How to Fix “PowerPoint Cannot Insert a Video from the Selected File” Issue? | 4 Free Solutions

Whatever the version it is, PowerPoint supports certain types of video formats, thus not all videos can be directly inserted into PowerPoint. Adding unsupported videos into PPTX will bring about error messages like what’s shown on the left picture. But we can still implement the video inserting, by changing video format to a PowerPoint-friendly type, or installing the proper codec as required.

Moreover, If the video file is corrupted, you will fail to insert it. In this case, you should use a video repairing tool to fix the corrupted video and then re-insert it to check it works properly.

Additionally, when the file you’re trying to insert into your PowerPoint presentation is missed or moved to another place, the “PowerPoint cannot insert a video from the selected file” will occur. So ensure the media file path is corrected before adding it to PowerPoint.

According to Microsoft Office support.office.com:

Supported video formats: .asf,.avi,.mp4,.m4v,.mov,.mpg or .mpeg,.swf,.wmv.

Recommendations:

PowerPoint 2010: .wmv

PowerPoint of later versions: Video encoded with H.264 video + AAC audio, wrapped in MP4 container (.mp4)

Installing a codec pack from a third-party source will grant your PC the compatibility to these originally unsupported videos, that compatibility includes: playing; using in programs like PowerPoint, WMP; etc. The recommended codec pack here is K-lite codec pack. See how to use this pack below.

Step 1. Navigate to the safe download source: https://www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm

Step 2. As you can see, four different variants of packs are provided, these packs all include 32-bit and 64-bit codecs for PowerPoint, and the later contains the more comprehensive codec sets. “Basic” pack will suffice in most scenarios, so hit “Download Basis”

Step 3. If there’s any former codec pack, remove it.

Step 4. Launch and install the K-Lite Codec Pack to your Windows PC.

Step 5. Re-insert unsupported videos into PowerPoint, they should be nicely supported this time.

Another way to fix the "PowerPoint cannot insert a video from the selected file" issue caused by unsupported videos is to use the Optimize Media Compatibility feature in PowerPoint. It will help you play all video files inserted into PowerPoint on all devices.

Step 1. Open PowerPoint. Choose "File" and then select "Info".

Step 2. When your video is incompatible, the "Optimize Media Compatibility" option will appear. Press it.

Step 3. Wait for the optimizing process. Once done, check if the issue is resolved.

Besides, enabling the "Windows Media Player controls" in PowerPoint can also fix the “PowerPoint cannot insert a video from the selected file” issue. Follow the steps below to do that:

Step 1: Launch PowerPoint, go to "File" > "Options".

Step 2: Choose "Customize Ribbon", check "Developer" from the available list, and click "OK".

Step 3. Under the "Developer" tab and "Controls," choose "More Control". Then select "Windows Media Player" from the available list and click "OK".

Now, you can try inserting the unsupported video into PowerPoint to check if this problem is resolved.