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QuickTime applications can run on Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. QuickTime content plays on Mac and Windows computers and on many handheld devices. Content can be served by progressive download from any web server or as real-time streams from streaming servers on all major operating systems. QuickTime supports dozens of file and compression formats for images, video, and audio.

A guided introduction and learning path for developers new to QuickTime.   Essential information for developers using QuickTime.   API references organized by framework.
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QuickTime File Format Specification (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the file format and internal data structures of QuickTime movies.
File Format Specification Reference 2007-09-04
CreateMovieFromReferences (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to create a movie from existing video samples in a file using AddMediaSampleReferences.
Movie Creation Sample Code 2007-08-31
QTKitCreateMovie (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates how to create a movie from a sequence of images.
Cocoa, Movie Basics Sample Code 2007-08-31
QTKitMovieFrameImage (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Using the QTMovie frameImageAtTime: withAttributes: method to get an image for the frame at a given time in a QTMovie.
Cocoa Sample Code 2007-08-31
QTKitPlayer (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
QTKit example code to open, edit, play, import and export QuickTime movies
Cocoa Sample Code 2007-08-31
OpenGLCaptureToMovie (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
How to capture the screen on Mac OS X using OpenGL and save to a QuickTime movie.
Cocoa Sample Code 2007-08-30
How can I work with MPEG-2 media using QuickTime? (HTML)
QA1540: How to work with MPEG-2 media using QuickTime.
Import & Export, Media Types & Media Handlers, Movie Basics Technical Q&As 2007-08-29
How do I create a QuickTime movie from PCM audio samples in memory? (HTML)
QA1539: How to create a QuickTime movie from PCM audio samples in memory
Audio Technical Q&As 2007-08-29
QT Capture Widget (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
A Dashboard widget that uses the QTKit capture API to provide video and audio capture.
Internet & Web Sample Code 2007-08-27
CaptureAndCompressIPBMovie (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Captures video & recompresses it using H.264 also captures audio saving the output in a movie file.
Compression & Decompression, Movie Creation Sample Code 2007-08-14
MakeiPhoneRefMovie (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates how to generate QuickTime Reference Movies for iPhone.
File Format Specification, Internet & Web, Movie Creation, Movie Internals Sample Code 2007-08-03
Capturing a real-time movie stream (HTML)
QA1535: Capturing real-time movie streams
Streaming Technical Q&As 2007-07-30
Where do QuickTime extension files reside on Windows systems? (HTML)
QTW100: Describes where to locate QuickTime extension files on Windows systems.
Design Guidelines, QuickTime for Windows Technical Q&As 2007-07-30
QTCaptureFileOutput Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an interface for writing captured media to files.
Cocoa Reference 2007-07-23
QTKit Constants Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the constants and error codes in the QTKit framework.
Cocoa Reference 2007-07-19
QTKit Reference Update (HTML) (PDF)
Summarizes the symbols added to the QuickTime Kit framework.
Cocoa Release Notes 2007-07-18
QuickTime Reference Update (HTML) (PDF)
Summarizes the symbols added to the QuickTime framework.
General Release Notes 2007-07-18
Updating Applications for QuickTime 6 (HTML)
TN2140: Discusses steps to update QuickTime applications covering QuickTime 6.0 to 6.5.2
Carbon Technical Notes 2007-05-15
NSCoder QTKit Additions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes additions for encoding and decoding time and time range structures.
Cocoa Reference 2007-05-07
NSValue QTKit Additions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes additions for wrapping time and time range structures.
Cocoa Reference 2007-05-07
QuickTime Video Effects and Transitions Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes QuickTime video effect components and how to use them.
Video Effects & Transitions Guides 2007-05-03
QTMovieView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a view for playing a QuickTime movie.
Cocoa Reference 2007-05-01
QTRecorder (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to use the new QTKit capture classes introduced in 10.5.
Cocoa, Movie Creation Sample Code 2007-04-10
QuickTime 7.1.5 Security Enhancements (HTML)
QA1520: Discusses the security enhancements and other changes contained in the QuickTime 7.1.5 Update.
Import & Export, Internet & Web Technical Q&As 2007-04-02
QuickTime 7.1 Update Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the new features, enhancements, and APIs available in QuickTime 7.1, including code samples that illustrate usage.
General Guides 2007-03-06
Adding metadata to an iTunes file using the QuickTime Metadata APIs (HTML)
QA1508: How to add metadata to a movie using the QuickTime Metadata APIs
Movie Basics Technical Q&As 2007-02-14
SoftVDigX (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates the "Compressed Source" model and an updated implementation of the Video Digitizer APIs for Mac OS X.
Compression & Decompression, Hardware & Drivers, Import & Export, QuickTime Component Creation Sample Code 2007-02-14
Core Video - Available Pixel Formats (HTML)
QA1501: Discusses how to determine all the pixel format types and format descriptions known to Core Video.
Graphics & Imaging Technical Q&As 2007-01-23
QuickTime Component Creation Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Tells you how to build new media handler and preview components to extend the capabilities of QuickTime.
Media Types & Media Handlers, QuickTime Component Creation Guides 2007-01-08
QuickTime Movie Creation Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes some of the different ways your application can create a new QuickTime movie.
Movie Creation Guides 2007-01-08
Movie Manager Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for the QuickTime Movie Manager.
Movie Basics Reference 2006-12-14
Standard Audio - Parsing the kQTSCAudioPropertyID_CodecSpecificSettingsArray property (HTML)
QA1437: Discusses how to parse the kQTSCAudioPropertyID_CodecSpecificSettingsArray property returned from StdAudio. Also see Q&A 1390.
Audio Technical Q&As 2006-11-30
What depth should I put in an Image Description? (HTML) (日本語 HTML)
QA1183: Describes how to select the correct value for the depth field of an image description.
Compression & Decompression Technical Q&As 2006-11-27
Standard Audio - The CodecSpecificSettingsArray and MagicCookie properties (HTML)
QA1390: Discusses Core Audio AudioConverter configuration with StdAudio, specifically the CodecSpecificSettingsArray property.
Audio Technical Q&As 2006-11-16
Compression Sequence APIs - codecErr returned when compressing with H.264 (HTML)
QA1470: Describes why ICM Compression Sequence APIs cannot be used to encode to H.264
Compression & Decompression, Graphics & Imaging Technical Q&As 2006-11-15
Standard Audio - Setting output ASBD returns badFormatErr (HTML)
QA1489: Discusses why badFormatErr may be returned from Standard Audio
Audio Technical Q&As 2006-11-15
Media Types and Media Handlers Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for QuickTime media handlers.
Media Types & Media Handlers Reference 2006-11-10
QuickTime Movie Track and Media Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for managing QuickTime movie tracks and their media.
Media Types & Media Handlers Reference 2006-11-10
QuickTime Virtual Reality Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for QuickTime Virtual Reality.
Virtual Reality Reference 2006-11-10
QTExtractAndConvertToAIFF (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates using MovieAudioExtraction and an AudioConverter to extract and convert audio to a AIFF file.
Audio, Cocoa Sample Code 2006-11-08
QTExtractAndConvertToMovieFile (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates using MovieAudioExtraction and an AudioConverter to extract and convert audio to a QuickTime movie file.
Audio, Carbon, Cocoa Sample Code 2006-11-08
Compression Sessions - Multipass encoding and the pass mode flags (HTML)
QA1457: Discusses how the pass mode flags work when performing multipass compression operations.
Carbon, Compression & Decompression Technical Q&As 2006-10-02
Tagging Handle and Pointer Data References in QuickTime (HTML)
TN1195: The use of data reference extensions used by QuickTime to tag handle and pointer data references.
Carbon, Import & Export, Movie Basics, Movie Creation Technical Notes 2006-08-30
SCAudioCompress (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates audio compression using QuickTime Standard Audio Compression Component
Audio, Carbon Sample Code 2006-08-22
QuickTime 7.1 Update Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the new functions available in QuickTime 7.1.
General Release Notes 2006-08-14
LiveVideoMixer3 (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
LiveVideoMixer3 is extended to support Video In via QTKit
Cocoa, Graphics & Imaging Sample Code 2006-08-01
QTKitButtonTester (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to use the QTMovieView methods for hiding and showing the buttons in the movie controller bar.
Cocoa, Movie Basics Sample Code 2006-08-01
QTKitThreadedExport (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to export a QTMovie on a background thread.
Cocoa, Import & Export Sample Code 2006-08-01
QTNoStepsDemo (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to subclass QTMovieView to override its default behaviors.
Cocoa, Movie Basics Sample Code 2006-08-01
TrackFormatDemo (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to get a human-readable, localized description of a track's format.
Cocoa Sample Code 2006-08-01
WritableFileDemo (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to create an empty, writable file associated with a QTMovie object.
Cocoa Sample Code 2006-08-01
QuickTime 7.1 User's Guide (PDF)
Explains how to use QuickTime Player and QuickTime Pro for Mac OS X and Windows computer users.
Import & Export, Internet & Web, Movie Basics, Movie Creation, QuickTime for Windows, Video Effects & Transitions Guides 2006-07-24
qtdataexchange.win (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Import files, export a movie into any format supported by QuickTime's movie exporters.
Import & Export, QuickTime for Windows Sample Code 2006-07-20
MovieAudioExtraction - Extracting all available audio samples (HTML)
QA1481: Describes how to correct for MovieAudioExtraction missing some audio samples at the end of audio files.
Audio Technical Q&As 2006-07-18
MovieVideoChart (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates direct access to video samples in movie files, using B-frame-aware APIs in QuickTime 7.
Compression & Decompression, Movie Internals Sample Code 2006-07-11
QTPixelBufferVCToCGImage (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates using QTPixelBufferContextCreate with NewMovieFromProperties to output pixel buffers from a movie and draw them.
Carbon, Graphics & Imaging, Movie Basics Sample Code 2006-07-07
AddTextMovie (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Adds a text track to an existing movie selected by the user.
Java Sample Code 2006-06-28
ImageFile (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to use GraphicsImporter to import and display a wide range of image file formats.
Java Sample Code 2006-06-28
QTSimpleApplet (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to display any QuickTime content within a java.awt.Applet.
Java Sample Code 2006-06-28
QTStreamingApplet (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to display QuickTime streaming content within a java.awt.Applet.
Java Sample Code 2006-06-28
TimeCode (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates how to add and remove TimeCode tracks to a movie.
Java Sample Code 2006-06-28
Using the QTKit Framework (HTML)
Learn how the QuickTime Kit works and how to use it in your application.
Cocoa Articles 2006-06-19
Component Creation Reference for QuickTime (HTML) (PDF)
Dscribes the API for creating QuickTime movie import, export, and preview components.
QuickTime Component Creation Reference 2006-05-23
Compression and Decompression Reference for QuickTime (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for QuickTime compression and decompression operations.
Compression & Decompression Reference 2006-05-23
Data Components Reference for QuickTime (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for QuickTime data components.
Import & Export Reference 2006-05-23
Image Codec Reference for QuickTime (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for QuickTime image codecs.
Compression & Decompression Reference 2006-05-23
Image Compression Manager Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for QuickTime image compression.
Compression & Decompression Reference 2006-05-23
Import and Export Reference for QuickTime (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for QuickTime graphics importing and exporting.
Import & Export Reference 2006-05-23
Movie Controller Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for QuickTime movie controllers.
Movie Basics Reference 2006-05-23
Movie Toolkit Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for QuickTime Movie Toolkit.
Movie Creation Reference 2006-05-23
QTKit Data Types Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the data types and constants in the QTKit framework.
Cocoa Reference 2006-05-23
QuickTime Atoms and Resources Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes API details of QuickTime atoms and public resources.
General Reference 2006-05-23
QuickTime Callbacks Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for QuickTime callbacks.
General Reference 2006-05-23
QuickTime Constants Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes constants defined in the QuickTime framework that are not described in individual API reference documents.
General Reference 2006-05-23
QuickTime Data Types Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes data types defined in the QuickTime framework that are not described in individual API reference documents.
General Reference 2006-05-23
QuickTime Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for QuickTime.
Carbon, General Reference 2006-05-23
QuickTime Movie Properties Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for managing QuickTime movie properties.
Movie Internals Reference 2006-05-23
QuickTime Music Architecture Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for the QuickTime Music Architecture.
Audio Reference 2006-05-23
QuickTime Streaming Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for QuickTime Streaming.
Streaming Reference 2006-05-23
Sequence Grabber Reference for QuickTime (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for QuickTime sequence grabbing.
Movie Creation Reference 2006-05-23
Video Components Reference for QuickTime (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for QuickTime video components.
Media Types & Media Handlers Reference 2006-05-23
Windows API Reference for QuickTime (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Windows interface to QuickTime.
QuickTime for Windows Reference 2006-05-23
CreatePictFile (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Creates a QTComponent from a PICT, JPEG or GIF file using a GraphicsImporter.
Java Sample Code 2006-05-11
CustomMedia (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates how to subclass quicktime.std.movies.media.Media to support custom media types.
Java Sample Code 2006-05-11
DukeMovie (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates playback of any QuickTime content within a java.awt display space using a QTComponent.
Java Sample Code 2006-05-11
ImportExport (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates both importing and referencing a media file and performing a movie export with customisable settings.
Java Sample Code 2006-05-11
KeyboardController (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to customise user controlled playback of a movie using the keyboard.
Java Sample Code 2006-05-11
MovieCallbacks (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to display a QuickTime movie within a window and add Call-backs.
Java Sample Code 2006-05-11
MovieTextFinder (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to search for text within the text track of a QuickTime movie.
Java Sample Code 2006-05-11
Music (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to use QuickTime's music components.
Java Sample Code 2006-05-11
PlayMovie (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates QuickTime content playback within a java.awt.Frame using the QTFactory to create a QTComponent.
Java Sample Code 2006-05-11
PlaySound (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to play a sound or midi file using AWT rather than a QTComponent.
Java Sample Code 2006-05-11
PlayTune (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to use the TunePlayer to play a Tune using the QuickTime Music Architecture.
Java Sample Code 2006-05-11
TimeCallbackDemo (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates how to add and remove TimeCode tracks to a movie.
Java Sample Code 2006-05-11
ImageProducing (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates how to display any QuickTime drawing object using Java's ImageProducing model.
Java Sample Code 2006-05-05
LiveVideoMixer2 (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
An updated LiveVideoMixer with DV out over FireWire
Compression & Decompression, Graphics & Imaging Sample Code 2006-05-05
SoundMemRecord (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
This code shows using the SoundManager SPB calls for simple audio recording to memory.
Java Sample Code 2006-05-05
SoundRecord (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows using the SequenceGrabber for simple audio recording
Java Sample Code 2006-05-05
QuickTime for Windows ActiveX/COM Frequently Asked Questions (HTML)
TN2120: Provides answers to many frequently asked questions about the QuickTime ActiveX/COM control
Import & Export, Movie Basics, QuickTime for Windows Technical Notes 2006-05-02
Using the kQTPropertyClass_DRM properties with QuickTime (HTML)
QA1476: Explains how to use the kQTPropertyClass_DRM properties with QuickTime media.
Movie Basics Technical Q&As 2006-04-11