If your media file won't play in PowerPoint, it might be an issue with the video format. For a complete list of supported video formats, go to Video and audio file formats supported in PowerPoint.
Recommendations
Video: We recommend that you use .mp4 files encoded with H.264 video (also known as MPEG-4 AVC) and AAC audio. This is your best bet for compatibility across both Windows and Mac versions of PowerPoint.
Audio: We recommend that you use .m4a files encoded with AAC audio.
These names and formats sound complicated, but you can easily convert to and use these formats without having to know anything more than those names.
If PowerPoint doesn't let you insert a video or audio file, convert it to the recommended format.
Missing codec?
If your media file is in a supported format, but won't play in PowerPoint, then you can either add a missing codec to your PC (described in the following procedure) or convert the media file to the recommended format. Converting your media file is easier than solving an individual codec issue.
A codec is a small piece of software that decodes a digital media file so that it can be played as sound or video.
It's not easy to determine which codec you need for your media file. One solution is to install a package of numerous codecs on your computer. That greatly increases the likelihood that you'll have the necessary codec to play the audio or video file that is causing the issue. The following steps will help to install a package of codecs on your PC.
For more information, go to Media Feature Pack for Windows 10/11
More help for working with videos
If you want help inserting an audio or video file, you can go to one of the following articles:
- Add audio to your presentation
- Add and play a video in a presentation
- Insert or link to a video on YouTube