How to insert a .WMV movie into Mac PowerPoint

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Problem

You try to insert a WMV movie into your Mac PowerPoint presentation using the Insert, Movie, From File command or the Movie toolbar, but PowerPoint won't let you select a WMV movie.

Solution

Install Flip4Mac, which lets QuickTime play .wmv files.

Since PowerPoint still thinks that WMVs aren't usable, you have to cheat a bit. Change the file's extension to .MOV so PowerPoint thinks it's a QuickTime movie instead of a WMV.

Background

WMV is primarily a Windows movie file format. On Windows PCs, it will play in Windows Media Player and similar software, but it's not natively supported on Macs, just as Quicktime Movie (MOV) files aren't natively supported on Windows PCs.

PowerPoint actually can't play movie files at all, either on Mac or PC. Instead, it depends on the system software (QuickTime on Mac, Windows Media Player or the older MCI Media Player on Windows) to play movies.

QuickTime doesn't support WMV files, so PowerPoint Mac won't even allow you to insert them normally.

By changing the file's extension, you make PowerPoint think that it's a QuickTime movie, even though it's not. QuickTime's smart enough to work out that it's something else, based on the content of the file, not the extension, and since Flip4Mac has enabled it to play this type of content, your WMV movie now works.

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