|
When you share your movie over the Internet, you're actually sharing a file. Make sure that your intended audience can open that file. Different movie-file formats require different programs for playback. The following sections introduce you to two of the most common programs that are used for playing movies from the Internet.
QuickTime
Apple QuickTime (see Figure 1) is perhaps the most ubiquitous media player in the personal computer world today, which makes it a good overall choice for your audience. QuickTime is available for Macintosh and Windows systems and is included with Mac OS 9 and higher. QuickTime can play MPEG and QuickTime media. The QuickTime Player also supports progressive download, where files begin playing as soon as enough has been downloaded to allow continuous playback. The free QuickTime Player is available for download at Apple.com
Figure 1: Apple QuickTime is one of the most common and best media players available.
Apple also offers an upgraded version of QuickTime called QuickTime Pro. QuickTime Pro costs about $30 (the regular QuickTime Player is free). Key features of QuickTime Pro are as follows:
- Additional media-management features
- Simple audio and video creation and export tools
- Advanced import/export options
If you already have iMovie (and therefore the regular QuickTime), you don't need the extra features of QuickTime Pro. Your audience doesn't need QuickTime Pro either (unless, of course, they want to watch movies in full-screen mode). In most cases, the standard QuickTime Player should suffice. Apple iMovie exports QuickTime-format files. If you're a Windows user, QuickTime Pro allows you to convert MPEG files to QuickTime format. Some advanced Windows editing programs (such as Adobe Premiere) can also export files in QuickTime format.
RealPlayer
Another very popular media player is RealPlayer from RealNetworks. RealPlayer is available for Macintosh, Windows, and even UNIX-based systems. The free RealPlayer software is most often used for RealMedia streaming media over the Internet, although it can also play MPEG-format media. Pinnacle Studio allows you to export movies in the RealMedia format using the Streaming option in the Make Movie window. To download RealPlayer in its various incarnations, visit Real.com.
Although RealNetworks offers a free version of the RealPlayer (as shown in Figure 2), you have to search its Web site carefully for the Free RealOne Player link before you can download it. RealNetworks offers other programs as well, and although they're not free, they offer additional features. RealNetworks has specialized in the delivery of streaming content, and it offers a variety of delivery options. You can use RealNetworks software to run your own RealMedia streaming server, or you can outsource such "broadcast" duties to RealNetworks.
Figure 2: RealPlayer, a popular media player, is often used for streaming media on the Internet.
A complaint that's often heard about RealPlayer is that the software tends to be intrusive and resource-hungry after it's installed. Some people also complain that the program collects information about your media-usage habits and sends that information to RealNetworks. Although RealPlayer is extremely popular, consider that some folks simply refuse to install RealNetworks software on their computers. RealMedia is an excellent format, but you should offer your audience a choice of formats if you plan to use it; include (for example) QuickTime or Windows Media Video.
| 
