Apple unveils enhancements

Electronic News, May 6, 1996

San Jose, Calif.--At a reception last week at Internet World, Apple Computer demonstrated new enhancements to its QuickTime architecture. The new enhancements, scheduled to be part of QuickTime 2.5 later this spring, will increase the need for video capture cards, video accelerator boards and multiprocessor cards in order to provide improved video editing and faster media compression.

Companies such as DayStar Digital, Inc., a maker of Mac clone stand-alone workstations in Flowery Branch, Ga., said its Genesis MP multiprocessing systems will support QuickTime 2.5. Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., plans to extend its line of Javelin multimedia accelerator cards this fall to support QuickTime 2.5. The enhancements are also good news for the Macintosh clone market. "Now anyone can make a multiprocessor card for the Mac." said Jonathan Knowles, senior product manager for QuickTime Technology Interactive Media Group in Cupertino, Calif.

QuickTime is a multi-platform standard architecture used by media software tool vendors and content creators to store, edit and deliver synchronized video, sound, graphics, text and music through a wide range of media, including the Internet, CD-ROMs and traditional broadcasting. Enhancements to QuickTime include a standard M-JPEG format to allow for easy exchange of files between different M-JPEG boards on all Macintosh computers. QuickTime 2.5 will include a software interchangeable M-JPEG codec that will let video editors view M-JPEG compressed files on any Power Macintosh system. In addition, the new version will use Apple's QuickDraw 3-D engine for rendering 3-D objects in real time within a QuickTime movie.

Also at the demonstration, Apple made two new announcements. The company has agreed to license Sun Microsystems' Java programming environment. Apple plans to incorporate Java into its Macintosh, Pippin and Newton operating systems. Netscape Communications announced it will license QuickTime plug-ins to be included in an upcoming version of Netscape Navigator 3.0., due out this month.

The plug-ins are designed to provide World Wide Web and intranet users with the ability to experience music, animation, audio, video and virtual reality panoramas. A fast-start feature lets users experience various media on a Web page during the download process, rather than waiting to view the file at the end of the download.