PPT2000: Narrations Echo During a Web Presentation

When you publish a presentation as a Web page, and then view the slide show in your browser, the narration plays with an echo, especially when you are viewing in full-screen mode.

This problem occurs when the Show slide animation while browsing setting (in the Web Options dialog box) is active.

This problem only occurs in the frame view when the slide contains animations that precede the narration audio (.wav) file. This is because when you save as a Web page, PowerPoint saves the narrations as both a .wav file and as an .asf file. If an animation precedes the narration playback, the .wav file plays out of sync with the .asf file.

To work around this problem, use any of the following methods.

Method 1: Link to Fullscreen.htm

Save your Web presentation without animations, and set up a link to the Fullscreen.htm file. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the General tab, click Web Options.
3. On the General tab of the Web Options dialog box, click to clear the Show slide animation while browsing check box.
4. Click OK, and click OK again.
5. Publish your Web site as you normally would.
   
   In the Presentation Name_files folder (where Presentation Name refers to the file name that you gave the Web presentation when you published it), you will find the HTML file, Fullscreen.htm.
   
   If you want to hyperlink to this presentation from another Web page, you should create a hyperlink to this file instead of the Presentation Name.htm file, after you publish your presentation to your Web server.
   
   NOTE: Make sure to include the Presentation Name.htm file on your Web server so you can, in the future, open the Web presentation in PowerPoint 2000.

Now when you create your Web presentation, the narration does not echo.

Method 2: Record an Online Broadcast

Instead of using the narration feature of PowerPoint, you can record an online broadcast. A recorded broadcast does not generate echoes as narrations do.

For more information about Setting up a Broadcast, click Microsoft PowerPoint Help on the Help menu, type Set up and schedule a presentation broadcast. in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.

Method 3: Turn Off Animations

If your slide master has animated elements, follow these steps to turn off these animations:

1. On the View menu, point to Master, and click Slide Master.
2. On the Slide Show menu, click Custom Animation.
3. Under Check to animate slide objects, click to clear any check boxes that contain a check mark.
4. Click OK.
5. If you also have a title master, repeat steps 2, 3, and 4 for that master also.

If there are animations on the slide besides the narration, you need to turn them off. To turn off the animations on each slide, follow these steps:

1. On the Slide Show menu, click Custom Animation.
2. Under Check to animate slide objects, click to clear any check boxes that contain a check mark, except for the item Media n, where n is a number. This is the narration sound file. Don't clear this check box.
3. Click OK.
4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 for each slide in the presentation.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.