[thelist] Video in a presentation

[Moe Rubenzahl]

Someone here wants to create videos on our website, embedded in a 
presentation of static slides. In other words -- the video would not 
just be a standalone video, it would be part of a presentation, 
intermixed with stills. That way we can have a lot of presentation 
data -- figures, charts, text -- that consume little bandwidth and 
use video only for the snippets that need it.

Simplifying caveats:

- The video clips will be 3-6 minutes.
- No need for streaming, it's fine to download-then-view.
- Limited audiences: These are not cartoons with potty-mouthed 
children so we won't be feeding audiences of thousands -- each of 
these will be viewed by maybe a person a day on average.

My question is about how to implement. What vehicles are there that 
support embedded video objects?

- PowerPoint is an obvious choice but requires the viewer have the 
PowerPoint program, yes? I think there is a PowerPoint Player app 
available for free -- will that support video?

- Will Acrobat support embedded video?

- I guess Flash is a possibility but we don't have authoring tools or 
experience and are not eager to distribute something that requires a 
plug-in.

- In any of the above -- what video software do customers need to 
have? When authoring, do I have to choose Windows Media Player, Real 
Video, or QuickTime? What are the pros and cons for me in this?

TIA,

Moe