blob@Apple.COM (Brian Bechtel) (06/04/91)
MOVED OVER PR NEWSWIRE AT 11:54 AM, PDT, MONDAY, JUNE 3, 1991.
Contact:
Patty Tulloch
Apple Computer, Inc.
(408) 974-5449
Brooke Cohan
Apple Computer, Inc.
(408) 974-3019
Apple Announces QuickTime,
Making Multimedia Technology Mainstream
LOS ANGELES, California--June 3, 1991--Apple Computer, Inc. today
announced a new system software architecture for the integration of
dynamic media for Macintosh computers. This software architecture,
called QuickTime, allows third-party developers to integrate
dynamic media--such as sound, video and animation--in a consistent,
seamless fashion across all applications. Apple made the
announcement in conjunction with the Seybold Digital World Conference
taking place this week in Beverly Hills, California.
"While most of the personal computer industry uses the term
multimedia to refer to a niche class of technologies, applications
and specialized computers, Apple's QuickTime breaks out of this
niche," said Roger Heinen, vice president of macintosh software
architecture. "QuickTime brings the excitement of media
integration to all mainstream Macintosh applications, all Macintosh
computers, and subsequently to all Macintosh users."
In 1984 Apple introduced Macintosh, bringing unique graphic
capabilities to all software applications. With today's
announcement of QuickTime, Apple is raising the least-common
denominator of application capabilities to include support for
dynamic data. Apple expects that any Macintosh application that
supports graphics today will soon support dynamic data.
QuickTime provides breakthrough functionality and offers a standard
platform for all Macintosh development, enabling developers to not
only extend the capabilities of current applications but also create
entirely new categories of applications. These new categories
include videoconferencing, store-and-forward video mail, low-cost
video editing, and dynamic CD-ROM magazines.
"QuickTime gives the Macintosh a substantial edge over the PC in
incorporating sound and video," said Jonathan Seybold, publisher of
the Digital Media Seybold Report. "It is a surprisingly open and
extensible software architecture for dynamic media. QuickTime's
flexibility will encourage lots of innovation and exploration among
third-party developers."
The QuickTime architecture consists of four major components: system
software, file formats, Apple Compressors, and Human Interface
Standards. These components form a software architecture that is
extensible, open, and offers cross-platform standards for dynamic
data exchange.
System Software
QuickTime is the first software extension to System 7, Apple's
recently announced upgrade to the Macintosh operating system. To
install QuickTime, developers and customers drag the QuickTime
extension into their system folder and they can immediately take
advantage of these new capabilities. QuickTime enables developers to
incorporate dynamic data in a consistent and seamless fashion across
applications. The system software component of QuickTime
incorporates three new pieces:
Movie Toolbox
Apple uses the term "movie" to denote dynamic data such as
sound, video and animation. The Movie Toolbox is a set of
system software services that make it easy for developers to
incorporate support for movies in their applications.
Image Compression Manager
The Image Compression Manager (ICM) shields applications from
the intricacies of individual compression and decompression
schemes. The ICM allows software and hardware developers to
take advantage of numerous compression schemes--such as DVI,
Group 3 fax and MPEG--in their applications, without having to
make modifications.
Component Manager
The Component Manager allows external system resources--for
example, digitizer cards, VCRs, and system software extensions--
to register their capabilities with the Macintosh system
software so any application can access these capabilities. In
the past, application developers who wanted to take advantage of
features from a hardware product such as a digitizer card would
have to write custom software for that card and update their
software each time the hardware was updated. With QuickTime,
the hardware is transparent to the software application and
developers can concentrate on the capabilities they would like
to offer their users.
File Formats
File formats are standard descriptions for a piece of data such as
text and graphics. These standard descriptions are supported by most
applications, thus allowing users to "cut and paste" or
"Publish and Subscribe" data between applications and documents.
Movie
With QuickTime, Apple is introducing a new file format, known as
"Movie." Movie refers to all dynamic data, such as a presentation
slide show or a dynamic graph of lab data. The Movie file format
is a container for this time-based data. Apple is publishing the
full specifications for the Movie file format, thus providing
developers of cross-platform applications with a standard way of
exchanging dynamic data from one computing environment to the next.
PICT Extensions
In addition to introducing the Movie file format, Apple is also
extending the PICT file format. With QuickTime, the PICT file
format will now support image compression, enabling users to
open any compressed still image from within any existing
application. The PICT file format will also offer preview
support, allowing applications to save a small "thumbnail"
of a picture along with the image itself. These thumbnails will
allow users to quickly browse through still image libraries in
the same way they currently browse through files in a folder.
Apple Compressors
With the first release of QuickTime, Apple will provide a
basic set of software compression/decompression schemes that
meet a range of compression needs for still images, animations
and video.
Photo Compressor
Apple is the first personal computer company to implement the
Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) compression scheme as a
standard part of system software. JPEG is a high-quality still
image compression scheme that offers compression ratios ranging
from 10:1 to 25:1 with no visible picture degradation.
Animation Compressor
Apple's Animation Compressor is based on run-length encoding
principles to compress computer-generated sequences from 1 to 32
bits in depth. This compression scheme displays animations--
such as a presentation slide show or a dynamic bar chart--at
acceptable speeds on all Macintosh computers. In addition, the
Animation Compressor allows complex animations--such as a 32-bit
scientific visualization data--to be previewed on any Macintosh,
thus saving users the time and expense of having to lay the
animation to videotape one frame at a time.
Video Compressor
Apple's Video Compressor--developed by Apple--allows digitized
video sequences to play back from a hard disk or CD-ROM in
real-time with no additional hardware on any Macintosh with a 68020
or higher Motorola processor.
The Video Compressor offers compression ratios ranging from 5:1
to 25:1. The video playback size is typically less than 1/4 of
the computer screen size.
Human Interface Standards
Apple is also providing human interface guidelines for dynamic
media. These guidelines will ensure ease-of-use and consistency
across applications when dealing with dynamic media.
Standard Movie Controller
Apple has designed a standard movie controller as part of
QuickTime, providing users with a consistent way to control
movies. The movie controller will allow users to: turn sound on
and off, play or stop a movie, interactively move to different
segments in the movie, step-forward and step-reverse through the
movie and provides an indication of where the user is in the
movie at all times.
Standard File Dialog Box
With QuickTime, Apple has extended the standard file dialog box
to offer developers a preview option. Application developers
can now incorporate a dialog box that includes a preview window
for still images and movies into their products.
QuickTime 1.0
The first release of QuickTime, QuickTime 1.0, will be available to
developers and customers worldwide by the end of 1991. At the
initial release, Apple will offer developers the QuickTime CD-ROM,
including the QuickTime extension, documentation, picture and movie
utilities, HyperCard XCMDs, sample code, sample drivers, and sample
content. Apple will also provide Macintosh customers with a
QuickTime Sampler floppy disk set, including the QuickTime extension,
picture, movie and conversion utilities and sample content.
The QuickTime Developer CD-ROM will be available from Apple by the
end of 1991. The QuickTime Sampler floppy disk set will be made
available worldwide through Apple resellers, and the QuickTime
extension will also be available from user groups, and electronic
bulletin boards. All pricing will be determined when QuickTime is
shipping.
-30-
Apple, the Apple logo and Macintosh are registered trademarks and
QuickTime is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
HyperCard is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., licensed
to Claris Corp.
Apple Press Releases
PR Express
6/3/91