Discovering QuickTime : An Introduction for Windows and Macintosh Programmers

by Towner, George

• ISBN13: 9780120596409
• ISBN10: 0120596407
• Edition: CD
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-06-01
• Publisher: Elsevier Science Ltd

Summary

Written for programmers, multimedia designers, and everyone interested in the latest media technology, this book gives you a step-by-step introduction to QuickTime programming, from movies and animation to streaming video on the Internet. The CD-ROM in the back provides working applications, sample code, and the essential programming resources you need to get started. QuickTime sets the standard for worldwide distribution of multimedia content. An increasing number of Windows and Macintosh application developers use its extensive toolkit to bring time and action to their programs. If you're going to compete in today's multimedia world, you need to understand QuickTime. What can QuickTime do for you? QuickTime is a complete system for working with all aspects of digital media. With QuickTime, you can: * Build, play, and edit movies on both Windows and Macintosh computers. * Fill your movies with a wide range of video, audio, graphic, and animation data, using most popular formats and compression standards. * Create Windows and Macintosh movie files that you can stream over the Internet or deliver on CD-ROM. * Make animated graphics with interactive capabilities. * Compose and play synthetic sounds and music, using QuickTime's built-in MIDI synthesizer. * Create virtual reality environments and 3D interactive models. This book shows you how to harness the power of QuickTime. It doesn't take weeks of work to achieve sophisticated multimedia effects; fewer than a dozen lines of Java or C can bring the power of QuickTime into your application. * * Includes a companion CD-ROM packed with QuickTime support materials, reference materials, and examples

Author Biography

A former software developer and filmmaker, George Towner works with the QuickTime team at Apple Computer's headquarters in Cupertino. He has written 14 books about computer technology and is currently lead writer for QuickTime technical documentation.

Table of Contents

Preface About This Book	xix
Why You Need This Book	xx
Installing QuickTime 4 and Using the CD	xxi
A Quick Tour	xxii
Getting More Information	xxiii
Part 1 The World of QuickTime	1	(184)
Introduction	3	(14)
Frequently Asked Questions	3	(3)
A Few Definitions	6	(6)
Movies	7	(3)
Components	10	(2)
Atoms	12	(1)
Multiplatform Programming	12	(3)
Quick Summary	15	(1)
The Next Five Chapters	15	(2)
The QuickTime User Experience	17	(26)
Playing a Movie	18	(7)
Invoking the Movie Controller	18	(3)
Assigning a Movie to a Controller	21	(1)
Handling Events	22	(1)
Controlling the Controller	23	(1)
Filtering Controller Actions	24	(1)
Releasing Memory	24	(1)
Controlling Playback	25	(2)
User Controls	25	(1)
Power Keys	26	(1)
Chapter Lists	27	(1)
Controller Configurations	27	(6)
Sound Only	28	(1)
Picture, Video, or Text Only	29	(1)
Virtual Reality	29	(4)
Playing Streamed Movies	33	(1)
QuickTime Player	33	(3)
Choosing Favorite Movies	35	(1)
Controlling Sound and Video	35	(1)
Making Movies Interactive	36	(2)
Getting Great Performance	38	(2)
Quick Summary	40	(3)
Delivering Movies	43	(34)
Movie Files	44	(6)
Movie File Format	44	(2)
Forks and Resources	46	(1)
Making a Macintosh File	47	(1)
Making a Windows File	48	(1)
Macintosh and Windows Pathnames	49	(1)
Loading and Playing Movies	50	(8)
Opening a Movie File	51	(1)
Loading a Movie	52	(2)
Reading Non-QuickTime Files	54	(1)
Selecting a Movie File	54	(1)
Exporting a Movie to a File	55	(3)
QuickTime and the Internet	58	(8)
The QuickTime Browser Plug-In	58	(2)
Accessing Movies from Web Pages	60	(4)
Internet Movie Techniques	64	(2)
Real-Time Streaming	66	(8)
Streaming Components	67	(1)
Streamed Movie Structure	68	(1)
Receiving Streaming Content	69	(2)
Serving Streaming Movies	71	(1)
Preparing a Movie for Streaming	72	(2)
Quick Summary	74	(3)
Composing Movies	77	(30)
The Movie Idea	78	(1)
How Movies Manage Time	78	(4)
Time Coordinate System	79	(1)
Media Time Scales	80	(1)
Playback Time Base	80	(1)
An Example	81	(1)
Movie Structure	82	(1)
Creating a Movie	83	(3)
Tracks and Media	86	(2)
Creating a Track	88	(7)
Putting a Track in a Movie	89	(1)
Associating a Media Reference with a Track	90	(1)
Beginning and Ending Media Editing	91	(1)
Adding Data Samples to the Media	92	(1)
Putting Media into a Track	93	(2)
Graphic Transformations	95	(3)
Clipping	96	(1)
Matrix Operations	97	(1)
Layering and Graphics Modes	98	(5)
Track Enabling	99	(1)
Layering	100	(1)
Graphics Modes	101	(2)
Sound Parameters	103	(2)
Volume	104	(1)
Balance	104	(1)
Quick Summary	105	(2)
Working with Digital Media	107	(30)
Media Types	108	(1)
Media References	108	(4)
Data Reference Structures	110	(1)
Endian Issues	111	(1)
Image Compression	112	(1)
Compression Tradeoffs	113	(4)
Compression Ratio	113	(1)
Compression Speed	114	(1)
Image Quality	114	(1)
Compressible Image Data	115	(1)
Key Frames	116	(1)
Standard Compression Components	117	(5)
Presenting the Compression Dialog Box	117	(1)
Compressing a Single Image	118	(2)
Compressing an Image Sequence	120	(2)
The Image Compression Manager	122	(1)
Codecs	122	(1)
Sound Formats	123	(1)
Sound Data Compression	124	(2)
Media Conversion	126	(9)
Exchanging Movie Data	127	(2)
Image Transcoders	129	(1)
Sound Data Conversion	130	(5)
Quick Summary	135	(2)
Capturing and Creating Movie Data	137	(48)
Working with Digital Files	138	(5)
Still Images	138	(3)
FlashPix	141	(1)
Sound Clips	141	(1)
Text	142	(1)
Capturing Video and Sound	143	(2)
Channels	145	(1)
Panels	145	(1)
Working with a Sequence Grabber	145	(7)
Initializing the Grabber	147	(1)
Setting Up a Graphics Port	147	(1)
Creating a Channel	147	(2)
Getting Ready	149	(1)
Previewing Captured Data	149	(1)
Recording Captured Data	150	(1)
Getting the Result	151	(1)
Sequence Grabber Panels	152	(3)
Displaying the Standard Dialog Box	153	(2)
Creating Your Own Dialog	155	(1)
Managing Sound Data	155	(2)
Adding Text to Movies	157	(4)
Text Descriptors	157	(1)
Text Channel and Digitizer Components	158	(1)
Handling Text Media	158	(2)
Text Export Settings Dialog Box	160	(1)
Creating Animation with Sprites	161	(7)
Movie Sprites	163	(2)
Desktop Sprites	165	(3)
Creating Synthetic Music	168	(7)
The QuickTime Music Architecture	169	(2)
Music Events	171	(1)
The Note Allocator	171	(3)
Synthesizers	174	(1)
Working with Vector Graphics	175	(2)
Video Digitizing	177	(4)
Video Processing and Digitizer Types	177	(3)
Digitizer Components	180	(1)
Timecodes and Clock Components	181	(2)
Timecode Tracks	181	(2)
Clock Components	183	(1)
Quick Summary	183	(2)
Part 2 Programming Techniques	185	(236)
Resources for Programmers	187	(4)
The QuickTime SDK	187	(2)
Technical Help from Apple	189	(1)
Third-Party Resources	189	(1)
Distributing QuickTime Software	190	(1)
Programming for Windows	191	(14)
Mac OS and Windows Differences	191	(3)
Win32 Graphics Structures	194	(1)
File Structures	195	(1)
Movie Files	195	(1)
Application Files	195	(1)
Windows Utility Routines	196	(3)
File Pathnames	196	(1)
Desktop Compatibility	196	(1)
QuickTime Media Layer	197	(2)
General Utilities	199	(1)
Converting Earlier QuickTime Code for Windows	199	(2)
API Name Conflicts	201	(4)
Working with QuickTime Components	205	(10)
About Components	205	(1)
The Component Manager	206	(1)
Component Types	206	(1)
Application Interface to Components	207	(5)
Finding Components	208	(2)
Opening and Closing Components	210	(1)
Getting Information about a Component	211	(1)
Building Your Own Component	212	(3)
Managing Component Connections	212	(1)
Calling Functions in Components	213	(1)
Miscellaneous Services	213	(2)
Opening and Playing Movies	215	(26)
Using QuickTime with Your Application	215	(2)
Playing a Movie	217	(4)
Playing a Movie from a Message Loop	221	(1)
A Sample Movie Playing Program for Windows	221	(20)
Initializing QuickTime	224	(2)
Setting Up a Graphics Port	226	(1)
Setting Up a Window Record	227	(2)
Defining a Graphics World	229	(5)
Using the File Selection Dialog	234	(2)
Reading Movies from Movie Files	236	(2)
Creating a Movie Controller	238	(3)
Creating and Saving Movies	241	(18)
Creating a Movie	241	(14)
Main Movie Creation Program	242	(1)
Creating and Opening a Movie File	242	(2)
Creating a Video Track	244	(1)
Adding Video Samples	245	(3)
Creating Video Data	248	(1)
Creating a Sound Track	249	(2)
Creating a Sound Description Structure	251	(4)
Saving your Movie to a File	255	(4)
Flattening the Movie	255	(2)
Exporting the Movie	257	(2)
Capturing Movie Data	259	(14)
Sequence Grabbing	259	(3)
Previewing	259	(1)
Recording	260	(2)
A Sample Data Grabbing Program	262	(11)
Initializing a Sequence Grabber Component	262	(1)
Creating Sound and Video Channels	263	(1)
Previewing Sound and Video Sequences	264	(4)
Capturing Sound and Video Data	268	(1)
Setting Up a Video Bottleneck	269	(1)
Drawing Over Video Frames	270	(3)
Working with Graphics and Sound	273	(18)
Importing Graphics	273	(5)
Importable Image File Formats	274	(1)
QTIF Format	275	(1)
Atom Types in QTIF Files	275	(2)
How Graphics Import Components Work	277	(1)
Exporting Graphics	278	(7)
Exportable Image File Formats	280	(1)
Selecting a Graphics Exporter Component	280	(1)
Specifying the Source	281	(1)
Specifying the Destination	282	(1)
Specifying Export Settings	282	(1)
Graphics Export Flags	282	(1)
Graphics Export Flags	282	(2)
Settings Dialogs	284	(1)
Finding Out about Specific Formats	285	(1)
Decompressing Images	285	(4)
Working with Sound Descriptions	289	(2)
The Sound Description Structure	289	(2)
Coding Visual Effects	291	(28)
Adding Effects and Transitions	291	(6)
Video Effects in Movies	293	(2)
Effects Outside Movies	295	(1)
Custom Video Effects	295	(2)
Video Effects user Interface	297	(1)
Displaying the Standard Parameters Dialog Box	298	(6)
Getting a List of Effects	298	(1)
Creating the Dialog Box	299	(1)
Processing Dialog Box Events	300	(2)
Adding Effects Controls to an Existing Dialog Box	302	(2)
Using Video Effects Outside a QuickTime Movie	304	(8)
Preparing an Effect for Direct Execution	305	(2)
Preparing a Decompression Sequence	307	(3)
Executing the Decompression Sequence	310	(2)
The Sample Effect Component	312	(7)
Structure of the Framework	312	(1)
Writing an Effect Component Using the Framework	313	(6)
Programming Music	319	(22)
Creating a Music Movie	319	(7)
Building a Tune Header	319	(3)
Building a Tune Sequence	322	(2)
Building the Movie	324	(2)
Using the Note Allocator	326	(2)
Playing Notes on a Note Channel	328	(1)
Playing a Melody	329	(1)
Picking an Instrument	330	(2)
Modifying Notes	332	(2)
Playing a Tune	334	(3)
Processing a MIDI Message	337	(1)
Reading a MIDI Input	338	(1)
Music Controls	339	(2)
Writing Sprite Code	341	(36)
Creating Desktop Sprites	341	(7)
Animating Sprites	344	(3)
Disposing of a Sprite Animation	347	(1)
Putting Sprites in a Movie	348	(18)
Defining a Key Frame Sample	348	(6)
Adding Sprites to the Key Frame Sample	354	(3)
Defining Override Samples	357	(2)
Setting Properties of the Sprite Track	359	(1)
Updating Sprite Data	360	(1)
Getting Sprite Data from a Modifier Track	361	(5)
Wiring Sprites	366	(2)
User Events	366	(1)
Sprite Actions	367	(1)
Creating and Using Wired Sprites	368	(9)
Setting Up the Sprite Track's Properties	369	(1)
Adding Logic to a Sprite	370	(1)
Adding a Series of Actions to a Sprite	370	(3)
Notes on the Sample Code	373	(1)
Wiring to External Movies	373	(4)
Coding for Virtual Reality	377	(28)
The VR Media Type	377	(2)
Scenes and Nodes	379	(4)
Object Nodes	380	(1)
Storing Object Node Data	381	(1)
Tricks with Object Nodes	382	(1)
Panoramas	383	(1)
Hot Spots	384	(1)
Viewing Limits and Constraints	384	(1)
Displaying a VR Movie	385	(2)
Inside the VR Manager	387	(2)
Buffers	387	(1)
Memory Management	388	(1)
Using the VR Manager	389	(16)
Is the VR Manager Available?	389	(1)
Initializing the VR Manager	390	(1)
Identifying VR Movies	390	(1)
Manipulating Viewing Angles and Zooming	391	(3)
Intercepting QuickTime VR Manager Routines	394	(4)
Entering a Node	398	(3)
Leaving a Node	401	(1)
Drawing in the Prescreen Buffer	402	(3)
Using QuickTime Atoms	405	(12)
Kinds of Atoms	405	(2)
QT Atom Hierarchies	407	(2)
Working with QT Atoms	409	(8)
Creating QT Atom Containers	410	(1)
Creating QT Atoms	410	(2)
Modifying QT Atoms	412	(1)
Searching and Retrieving	413	(4)
Accessing QuickTime through Java	417	(4)
The QuickTime/Java API	418	(1)
A Sample Applet	418	(3)
Appendix A QuickTime's Component Architecture	421	(12)
Movie Composition and Presentation	421	(2)
Movie Toolbox	421	(1)
Movie Controllers	421	(1)
Preview Components	422	(1)
Effects Components	422	(1)
Clock Components	422	(1)
Streaming Components	423	(1)
Media Processing	423	(3)
Base Image Decompressors	423	(1)
Derived Image Decompressors	423	(1)
Image Compressors	424	(1)
Data Codecs	424	(1)
Standard Image-Compression Dialog	424	(1)
Standard Sound Dialog	424	(1)
Movie Data Exchange Components	425	(1)
Base Media Handler	425	(1)
Derived Media Handlers	425	(1)
Data Handlers	425	(1)
Tween Media Handler	425	(1)
Tween Components	425	(1)
Graphics Importers	426	(1)
Graphics Exporters	426	(1)
Data Capture, Creation, and Processing	426	(1)
The Sequence Grabber Component	426	(1)
Sequence Grabber Channel Components	426	(1)
Sequence Grabber Panel Components	426	(1)
The Text Channel Component	427	(1)
Video Digitizers	427	(1)
Video Output Components	427	(1)
Final Summary: What QuickTime Does	427	(6)
Movies	427	(1)
Digital Media	428	(1)
Music and Sound	429	(1)
Sprites	430	(1)
Virtual Reality	430	(1)
Real-Time Streaming	431	(2)
Appendix B Media Types	433	(14)
Digital Video	433	(3)
Digital Audio	436	(2)
Still Images	438	(4)
Animation	442	(1)
MIDI, Audio CD, and Text	443	(2)
Real-Time Streaming	445	(2)
RTP Payload Types	445	(1)
The MPEG-4 Standard	446	(1)
Appendix C Visual Effects	447	(10)
SMPTE Video Transitions	447	(3)
Wipes	447	(1)
Irises	448	(1)
Radial Effects	448	(1)
Matrix Effects	449	(1)
Video Effects from Apple	450	(7)
Appendix D System Services in QuickTime	457	(4)
Memory Management	457	(1)
Mac OS File Management	458	(1)
QuickDraw	458	(2)
Data Structures	459	(1)
Offscreen Operations	459	(1)
Window Management	460	(1)
Appendix E Contents of the CD	461	(8)
Demonstration Programs	461	(3)
Sample Code	464	(5)
Glossary	469	(20)
Bibliography	489	(6)
QuickTime Programming	489	(1)
Multimedia Content Authoring	490	(1)
QuickTime VR	491	(1)
3D Graphics	491	(1)
Useful Web Sites	492	(3)
Index	495