QuickTime is Apple Computer's offering in the media player and development market, which includes the likes of RealNetwork's RealMedia and Windows Media (with their associated players). In addition to offering support for the playing of QuickTime Movie files, the QuickTime player supports multiple other file types, including MP3, AVI, DV, and MIDI. The QuickTime Player is a free download and is available for both the Windows and Macintosh platforms. Also available is the QuickTime creation and development platform QuickTime Pro, which retails for $29.99.

Over time, QuickTime has continuously added support for additional file formats, including Flash 4, Cubic VR, Shoutcast, and the Sorenson Video 3 codec. Support for these additional file formats means that the player can recognize and deliver presentations and media developed using those platforms. Additional features include support for an inline component downloader that allows the player to recognize the need for 3rd party plug-ins and download them automatically when necessary; and, when used in combination with the QuickTime Streaming Server, a technology known as "skip protection" which seeks to minimize dropped frames as a result of poor Internet connections.

The newest release of QuickTime, QuickTime 6, adds full support for MPEG-4, as well as Flash 5 support and MPEG-4 AAC (Advanced Audio Encoding). According to Apple, the QuickTime 6 software was "...complete and ready for release" in February of this year, but was originally delayed due to a dispute in the way the MPEG-4 format is licensed. This dispute having been resolved, the final version of QuickTime 6 is now available.

Visit Apple's site for downloads and further information.

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