Convert PowerPoint and Computer Presentation to Video on DVD

Bring us a CD of your computer presentation. We will run in on our PC and capture it onto a DVD so others who don't have the software on their PC can see your work.

As nice as a Power Point or other computer presentation looks on your PC, it may not look as great on your TV when you play the converted DVD. The text may look soft and flow off the edges of the screen. Colors may smear. Look over our detailed advice how to minimize this, below.

Please add a blank screen or 15 seconds blank video at both the beginning and end to help us start and stop the presentation. Any audio files must be transferred to the CD you bring us and you should check this CD in another computer to be sure everything works. When we have to make changes to your file to prepare it for a correct transfer, the editing charge is $25 per 15 minutes of work. If we need to add music to your video after it has been transferred, it is an extra $4 per song.

Tips for preparing your Computer Presentation for Video

A PowerPoint conversion to video is not a replacement for a video presentation created on video editing equipment such as Video Kitchen's Macintosh Final Cut Pro systems. Please ask about our expert video slideshows with title pages and soundtracks for a presentation you will be proud of.

Accommodate the resolution output differences.
Because of the lower NTSC resolution, you'll need to take some preventative action to preserve your message. Make sure that any line widths you use are a minimum of 2.25 to 3 points (as set in the PowerPoint line-width tool) or they'll disappear. Now go back through your presentation and make everything larger and replace your fonts with big, bold common sans serif fonts such as Arial, Verdana, Comic Sans MS, Microsoft Sans Serif or Tahoma for better legibility. That means putting fewer words on the slide, at the most 3 lines of 5 words each.

Make your composition "safe" for video.
Although computer screens and the typical TV set have the same 4:3 aspect ratio, monitors to vary - and they differ from a 35mm slide's 3:2 ratio. Converting computer "footage" to TV may inadvertently crop any artwork near the edges of your presentation. Keep text and any important parts of your photos at least an inch from the edges of the screen to prevent cutting them off on your television monitor.

Desaturate presentation colors.
Highly saturated reds, oranges and cyans don't reproduce well when converted to video: They appear to vibrate on a video screen. By going into the MORE COLORS menu in PowerPoint, you can identify any problem colors with a near-100-percent saturation value and reduce them by 10 to 15 percent. This will mute the colors a bit, but make conversion more effective.

Integrate sound, video and animation as needed.
Because you're recording in real time, all the video, sound and animation components in your original presentation can be preserved in your video. However, they must be triggered in the CUSTOM ANIMATION menu to play automatically; otherwise, the presentation will come to a dead stop. To check if you are creating a fully integrated presentation with embedded audio and/or video, just save your file(s) to disk and try to play it back on a different computer.

Create appropriate transitions.
Let the evening news be your guide for appropriate transitions: Simple is better. Stick with a few standard transitions between slides and use a black frame with no time limit at the beginning and end of your presentation. The FADE THROUGH BLACK effect tends to emulate what we are accustomed to seeing on TV; it's a good technique to begin with.

Set up playback timing.
For maximum consistency during a "clickless," unassisted recording session, set up automatic timing for each animation and transition. Unfortunately, PowerPoint will want to jump too quickly into the next slide after you finish animated bullets, so set your slide-transition timing (SLIDE SHOW, SLIDE TRANSITION) to zero, and place an invisible box on the slide as your last animated object. Time it out so the text can be comfortably read before the slide advances.