Apple's audio and video framework for the Macintosh, introduced in 1991 with the Mac System 7 operating system. QuickTime is the underlying engine in QuickTime Player, the media player that comes with QuickTime, as well as iTunes. There are numerous applications that support QuickTime authoring.
QuickTime originally used Apple's proprietary codecs, but Cinepak, Sorenson and other codecs were added, and QuickTime supports third-party plug-ins. For example, Flip4Mac (www.flip4mac.com) provides QuickTime playback of movies in the Windows Media Video (WMV) format.
Also available for Windows, QuickTime is often downloaded by Windows users as many Web sites feature QuickTime movies to appeal to both a Mac and Windows audience. There is a greater chance that Windows users will already have QuickTime than Mac users will have a media player for Windows formats. QuickTime Player and iTunes do not natively support Windows formats, and Windows Media Player does not natively support QuickTime.
A Very Comprehensive Format
A QuickTime file can contain any kind of continuous motion data such as audio, video, MIDI, animations, virtual reality, Karaoke text and time-based control information. Its time-based synchronization is a major feature of the format, and QuickTime files can even be used to control external events such as lighting. QuickTime files use .QT, .MOV and .MOOV extensions.
MPEG-4 and H.264
Because the QuickTime format was designed for ease of editing, it was chosen as the basis for the MPEG-4 container format. In reciprocation, Apple added MPEG-4 in QuickTime 6 and H.264 (based on MPEG-4) in QuickTime 7. See iTunes, Windows Media, MPEG and H.264.
QuickTime originally used Apple's proprietary codecs, but Cinepak, Sorenson and other codecs were added, and QuickTime supports third-party plug-ins. For example, Flip4Mac (www.flip4mac.com) provides QuickTime playback of movies in the Windows Media Video (WMV) format.
Also available for Windows, QuickTime is often downloaded by Windows users as many Web sites feature QuickTime movies to appeal to both a Mac and Windows audience. There is a greater chance that Windows users will already have QuickTime than Mac users will have a media player for Windows formats. QuickTime Player and iTunes do not natively support Windows formats, and Windows Media Player does not natively support QuickTime.
A Very Comprehensive Format
A QuickTime file can contain any kind of continuous motion data such as audio, video, MIDI, animations, virtual reality, Karaoke text and time-based control information. Its time-based synchronization is a major feature of the format, and QuickTime files can even be used to control external events such as lighting. QuickTime files use .QT, .MOV and .MOOV extensions.
MPEG-4 and H.264
Because the QuickTime format was designed for ease of editing, it was chosen as the basis for the MPEG-4 container format. In reciprocation, Apple added MPEG-4 in QuickTime 6 and H.264 (based on MPEG-4) in QuickTime 7. See iTunes, Windows Media, MPEG and H.264.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- iTube Grabber 0.9.19 (Mac)
- iTube Grabber enables you to capture almost any audio and/or video stream. Most video streams are in Flash Video format and cannot be played by with QuickTime by default. If wanted iTube Grabber can automatically convert to several formats and presets (iPod, iPhone, MP4, MPEG, ...) With the very intuitive...
- Software downloads 2009-11-27
- FretPet X 1.2.1 (Mac)
- FretPet is a music sequencer with an interface based entirely around the guitar in which you compose using chords, fingerings, and picking patterns. FretPet plays through the built-in Quicktime synthesizer and provides a MIDI source for synthesizers like GarageBand, Absynth, FM7, Reason, MIDIPipe, etc. FretPet has been completely re-written to...
- Software downloads 2009-11-26
- KVideoPages 1.8.01 (Mac)
- KVideoPages is a powerful application Mac OS X to convert video and publish web-page. KVideoPages creates QuickTime movies can be included in a web page Allowing visitors to your website to experience media seamlessly inside their browser. This is accomplished by adding some HTML to your web page that tells...
- Software downloads 2009-11-26
- Kinemac 1.8.1 (Mac)
- Kinemac is a 3D Real Time Animation & Presentation Software for Mac OS X. It allows you to create your own professional 3D Animations with the simplicity of a 2D presentation tool. Just drag your images, texts, movies, songs, SVG and 3D OBJ files onto the Kinemac stage to get...
- Software downloads 2009-11-26
- iSubtitle 1.5.3 (Mac)
- Create soft subtitled movies for iPod (Touch, Classic, Nano), iPhone (2G, 3G, 3GS), Apple TV, iTunes or any QuickTime based player or application. The first and only application to take full advantage of Apple's soft subtitle technology. The subtitle tracks are resolution independent and rendered in real-time as you watch...
- Software downloads 2009-11-25
- CamCamX 1.7 (Mac)
- CamCamX is a 6x2 live video mixer which works with your iSight webcam and movie files. CamCamX virtualizes the iSight camera or other webcam in your Mac so you can use all your favorite camera applications AT THE SAME TIME. Now you can video chat on Skype and Yahoo Messenger...
- Software downloads 2009-11-24
- Annotation Transcriber 1.5.8 (Mac)
- zeitAnker Annotation Transcriber: An easy way to transcribe, analyze, translate or tag video and audio. Native time-code support and the abiltity to add video stills make Annotation Transcriber an ideal choice for journalists, filmdirectors, art-directors, video-production and education. Use any video and audio file that QuickTime supports. Insert...
- Software downloads 2009-11-24
- Annotation Edit 1.7.9.8 (Mac)
- zeitAnker Annotation Edit - a unique editor for professional subtitles, captions and annotations on Mac OS X 10.4Annotation Edit is designed to give production houses and eLearning environments a smooth subtitle workflow for Apple DVD Studio Pro / Final Cut Pro, QuickTime WebTV and broadcast. Annotation Edit can import
- Software downloads 2009-11-24
- H264 WebCam Pro 3.6 (Windows)
- H264 WebCam Pro is a 16-channel h264 remote video surveillance software for Windows. It can capture images at up to 30 frames per second from directly connected cameras both USB and analog, TV boards, capture cards, network ip camera etc. It can broadcast live audio and video to internet, and...
- Software downloads 2009-11-24
- Snapz Pro X 2.2.2 (Mac)
- Snapz Pro X allows you to effortlessly record anything on your screen, saving it as a QuickTime movie or screenshot that can be e-mailed, put up on the web, or passed around however you want. Snapz Pro X is a quantum leap in video capture technology, adroitly capturing full motion...
- Software downloads 2009-11-24
- SecuritySpy 2.0.2 (Mac)
- With features such as motion detection, real-time compression and network video streaming, SecuritySpy has everything required for demanding video surveillance applications. Combined with Mac OS X, the rock-solid operating system from Apple, SecuritySpy offers unsurpassed speed, stability and ease of use.SecuritySpy's flexibility and comprehensive list of features allows users to...
- Software downloads 2009-11-24
- VideoSpec 0.8.2 (Mac)
- VideoSpec is a free AppleScript studio App (Xcode 3.0 on Leopard) making use of MediaInfo CLI, MPlayer, FFmpeg, qt_tools and AtomicParsley binaries to display detailed informations on video files. Compatibility of analyzed media file with QuickTime Player v.7.6 is provided with indication on the installation status of the displayed QuickTime...
- Software downloads 2009-11-23
- iPurge Safari Caches 1.5 (Mac)
- iPurge Safari Caches: Deletes the following: Note: The tidy (~) denotes your "Home" folder. Hard Disk/private/var/ - Safari caches. ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari/Cache.db ~/Library/Caches/Adobe/Flash Player/AssetCache ~/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player/macromedia.com ~/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player/#SharedObjects ~/Library/Caches/QuickTime/downloads iPurge Safari Caches Login: Deletes the same caches and you can set it as a login script in your System Preferences >...
- Software downloads 2009-11-23
- Airfoil 3.4.3 (Mac)
- Send any audio to AirPort Express units, Apple TVs, and even other Macs and PCs, all in sync! It's your audio everywhere! With Airfoil you can take audio from any application and send to your AirPort Express units, as well as Apple TVs, and even other Macs and PCs running...
- Software downloads 2009-11-23
- AVCWare QuickTime Converter 2.0.1.0821 (Windows)
- AVCWare QuickTime Converter is a powerful tool to help you convert QuickTime MOV files to AVI, MPEG, WMV, DivX and other video format respectively for iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, PSP, Zune and many other popular portable players. With the patented powerful QuickTime video decoder inside, you can preview the QuickTime...
- Software downloads 2009-11-22
- mp4vEncoder 1.1.8r2 (Mac)
- libavcodec based QuickTime Media Compressor component. Support mp4v, MPEG-4 Video Media. Support some MPEG-4 ASP features, including B-frame with Open/Closed GOP. Source codes are included, and free software under GPL V2. Uses libavcodec.a and others from ffmpeg SVN. Universal Binary
- Software downloads 2009-11-22
- xvidEncoder 1.1.8r2 (Mac)
- Xvid and libavcodec based QuickTime Media Compressor component. Support xvid, another MPEG-4 SP/ASP Video Media. Support some MPEG-4 ASP features, including B-frame with Open/Closed GOP. Source codes are included, and free software under GPL V2. Uses libxvidcore.a, libavcodec.a and others from xvid release build and ffmpeg SVN.
- Software downloads 2009-11-22
- x264Encoder 1.1.8r2 (Mac)
- x264 and libavcodec based QuickTime Media Compressor component. Support avc1, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Video Media. Support some MPEG-4 AVC features, including Main/High Profile up to Level 5.1. Source codes are included, and free software under GPL V2. Uses libx264.a, libavcodec.a and others from x264 git and ffmpeg SVN. Universal Binary
- Software downloads 2009-11-22
- ARRIRAW Toolkit for Final Cut Studio 1.0.6 (Mac)
- ARRIRAW Toolkit for Final Cut Studio allows users to import and work with files created by the ARRIFLEX D-21 Digital Cinema Camera. The software will perform all of the importing, playback, debayer, Exposure Index/ASA and White Point color correction functions. Any QuickTime enabled application is instantly compatible with the ARRIRAW...
- Software downloads 2009-11-21
- Cineon/DPX Pro for Final Cut Studio 3.0.18 (Mac)
- This toolkit allows Final Cut Studio 3 (as well as FCS 2) and just about every other QuickTime aware application, to work with Cineon or DPX image sequences.A Timecode track is automatically available when importing and exporting sequences.3D LUTs can now be used with the components, as well. Apple's Color...
- Software downloads 2009-11-20
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