Apple finally released QuickTime 4.1 last week. You can get it from Apple's QuickTime page, or by running your QuickTime updater (found in your QuickTime folder). The major changes in 4.1 are support for:
And, on the downside, QuickTime 4.1 doesn't support 68K machines. Also, the names of all the people who worked to create QuickTime are no longer in the About panel of the QuickTime Settings Control Panel. (We think it's really sad that the "company that ignited the personal computer revolution" is now refusing to acknowledge that it's individuals who create all this great software.)
So far, the best documentation we've been able to locate from Apple is a PDF developer document called "What's New in QuickTime 4.1". (It's a pretty technical document, but there are plenty of tidbits that non-programmers can understand.)
There are also a ton of new and modified notes about in Apple's Tech Info Library pertaining to QuickTime 4.1:
QuickTime: How to Upgrade to QuickTime 4.1 (60690)
QuickTime 4.1: Issue With QTVR Hotspots (60694)
QuickTime 4.1: Access to Controlled Sites (60689)
QuickTime 4.1: Receiving a Streaming Movie Behind a Firewall (60688)
QuickTime 4.1: System Requirements (60686)
QuickTime 4: MP3 VBR Encoding Supported in Version 4.1 (60293)
QuickTime 4.1: About AppleScript and QuickTime Player (60687)
QuickTime 4.1: What's New? (60685)
QuickTime 4.0.x: System Requirements (60236)
QuickTime 4: Web Install Issues (60388)
QuickTime 4.1: Not Compatible With Final Cut Pro 1.0 (60695)
There are also lots of notes pertaining to QuickTime Streaming Server 2.0:
QuickTime Streaming Server 2.0: Viewing Access and Error Logs (75012)
QuickTime Streaming Server 2.0: Streaming Live Audio or Video (75002)
QuickTime Streaming Server 2.0: Viewing Streamed Media From a Client Computer (75009)
QuickTime Streaming Server 2.0: Read Me (75014)
QuickTime Streaming Server 2.0: Solving Problems with Streaming Services (75010)
QuickTime Streaming Server 2.0: Compatible File Formats (75011)
QuickTime Streaming Server 2.0: Setting Up Authentication (75005)
QuickTime Streaming Server 2.0: Viewing Streaming Activity (75008)
QuickTime Streaming Server 2.0: Broadcast Prerecorded Audio or Video (75003)
QuickTime Streaming Server 2.0: Setting up a Web Page to Show Streamed Media (75007)
QuickTime Streaming Server 2.0: What New in Version 2.0 (75013)
QuickTime Streaming Server 2.0: Use only Playlist Broadcaster 2.0 (75017)
QuickTime Streaming Server 2.0: Setting Up a Relay (75004)
QuickTime Streaming Server 2.0: Preparing Stored Media for Streaming (75006)
There's short article about what's QuickTime 4.1 at MacWEEK, giving some insight into what's new.
There's a MacFixIt report titled "Troubleshooting QuickTime 4.1 (and Audio Update 1.2)".
New streams:
Apple has added five new independent film and music channels to the QuickTime TV network, Apple's high performance streaming network. You can read a January 20th press release, "Apple Highlights Independent Filmmakers on QuickTime TV"
You can see a daily stream of "Super Week", Super Bowl XXXIV stuff, on the QuickTime TV Network.
New and updated tools:
Version 2.0b1 of Panorama Tools (a freeware plug-in that works with a number of graphics programs for manipulating QTVR panos) is at the Panorama Tools page. (This version is Mac-only, so far.)
An alpha version of MediaCue, a tool that plays QuickTime movies and catalogs them, is available at the Leptonic Systems' MediaCue page.
QuickTime Streaming Server (QTSS) 2.0 has been released. You can get the update and more info at document 11552 of the Apple Software Library. (With this version of QTSS, QuickTime RTSP streams will be able to make it through most firewalls, but not until an update to QuickTime is out, which makes us believe that QuickTime 4.1 will be out any day now! Even Apple thinks so; check out Apple's API developer update page.)
Other software updates:
iREZ has new drivers for their Kritter USB camera for the Macintosh. Get this software at the iREZ Video Products Downloads page.
Interactive Solutions has released version 4.6 of MovieWorks (multimedia software that exports as a QuickTime movie); this version has a feature that helps you auto-sequence a PowerPoint presentation to a QuickTime movie. Get an update or a demo version of the software at the MovieWorks Download page. (You can also read a January 15th press release from Interactive Solutions.)
Entera has released beta 18 (beta 17 expires on Jan 31) of its free ELSA (Entera Lightweight Streaming Application) Server, for serving streaming QuickTime movies. You can download versions for Linux on x86, FreeBSD on x86, Windows NT/98, or Solaris SPARC at Entera's ELSA download page.
Version 4.7b5 of OnTheAir Home Studio for MacOS (a music-playing application, which uses QuickTime for its mp3 playback) is available at the OnTheAir Home Studio page.
Check out a MacCentral article, "Nike's interactive ad campaign uses QT, LiveStage Pro" .
If you care about Apple's financial performance, you may want to tune in, on January 19, to Apple's Q1 Financial Results Conference Call.
The Insanely Great Mac page has a less-than-favorable review of Electrifier Pro, the first wired sprite tool for QuickTime (but one which hasn't seen any active development in almost a year), as well as a review of EditDV, Digital Origin's DV editing software.
We've posted our slides from our QuickTime Pro 4 on the Web talk that we did at Macworld SF.
Happy New Year!
The Little QuickTime Page will be moving to a new home, www.judyandrobert.com/quicktime/. We'll be phasing the move in over the next few weeks.
You can view Steve Jobs' keynote from last week's Macworld conference at the QuickTime Showcase - Macworld 2000 Keynote page.(He didn't say much about QuickTime other than reiterating that it's still a major part of Apple's Internet strategy, and making claims about how widespread it is.)
At Macworld we saw a bunch of small, portable, inexpensive USB devices that you can use to capture QuickTime movies if you've got a USB computer (G3, G4, iMac, iBook):
Eskape Labs has a $239 USB analog video capture and output device called MyVideo. It captures and outputs 30 fps at 320 x 240 and can output to video at 640 x 480 30 fps. You can read more at the MyVideo page.
AVerMedia MicroSystems also has a product that will output the screen of a USB-equiped Mac to video, as well as capture video from a camcorder or VCR. You can read more about it at the iMaxEdit page.
Global Village will soon begin shipping a $130 USB analog video capture device. More info is at the VideoFX page.
Creative.com will soon have the Video Blaster WebCam Go, a camera that can be used for videoconferencing or for live video capture. This device can also be unplugged from your Mac and used as a digital still camera. Go to Creative.com's Webcam page.
XLR8 introduced InterView2, a $99 USB cable that connects your analog video devices to your computer, and can be used for capture. Read a January 5 XLR8 press release for lots of details.
Plus, there were some other interesting video capture products:
Orange Micro has a $129 FireWire PCI Board that you can use to add FireWire to a machine that doesn't have it, so you can do digital video capture. They also have a $149 FireWire CardBus PC Card, so you can do the same for your PowerBook. Go to the OrangeLink FireWire (IEEE-1394) Series page for details.
Formac's $99 ProTV is a PCI TV tuner and video capture card. More info at Formac's ProTV page.
Richard Pfeiffer of the University of Minnesota has released UPresent and UGather. These are FREE Mac-based presentation and multimedia database tools, respectively. Both support QuickTime and can be downloaded at the UPresent site.
Bitmovers.net is offering QuickTime streaming services. Check out their prices and services at Bitmovers' QuickTime page.
Adobe has released a Velocity Engine plug-in for After Effects version 4.1.
You can download this software (which will speed processing of some AE effects on
G4s and even G3s) from the After
Effects Mac Downloads page.
Apple has redesigned its QuickTime
Tools and Utilities page. They've even added a few new tools useful if you're
doing RTSP streaming--one that provides a Streaming panel to the Info window
in QuickTime Player Pro, one that allows you to add an image to the front or on top
of a live streamed track, and one that graphs a streaming movies hinted packets over
time.
The DV ToolKit was introduced by ProMax. This includes DVPlus, a replacement DV codec (i.e. one that's supposedly better than the one that's built into QuickTime 4). There's a bit of info at ProMax's DV ToolKit page, and much more info at the Codec Problems section of Adam Wilt's DV FAQ-editing page.
There have been some software updates over the last few weeks:
Apple has updated the FireWire extensions for the Mac OS to version 2.2.2; check out the Software Updates document #11563 for more info.
Rearden Tech has updated SiteCam web cam software to version 4.2, the update is free to registered 4.x owners. Go to Rearden's home page for more info.
PuppetTime, Inc. has released version 1.0 of their story-telling application, PuppetTime Producer 1.0. You can get it at the PuppetTime web site.
Etchelon Tracer, a vector-based morphing animation program that outputs as QuickTime has been updated to version 3.6.1. More info and a download are at the Etchelon Tracer page.
Aurora Video Systems has a new version (1.2.1) of the Igniter Drivers, which are Final Cut Pro 1.2 compatible. Check out the Aurora Software page.
Totally Hip software has released a 2.0.1 updater for Live Stage Pro. It improves Text and VR track control in Live Stage. Get the updater and documentation changes at Totally Hip's support page.
Check out a NY Times article, "Microsoft Aims at RealNetworks in Media-Player Software Duel" ; it states: "No. 2 in November was Apple Computer's Quick Time media player, with 5.4 million users and a 7.4 percent market share." This is great news; let's hope Apple can keep and grow this market share. (Thanks to Patrick McCloskey for pointing us to this item.)