News :: 15MR: PPT to Video Scout

Hello all again! Today’s application is PPT to Video Scout—an application to convert PPT files to video files. As since I do not use PowerPoint at all, I found a target PowerPoint file; Here

As Giveaway of the Day states:

“PPT To Video Scout converts PowerPoint presentation into MPEG, VideoCD, AVI video with sound.

Different compression methods (for example: DivX, MP3) can be applied using installed codecs on your computer. You can run conversion wizard from PowerPoint by using “Convert to AVI” command in File menu or run standalone wizard. NTSC, PAL, custom conversion modes are supported.”

Quick Pros

• Fairly straightforward to use
• Ability to narrate the file right inside of the application
• Good selection of file types to convert to including Video CDs
• Options for how to deal with the PPT file a great addition
• Quality very decent

Quick Cons

• Seemed to have small glitches
• Video encoding is slow, but as to be expected
• No explanation of when window with the slideshow in it what to do
• Would have been nice to be able to click a ‘begin recording’ button or something to that effect
• PowerPoint application could be minimized to keep from distracting
• The comments on each slide should be shown below the slide window to help with narration
• File size a bit on the heavy side

Expansion

I actually found this application better than the ones I’ve seen my clients use before. The ability to narrate right into the program seems like a wonderful addition. I was concerned going into this that the application wouldn’t be compatible with PowerPoint 2007; It worked just fine. I did seem to have some sort of bug that kept cropping up in that I would have to click twice to activate a control on a page when the page changed for the settings and then as well the Next Slide button. This is a nuisance and should be fixable fairly easily. There could be a few more additions that could be made to make this a true commercial application; The most notable one is the comments box being displayed. The file I used had comments to help with the presentation all the way through, but these didn’t show up at all.

Final Verdict

I would recommend any student or professional who has to, or relies on PowerPoint and would like to either make an automated PPT file with your voice in (You’re away for the big meeting, or you are sick for the class, for example,) I would recommend getting this right now. The files are easy to work with for others, easier than Flash in some ways. While I am disappointed that the publisher has NO educational rate, unless you’re a student doing a presentation a week and REALLY need this application, I would steer most students away from purchasing it. $50 out of a College student would be meals out of their pockets and hard to warrant. For professionals who would like to archive their presentations or otherwise, I would recommend you go for it. It’s not much for you higher-uppers, and could afford it a lot easier than a student can.

Posted by BladedThoth on Friday, February 09, 2007