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Mon, 15 Jul 2002
Apple releases QuickTime 6
Apple has finally released QuickTime 6, marking an end to their dispute with MPEG LA over licensing fees. QuickTime 6 was finished several months ago, but the release was held up because of that dispute.
MPEG LA wanted to charge per user for streaming, which would have been costly for Apple and other MPEG-4 licensees, particularly given that Microsoft planned to charge for its upcoming Windows Media 9.
"We've made a lot of progress as an industry working with MPEG LA, moving them considerably from where they were six months ago," said Frank Casanova, Apple's director of QuickTime product marketing. "They're primed to release a set of terms that the industry would find more reasonable."
Rob Koenen, president of the MPEG Requirements Group, said that MPEG LA has had to reconsider per-use fees because of the threat of the technology dying on the vine.
"If the terms are acceptable for the markets, MPEG-4 will take off big time. If not, it will be a serious impediment," Koenen said.
The format, he said, was created for use in multiple markets, and much like the MP3 standard for listening to music files, MPEG-4 needs to be adopted on the Internet to ensure its eventual spread to consumer electronics devices, mobile gadgets and video-on-demand services. But if Web sites are forced to pay per-use stream fees, its adoption could easily be hampered.
New in QuickTime 6
A true all-in-one, standards-based, cross-platform media tool, QuickTime 6 delivers a host of new features that include:
- MPEG-4 ISO compliant file creation
- MPEG-4 video codec
- AAC audio codec
- Instant-On streaming
- Macromedia Flash 5
- An enhanced QuickTime Player interface
- QuickTime Picks, bringing you the best, up-to-date QuickTime content
- JPEG 2000 (Mac OS X Only)
- Enhanced AppleScript support (Macintosh Only)
Macintosh System Requirements:
QuickTime 6 requires a PowerPC, G3, or G4 CPU running Mac OS version 8.6 or higher, and Open Transport version 1.2 or higher. In addition, the computer must have at least 32 MB of RAM.
Windows System Requirements:
QuickTime 6 runs on Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition (aka Windows Me), Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP. It requires an Intel Pentium or compatible processor, 32 MB of RAM, SoundBlaster or compatible sound card and speakers. DirectX version 3.0 or later is recommended.
Because QuickTime 6 includes new royalty bearing technologies, a new QuickTime Pro key is required to unlock pro functionality in QuickTime 6. In addition to the abundance of media authoring capabilities in prior versions, QuickTime 6 Pro also provides the ability to create ISO compliant MPEG-4 files and encode MPEG-4 video and AAC audio.
About Roland's Sound Set for General MIDI and GS Format
This release of QuickTime includes an instrument sound set licensed from Roland Corporation that makes a complete General MIDI compatible sound set. It also includes additional sounds necessary to make a complete GS Format compatible sound set.
What is the GS Format?
The GS Format is a standardized set of specifications for sound sources that defines the manner in which multitimbral sound generating devices will respond to the MIDI messages. The GS Format complies with the General MIDI System Level - 1. The GS Format also defines a number of other details over and above the features of General MIDI. These include unique specifications for sound and functions available for tone editing, effects, and other specifications concerning the manner in which sound sources will respond to MIDI messages. Any device that is equipped with GS Format sound sources can faithfully reproduce both General MIDI sound recordings and GS Format MIDI sound recordings.
Apple also released QuickTime Broadcaster, which encodes video to produce professional-quality live events for online deliveryÄquickly.
MacHack 2003 dates announced
Dates for the 18th annual Conference for Leading Edge Developers have been finalized. MacHack will take place June 19-21. Note, that as is customary, MacHack will start at 12:01 AM on Thursday, in this case June 19, 2003. Get ready and mark your calendars. Keep watching machack.com for more information as it becomes available.