QuickTime
QuickTime is a standard multimedia framework developed by Apple consisting of a set of libraries and a multimedia player (QuickTime Player). In its version 7 it is compatible with the MPEG-4 standard. There is a Pro version that adds various features such as video editing and encoding to various formats such as AVI, MOV, MP4. With the Pro version, it is also possible to record audio with a microphone connected to the computer. On Macs, apart from recording audio, it is possible to record video. (this may be possible with cameras like the iSight)
QuickTime is not just a player, but a complete multimedia system capable of playing, and in some cases streaming, high-quality content on the Internet and other devices. Apple announced the release of a new codec that implements the H.264 standard, also known as AVC (Advanced Video Coding) or Advanced Video Coding that allows very clear content that is superior to the DVD, DivX and other high-quality formats.
As of 2009 it is available for Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. GNU/Linux systems can use QuickTime through programs like MPlayer. There is also a free version called QuickTime Alternative and iTunes.
History
The first version of QuickTime was released on December 2, 1991 as a multimedia plug-in for System Software 6. Quicktime's lead developer, Bruce Leak, held the first public demonstration at the May 1991 Worldwide Developers Conference. Microsoft reacted with Video for Windows which was released in November 1992.
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Supported formats
- Audio
- Apple Lossless 1, 2,3 and 4
- Audio Interchange (AIFF)
- Audio CD (CDA)
- MIDI Musical Instrument Interface
- MPEG-1 Layer 3 Audio (mp3)
- MPEG-4 AAC Audio (.m4a,.m4b,.m4p)
- QDesign Music
- Qualcomm PureVoice (QCELP)
- Sun AU Audio
- ULAW/ALAW Audio
- (WAV)
- (Advanced Audio Coding) ^AAC
- Video
- 3GPP " 3GPP2
- Video AVI (requires codec DivX for Windows)
- DV video (DV NTSC/PAL and DVC Pro NTSC/PAL codecs)
- Flash and FlashPix (web animations)
- GIF animated
- H.261, H.263, and H.264 codecs
- MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4
- Quartz Composer Composition (only Mac OS X)
- QuickTime Movie (.mov,.qt)
- video mac: Apple Video, Cinepak, Component Video, Graphics, and Planar RGB
- Images
- JPEG Formats
- GIF Formats
- Format PNG
- BMP Formats (Windows bit map)
- PICT Format (Apple image)
- PSD Format (Adobe Photoshop)
- TIFF Formats
- WebP format