Automating QuickTime Player on Windows
In Windows, you can use JavaScript, Visual Basic, or other Active Scripting languages to
automate QuickTime Player functions. As with AppleScript on Mac OS X, you can
control movie playback, convert movies from one format to another, adjust movie and
track properties, and more.
There are three QuickTime Player objects available for use:
 QuickTimePlayerApp
The application object. This object has a Players property which returns a collection
of the QuickTime Player windows. The Quit method exits the program.
 QuickTimePlayers
Use this object to enumerate player windows; the Remove and Add methods permit
the removal and creation of new QuickTime Player windows.
 QuickTimePlayer
This object has properties and methods to open movies, control the window’s
position and appearance, and to interact with its menus. The QTControl property
returns the ActiveX control hosting the window’s movie:
To examine the QuickTime Player or QuickTime Control interfaces in detail, look at the
Apple QuickTime Player Library 1.0 or Apple QuickTime Control 2.0 interfaces in a COM
object browser.
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Glossary
AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) An audio file format used widely on the web.
aspect ratio The relationship between the height and width of an image.
audio channel Audio tracks can contain one or more channels of audio data. Each
channel represents the sound directed to a particular speaker. For instance, stereo
tracks contain two audio channels.
audio channel label Each audio channel may be labeled to specify where its sound
should be directed. In a stereo track, the channels are typically labeled Left and Right.
In a 5.1 surround sound track, there are labels for Left, Right, Center, Left Surround,
Right Surround, and LFE Screen (the subwoofer).
bandwidth The capacity of a network connection, measured in bits or bytes per
second (bps or Bps), for carrying data.
BMP A bitmapped graphics format used for still images in the Windows environment.
bitmapped Represented by pixels.
chapter list A list of “locations” in a movie. A user can choose an item from the chapter
list to go to that point in the movie.
codec From “compressor/decompressor.” A codec is technology for compressing and
decompressing data. Codecs can be implemented in software, hardware, or a
combination of the two. Codecs can by “lossy” or “lossless,” depending on whether data
is lost during compression.
compression The process of reducing the data size of a file.
Darwin Streaming Server A technology for delivering media over the Internet in real
time. Based on the same code as Apple’s QuickTime Streaming Server (QTSS), Darwin
Streaming Server is an open-source streaming server.
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Glossary
Fast Start A method of delivering a movie so that it can start playing before it is fully
downloaded.
frame A single image in a movie.
frame rate The number of frames displayed per second.
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) A file format for images.
hint track In a streamed movie, a hint track specifies for the server how the movie’s
content is to be transmitted.
hot spot A place in a virtual reality movie where the user can interact with the movie
using the mouse.
Instant-On A technology that dramatically improves access to streaming content for
broadband users.
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) A standard for compressing still images.
layer In QuickTime movies, how an image is displayed depends on its layer; images
with lower layer numbers are displayed on top.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) A software and hardware standard set by
the music industry that enables electronic instruments to communicate with one
another and with computers.
MP3 (MPEG-1 layer 3) A format for compressing music.
MPEG-4 An ISO standard based on the QuickTime file format that defines multimedia
file and compression formats.
node In QuickTime VR, a point from which an object or panorama can be viewed.
NTSC (National Television System Committee) The organization that defines North
American broadcast standards. The term NTSC video also refers to the video standard
defined by the committee, which is 29.97 fps, 525 lines per frame, and interlaced.
PAL (Phase Alternation by Line) A video format used by many European countries and
other countries outside North America. The PAL standard is 25 fps, 625 lines per frame,
and interlaced.
PICT A Mac OS picture file format that does not apply compression to an image and
therefore maintains the same quality level from copy to copy.
pixel The onscreen dots that form text and graphics. A contraction of the words picture
and element.
plug-in Software that helps a web browser interpret certain types of media files.
Glossary
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PNG (Portable Network Graphics) A file format for images.
poster In QuickTime, a still image, usually a single frame from a movie, used to
represent the movie to users.
protocol A set of standards for sending and receiving information on a network.
QTSS (QuickTime Streaming Server) A technology used to deliver media over the
Internet in real time.
QuickTime Player An application that opens and plays QuickTime movies, as well as
many other kinds of files.
QuickTime Pro A version of QuickTime Player with advanced features, primarily the
addition of editing capabilities.
QuickTime VR A QuickTime media type with which users can interact with three-
dimensional places and objects.
reference movie A file that contains the location of one or more media files. A
reference file linked from a webpage, for example, can direct a QuickTime Player to the
version encoded for a particular connection speed.
RGB Red, green, blue; a way of representing colors onscreen.
RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol) A protocol for controlling a stream of real-time
multimedia content. Sources of data can include both live feeds and stored digital
video.
sprite An image that is defined once and is then animated by commands that change
its position or appearance.
streaming Delivery of video or audio data over a network in real time, in packets
instead of in a single file download.
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) A format for graphics, commonly used to transfer
bitmapped images between applications.
track A single data type in a QuickTime movie. A movie may contain one or more
tracks.
tween track A track that modifies the display of other tracks.
virtual reality (VR) The effect achieved by QuickTime VR, where users can manipulate
objects or environments.
wav A Windows format for sound files.
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