QuickTime Conferencing Web Installer
This installer will:
* Install free QuickTime Conferencing software for Internet and web use
* Upgrade existing QuickTime Conferencing users to a newer version of the software with enhanced Internet and QuickTime capabilities
With the QuickTime Conferencing Web Installer, you will be able to:
* Videoconference with Mac users around the world via TCP/IP on the Internet
* View live audio-video broadcasts on the worldwide internet
* Make calls or start watching broadcasts from a web page
The QuickTime Conferencing Web Installer installs:
* The QuickTime Conferencing system extensions (version 1.0.4)
* "QuickTime TV" application, for viewing Internet broadcasts
* "QuickTime Web Conference" application, for Internet videoconferencing
* "Conferencing Helper Application", which is used for:
-- launching live connections via the WWW
-- creating files which can launch live connections via the WWW
* QuickTime 2.1 and Sound Manager 3.1 with enhanced QuickTime sound codecs
This release of the QuickTime Conferencing Web Installer has some limitations: you will need bandwidth equal to or greater than (128 kbit/sec) to videoconference or view live broadcasts, and connectivity is between Mac users only at this time.
Cross-platform support can be gained by purchasing the QuickTime Conferencing ISDN Kit, which supports videoconferencing with users on H.320 compatible Windows systems, or by purchasing the Apple Media Conference software application, which supports audioconferencing with Windows users on the Internet.
In addition, cross-platform and collaboration capabilities such as the shared whiteboard, drag and drop sharing of styled text, pictures and sounds, file transfer and more can be accomplished through purchase of third party or Apple based QuickTime Conferencing collaborative applications.
Basic System Requirements
* Power Macintosh or 68040 Macintosh computer
* System software version 7.5 or newer
* 16 Megabytes of memory
* Internet connection of 128 kbit/sec or more (for instance, T1 or basic rate ISDN)
* MacTCP and Network Software Installer version 1.5, or OpenTransport
Additional System Requirements (For QuickTime Web Conference)
* Video source (for instance, a video camera for A/V Macs or QuickCam for others)
* Sound source (for instance, a Plaintalk microphone)
Installing QuickTime Conferencing Software
Follow these steps to install the QuickTime Conferencing software.
(1) If you are installing from the Internet web site, download the install package.
(2) Locate the Web Conferencing Install folder and open it. Double-click the Installer icon located in the folder.
(3) Read the message that appears, then click Continue.
(4) If the installer tells you that you must run the Network Software Installer 1.5, download that and install it. Then repeat steps 2 & 3.
(5) In the Easy Install dialog box, click Install. All the necessary software will be installed on your computer's hard disk.
(6) When installation is complete, click Restart.
When you restart, you will find a new folder titled "QuickTime Conferencing" on your hard disk. This folder contains the broadcast viewing, conferencing and web browser helper application for QuickTime Conferencing Internet software. Also included is the QuickTime application MoviePlayer 2.1. Note that the QuickTime Conferencing Web Installer will install QuickTime version 2.1 as well as a new QuickTime video compressor, H.261, which allows for conferencing at low bit rates. The H.261 compressor is a PowerPC native compressor. Any videoconference session in which all machines are PowerPCs, will use the H.261 compressor.
To Place a Videoconference Call to an Internet User
When using QuickTime Web Conference as a standalone application:
(1) Configure your MacTCP or OpenTransport TCP/IP control panel as your Internet Service Provider (ISP) recommends.
(2) Launch the "QuickTime Web Conference" application
(3) Select the menu item "Call" from the "File" menu.
(4) Type in the host name or IP address of the Internet user with whom you wish to videoconference and click on 'Connect'.
(5) The call will be placed via the Internet and an audio-video connection established
(This feature temporarily disabled for 1.0.4a4) During a connection, you can store a "QTC Calling Card" for a QuickTime Conferencing Internet user, by selecting the "Save Calling Card" menu item in the "File" menu. The next time you wish to call the user, you can select the "Speed Dial" option and select the QTC Calling Card for that user. You can also save a single QTC Calling Card, to represent a group of conferencing users. To do this, select the "Save Group Card" menu item. When you wish to re-establish a conference with the same participants, select the "Speed Dial" option, and then select the QTC Calling Card for the group of conferencing users.
Calls can be initiated from a web page. A URL to a QTC stored-address file (with a .qtc extension) can cause QuickTime Web Conference to launch, open the stored-address file, and attempt to make a connection to the address described in the file. The server and browser must both be properly configured for QTC; this process is described below.
To View an Internet Broadcast
When using QuickTime TV as a standalone application:
* Configure your MacTCP or OpenTransport TCP/IP control panel as your Internet Service Provider (ISP) recommends.
* Launch the "QuickTime TV" application
* Select the menu item "Watch Broadcast" from the "File" menu.
* Type in the domain name or ip address of the Internet live broadcast you wish to watch
* The broadcast will be viewed via the internet
(This feature temporarily disabled for 1.0.4a4) While viewing a broadcast, you can store a "QTC Calling Card" for a QuickTime Conferencing Internet user, by selecting the "Save Calling Card" menu item in the "File" menu. The next time you wish to view the broadcast you can select the "Speed Dial" option and select the QTC Calling Card for that broadcast. You can also save a single QTC Calling Card, to represent a group of broadcasts. To do this, select the "Save Group Card" menu item. When you wish to re-establish a session with the same set of broadcasts, select the "Speed Dial" option, and then select the QTC Calling Card for the group of broadcasts.
Watching a broadcast can be initiated from a web page. A URL to a QTC stored-address file (with a .qtc extension) can cause QuickTime Web Conference to launch, open the stored-address file (a "calling card"), and attempt to make a connection to the address described in the file. The server and browser must both be properly configured for QTC; this process is described below.
Configuring a Web Browser for QuickTime Conferencing Calling Cards
Netscape 2.0b4 and later comes pre-configured for QTC.
To configure other web browsers so that they may view live broadcasts and connect to other users for videoconferences on the Internet, follow the steps listed below:
In general, for any web browser,:
(1) Install the "Conferencing Helper Application" as the Helper Application for the Mime Type "video/x-qtc", with the file extension ".qtc".
Specifically for Netscape (versions 1.1 through 2.0b3), follow the directions below:
* From the Netscape Options menu, choose General Preferences.
The Preferences panel opens, showing a variety of preferences to select.
* Choose the panel in preferences which says "Helpers".
The window changes to show the Helper Applications settings.
* Type in the Mime type "video"
* Type in the Mime sub-type "x-qtc"
* Type in the extension ".qtc"
* Set the "Action" to launch application.
* Click on "Browse", and then a file directory pop-up is displayed. Browse through your directories, and select the "Conferencing Helper Application" in the local "QuickTime Conferencing" folder on your hard disk. When you are done with this step, the "Conferencing Helper Application" will be displayed as the helper application for the Mime type "video/x-qtc" with action "Launch" and extension ".qtc".
* Close the preferences panel of Netscape, and close the application. When you restart Netscape, you will now be able to launch the appropriate QuickTime Conferencing application to view live broadcasts and make video conference connections to other users, after restarting Netscape.
Configuring a Web Server for QuickTime Conferencing Calling Cards
The following steps will result in the creation and usage of a file which can be used from within HTML to reference a QuickTime Conferencing broadcast or videoconference connection.
(This feature temporarily disabled for 1.0.4a4)
1) The first step is to create a QTC "calling card" which can be referenced from HTML:
* Establish a QuickTime Conferencing connection (live broadcast viewing or a videoconference session) using an existing QTC application, such as QuickTime TV, QuickTime Web Conference (version 1.0.3) or Apple Media Conference (version 1.1).
* Save a reference to the connection (conferencing user or live broadcast) by selecting "Save Calling Card" in QuickTime TV or QuickTime Web Conference. You can save a reference to a set of connections by selecting "Save Group Card" in QuickTime TV or QuickTime Web Conference.
* Launch the Conferencing Helper Application included with the Conferencing Web Installer.
* Convert the QTC calling card (typically found in System Folder/Preferences/QTC Calling Cards) using the "Convert Calling Card" menu item in the Conferencing Helper Application. The file will be converted to a data fork only file format, which can be stored on Macintoshes, PCs and UNIX-based web servers.
2) The second step is to transfer the selected QTC calling card to the web server.
3) The third and final step is to configure the web server so that it is aware of the QuickTime Conferencing MIME type.
To configure your Web browser so that web pages can reference QuickTime Conferencing connections, you will typically need to add a line to the list of supported MIME types for the web server. For web server configuration files, where the configuration is specified as:
<type> <suffix> <mac file type> <mac creator> <mime type>
add the following line, so that QuickTime Conferencing connections referenced via HTML will be supported at the web server:
BINARY .QTC .qtc * video/x-qtc
The configuration file command may be different for various HTTP web servers, but this example should serve as a useful guideline.
QuickTime Conferencing and Firewalls
At those sites with Internet firewalls, it may be necessary to configure the firewall so that QuickTime Conferencing applications can use certain features.
* To allow incoming QuickTime Conferencing calls to be received at an Internet site, it is necessary to allow incoming TCP traffic on port 458.
* To allow outgoing QuickTime Conferencing calls at an Internet site, it is necessary to permit outgoing TCP traffic on port 458.
* To allow QuickTime Conferencing broadcasts to be transmitted from an Internet site, it is necessary to allow incoming and outgoing TCP traffic on port 545.
* To allow QuickTime Conferencing media streams to flow outwards through the firewall, UDP traffic with static port 458 and with dynamic port values greater than or equal to 7000 must be allowed outgoing.
* To allow QuickTime Conferencing media streams to flow in through the firewall, UDP traffic with static port 458 and with dynamic port values greater than or equal to 7000 must be allowed incoming.