Apple’s QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component for Mac OS X, Mac OS 9, and Windows is an add-on to QuickTime or QuickTime Pro provides the ability to import and play back MPEG-2 content, including both multiplexed (also known as muxed, where the audio and video tracks are interleaved together into one track) and non-multiplexed (also known as elementary) streams. Apple’s QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component is compatible with both QuickTime 6 and QuickTime 7.
QuickTime Pro is not necessary for playback of MPEG-2 content with the MPEG-2 Playback Component. You need only QuickTime Player and the MPEG-2 Playback Component to view MPEG-2 content. Note: If you wish to transcode MPEG-2 video content into other formats, QuickTime Pro or an application built upon the QuickTime export architecture is necessary.
The QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component is perfectly suited for professional and semi-professional content creators with projects such as:
• Professional content production: Throughout the professional content production process, many approvals and progress checks are necessary. With QuickTime and the QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component, your clients and reviewers can view your MPEG-2 streams on either a Mac or Windows-based PC, and provide feedback.
• Transcoding video content: Now your MPEG-2 video content can be imported into QuickTime Pro and exported to other formats such as MPEG-4, the new international standard for Internet media, QuickTime Movie, or DV Stream, to name a few. The QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component allows the transcode of MPEG-2 video from both multiplexed and elementary video streams. By transcoding your MPEG-2 video into other formats, it can be used in new forums, such as on the web, on CD-ROM, or on DV tape. Note that the QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component will not demux audio and video, nor will it enable audio transcoding.
Recommended System Requirements:
Mac OS X:
• QuickTime 6 or later; QuickTime 7 or later; or QuickTime 6 or 7 Pro
• 500MHz G4 processor-based computer or faster
• 128MB of RAM or more
• Mac OS X, v10.1.3 or later
Windows:
• QuickTime 6 or later; QuickTime 7 or later; or QuickTime 6 or 7 Pro
• Pentium III 1GHz processor-based PC or faster, with a hardware-accelerated video card
• Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows NT 4.0 system software
• A Sound Blaster or compatible sound card and speakers recommended
• DirectX version 3.0 or later recommended
Apple’s QuickTime MPEG-2 Playback Component costs US$19.99 and is available for immediate download via Apple Store online.
More info, FAQ, and download links:
• QT MPEG-2 Playback – Mac OS X
• QT MPEG-2 Playback – Windows
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The MPEG-2 component does not require QuickTime Pro, and it does come free with FinalCut.
Also, FWIW, there are other (non-Apple) MPEG-2 QT plugins available (some for free), but none are as good as Apple’s.
Why is this even news?!
This component exists for years now. It even came with my FCP 4.
What next… are you going to write about iLife 06?
Unless I really missed the point here (reading the article twice.)
Oh, and those of you who think that Quicktime doesn’t offer the bang for their buck… go ahead, stick with clunky VLC or them full-screen components. But if you need an EDITOR, transcoder, etc on either platform, Mac or Windows… you can’t beat the simplistic model of Quicktime. Granted, the software is not easy to work with, and it has its quirks, but it is more or less a full-featured editor, recording component, and then some.
Oh, and as for the MPeg Component, there’s some licensing issue, so you won’t have to pay 50$ every freaking update.
>”rdbvideo wrote: Every time I try to open swf in quicktime pro, I get an error. Is there a plug-in codec I should have?”
This might help:
http://perian.org/
Plays XviD too…
Chris D. is right. Apple charges you for it as they have to pay a fee to give it to you. It does come with DVD Studio Pro (now a part of Final Cut Studio.) The question is, why is there still a QT Pro? Seems time they just make it that way by default.