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Technical Q&As
QuickTime is Apple's cross-platform multimedia technology for creating and delivering video, sound, animation, graphics, text, interactivity, and music. QuickTime supports dozens of file and compression formats for images, video, and audio, including ISO-compliant MPEG-4 video and AAC audio. QuickTime applications can run on Mac OS X and all major versions of Microsoft Windows. QuickTime content plays on Mac OS and Windows computers and many handheld devices, and can be served by progressive download from any web server or as realtime streams from streaming servers on all major operating systems.

QuickTime Resources
A guided introduction and learning path for developers new to QuickTime.   Essential information for developers using QuickTime.   Descriptions of the programming interface elements for QuickTime.
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Compressed and Uncompressed Samples in the Same Track (HTML)
QTMTB43: Recommends not to mix compressed and uncompressed data samples into the same sound track.
Movie Basics 1995-08-01
ConvertMovieToFile unexpected results (HTML) ()
QTMTB51: Explains why white frames can occur in a movie that was saved using ConvertMovieToFile.
Movie Basics 1999-06-14
Correct Time Values (HTML)
QTMTB32: Demonstrates finding correct time values for GetMoviePict to get all the frames of a QuickTime movie.
Movie Basics 1995-05-01
Correction to SetMediaDataRef, short, not pointer (HTML)
QTMTB44: Makes a correction to the description of SetMediaDataRef in the QT2.0 CD.
Movie Basics 1995-08-01
Creating a Movie from Movie Data in Memory (HTML)
QA1341: Describes how to create a movie from movie data in memory.
Movie Basics 2004-05-20
Creating track references when editing movies (HTML)
QTMTB61: Explains how to use the InsertTrackSegment function to copy a track reference rather than the actual media.
Movie Basics 2000-09-05
Determining QuickDrawVideo Media Pixel Depth (HTML)
QTMTB17: Demonstrates how to retrieve the pixel depth of a QuickTime video media or movie.
Movie Basics 1995-05-01
Determining required components for QuickTime movies (HTML)
QA1093: Shows how to determine if a given QuickTime movie requires a component that's not currently installed on the system.
Movie Basics 2001-11-07
Disabling QuickTime Error Dialogs When Opening or Tasking a Movie (HTML) ()
QA1164: How to disable QuickTime error dialogs which may be presented when opening or tasking a movie.
Movie Basics 2003-03-20
DV Codec settings and performance (HTML) ()
QA1149: Discusses the difference between compression quality, decompression quality, and performance with the DV codec.
Movie Basics 2004-01-20
Extracting DV Fields using QTNewGWorldFromPtr (HTML)
QA1017: Describes using QTNewGWorldFromPtr to access individual fields contained within a frame of DV source.
Movie Basics 2001-03-20
Filtering QuickTime media types in Navigation Services (HTML) ()
QA1274: Describes how to filter QuickTime media types in a Navigation Services filter procedure.
Movie Basics 2003-07-23
Filtering the Effects List returned by QTGetEffectsList (HTML) ()
QA1190: Shows how to edit the list of effects returned by the QTGetEffectsList function.
Movie Basics 2002-09-04
Functions that Modify Movie Properties, QuickTime Track, and Movie Sound Volume (HTML)
QTMTB39: Explains movie volume values, and how to exceed the maximum level using Sound Manager 3.0.
Movie Basics 1995-05-01
GetDIBFromPict fails with QuickTime "Minimum" installation (HTML)
QA1294: Demonstrates how to check for any available QuickTime components required by individual QuickTime functions.
Movie Basics 2004-09-28
Handling of Update Events While a Movie Plays (HTML)
Deprecated - QTMTB45: Describes timing issues that can be caused by applications calling WaitNextEvent while playing a QuickTime movie.
Movie Basics 1995-09-15
How can I verify that a Movie can actually draw into a non-RGB GWorld? (HTML) ()
QA1243: Techniques to verify that a Movie can actually draw into a non-RGB GWorld.
Movie Basics 2003-03-05
How do I count the frames in an MPEG movie? (HTML) ()
QTMTB54: Talks about using the QuickTime Movie Toolbox function GetMovieNextInterestingTime with MPEG media tracks.
Movie Basics 2003-05-02
How do I decompress individual frames into an offscreen? (HTML)
QTMTB57: Describes methods for decompressing individual frames of a video track into an offscreen memory buffer.
Movie Basics 2000-04-24
How to Compute Data Rate for QuickTime Movies (HTML)
QTMTB46: Describes two methods of measuring the rate of samples for Quicktime movies.
Movie Basics 1995-09-15
How to Get the First Video Frame (HTML)
QTMCC01: Describes how to get the first frame of a movie using GetMovieNextInterestingTime.
Movie Basics 1995-05-01
Importing image data from memory (HTML)
QTMTB56: Explains using the graphics importer API's to read image data which resides in memory.
Movie Basics 2000-04-03
Intercepting movie controller actions (HTML)
QA1094: Demonstrates how to intercept movie controller actions.
Movie Basics 2001-11-14
Intercepting QuickTime Wired Actions (HTML)
QA1095: Demonstrates how to intercept wired actions in a movie controller action filter function.
Movie Basics 2001-11-14
Is QuickTime thread-safe? (HTML)
QA1088: Discusses thread-safety and reentrancy of the QuickTime library on both Mac & Windows.
Movie Basics 2001-11-01
MCSetClip and Clipping with the Movie Controller (HTML)
QTMTB18: Tells why the movie controller ignores the clip set by SetMovieDisplayClipRgn and shows a correct clipping technique.
Movie Basics 1995-05-01
Movie Drawing Complete Procedure with C++ (HTML) ()
QA1150: Demonstrates a static class method which can be used as a QuickTime movie drawing complete callback.
Movie Basics 2002-06-18
Movies - Saving movie playback hints (HTML)
QA1366: Explains how to save and load media play hints from Movie files.
Movie Basics 2004-09-14
Playing memory-resident WAVE data using QuickTime 4 (HTML) ()
QTMTB52: Explains how to play memory-resident WAVE data in QuickTime 4 or later.
Movie Basics 1999-07-21
Playing QuickTime 3 Movie Sound Data (HTML) ()
QTMTB50: Explains why a movie's sound data can continue to play longer than video data.
Movie Basics 1998-11-09
Preroll Movies (HTML)
QTMTB42: Lists the advantages of calling PreRollMovie to improve the performance of QuickTime movies.
Movie Basics 1995-05-01
Programmatic configuration of a Movie Export Component (HTML) ()
QA1147: Demonstrates how to programmatically configure a movie export component without showing the Movie Export dialog.
Movie Basics 2002-06-18
QuickTime & PutMovieIntoDataFork, Offsets (HTML)
QTMTB34: Explains restrictions on moving movie data around in a file after creation; also gives work arounds.
Movie Basics 1995-05-01
QuickTime and Carbon Events (HTML)
QA1090: Discusses how to ensure smooth movie playback when using Carbon Events in an application.
Movie Basics 2001-10-26
QuickTime Media Editing (HTML) ()
QA1110: Explains the term "Media" as used in QuickTime and how it relates to media editing APIs.
Movie Basics 2002-01-16
QuickTime movies require a valid graphics port (HTML)
QA1345: The QuickTime Movie Toolbox requires a valid graphics port for all movies.
Movie Basics 2004-03-19
QuickTime Toolbox GetMovieTime Call (HTML)
QTMTB38: Provides the calls to change the current time and to reposition a movie to play from the start.
Movie Basics 1995-05-01
Retrieving Audio from QuickTime Files (HTML)
QTMTB30: Describes how to retrieve audio from QuickTime files in 1 second chunks.
Movie Basics 1995-05-01
Saving changes to modified movies (HTML)
QTMTB60: Describes how to ensure any changes made to a movie are saved.
Movie Basics 2000-09-05
Saving playback hints in a Movie (HTML) ()
QA1194: Demonstrates how to use the SetTrackLoadSettings function to save the hintsHighQuality playback hint in a movie.
Movie Basics 2002-09-04
Saving QuickTime Movie Files (HTML) ()
QTMTB47: Explains a few complications one might face in creating and saving QuickTime movie files.
Movie Basics 1997-01-31
SetSoundMediaBalance balance parameter clarification (HTML) ()
QTMTB49: Describes correct parameter values for the SetSoundMediaBalance routine.
Movie Basics 2004-12-01
Setting a Movie's Clipping Region (HTML)
QTMTB23: Explains why ShowMoviePoster doesn't honor the clipping region when clipped to the cell size.
Movie Basics 1995-05-01
Setting Sequence Grabber Sound Input Device Driver Parameters (HTML) ()
QA1204: Setting sound input device driver parameters for QuickTime sequence grabber audio channels.
Movie Basics 2002-10-25
Setting the movie background color (HTML) ()
QTMTB53: Describes how to apply a background color to an entire movie.
Movie Basics 1999-08-16
SGSetSettings unexpected results (HTML)
QTMTB55: Explains why subsequent calls to the SGSetSettings can fail after the first call to SGSetSettings completed successfully.
Movie Basics 1999-10-11
Stepping Through QuickTime-Movie (HTML)
QTMTB28: Describes how to get the first frame of a movie using GetMovieNextInterestingTime.
Movie Basics 1995-05-01
Track Editing (HTML)
QTMCC17: Discusses different APIs used to edit tracks in QuickTime movies.
Movie Basics 2000-09-22
Using a QuickTime time base callback to detect when a movie has stopped (HTML) ()
QA1282: Using a QuickTime time base callback (NewCallBack) to detect when a movie has stopped.
Movie Basics 2003-08-12
Using MovieExportSetSampleDescription to specify the format of exported data (HTML)
QTMTB59: Describes using the ConvertMovieToFile routine to export a WAV audio-only movie to an AIFF file using a specific compressor.
Movie Basics 2000-09-05
Using Navigation Services to filter QuickTime files (HTML) ()
QA1152: Using the CanQuickTimeOpenFile function in a Navigation Services filter to display files that QuickTime can open.
Movie Basics 2002-07-15
Using QTSetAtomData (HTML) ()
QA1231: Explains what QTSetAtomData does with the data passed into it.
Movie Basics 2003-01-14
Using QuickTime to access MP3 ID3 Tags (HTML) ()
QA1135: Demonstrates how to extract User Data from QuickTime Movies.
Movie Basics 2002-04-11
Using SetMovieGWorld to draw to the window back buffer (HTML)
QA1043: Explains how to draw into the back buffer with SetMovieGWorld.
Movie Basics 2001-06-26
What is SetMovieDefaultDataRef? (HTML) ()
QTMTB48: Describes the routine SetMovieDefaultDataRef and includes sample code showing how to use it.
Movie Basics 1997-03-14
Why does my identity matrix look strange? (HTML) ()
QA1227: Discusses the MatrixRecord structure and QuadToQuadMatrix function.
Movie Basics 2003-01-15
Creating a Movie from Movie Data in Memory (HTML)
QA1341: Describes how to create a movie from movie data in memory.
Movie Creation 2004-05-20
Keyframes and AddMediaSample (HTML)
QTMCC20: Describes setting flags correctly for AddMediaSample to mark keyframes and difference frames.
Movie Creation 2000-12-01
MPEG Compression in QuickTime (HTML)
QTICM16: Describes extracting information from an MPEG movie file and placing it in a specific MPEG track.
Movie Creation 1995-08-01
Preview image quality of DV capture (HTML)
QTMCC12: Describes how to get full resolution preview image quality when capturing DV.
Movie Creation 2000-10-25
Sequence Grabber - Determining the capture resolution of an IIDC device (HTML)
QA1403: Discusses how to determine the resolution of a captured image from an IIDC device
Movie Creation 2005-01-06
Sequence Grabber - Ensuring the SG TimeBase is being driven by the Sound Clock. (HTML)
QA1314: Ensuring the Sequence Grabber TimeBase is being driven by the Sound Clock when recording audio and video.
Movie Creation 2003-10-24
Sequence Grabber - How do I save user settings as CFPreferences? (HTML)
QA1286: Saving UserData settings returned from the Sequence Grabber as CFPreferences.
Movie Creation 2003-09-04
Sequence Grabber - How often should I call SGIdle? (HTML)
QA1349: This Q&A discusses how often SGIdle should be called when capturing using the Sequence Grabber.
Movie Creation 2004-04-06
Sequence Grabber - Setting the sound channel play through state (HTML)
QA1303: Setting the Sound play though state when previewing and recording a sound channel with the Sequence Grabber.
Movie Creation 2003-09-23
Sequence Grabber - Using the SGDataProc for Sound (HTML)
QA1348: This Q&A discusses how you can use a Sound SGChannel with the Sequence Grabber DataProc
Movie Creation 2004-04-06
Sequence Grabber - Video capture with multiple IIDC cameras (HTML)
QA1365: Discusses factors which influence the number of IIDC cameras that can simultaniously be used for capture.
Movie Creation 2004-08-25
Sequence Grabber Source, Video, and Channel Bounds (HTML) ()
QA1250: Explains the QuickTime Sequence Grabber's relationship between the Source, Video, and Channel Bounds when capturing video.
Movie Creation 2003-07-16
Setting Sequence Grabber Sound Input Device Driver Parameters (HTML) ()
QA1204: Setting sound input device driver parameters for QuickTime sequence grabber audio channels.
Movie Creation 2002-10-25
SGSetSettings unexpected results (HTML)
QTMTB55: Explains why subsequent calls to the SGSetSettings can fail after the first call to SGSetSettings completed successfully.
Movie Creation 1999-10-11
Unwanted Audio with DV Capture (HTML) ()
QA1105: Explains why audio is captured from a DV source even though you may not want to.
Movie Creation 2002-01-14
Choosing the Position Where a Movie is Pasted (HTML)
QTMTB26: Explains how the position of a pasted movie is determined and shows how to force a given location.
Movie Internals 1995-05-01
Creating track references when editing movies (HTML)
QTMTB61: Explains how to use the InsertTrackSegment function to copy a track reference rather than the actual media.
Movie Internals 2000-09-05
Linked Movies with Different Color Palettes (HTML) ()
QTMRF07: Explains why a QuickTime movie shouldn't contain subMovies that have different color palettes.
Movie Internals 1996-02-15
MCSetClip and Clipping with the Movie Controller (HTML)
QTMTB18: Tells why the movie controller ignores the clip set by SetMovieDisplayClipRgn and shows a correct clipping technique.
Movie Internals 1995-05-01
Setting a Movie's Clipping Region (HTML)
QTMTB23: Explains why ShowMoviePoster doesn't honor the clipping region when clipped to the cell size.
Movie Internals 1995-05-01
Specifying Chunk Sizes (HTML)
QTPC08: Discusses the meaning of a QuickTime movie atom's chunk value.
Movie Internals 1995-08-01
Stepping Through QuickTime-Movie (HTML)
QTMTB28: Describes how to get the first frame of a movie using GetMovieNextInterestingTime.
Movie Internals 1995-05-01
Available FireWire Isochronous Bandwidth (HTML)
QA1356: Discusses attempting to "pre-flight" an isochronous bandwidth allocation request by reading the currently available bandwidth.
Music & Audio 2004-07-07
Avoiding Pauses When Looping Audio files with QuickTime (HTML)
QA1371: Demonstrates how to avoid pauses when looping audio files with QuickTime
Music & Audio 2004-09-08
Batch Exporting movie sound tracks with ConvertMovieToFile() (HTML)
QTMTB62: Explains how to configure ConvertMovieToFile to use the same configuration information for more than one call.
Music & Audio 2000-09-05
Core Audio & Xcode - Ensuring the latest Core Audio Headers are installed (HTML)
QA1386: Describes how to ensure you're working with the latest Core Audio Header files with Xcode.
Music & Audio 2005-01-18
Developing a QuickTime Musical Instrument (HTML)
Deprecated - QTMA05: Explains resolving the lack of QuickTime 2.0 API support for creating new music components.
Music & Audio 1995-05-01
Playing memory-resident WAVE data using QuickTime 4 (HTML) ()
QTMTB52: Explains how to play memory-resident WAVE data in QuickTime 4 or later.
Music & Audio 1999-07-21
Playing QuickTime 3 Movie Sound Data (HTML) ()
QTMTB50: Explains why a movie's sound data can continue to play longer than video data.
Music & Audio 1998-11-09
QuickTime Music Architecture Header Update (HTML) ()
QTMA06: Explains missing and changed items in QuickTime 2.5.
Music & Audio 1996-08-21
SetSoundMediaBalance balance parameter clarification (HTML) ()
QTMTB49: Describes correct parameter values for the SetSoundMediaBalance routine.
Music & Audio 2004-12-01
Setting Sequence Grabber Sound Input Device Driver Parameters (HTML) ()
QA1204: Setting sound input device driver parameters for QuickTime sequence grabber audio channels.
Music & Audio 2002-10-25
Using MovieExportSetSampleDescription to specify the format of exported data (HTML)
QTMTB59: Describes using the ConvertMovieToFile routine to export a WAV audio-only movie to an AIFF file using a specific compressor.
Music & Audio 2000-09-05
Base-Derived async image codecs must implement ImageCodecQueueStarting and ImageCodecQueueStopping (HTML) ()
QA1157: Describes why base-derived codecs that set canAsync must implement ImageCodecQueueStarting and ImageCodecQueueStopping.
QuickTime Component Creation 2002-07-09
Component Definitions (HTML)
QTMCC14: Discusses the differences between components, component instances, component storage, and component RefCons.
QuickTime Component Creation 2000-09-22
couldNotResolveDataRef (-2000) returned from DataHSetDataRef and OpenADataHandler (HTML) ()
QA1116: Describes why DataHSetDataRef and OpenADataHandler may return a couldNotResolveDataRef error in the writing case.
QuickTime Component Creation 2002-02-07
Derived Media Handler Components Update (HTML) ()
QTMCC08: Gives practical limits for data transfer rates under QuickTime 2.5.
QuickTime Component Creation 1996-08-21
Dynamically registering a bundled component (HTML)
QA1083: Describes how to dynamically register a Component which resides in an Application bundle.
QuickTime Component Creation 2004-06-07
Filtering the Effects List returned by QTGetEffectsList (HTML) ()
QA1190: Shows how to edit the list of effects returned by the QTGetEffectsList function.
QuickTime Component Creation 2002-09-04
How can I find out what non-RGB pixel formats a codec supports? (HTML) ()
QA1249: Applications can find out if a codec supports non-RGB pixel formats.
QuickTime Component Creation 2004-01-05
Image Decompressor Data-loading Procs (HTML) ()
QTMCC19: Explains how to use an image decompressor's data-loading proc.
QuickTime Component Creation 2003-07-10
ImageDescription Extension Format (HTML) ()
QTMCC04: Gives a reference for information on image description extensions.
QuickTime Component Creation 1996-11-27
Importer Components - What is the 'mcfg' resource used for? (HTML) ()
QA1267: QuickTime 6 added the Media Configuration 'mcfg' resource which lists Importer Component file type characteristics.
QuickTime Component Creation 2003-05-12
Intercepting movie controller actions (HTML)
QA1094: Demonstrates how to intercept movie controller actions.
QuickTime Component Creation 2001-11-14