#1 2009-11-09 19:04:48

**_hoffmannr_**

Published presentation length is shorter than original audio

I have a user who needs presentations of a specific duration (43+ minutes).  She used the Edit Audio window to determine audio duration.  The logic is that the presentation will be as long.
That is not the case.  The published presentations, as noted in the presentation Information on the Connect server, are typically several minutes shorter.
Has anyone observed this phenomenon?  Does the audio get shorter on publishing due to compression?  What can be done to have the presentation be as long as the original audio?

**_Daniel_**

Re: Published presentation length is shorter than original audio

have you confirmed that the length in the content server is correct, and that the presentation is actually as long as the content server notes?

**_hoffmannr_**

Re: Published presentation length is shorter than original audio

The audio length indicated in PowerPoint/Presenter Edit Audio was 43:36.  The duration indicated on the server after publishing was 39:59.
I played a presentation.  It had several quizzes, so I did my best to record start to end of audio playback for each segment between quizzes.  I came up with 40:30.  Closer to the reported server time than the length indicated in Edit Audio.

**_Daniel_**

Re: Published presentation length is shorter than original audio

Hi,
Not really sure the answers to these questions. Presenter does some compression of audio. Don't know if that affects length or not. (and I think you can opt not to have compression by leaving that box unchecked in the import audio tool). I am not sure where the duration of a presentation on the server is getting its information from, especially in a presentation that includes quizzing, only that I have noticed the server's info to be inconsistent with actual playback time. When I play a presentation back, I go by the time on Presenter's playback bar as to what the actual length is. You might get more attention to these questions by posting it in the Presenter Forum. There are users much more knowledgeable than me who might chime in.

**_Daniel_**

Re: Published presentation length is shorter than original audio

One insight into this that was just discovered. If you hide a slide and then publish the presentation, the hidden slide will not play for sure. However, Presenter seems to calculate the time of that slide in its formula and displays time remaining to include the total time of the presentation (including hidden slides). A presentation that should be 7:43 seconds is displaying at 7:53, and it contains 2 hidden slides. Perhaps this is what is affecting your stuff too? A workaround for this would be good, and I'm not sure of one. I like to hide slides so I don't have to delete them and save multiple copies of the same presentation. Only challenge is, it seems to affect the time.