broadcasting your slides (part 2)

Sometimes it can be difficult getting everyone together in the same place at the same time, especially when you have multiple schedules to work around. Conference calling is always a solution, but talking over the telephone doesn’t do much for the visual aspect of a meeting. And no matter how much you try to convey how well the company is doing in sales, nothing says it better than a large, colorful graph.

This problem can be solved using PowerPoint’s online broadcast feature. The online broadcast feature lets you broadcast a presentation, including live video and audio, over the Web—all you need is a network connection with access to the Internet. You can even record and save a broadcast for on-demand viewing—meaning if somebody can’t make it to a meeting, they can simply open up the saved broadcast to view the presentation that was used.

There are two ways to broadcast a presentation over the Web: by recording and saving the presentation for on-demand viewing, or by broadcasting the presentation live in front of an audience. In the last issue, we looked at how to record and save a broadcast. This article will show you how to preview a saved broadcast and how to broadcast a presentation live.

Previewing a saved broadcast

It’s a good idea to preview a presentation broadcast before broadcasting it live or sending it to other people. To do this, navigate to the location where the broadcast is stored and double-click the .htm file. The lobby page of the presentation broadcast appears, as shown below. To view the broadcast, click the Replay Broadcast button.

Preparing for a live broadcast

If you are using PowerPoint 2002 or later, you can broadcast a presentation live via the Web. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.1 or later

• Microsoft Outlook or another e-mail client to invite audience members to the broadcast

• A shared computer or server that all audience members can access.

The only thing your audience needs is a Web browser and access to the server or computer where the presentation is stored.

Scheduling a live broadcast

Open the presentation you want to broadcast and select Slide Show > Online Broadcast > Schedule a Live Broadcast from the menu. The Schedule Presentation Broadcast dialog box appears. The information that you enter in this dialog box will appear on the lobby page of the broadcast, which is the first page your audience will see when they go to view the broadcast. Adjust this information as necessary, and then click Settings.

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Under File location on the Presenter tab, click Browse and navigate to the location on the shared network where you want to save the broadcast files. Click OK and then change any other settings as necessary. When you’re finished, click OK to save your settings. You return to the Schedule a Presentation Broadcast dialog box.

Click Schedule to open your e-mail program. If you are using Microsoft Outlook and are familiar with the program, use it to set up and send a meeting request. Invite everyone that you want to attend the live broadcast.

If you are not using Microsoft Outlook, simply enter the date and time that you want the broadcast to take place in the body of the message. The URL of the broadcast site is included in the message automatically.

Presenting a broadcast

Just before the broadcast is scheduled to begin, open the presentation you want to broadcast and select Slide Show > Online Broadcast > Start Live Broadcast Now from the menu. When you are ready to begin the broadcast, click Start. If you are using audio and video, tests will be performed to confirm that everything is connected and working properly. Click Start again to officially begin the live broadcast. If you are using a video camera and microphone, remember that streaming begins at this point.

If you don’t want to broadcast a presentation live, or if one of your colleagues can’t attend a scheduled live broadcast, simply notify him or her of where the broadcast is saved and instruct them to open the .htm file and click the Replay Broadcast button to start the broadcast. They will need to have Internet Explorer 5.1 or later installed and be connected to the computer or network where the broadcast is stored.

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