Escape Information Services releases QMedia 1.0 for MacOS PPC and Windows.
QMedia is the plug-in that allows 4D applications to include, play back,
edit and integrate tightly with all digital media types supported by
QuickTime 3, Apple’s award-winning, industry standard, multimedia
architecture.
QMedia broadens the spectrum of applications that 4D developers can address
by transforming 4th Dimension into a multimedia container and content
development environment. Applications written with QMedia can be deployed
accross platforms, as well as in heterogeneous client-server
configurations.
QMedia, QPix and QMedia Light make up a comprehensive suite that addresses
the majority of multimedia development needs and positions 4D as *the only*
RAD and database tool to dispose of such an extensive exposure of the
QuickTime 3 API.
We are confident that the community will realize the vaste potential of the
multimedia 4D, and lead the way towards many innovative and imaginative new
applications.
Key features
============
* Embed multimedia in your forms *
Play back in 4D forms or external windows all QuickTime-supported media
(still images, standard movies, VR movies, animated GIFs, sounds, music,
MIDI, MPEG on Mac, etc). Control the visibility of the movie area and of
the movie controller (in whole or in parts). Detatch the movie from its
controller, and place each independently inside the plug-in area. Configure
the area for movie editing, looping, keystroke handling and drag and drop
to the Macintosh desktop.
* Handle user and QuickTime events *
QMedia gives programmatic access to many user and QuickTime events through
callback methods. Trap specific event types, examine event-specific
properties, take some action, and finally decide and tell QuickTime if it
should handle the event or not. Some of the interesting things you can do
with event handlers are:
– Trap mouse clicks. The user will not be able to start or stop
the movie with the mouse.
– Track the custom button of the movie controller.
– When the mouse moves over a hot spot in a VR movie, search the
database for information related to the hot spot.
– Track user navigation history in a multinode VR movie and use it
to populate a popup menu. The user can go back to already
visited nodes by selecting from the history popup menu.
* Access movies and tracks *
Get and set numerous movie properties like volume, rate, duration, time
scale, movie preview, poster frame, annotations etc. Access and modify
movie tracks and track properties (create, delete, enable/disable, track
volume, duration, graphics mode, transformation matrix, etc.)
* Control VR movies *
Fully integrate VR movies in your database. Change pan, tilt and field of
view angles, and other properties. Get node and hotspot information. Use
event handling to create database-driven VR tours of museums, buildings,
collections etc.
* Publish database data with QuickTime *
Add media to movies: add pictures and image files to video tracks, text to
text tracks to generate movies out of database data. For example, create a
slide show of your annual report charts, publish your photo album database
to a movie, add scrolling banners with styled, anti-aliased, drop-shadow
text to your 4D forms. Additional support for text includes searching in
text tracks and adding “chapter list” tracks to movies.
* Media conversion and compression *
QMedia includes commands for converting media formats with QuickTime’s
movie import and export components. Convert media files to movie files and
export movies (or tracks thereof) to media files. Re-compress video and
sound in movie tracks using the growing list of QuickTime codecs (Cinepak,
Animation, Motion JPEG, Sorenson video, etc.)
* Prepare movies for the WWW *
Preparation of a movie for publishing on the world wide web is done with
three lines of code. QMedia creates single-fork, self-contained, fast-start
movies that stream when served to the browser QuickTime plug-in.
System requirements
===================
* MacOS *
PPC with MacOS 7.5 or later
QuickTime or QuickTime Pro 3.0
4th Dimension 6.0.5 or later
* Windows *
Intel-based PC with Windows 95/98/NT 4.0
QuickTime or QuickTime Pro 3.0
4th Dimension 6.0.5 or later
We do not test or support QMedia with pre-v6 versions of 4D on either
platform. The plug-in does not contain or make use of characteristics that
exist only in 4Dv6, so you may use it with 4Dv3 or 4Dvf5 on your own
responsibility. QMedia does not support MacOS machines with 68K processor,
nor pre-v3.0 versions of QuickTime (on either platform).
Pricing and licensing
=====================
Through November 1998, QMedia will be priced at $325 (Mac or Win) and $545
(Mac and Win). Normal prices after this introductory offer period are $375
(Mac or Win) and $635 (Mac and Win).
QMedia is licensed hassle-free on all single-user 4D environments (4D, 4D
Runtime Classic, 4D Engine). This means that you can buy QMedia once for a
platform and distribute an unlimited number of compiled applications in
single-user on the purchased platform. QMedia alone does not run on 4D
Server/4D Client.
To deploy your compiled applications with 4D Server/4D Client you should:
– Own QMedia for the server platform
– Purchase QMedia Expansion Packs for a number of simultaneous users
QMedia Expansion Packs work like ACI’s expansion packs for 4D Server. They
will be available soon, together with QMedia 1.0.1 that will provide all
necessary commands for user management when QMedia works on 4D Server.
Visit our website at (http://www.escape/gr/q/) for downloads, additional
info and shopping.