What's New in QuickTime

This collection of documents describes the new features and API changes introduced with each new version of QuickTime. Each version is described in a separate document, covering the differences from the previous version. If you are familiar with an earlier version of QuickTime, or are updating code written for an earlier version, these documents describe what has changed since that time.

The most recent document in this collection covers the new features and API changes introduced in the latest version of QuickTime. This is the most up-to-date documentation available.

QuickTime 7 Update Guide

QuickTime 7 for Windows Update Guide

New features of QuickTime 7 include

• New user interface and recording capabilities for QuickTime Player.
• QuickTime Kit framework for Cocoa (Objective-C) developers.
• New QuickTime ActiveX control for Windows, scriptable in VBasic, C#, and .NET.

• Support for frame reordering video compression, allowing video frames to have independent decode and display times.
• H.264 compression and decompression.
• New API to work with samples having independent decode and display times.
• New API for working with QT Sample Tables, a replacement for arrays of media sample references that also supports frame reordering in compressed media.

• Support for playback, capture, compression, extraction, and export of high-resolution audio, which includes multichannel sound, high sampling rates, and more accurate sampling.
• New sound description.
• New API for movie audio control, audio conversion configuration, audio extraction, movie export, and level and frequency metering.

• Visual context, an abstraction layer for visual rendering, eliminates dependence on graphics worlds (GWorlds), supports rendering directly to engines such as OpenGL.
• Audio context, a new abstraction that allows you to direct audio output to different devices, with appropriate channel mix.
• NewMovieFromProperties function that allows you to set up properties before creating a movie and supports audio and visual context.

• Extensible metadata format, allowing efficient storage of text, audio, video, or other data that describes a movie, track, or media.
• JavaScript support for the Safari browser.
• Persistant cache option.
• Updates and fixes to QuickTime for Java

What's New in QuickTime 6.5

New features of QuickTime 6.5 include

• Support for the 3GP2 file format for wireless multimedia.
• Support for the AMC file format for wireless multimedia.
• Support for the QCELP voice codec in 3GP2 and AMC files.
• Support for Movie Fragments for 3GP2.
• New and updated export dialogs for creating 3G content (3GPP, 3GP2, and AMC).
• Support for Unicode text import and playback on Windows 2000 and XP, rendered using Uniscribe.

What's New in QuickTime 6.4

New features of QuickTime 6.4 include

• Support for manipulating media using abstract data references, instead of hard-coding for files, URLs, handles, and so on
• Support for thread-safe multitasking
• Support for core graphics functions
• ColorSync support for graphics import
• Startup synchronization functions for improved audio/video synch
• Improved event handling model for Mac OS X
• Support functions for bypassing import/export user interfaces
• Support functions for working with IIDC video digitizers
• Ability to identify a video output component's audio device
• Text encoding changes to support Unicode, 3GPP, and the Windows OS
• New release of QuickTime for Java, with support for Java 1.4.1 for Mac and Windows

What's New in QuickTime 6.3

New features of QuickTime 6.3 include

• Support for .3GPP (third generation mobile telephone) files
• 3GPP Audio (AMR codec)
• 3GPP Text (import, export, create)
• 3GPP Video
• XML Text Importer for Unicode
• Improved Full-Screen Video
• Improved AAC Audio

What's New in QuickTime 6

New features of QuickTime 6 include

• MPEG-4 Import, Export, and Playback
• MPEG-4 Streaming
• MPEG-4 Video codec for QuickTime Movies
• AAC Audio codec for QuickTime Movies
• Instant-On Streaming and Playback
• Flash 5
• JPEG 2000
• Enhanced Exif Support

• QuickTime Player UI Streamlined
• Scriptable ActiveX Control
• AppleScript Enhancements
• QuickTime for Java Enhancements
• New Wired Actions and Operands
• VBR Sound Compression Support
• None Codec Enhancements

• Improved Event Loop and Tasking API
• New Carbon Movie Controller
• New Sequence Grabber API with Improved Dialogs
• Improved Effects Dialog
• New Effects Classes and Presets
• Improved Support for Creating Data Handlers
• New Image Compression, Decompression, Manager API
• Keyboard Focus API for Media Handlers
• Media Restriction Preflight API

What's New in QuickTime 5

New features of QuickTime 5 included

• QuickTime Player Enhancements
• MPEG1 Playback on Windows
• Media Skins
• Downloader for Third-Party Components
• Real-Time Effects Support
• Flash 4
• Cubic VR
• New MIME Type Plays Movies from a Text Link
• Sorenson 3 video codec

• Digital Video (DV) Codec Optimizations
• AppleScript Enhancements
• New EMBED tag parameters and URL extensions
• QuickTime VR Authoring Components Added
• XML Import of Movie URLs
• SMIL Enhancements
• QuickTime for Java Enhancements

• Multiprocessor (MP) Support
• Downloadable Sound Font Support
• Gamma Processing API
• Preferred Codec API
• Latency API
• Media Sharing Support
• New Data Handler API
• New Wired Actions
• Broadcasting API for Mac OS

What's New in QuickTime 4.1

New features of QuickTime 4.1 (and 4.1.1 and 4.1.2) included

• SMIL import
• JavaScript support
• Applescript support
• Support for variable bit rate MP3
• HTTP tunneling for streaming

What's New in QuickTime 4

New features of QuickTime 4 included

• Streaming
• Graphics exporters
• New browser plug-in features
• Support for MP3

What's New in QuickTime 3

New features of QuickTime 3 included

• Full Mac/Windows compatibility
• Media access keys
• Low bit rate codecs
• Alternate data rate movies