Apple’s QuickTime 4 Goes Primetime
More Than Five Million Copies Downloaded In First 50 Days
FOX News Online, FOX Sports Online and The Weather Channel Join
QuickTime Content Providers
CUPERTINO, Calif. – June 8, 1999 – Apple today released the final
shipping version of QuickTime 4, its industry-leading multimedia
software for both Macintosh and Windows platforms. QuickTime 4
features “streaming” of live and stored video and audio over the
Internet and is the first Internet streaming solution to use
non-proprietary industry-standard RTP and RTSP protocols. More than
five million copies of QuickTime 4 public beta software have been
downloaded from Apple’s web site during the first 50 days since its
release in April.
Apple today also announced that FOX News Online and FOX Sports Online
have joined the growing lineup of QuickTime content providers
offering live programming, which also include BBC WORLD, Bloomberg,
HBO, NPR (R) and WGBH Boston. The Weather Channel(R) joins the
QuickTime programming lineup with on-demand weather forecasts.
“QuickTime 4 provides the highest quality video and audio over the
Internet, and with five million new customers it’s the hottest
streaming technology out there,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s interim
CEO. “Content providers also love QuickTime’s use of open standards
instead of proprietary streaming formats — they no longer have to
pay RealNetworks’ server tax.”
“NADP (News America Digital Publishing) was a pioneer in the use of
streaming video on the Internet and offers the most extensive library
archive of video on the web,” said Scott Ehrlich, senior vice
president and executive producer of NADP, producer of FOXSports.com
and FOXNews.com. “Our partnership with Apple furthers NADP’s
commitment to deliver high-quality video to our web site users.”
“We’ve gone from a public beta version of QuickTime 4 to final
product in less than two months,” said Avie Tevanian, Apple’s senior
vice president of Software Engineering. “QuickTime is the only
digital media architecture that allows content providers to create,
edit and distribute audio and video in a single format.”
QuickTime 4’s new Internet streaming capabilities allow users to play
live and stored video and audio, enabling them to experience high-
quality playback even over 28.8Kbps modems. Key features in QuickTime
4 include:
– QuickTime Player, providing intuitive user controls, a stunning new
look and feel, and one-click access to Internet content. QuickTime
Player also features audio controls for balance, volume, bass, and
treble;
– QuickTime PictureViewer, delivering still image support for a wide
range of formats including BMP, GIF, JPEG, PICT, PNG, SGI, TIFF,
Adobe Photoshop, and FlashPix;
– QuickTime Web Browser Plug-in, enabling Microsoft Internet
Explorer, Netscape Navigator and America Online web browsers to
display QuickTime-based media directly inside web pages;
– Compression technologies, allowing content providers to optimize
the playback of their content for dial-up Internet access and CD-ROM.
These include MPEG-1 layer 3 (MP3), Sorenson Video, QDesign Music,
Qualcomm PureVoice, H.261, H.263 and GSM;
– Network protocol support for Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
streaming standards, RTP, RTSP, SDP, FTP and HTTP;
– Support for video and animation formats, such as AVI, DV,
Macromedia Flash, OpenDML, GIF and FLC;
– QuickTime for Java allowing Java applets to interface with
QuickTime’s entire API;
– New small, intelligent installer to speed the download process,
especially for QuickTime 4 users with low bandwidth Internet
connections. By enabling users to download only the parts of
QuickTime they immediately need and offering automatic updates,
customers get the fastest possible access to QuickTime content.
QuickTime 4 Pro includes all the features of QuickTime 4 while
unlocking the software’s advanced authoring and playback
capabilities, including:
– Multi-format editing, allowing users to integrate video and audio
from anywhere, in any QuickTime supported format, including streaming;
– Advanced export capabilities, enabling users to manipulate still
images and convert them to standard publishing formats, such as Adobe
Photoshop, TIFF, BMP, PICT, PNG and JPEG;
– Ability to create slide shows that integrate pictures and sound; –
New Lens Flare and Zoom filters to further enhance movies and images;
– Easy preparation of QuickTime movies for streaming distribution.
Availability, Pricing and System Requirements
Macintosh and Windows users can immediately download a free version
of QuickTime 4 software from Apple’s QuickTime web site
(www.apple.com/quicktime). The advanced playback and editing
capabilities of QuickTime 4 Pro are available to users for U.S.
$29.99. QuickTime 3 Pro customers are automatically upgraded to
QuickTime 4 Pro free of charge upon downloading the QuickTime 4
software.
System requirements for Mac OS-based systems are: 68020, 68030, 68040
or PowerPC processor; at least 8MB of RAM recommended for 68020,
68030 or 68040 processor-based systems. It also requires at least
16MB of RAM for PowerPC processor-based systems and MAC OS 7.1 or
later. PowerPC processor required for streaming.
System requirements for Windows-based systems are: Intel or
compatible processor or any MPC2-compliant PC with minimum 66-MHz 486
processor; at least 16MB of RAM; Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows
NT 4.0 system software. Sound Blaster or compatible sound card and
speakers and DirectX version 3.0 or later are also recommended.
Pentium processor required for streaming.
Apple Computer, Inc. ignited the personal computer revolution in the
1970s with the Apple II, and reinvented the personal computer in the
1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is now recommitted to its original
mission to bring the best personal computing products and support to
students, educators, designers, scientists, engineers,
businesspersons and consumers in over 140 countries around the world.