QuickTime 4: FAQ

Questions answered in this article:

1. What's new in QuickTime 4?
2. How do I view streaming content?
3. How can I check if streaming is working?
4. What are the advantages of using QuickTime Streaming?
5. What is the difference between live and stored streaming?
6. What is the difference between QuickTime HTTP streaming and live streaming?
7. What is the difference between Apple's QuickTime streaming and existing streaming products such as RealPlayer from RealNetworks?
8. How can I create my own streaming multimedia?

Question 1: What's new in QuickTime 4?

Answer:

• New Enhanced Interface - View QuickTime movies more easily than ever with new enhanced controls. Save your favorite movies in the QuickTime Player for one-click access.
• QuickTime Streaming - QuickTime 4 supports live and stored video and audio streaming.
• QuickTime Web Installer - This release of QuickTime includes a totally new installer that improves the speed and flexibility of your installation process.

Question 2: How do I view streaming content?

Answer: Viewing QuickTime Streaming is as easy to view as QuickTime has always been. You have the ability of viewing a streaming movie in a web browser or QuickTime Player. In fact, any application that currently supports QuickTime 4 is capable of viewing QuickTime Streaming content.

Question 3: How can I check if streaming is working?

Answer: See the QuickTime Troubleshooting page: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/troubleshooting/

Question 4: What are the advantages of using QuickTime Streaming?

Answer: Using QuickTime Streaming as a solution allows you to utilize the QuickTime 4 features such as effects, chapter tracks, MIDI, alternate language tracks, poster effects, overlays, client-side transforms, and alternate data rate selections.

Question 5: What is the difference between live and stored streaming?

Answer: Live Streaming allows users to join a session in which real time media is being sent over a network. Because these streams are live, users are not allowed to jump around to any point in time. Unlike live streaming, video-on-demand, or stored streaming, allows users to jump to any point in time in the media.

Question 6: What is the difference between QuickTime HTTP streaming and live streaming?

Answer: The new live streaming capabilities of QuickTime 4 are complimentary to the QuickTime HTTP streaming that is currently built into QuickTime. QuickTime HTTP, otherwise known as Fast Start, downloads the entire QuickTime file to your computer. As soon as enough of the content has been downloaded, it will begin to playback the movie while downloading the rest of the file. QuickTime Streaming does not download the movie to the computer, but loads and plays the movie in real time as the data is received.

Question 7: What is the difference between Apple's QuickTime streaming and existing streaming products such as RealPlayer from RealNetworks?

Answer: Whereas RealNetworks uses proprietary streaming protocols, Apple has opted to use industry-standard streaming protocols such as RTP and RTSP. The use of industry standards encourages competition and advancement of the technology by multiple parties. QuickTime streaming also allows for effects, chapter tracks, MIDI, alternate language tracks, poster effects, overlays, client-side transforms, and alternate data rate selections.

Question 8: How can I create my own streaming multimedia?

Answer: If you have a Power Macintosh G3 or later, you can use Apple's QuickTime Streaming Server with Mac OS X. For more information, visit http://www.apple.com/quicktime/streamingserver/


More Questions?

Visit Apple's QuickTime Web Site at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/.

Or Apple's QuickTime Support Page at http://www.apple.com/support/quicktime/.