Anyone tried the Microsoft PowerPoint Convert to Video feature to make custom prerolls?

[Betonhaus 18]

While trying to find a decent preroll like the Netflix or Disney+ ones I discovered that Microsoft Office will let you convert slides into videos. Since Powerpoint has a lot of text and image animation options, I thought this would be an easy way for users to make customised prerolls for their servers. I'm wondering if anyone has tried this? and if there's any interest in powerpoint templates for things like different codecs where people can just enter the name of their server or something and generate their own prerolls?

 

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1. On the File menu, select Save to ensure all your recent work has been saved in PowerPoint presentation format (.pptx).

2. Select File > Export > Create a Video. (Or, on the Recording tab of the ribbon, select Export to Video.)

3. In the first drop-down box under the Create a Video heading, select the video quality you want, which pertains to the resolution of the finished video. The higher the video quality, the larger the file size. (You may want to test them to determine which one meets your needs.)

   Option	Resolution	For displaying on
   Ultra HD (4K)*	3840 x 2160, largest file size	Large monitors
   Full HD (1080p)	1920 x 1080, large file size	Computer and HD screens
   HD (720p)	1280 x 720, medium file size	Internet and DVD
   Standard (480p)	852 x 480, smallest file size	Portable devices

   * The Ultra HD (4K) option is only available if you're using Windows 10 or later.

4. The second drop-down box under the Create a Video heading tells whether your presentation includes narration and timings. (You may switch this setting if you like.)

   • If you haven't recorded timed narration, by default the value is Don't Use Recorded Timings and Narrations.

     The default time spent on each slide is 5 seconds. You can change that timing in the Seconds to spend on each slide box. To the right of the box, select the up arrow to increase the duration, or select the down arrow to decrease the duration.

   • If you have recorded a timed narration, by default the value is Use Recorded Timings and Narrations.

5. Select Create Video.

6. In the File name box, enter a file name for the video, browse for the folder that will contain this file, and then select Save.

7. In the Save as type box, choose either MPEG-4 Video or Windows Media Video.

   You can track the progress of the video creation by looking at the status bar at the bottom of your screen. The video creation process can take up to several hours depending on the length of the video and the complexity of the presentation.

   Tip:   For a long video, you can set it up to be created overnight. That way, it’ll be ready for you the following morning.

8. To play your newly-created video, go to the designated folder location, and then double-click the file.

 

[Betonhaus 18]

It seems to work fine. It's not as elaborate as what a professional can do but you can make something that looks decent.

Presentation1.pptx

[Shanefalk 9]

I’ve used that feature a couple of times, and it worked fine for basic stuff. If you're looking to make cleaner timelines or visuals to go in your preroll, check out www.officetimeline.com. It’s made things quicker for me when I wanted a graphic style that looks a bit sharper than what I could build straight in PowerPoint. Then I just exported the slide as usual after adding the extras.

Edited June 5, 2025 by Shanefalk

[Betonhaus 18]

added a vhs sound effect

[all4dom 101]

How would I set that up to start before the movie or tv show?

[Betonhaus 18]

In the settings there is a section for enabling prerolls, and a default folder path for it. I added that directory to my docker compose file and just dropped the video on there and it automatically plays.

[visproduction 315]

I think you need to name the preroll file h264.mp4 or h265.mp4 and it will one or the other preroll media, depending on the following main media file's format

[Betonhaus 18]

I just named it 'Emby Intro.mp4' and it worked. Unless I set it up wrong