squares into PowerPoint Round Holes

Rather than use the YouTube embed code you can:

  1. download the YouTube as a FLV
  2. find software to convert it to a format PowerPoint is able to deal with, like WMV
  3. convert it
  4. insert it into your PowerPoint
  5. upload the PowerPoint to the website, and the video might just play

As you start down the path of inserting YouTube into PowerPoint as a video file, beware that video files are large, and when you load them into PowerPoint you balloon the file size even further. Your email service provider (or your recipient’s) may not allow it through. And if you load it to your website be prepared for a less than stellar playback, unless you’re sure your website hosting service is ready to handle it.

Have More Fun, Be More Awesome

There are plenty of places to get nitty-gritty, specific instructions on how to embed YouTube in PowerPoint. We just wanted to provide you with a great alternative that saves you time, makes it fun, and gives your audience a great experience viewing your presentation. Check Out SlideRocket.

43 Comments »

  1. Harman

    January 26, 2011 @ 3:42 pm

    But downloading the video from YouTube, then inserting in the slide sounds heavy! On the other hand, authorSTREAM Desktop lets you do what PowerPoint fails at: Simply embed the YouTube video so it plays from YouTube, without having to download it: http://www.authorstream.com/desktop/

  2. Laura Foley

    January 28, 2011 @ 7:20 am

    I think that any advice that helps PowerPoint become a more dynamic presentation tool is great. Thanks for the tip!

  3. John Rode

    January 30, 2011 @ 8:32 am

    Harman,

    If you then post the PowerPoint to a website (such as a blog) using your solution, will the link to the YouTube remain “live”?

    Thanks,
    John

  4. John Rode

    January 30, 2011 @ 8:36 am

    Hi Laura,

    Thanks for the comment. I checked out your site and was psyched to see you’re using the “bored with PowerPoint” guy on your “Cheating Death by PowerPoint” page = http://www.lauramfoley.com/cdbppt.html (the guy with the goatee).

    I saw on another blog (can’t remember which one) there was an effort underway to identify this guy and see how he feels about being the poster child for boring PowerPoint!

    - John

  5. John Rode

    February 6, 2011 @ 3:54 pm

    Posting a comment from the Presentation Summit Group on LinkedIn.

    Jay Schoff – 2 things. If you have office 2010 You tube videos are not an issue. If you have lower than 2010 PPT use http://keepvid.com/ It’s free just copy the url at the top of the page of YouTube and it allows you to save the video to your computer unless the video is protected. If it is protected Office 2010 will play it as well as any quick time video that office 2007-Office 2003 can not. I would upgrade.

  6. John Rode

    February 6, 2011 @ 3:55 pm

    Posting another comment from the Presentation Summit Group on LinkedIn

    Rick Altman – I recommend instead picking up a copy of SnowFox — a low-priced utility that will RIP a YouTube video to standard video format, such as WMV or MP4. Then you can import that file as you would any other video (which is to say poorly in versions 2003 and 2007 and much more deftly in version 2010).

  7. John Rode

    February 6, 2011 @ 3:56 pm

    This topic resonated on the Presentation Summit LinkedIn Group. Posting another comment from that string.

    Ric Bretschneider – What Rick said. I’m loathe to get involved in a discussion here because I think video content that wasn’t constructed with a specific presentation in mind often just becomes the 21st century’s version of GIF animations (Hamster Dance anyone?). A professional presenter isn’t going to subject themselves to the whimsy of how well their internet connection happens to be running when they’re in front of any audience.

  8. John Rode

    February 6, 2011 @ 3:58 pm

    Last post to bring over from the Presentation Summit Group on LinkedIn. Posting them here as they are interesting perspectives on embedding YouTube videos in PowerPoint.

    Nolan Haims – I agree–you want to download and run/embed locally. I’m not familiar with SnowFox, but I was recently was turned onto Download Video Helper, a video download & conversion tool for Firefox. It’s cross platform, although the conversion engine is only for PC (and does cost a little bit, although I think there’s a watermarked or limited function version.) For a while I just used the free download version, converting downloaded FLVs with other software on my Mac, but now I hop on my PC as the process can all be done right from the Firefox toolbar on a web page. So painless, and it works on nearly all web video (save things like Netflix and Hulu.)

    If you’re presenting a lot of video though, I’ll go to the mat defending Keynote as far and away the best and smoothest presentation tool for video…

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  11. Meaghan Clark

    October 28, 2011 @ 11:40 am

    I am trying to upload youtube videos to ppt and publish in SNAP. I would upload the swf file to our website (Joomla template) so our participants can view videos, hear audio clips and view images on the same page.
    My problem is, the boss wants these to autoload and SNAP’s youtube function button won’t accept old embed code which would allow to insert “autoload=1″.
    Any suggestions?

    The less we have these participants have to do/click, the better.

  12. John Rode

    October 31, 2011 @ 2:33 pm

    Hi Meaghan,

    I would suggest loading your existing PowerPoint deck into SlideRocket. And then you can easily add the YouTube to the slide, and use the SlideRocket Embed code to put it on your website. It’s much easier than what you described. If you need any help just email sogol (at) sliderocket.com.

    And any change you make to your presentation will immediately update on the presentation, no matter where it’s posted.

    - John

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  14. healthyemily

    December 20, 2011 @ 7:20 pm

    Just google search Step by Step Guide on How to Convert, Insert and Embed all Kinds of Video to Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation to Play in PowerPoint
    you will find a step by step guide on how to insert kind of videos including YouTube video, iMovie videos, iTunes videos and more to PowerPoint.

  15. RL

    December 20, 2011 @ 9:27 pm

    Is it possible to embed videos into my sliderocket presentation?

  16. John Rode

    December 22, 2011 @ 11:41 am

    Hi RL,

    Yes, it’s easy to embed a video. While editing a slide, just choose the “Video” icon on the left and you can either “Choose Media” to upload a video from your computer, or select YouTube from the top tab.

    - John

  17. James

    January 26, 2012 @ 11:09 am

    Thanks for this tutorial. It solved my work!!
    James.

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  22. patti

    May 4, 2012 @ 2:37 pm

    I have a question- I’m doing a thesis on domestic violence and I am trying to insert a video into my powerpoint presentation- but utube blocks it- what do I do? My thesis is due in a a few days

    Thanks-

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