Apple Rolls Out Newest Version of QuickTime for Macintosh

Release Targets Professional Content Creators

Cupertino, Calif. -- July 26, 1996 -- Continuing its leadership in multimedia and the professional digital video and music markets, Apple Computer, Inc. today announced the availability of QuickTime 2.5 for Macintosh computers. QuickTime, a pervasive industry standard for CD-ROM and Internet content authoring, playback and delivery, is a multiplatform architecture for storing, editing and playing synchronized video, sound, music, graphics and text. The QuickTime 2.5 release addresses specific requirements of content creators for broadcast, music, film and the Internet.

"Apple's contributions to the computer industry for multimedia, Internet content creation, professional video, and music continue to push the envelope in innovation with this new version of QuickTime," said Ellen Hancock, Apple's chief technology officer and executive vice president of research and development. "QuickTime makes it easy for broadcast professionals, CD-ROM developers and Internet content creators to manage and repurpose their content for new markets, thereby receiving a greater return on their investments."

With the release of QuickTime 2.5, Apple has expanded QuickTime's capabilities to include an enhanced music architecture; multiprocessor support; support for 3D Objects; a Graphic Importer Component; support for Closed-Caption capture APIs; an enhanced primary data handler; asynchronous JPEG and raw codecs on Power Mac; and a new Clock component (please see attachment detailing these new features). Apple plans to continue innovating and expanding the multiplatform capabilities of QuickTime with a strategy to support the universal creation, distribution and playback of all time-based and spatial media types.

"Digital technology is blurring the lines between traditional media markets, professional film and video producers, consumer multimedia developers, and Internet content creators. This has created a significant challenge for the creative world: the lack of a unified standard that meets the needs of all content creators, enabling them to handle the creation, storage and delivery of their information in one simple, straightforward way, regardless of platform and eventual means of distribution," said Carlos Montalvo, director of products and technologies for Apple's Interactive Media Group. "Creative developers need a rich set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and a "universal container" for holding digital media, guaranteeing that their tools work together and that their content can be delivered and viewed everywhere--QuickTime provides this today."

The results of QuickTime's capabilities, coupled with the ease-of-use and power of Apple's Power Macintosh computers, can be seen throughout the industry. Apple is the leader in many creative industry segments as evidenced by the following recent survey results: 62 percent of all CD-ROM authoring is done using a Macintosh*; 60 percent of all digital music is created on a Macintosh**; 45-50 percent of all digital video creation is done on a Macintosh*** ; 41 percent of all web content authoring is done using a Macintosh****; 30 percent of all film and video post production work is done on a Macintosh*****; and 20 percent of the web servers in use today are Macintosh******.

Over the last five years, QuickTime has evolved into the standard, multiplatform architecture that allows multimedia software tool vendors, content creators and production staffs to create stunning content for delivery anywhere. Today QuickTime supports multiple data types, including video, sound, graphics, animation, text, music/MIDI, MPEG and sprite 3D, with the ability to synchronize all the media types to a common time base.

Customer Price/Availability

QuickTime 2.5 for Macintosh is available, free of charge, immediately online through Apple's QuickTime home page on the World Wide Web at: http://www.quicktime.apple.com/

Developer Price/Availability

Developers may license the software free of charge for redistribution with applications, titles and media clip libraries that support QuickTime.

System Requirements

QuickTime 2.5 for Macintosh requires a color Macintosh computer running System 6.0.7 or later.

Apple Computer, Inc., a recognized innovator in the information industry and leader in multimedia technologies, creates powerful solutions based on easy-to-use personal computers, servers, peripherals, software, personal digital assistants and Internet content. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple develops, manufactures, licenses and markets solutions, products, technologies and services for business, education, consumer, entertainment, scientific and engineering and government customers in more than 140 countries.

Press Information Contact:
Maureen O'Connell
Apple Computer, Inc.
(408) 862-6689
e-mail: oconnell.m@applelink.apple.com

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Apple's home page on the World Wide Web: http://www.apple.com/
Quicktime's home page on the World Wide Web: http://quicktime.apple.com/

Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, QuickTime and Power Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. All other brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders, and are hereby acknowledged.

* Dataquest, 1995
** Piper Jaffray, 1995
*** AV/DV Videography Magazine reader survey's, 1995
**** MARI, 1995
***** Phillips Business Information, Film & Video Survey, 1995
****** Georgia Institute of Technology, 1995

Attachment

QuickTime 2.5 Features

Interchangeable M-JPEG File Format Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) is a compression standard for video professionals that is implemented in a distinct way by each different video capture product. Files created in one system typically cannot be played back or edited by another system. Through a QuickTime developer working group, Apple and leading digital video solution vendors have agreed to a fully interchangeable M-JPEG file format. Apple has implemented this new format in QuickTime 2.5, allowing video professionals and editors to work with M-JPEG files independent of the hardware solution originally used to capture the media. QuickTime will also include a software interchangeable M-JPEG codec, allowing editors, and others involved in the creative process to view M-JPEG compressed files on any Power Macintosh with no additional hardware required.

QuickTime Music Architecture

Significant enhancements to the QuickTime Music Architecture (QTMA) now enable title developers to easily enhance their content by creating their own musical identity. With the introduction of the QTMA, Apple made it easy for computer users to work with MIDI music by providing a software synthesizer and a library of Sound Canvas instruments licensed from Roland. The enhancements in QuickTime 2.5 build on the QTMA by allowing music and synthesizer developers to deliver their own custom software synthesizers, instruments and libraries of musical instruments through QuickTime. Title developers can use these components to embellish their content with music and create a distinctive aural experience.

The enhancements to the QTMA will also benefit professional musicians and music enthusiasts who use the Macintosh to create music. In addition to playing through the computer built-in speaker, QuickTime 2.5 can rout musical information to external MIDI devices and effects processors working directly with music Industry standards such as Opcode's Open Music System (OMS).

Multiprocessor Support

For power-hungry video professionals needing real-time editing capabilities and requiring faster media compression, Apple has also enhanced QuickTime 2.5 to support multiprocessing hardware such as the Genesis MP from DayStar Digital.

QuickTime to Support 3D Objects

Apple has enhanced QuickTime to use Apple QuickDraw 3D engine for rendering 3D objects in real time within a QuickTime movie. Now video professionals can synchronize, composite, and animate workstation-class 3D objects with other media types such as video, audio and music.

Graphic Importer Component

QuickTime 2.5 for Macintosh includes a new graphic importer component allowing for import of a variety of diverse file formats. With this feature, any application that is QuickTime aware is able to import file formats such as GIF, MacPaint, Silicon Graphics Inc., and Photoshop directly into their application.

Support for Closed-Caption capture APIs Traditional closed-captioned simply displays the accompanying text as an overlay graphic to the video (and thus the captured movie). The closed-captioned text embedded in the video is lost for any useful purpose other than viewing. Along with video, sound, and music channels, closed-captioned text can be captured and embedded into a QuickTime movie's text track. This allows for fast searching and cataloging of stored media.

Enhanced primary data handler

QuickTime's primary data handler has been updated to allow for higher performance playback. The data handler has been modified to maximize throughput resulting in noticeable performance improvements.

Asynchronous JPEG and Raw codecs on Power Mac

The JPEG and Raw codecs are now asynchronous allowing QuickTime to continue processing data while the codecs simultaneously compress or decompress video.

New Clock component

A new Clock component now guarantees enhanced synchronization of video and sound, and simplifies the problem of synchronizing these data types across the diverse array of sound and video hardware configurations supported by QuickTime.

Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, QuickTime and Power Macintosh are registered trademarks and QuickDraw is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. All other brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders, and are hereby acknowledged.