How to Embed a YouTube Video in PowerPoint

One sure and simple way to enhance a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation is to add a video from YouTube. This website is chock-full of educational and entertaining videos that can add a dynamic element to your content. Whether you want to use your own footage or “borrow” it from someone else’s channel, here are the four ways to insert a YouTube video into a PowerPoint presentation.

1. How to embed a YouTube video as an online video
2. How to insert a video into PowerPoint using an embed code
3. How to insert a YouTube video as a screencast
4. How to add a YouTube video via iSpring Suite

Watch a video or continue reading the article.

1. How to Embed a YouTube Video as an Online Video

Starting from version 2010, PowerPoint includes a built-in tool to insert a YouTube video onto a slide. Here are the steps to use it:

1. Go to YouTube and find the video that you would like to embed into your presentation. Copy the link from the address bar.
2. Open your presentation and select the slide in which you would like to place the video, go to the Insert tab, and choose Video → Online Video.
3. Paste the URL into the first address bar of the opened window. Using this field, you also can search for a video on YouTube directly. Click on the magnifying glass or press Enter on your keyboard to perform a search.
4. Click on the thumbnail of the video and press Insert.
5. You can adjust the video size just as with any other slide object.

Pros and Cons

Pros 

• Quick and easy

Cons

• Requires that viewers have an Internet connection
• Playback is not customizable
• Can’t be done in PowerPoint 2007 and earlier

2. How to Insert a Video into PowerPoint Using an Embed Code

A more advanced way to embed a YouTube video into PowerPoint is to use the embed code. This method allows you to customize the video’s attributes by using the YouTube API parameters.

Here’s a brief guide on how to embed YouTube videos in your PowerPoint slides:

1. Go to YouTube and find the desired video. Click on Share, and then choose the Embed icon to generate an HTML code.Copy the entire string.
2. Open your presentation and select the slide. Go to Insert and click Video → Online Video again.
3. Insert the code into the From a Video Embed Code field. 
4. Click on Insert or press Enter.

Note: Before you insert the video into the slide, you can add some parameters into the code to make the video play the way you need it to. For example, you can let the video start playing automatically after a user opens the slide it’s placed in, or you can specify at which number of seconds from the start the video will begin and when it will end. 

You can read about all the available YouTube API parameters here.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• More control over the video playback and appearance with the help of parameters

Cons

• More time consuming than inserting a link
• Requires that viewers have an Internet connection

3. How to Insert a YouTube Video as a Screencast

While all of the above tips require viewers to have an Internet connection, you can make your presentation internet independent by making a screen capture of the video by using PowerPoint’s built-in screencasting tool. This option is available in PowerPoint 2013 and later versions. 

To capture a YouTube video:

1. Open the slide that you want to insert the screen recording into, go to the Insert tab, and select Screen Recording. 
2. Open the YouTube video and click Select Area on the control menu. You’ll see a cross-haired cursor. By clicking on it and dragging it, you can select the area of the screen that you want to record.

   Note: PowerPoint automatically records the audio and the mouse pointer. To turn off these options, deselect Audio and Record Pointer on the control dock.

3. Click Record. Click Pause when you need to stop the recording temporarily or Stop to end it.
4. When you’ve finished, save your presentation with a video: File > Save. The recording is now embedded in the selected slide.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Video can be played offline

Cons

• Quality of the captured video is lower than the original version
• Requires more time than other techniques (the time required depends on the duration of the video you capture)
• May violate the author’s rights

4. How to Add a YouTube Video via iSpring Suite

This method assumes that you need to insert a YouTube video into a PowerPoint slide and then turn your PPT deck to HTML5 so users can open and view them in a browser or convert the entire presentation to video format. This is a perfect way to go if you want to share your presentation online and protect it from plagiarism and unfair use. You can do this easily with the help of iSpring Suite.

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Here’s what to do if you need to add a video to your PPT deck before publishing it to the Web:

1. Download iSpring Suite and install it on your computer. 
2. Open your presentation in PowerPoint, and then go to the iSpring Suite tab. (Once the software is installed, the new tab automatically appears in the PowerPoint ribbon).
3. Choose a slide you want to have a video in and click on YouTube.
4. Insert the video’s link. After that, you can preview a video and set a delay, after which the video will appear on the slide. 
5. Click on OK to insert a video on the slide.
6. To see how your presentation looks in a browser, click on the Preview button.
7. If it looks the way you want it to, click on Publish. 
8. Select My computer on the drop-down menu on the left to publish your presentation to the Web. You can choose the HTML5 or MP4 video format. Or, you can upload your converted PowerPoint presentation to YouTube in an .mp4 format, with all effects preserved.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Slides can be shared online so learners can see them in a browser from any device (PC, laptop, tablet, or smartphone) and on any OS (Windows, Mac, etc.)
• Presentation can’t be edited by external sources after conversion, so copyrights will be protected
• Slides are safe behind a wall of protections – watermarks, passwords, and time and domain restrictions

Cons

• Presentation can’t be opened in offline mode
• Requires downloading an additional tool

More than just a converter!

With iSpring Suite, you can not only copy YouTube videos into PowerPoint presentation and convert it to an online format, but also create versatile eLearning content. This is a top-rated authoring toolkit that allows you to create engaging online courses, quizzes, video tutorials, role-plays, and eLearning interactions. And no experience or tech skills are required. 

Start your free iSpring Suite trial now →

How to Choose the Best Way to Embed Video in PowerPoint

To simplify matters, take a look at this chart. It compares the pros and cons of all described methods in one place, so you can choose the one that’s most suitable for your needs.

FAQ

What video formats are supported in PowerPoint?

Here are the video file formats you can add to your PowerPoint presentations. 

• Windows Video (.asf)
• Windows Video (.avi)
• MP4 Video (.mp4, .m4v, .mov)
• Movie (.mpg, .mpeg)
• Windows Media Video (.wmv)

How do you embed a YouTube video in PowerPoint and have it play automatically?

This method works for the “Embed It as an Online Video” option. Once you’ve added a video to your slide, you can control how it will play: automatically, when clicked, or in the click sequence. 

To set this up, go to the Playback tab of the PowerPoint ribbon. It appears when a video is selected on a slide.

Then click the drop-down menu next to Start and choose Automatically if you want the video to begin as soon as you open the slide. 

Why can’t I embed a video in PowerPoint?

There may be different reasons why the ability to play a YouTube video is not working. To get an understanding of this issue, check out this article by Microsoft. 

Conclusion

There are several ways to insert a YouTube video into a PowerPoint presentation. Each of them differs in terms of time required, playback options, and other factors. The fastest solution is to go for the YouTube feature. If you want to customize the video playback, the best option will be to embed a video in your slide. If your task is capturing an online video and inserting it into a presentation that will be played offline, record a screencast. And, finally, in case you want to share your slides with other people online and are concerned with their security, use iSpring Suite. 

Useful Resources on PowerPoint

Are you a PowerPoint lover? If so, here are some other helpful articles for you:

• How to Share a PowerPoint Presentation Online
• How to Protect PowerPoint Presentations
• How to Add Narration to a PowerPoint Presentation
• How to Structure a PowerPoint Presentation
• How to Convert PowerPoint Presentation to an eLearning Module