Happy Holidays. We'll be back next week (January 1).
More about the future of QuickTime (specifically in relationship to MPEG-4) is in a Creative Mac article, "QuickTime Heads Toward Open Standards".
There's a new Photoshop plug-in and QuickTime component you may be interested in if you're creating QuickTime VR movies (both objects and panos), or even regular still images. You can use the plug-in to create images that (with the component) can be zoomed in without the normal loss of resolution you get when you zoom in on VR images. If you're curious, check out the Zoomify QuickTime Demo page for a download of the component and a demo of some "zoomified" files; start with the Zoomifyer Authoring Tool page to find out more about the Photoshop plug-in.
Want to embed QuickTime movies in Windows-based PowerPoint presentations? Check out the QTVRControlX. It's an ActiveX control that works in a variety of programs, including PowerPoint, MATLAB and others. (We tried it ourselves and it seems to work fine.) Go to the QuickTime for Delphi site, and click the Downloads link.
Mac OS X users may want to get Picture-in-Picture X version 1.0.
It's a $12 alternative QuickTime movie player that "floats" (i.e.
always stays on top). You'll find info and a download link at the Feelorium
web site.
A new web site, Qtilities, has a number of
inexpensive useful little utilities that will help you in the more tedious
aspects of QuickTime authoring.
You'll find a neat demo of the creation of a personalized QuickTime movie (a Christmas greeting) at the Iconceptual Oliver Mediagreetings page, where you'll also find contact information in case you're interested in building your own applications with the patented technology used for this demo, Oliver. (However, it's the kind of thing you can also do with SMIL; you might want to try it as an exercise.)
A CNET News.com article, "QuickTime prepared to make its comeback" talks about QuickTime's place on the MPEG-4 map. Even more details about versions of QuickTime with MPEG-4 support can be found in another CNET News.com article, "RealNetworks to support MPEG-4"
You can now purchase a $129 bundle of ZyGoVideo Pro (a good low data rate codec) and HipFlics (compression software) for OS/X. You can also get ZyGoVideo Pro for Mac OS 9 and Windows for a reduced price. For details read a 12/9 ZyGoVideo press release.
French speakers may be interested in a new web site, "Le garage de la vidéo pour Mac" that includes a good deal of QuickTime coverage.
Software updates:
Tribeworks has released version 2.5.1 of its iShell multimedia authoring tool, saying it includes "significant improvements for interactive Flash and QuickTime movies." (We haven't had a chance to play with it, so can't verify how "significant" the improvements really are.) You can find a link to download the tool and get more information at the Tribeworks web site.
MacTV has been updated to version 1.0.8 (for both Mac OS X and Classic). MacTV allows viewing of Mbone and Cisco IP/TV broadcasts, as well as standard QuickTime streams. You can read more and download from the MacTV Home page.
Seagull Video Player is now at version 1.2. This is a player that allows for full screen playback and the creation of playlists, among other things. You'll want check out the Versiontracker Seagull Video Player More info page (including the user reviews).
CatDV, the digital video cataloging software (for Mac OS 9, X and Window) is now up to version 2.0.3. You can download it from the CatDV Download page.Generic Media has released version 2.1 of its gMovie Maker software, a QuickTime-based tool that converts QuickTime movies into gMovies for Palm OS handhelds. Check the download page at Generic Media.
Part III of a tutorial at streamingmedia.com on "Detecting Streaming Media Players", which includes information on using Java to dynamically generate a SMIL file that opens a QuickTime stream.
Check out an Apple press release "Appleís QuickTime 5 Adoption Soars" which says that "one million copies of Appleís QuickTime 5 are being downloaded every three days".
Final Cut Pro 3, which you can read about at Apple's Final Cut Pro page.
Adobe After Effects 5.5 which you can read about at Adobe's After Effects page.
A beta of a new codec for QuickTime, Microcosm. (It supports 64-bit images, and looks like it will be useful in high-end production.) Get more info and download the beta at the Theory LLC web site.
There's a MacCentral article "VideoClix for Mac OS X completed" that covers a new tool for adding interactive hotspots to linear video.
YOW* (QuickTime mixing software) has been updated to version 2.07. Check out the YOW* web site to see the amazing and artistic ways you can combine media.
Looking for QuickTime content from commercial sources? Check out SmartStreams QuickTime Channels page.