Bob Currier
MAUG Macintosh Multimedia Forum Sysop
This document is intended to provide information on using Apple's QuickTime for Windows, henceforth referred to as QTW. Experience has shown that while some of the concepts are familiar to Macintosh users, they are new to users of Microsoft Windows. It's mostly a matter of terminology and a lack of documentation. It's not hard, so follow along.
This document has been structured as a series of questions and answers. While I have tried to put these in a reasonable order, the best way to use this is to simply scan the questions until you find one that you would like to know the answer to and read on!
While the information here is oriented towards CompuServe users, the software mentioned is also available on other on-line services, as well as Apple's AppleLink and Internet libraries. CompuServe is your best bet for "one stop shopping," however.
Opinions expressed in this document are my own and not anyone else's fault. I freely admit to a Macintosh background and bias.
Comments, corrections, new questions, or better answers are always welcome. You can reach me on CompuServe as 74774,3626, or via the Internet as bob@cis.compuserve.com.
What has changed in this document since the previous version?
All of the answers have been updated to reflect the availability of QuickTime 2.0. In addition new questions on specific compatibility problems, and support of other operating systems have been added.
What is QuickTime?
QuickTime is software which allows you to show "video" movies on your personal computer, without needing special video hardware. Originally developed for the Macintosh, Apple now supports QuickTime movies on both the Mac and under Windows. This is the same video technology used by many of the popular CD-ROM titles, such as Myst, RedShift, and Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive Technical Manual.
"QuickTime" is a trademark of Apple Computer.
Is QuickTime related to Video for Windows?
QuickTime was first introduced by Apple in 1991 as a Macintosh product. When they announced that they were producing a Windows version, Microsoft decided that they had better have a similar product, so they went out and purchased a product which they have been selling under the name "Video for Windows." In many ways it is a similar product, except that it runs only under Windows and lacks some of the low-level features of QuickTime. However, for simply viewing movies, they are about the same.
Video for Windows, however, needs more hardware "horsepower" to get decent video performance. On slower PCs, Video for Windows appears pretty slow. Part of this is because QuickTime directly accesses the video display hardware whenever it can, resulting in faster display. Video for Windows has announced a similar capability, DCI, which should bring improvements once it is fully supported by video card manufacturers. However, recent legal actions against Microsoft have resulted in a court injunction prohibiting them from shipping the current version of the DCI code. While the court case is likely to drag on for years, the move to Windows 95 will once again offer Video for Windows direct hardware access capability.
Video for Windows files typically have the extension .AVI, while QuickTime movies have the extension .MOV when destined for the PC, although some misguided folks insist on giving them the nonstandard .QT extension.
What is QuickTime VR?
QuickTime VR is a new technology, building on QuickTime, which allows you to immerse yourself into a panoramic image. You can "look" up and down, left and right, zoom in and out, and pretty much act as if you are there! The first CD-ROM title to use QuickTime VR is the Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive Technical Manual from Simon and Schuster. Versions are available for both Windows and the Mac. This is a great CD- ROM, and an excellent way to experience QuickTime VR.
You will be seeing a lot more of QuickTime VR in the future. Get ready for it!
What do I need to use QTW?
You need a reasonably fast PC running Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later. By "reasonably fast" I mean a 33 MHz '386 or faster. Slower PCs will play the movies, but the images will be jerky and you may lose sound sync (i.e., it will look like a badly dubbed movie).
You will want 256-color mode for good-looking playback. High-color (15-bit) mode will be better still. Standard VGA (16-color) mode is watchable, but not real great. You can look at movies in monochrome mode, but you won't be happy. You can improve playback performance greatly if you have a Windows-accelerator VGA card. (Which is a really good, inexpensive upgrade anyway!)
To hear the sound you will need a sound card installed in your PC. Boards like SoundBlaster Pro Audio Spectrum work fine, although you will probably want a 16-bit card for best performance. Some "clone" sound boards have problems. See the later section on hardware compatibility.
QTW will not play movie sounds through the PC speaker, even if you have SPEAK.EXE installed. This is because driving the PC speaker takes up 100% of the CPU (which is why your mouse freezes during sound playback), leaving no time to display the video. No harm is done if you have SPEAK.EXE installed, but you will have silent movies.
Basically, if you have a PC which is MPC compliant, you are all set in the hardware department.
Where can I get a copy of QuickTime for Windows?
Starting with QTW version 2.03, there is no additional fee associated with acquiring QuickTime for Windows. On CompuServe, you can download the software for just the normal cost of connect time.
The latest version of QTW can be found in the MACMEDIA forum, Library 7, as the file QTINSTAL.EXE. This one file is all you need.
QuickTime for Windows is also included with the GO EDRIVE Movie Viewer, available in the GO VIEWER area on CompuServe. If you already have the GO EDRIVE Movie Viewer, you already have QuickTime for Windows!
If you want to get real serious about this and include QuickTime in your own programs, you can also order the QuickTime Developer's Kit v. 2.0, which includes the diskettes, documentation and a hybrid CD-ROM, from APDA (1 800 282-2732 for US callers, 1 800 637-0029 for Canada, or +1 716 871-6555 for other international callers). Approximate cost is $195 based on their 5/95 catalog, although a 50% off sale was running until 7/31/95. There are no fees for distributing QuickTime with your product, but there is a license agreement you need to sign which contains certain rules you will need to follow. Contact Apple Software Licensing (+1 512 919-2645) for more information.
How do I install QTW on my PC?
Installing QuickTime for Windows is very straightforward. Once you have loaded the QTINSTAL.EXE program onto your system, or onto a diskette, simply run the program using the File:Run command, or via the Start button under Win95. The QuickTime installer will then start up and guide you through the installation process.
QuickTime is automatically installed onto your system when you install the GO EDRIVE Movie Viewer.
One of the things the QTW installer does is search your disk looking for earlier versions of QuickTime that may be present. Unless you are very sure that you know what you are doing, let QuickTime delete these older versions. Many common problems with QuickTime are caused by having mixed versions on the same system.
After the installation completes, try playing the sample movie that comes with QuickTime. If it plays, the install was successful. If it does not play, then it is time to start troubleshooting before going any further.
When I try to install QuickTime, it generates an "insufficient memory" error and aborts. How do I fix this?
There are several things that cause this error. The first is that you need to establish a permanent swap file on your system. You can do this by opening the Control Panels and selecting the 386 Enhanced item. Make certain that there is a permanent swap file allocated. If this error persists, and you already have a permanent swap file, try increasing the size of the swap file.
Another cause of this error is that the QTINSTAL.EXE file was corrupted during the download, causing Windows to think that it needs more memory than it really does.
And finally, several users have reported that simply rebooting their PC has eliminated this error!
I get most of the way through the installation and then it reports that it is unable to update my .ini files. Now what?
The QTW installer is not able to handle large .ini files properly. The only workaround is to temporarily create small .ini files, run the installer, and then move the results manually from the small .ini files to the "real" .ini files.
When I try to install QuickTime, it generates a "divide by zero" error and aborts. How do I fix this?
This is a problem with the installer program, usually indicating either a problem with your chosen video mode, or a lack of free conventional memory.
Try selecting a video mode with 256 or fewer colors, just for the duration on the installation process. Apparently the installer is building some buffers in memory and the higher color resolution requires larger buffers than are sometime possible.
Try freeing up some conventional memory by, temporarily, stripping down your autoexec.bat and config.sys files. Reboot, and try the installation again. Be sure to save backup copies of your autoexec.bat and config.sys so that after the installation is complete you can put things back to normal.
Partway through the installation, I get an error that it cannot find "mciqtw.drv" and the installation stops. How do I fix this?
This was a problem that could occur when installing older versions of QuickTime directly from the hard disk. Either build installation diskettes and perform the installation from the diskettes, or download a current version of QuickTime from the MACMEDIA Forum.
Where can I get more QuickTime movies?
On CompuServe you can find QuickTime movies by doing a GO MACMEDIA. If you do a "Browse" and look for the keywords "quicktime" or "movie" you will find lots of files.
Many QuickTime movies are also available in the Entertainment Drive Forum (GO EDRIVE).
QuickTime movies are also available from many other places, such as other forums on CompuServe, the Internet, World Wide Web pages, CD-ROM's, etc. Beware of the limitations covered in the next question, however.
Will all QuickTime movies from the Mac play on my PC?
No, unfortunately not all QuickTime movies are PC compatible. In order to run on both the Mac and PC the movie must be made cross-platform compatible, often referred to (somewhat incorrectly) as "flattened."
In order for a QuickTime movie to be playable on a non-Mac system, the movie file must meet three criteria:
1) It must be self-contained. This means that all of the data needed to play the movie is contained in the movie file itself. This seems obvious, but on the Mac there are often movies that link to other movies to avoid duplicating the data. Virtually any movie you find on-line will be self-contained.
2) It must be made cross-platform. This means that the Mac-specific "fork" structure has been removed. If this is not done, then the movie data is left in the "resource fork," which disappears when it is moved to a PC, since PC's have a simpler file system. This is often called "flattened" although that is not really the right term. Only those movies that specifically say "flattened" or "PC compatible" should be assumed to be cross-platform.
3) It must contain only a single video track. On the Mac, multiple video tracks within the QuickTime movie are supported. Under QuickTime for Windows, only a single track is supported. The symptom of playing a multi-track movie on the PC is the telltale white screen during portions of the movie.
So, anything on CompuServe is pretty much guaranteed to be self-contained.
Some are cross-platform, or can (sometimes) be made so using PC-based utilities like QTFLAT.ZIP, found in library 7.
However, multiple video track movies may or may not even be capable of being turned into single track movies, and I know of no way to do it on the PC. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell, other than downloading the file, if a given movie is single video track or not.
Not all producers of QuickTime movies make their movies cross-platform, although they should. There is no downside to doing so. Typically a cross-platform or "flattened" movie will be noted as such in the description of the file here on Compuserve. However, other places, such as the Internet, are not so helpful.
If you find a movie that is not cross-platform, you will not be able to play it on your PC unless you have a friend with a Mac who can flatten it for you, or you can contact the person who originally uploaded it and ask them to fix it for you. In such cases, give the uploader a hard time about restricting the audience for their movie!
QuickTime movies are really big! Why?
Video takes a lot of data! QuickTime greatly compresses the data, but it still adds up. For a relatively small movie it is not unusual to need a megabyte of data for a 15 second movie. There is not much more that can be done, although the compression algorithms continue to be improved.
Because QuickTime movies are already compressed, further compressing them with compression programs (like PKZIP) save only a small amount of storage, typically no more than 5-8%.
How long does it take to download a QuickTime movie?
The wiseguy answer is "a long time." Because the movies are large, they put a real strain on the current state-of-the-art when it comes to download speed. Many QuickTime movies are in the 4 MB range. With a little math, we can see what the download time for that 4 MB file will be at various modem speeds:
2400 baud 4:51 (that's almost five hours!) 9600 baud 1:12 14.4K baud 0:48 28.8K baud 0:24 57.6K baud 0:12
Your actual download speed will vary because of system loading, phone line noise, etc. Also note that while Compuserve is starting to install ISDN lines that will run at 57.6K (V.120), the actual throughput is currently much less over these lines.
Even with the relatively low cost of connect time today, you will see that upgrading to a faster modem will pay for itself fairly quickly. And if you are paying long-distance charges or other communications surcharges, the saving mount even quicker. Take advantage of the low prices for high-speed modems and upgrade today!
When using a high-speed modem, be sure that the network node that you are dialing is set to handle the higher speed. CompuServe is upgrading their entire network to 28.8K modems, but until that is complete, be sure you are dialing int o a node that can handle the higher speed. You can locate information on the available nodes and what speed they run at via GO PHONES.
Do I have to download a movie before I can watch it, or can I just watch it on-line?
You will need to download the file before you can view it. In order to present the full-motion video, QuickTime needs data fed to it at a minimum of 90K bytes/second. This is not that fast compared to the speed of your hard disk or even a CD-ROM, but it is much faster than the maximum of 2.8K bytes/second your modem can deliver. And some QuickTime movies need 300-400K bytes/second!
There is a version of QuickTime designed for video conferencing (QuickTime Conferencing from Apple) but it is not yet practical for general use.
I downloaded a movie with a .SIT extension, how do I view it?
QuickTime movies that originate on the Mac are often compressed, even though that only saves a small amount of storage. There are a number of compression programs used on the Mac, but the most common is StuffIt. Files compressed with StuffIt can be recognized by the extension .SIT. Fortunately, there is a Windows program which can "un-stuff" these files, even though they originated on the Mac.
To use a .SIT file on your PC you will need to download a copy of the StuffIt Expander for Windows, SITEX10.EXE, which can be found in GO MACCVEN, Library 2 (Aladdin Systems) and in GO EDRIVE, Library 5 (Video and Utilities). After downloading this file to your PC, run SITEX10 using the Program Manager or the Start button. This will start the installation process.
Once the installation process has completed, it is very important that you configure the program prior to expanding and .SIT files. To configure it, start the expander program. Choose the Options menu and select "Cross-Platform." In the dialog that appears be certain that the "Use MacBinary" selection is set to "Never." Once you have selected this, you can close the dialog box and you are ready to expand a .SIT file.
The installer associates the .SIT extension with the StuffIt Expander program, so you can just double-click on a .SIT file to cause it to expand. Or, you can start the StuffIt and use the File:Open menu selections to open a .SIT file.
I downloaded a movie with a .SIT extension, but when I unpacked it, the movie had a strange extension, like .PRI. Can I play it?
Yes. Because many QuickTime movies originate on the Mac, they often are given long filenames, which the Mac supports. When you unpack such a file on the PC, part of that long filename is put into the extension, giving you some very strange extensions. All you need to do is rename the file with a .MOV extension and you should be able to play it without a problem.
What about movies with a .BIN extension?
These are typically uncompressed files which have a MacBinary file header on them, owing to their origins on the Mac.
The StuffIt Expander for Windows will remove this header. Simply use the Expander to open the .BIN file and it will remove the header and should create a .MOV file for you to play.
If the movie still won't play, it may not be a "flattened" movie, which means that it is not compatible with the PC.
I downloaded a movie from the Internet, but it won't play on my PC. Why?
In order for a QuickTime movie to be playable on a non-Mac system, the movie file must meet three criteria:
1) It must be self-contained. This means that all of the data needed to play the movie is contained in the movie file itself. This seems obvious, but on the Mac there are often movies that link to other movies to avoid duplicating the data. Virtually any movie you find here on-line will be self-contained.
2) It must be made cross-platform. This means that the Mac-specific "fork" structure has been removed. If this is not done, then the movie data is left in the "resource fork," which disappears when it is moved to a PC, since PC's have a simpler file system. This is often called "flattened" although that is not really the right term. Only those movies that specifically say "flattened" or "PC compatible" should be assumed to be cross-platform.
3) It must contain only a single video track. On the Mac, multiple video tracks within the QuickTime movie are supported. Under QuickTime for Windows, only a single track is supported. The symptom of playing a multi-track movie on the PC is the telltale white screen during portions of the movie.
So, anything you download is pretty much guaranteed to be self-contained.
Some are cross-platform, or can (sometimes) be made so using PC-based utilities like QTFLAT.ZIP, found in MACMEDIA Library 7.
However, multiple video track movies may or may not even be capable of being turned into single track movies, and I know of no way to do it on the PC. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell, other than downloading the file, if a given movie is single video track or not.
I downloaded a movie that was not compressed, but it still won't play. What do I do?
See the previous answer. The file may have a MacBinary header or not be flattened.
What about movies with a .SEA extension?
That extension indicates a Macintosh self-extracting archive. As an executable file-- like a .EXE on the PC-- it is usable only on a Mac. You would need to have a friend with a Mac unpack it for you and give you the resulting movie for use on your PC.
Can I use QuickTime under Windows for Workgroups?
Yes, it works the same as under Windows 3.1.However, versions earlier than QuickTime 1.1.1 for Windows did not function properly under Windows for Workgroups.
Can I use QuickTime under Windows 95?
QuickTime 2.03 for Windows works fine under the released version of Windows 95. However, QTW 2.03 is still a 16-bit application. This means that applications, such as MediaPlayer, which attempt to control QuickTime via MCI commands, will not work properly because they are expecting a 32-bit MCI driver.
Apple has announced QuickTime 2.1 for Windows which will include both 16- and 32-bit versions of QuickTime, offering full 32-bit functionality under Windows 95 and NT. QTW 2.1 was announced for availability in "Fall 1995."
Windows 95 also ships with a patch to improve QuickTime performance. However, the patch is not automatically installed so you will need to install it manually.
The necessary files can be found on the Win95 CD-ROM in the directory \drivers\other\qtwfix.
The improvement seen after installing this patch will depend on your particular system configuration. In some cases it is quite dramatic; in others it is not even noticeable.
Can I use QuickTime for Windows under OS/2?
Many users are reporting success running QTW 2.03 under OS/2 Warp. To get things to stay in sync, however, you may need to add the following lines to your system.ini file:
[timer.drv]
TIMERMax386Res=10
TIMERMax286Res=10
Can I use QuickTime for Windows under Windows/NT?
Yes you can, although QTW will run as a 16-bit application. The only thing you need to do to make QTW run properly under NT is to edit the \windows\system\qtw.ini file. In the [video] section, add the line Optimize=driver. This will prevent QuickTime from attempting direct access to the video hardware, something that NT--quite rightly-- prevents.
How can I view the movies under DOS?
You can't. QuickTime (and Video for Windows) are strictly Windows applications and are not compatible with DOS.
The movie is real small, and if I make it bigger it looks really bad. Why?
Because of the large amounts of data involved with displaying video, there is a limitation on the size image that can be displayed. In addition, larger images mean even larger file sizes, making them impractical for downloading. Many movies are only 160 x 120 pixels. Larger movies can be certainly be created, but faster systems and a lot more disk space. Because of the large file size, they are more suitable for CD-ROM distribution than for on-line use.
If you expand the window that the movie is playing in, QTW simply duplicates each pixel, making the movie very "blocky." It also increases the amount of data that must be transferred to the screen, which can slow it down and make it appear "jerky" on some systems.
I play a movie and it's really jerky. What can I do?
It may mean that the original movie was created with a very low frame rate, meaning that there is nothing you can do. It may also mean that your PC is simply not up to the task of displaying movies. If you have a relatively slow PC, or a slow VGA card, there will be a limit to the performance you can expect.
In my experience, getting a faster VGA card (with "Windows acceleration") makes the biggest difference. After that, get a faster CPU.
If the movie is being played back from a CD-ROM, make sure that the CD- ROM is properly configured. Tests shows that most CD-ROM titles benefit from having a CD-ROM cache of between 1 and 1.5 MB. Increasing the cache size beyond 1.5 MB may actually slow things down.
Also, under Windows 95, make sure that your CD-ROM has been configured for the proper speed. Some installation programs that pre-date Win95 do not set this correctly. To check it, go to Start/Control Panel/System. Choose the File System tab, then CD-ROM. Make sure that the drive speed is set to match the speed of your CD-ROM drive.
All multimedia puts a tremendous strain on your system. If you want good performance, you will need to have an up-to-date, fast system. This is why the hardware manufacturers like multimedia so much: they get to sell you a new system.
When I play a movie the images are really speckled and don't look very good. Why?
QuickTime is best viewed in either high-color (32,768 color) or Super-VGA (256 color) mode. In 16-color mode the display will be very speckled. Even in 256-color mode there will be some distortion of the image.
To get the full benefit of the data contained in QuickTime movies, you will need to have your VGA card in high-color mode.
The movie is too dark. What can I do?
Since most QuickTime movies are created on the Mac, they are adjusted for the Mac's display characteristics. Because the Mac handle monitor "gamma" differently than the PC, some movies may appear too dark or too contrasty when displayed on a PC. You will need to adjust your monitor's brightness and contrast controls to compensate for this.
When I try to play a movie, Windows generates a GPF. What is the problem?
GPF's and crashes when running QuickTime for Windows, or crashes when you quit from the QuickTime MoviePlayer, are almost always caused by bugs in your system's video driver. Unfortunately, video card manufacturers have become rather infamous for the poor quality of their drivers. It is frustrating, because the problems show up in the programs that use those drivers, rather than in the drivers themselves, making it hard for most people to troubleshoot the problem and solve it.
The first thing to do is contact your video card manufacturer to get the very latest video drivers. These change frequently, so you rarely get the correct version when you buy a card, even if you bought it yesterday. Fortunately, many of the video card makers have a presence here on CompuServe, making it easy to locate and download the drivers. Even when there is not a dedicated forum, many vendors upload their drivers to the more general forums.
Some useful support forums are:
GO ATITECH ATI GO CPQFORUM Compaq GO DMNDON Diamond Systems GO STBSYS STB GO TSENG Tseng Labs
If you have a card by a different maker, try the following to locate an on-line support source:
GO SUPPORT Locate support forum by company or product name GO IBMFF Locate driver file by keywords
If all else fails, try calling the support number listed in the video card manual.
There have been relatively recent updates to the Compaq QVision board drivers that finally resolve some problems. If you were told earlier that Compaq was not going to update those drivers, check these out.
In addition to needing the latest drivers, ATI also has a fix that needs to be installed in the system.ini file when using their cards with QuickTime. Within system.ini, locate the [macx] section. Make sure there is a line there which reads *exactly* "DeviceBitmap=off". Note that there is no "s" in "Bitmap". Some later ATI products allow you to select this via a checkbox in their video board control panel.
There is a list of video cards that cannot be made to work with QuickTime contained in the readme file that comes with QuickTime. Be sure to check this to make sure your card is not listed. In most cases these are boards with buggy drivers where the manufacturer has decided not to fix the problem. Most notable of these is the Headland board that shipped with a large number of Gateway 2000 systems, which were originally sold as "multimedia" systems.
The only way this situation with buggy video drivers will improve is if the manufacturers hear from enough frustrated customers. I encourage you to contact your video board manufacturer and express your views.
The other, much less frequent, cause of crashes is sound board problems. The simplest way to test for this is to simply disable the sound board in your config.sys and autoexec.bat, reboot and give it a try. IRQ and DMA conflicts, that may otherwise be unnoticed, can sometimes crop up when running QuickTime, due to the stress that QuickTime places on all aspects of the system, including the sound board. As with the video board, be sure you are running the latest drivers.
When talking with vendors, they may sometimes make rash statements like "We don't support QuickTime" or "That's a Mac product" because they are not knowledgeable in multimedia. The best approach is to simply tell them that you are having problems running Myst. Everyone knows what that is!
I've tried updating my video driver, but I'm still getting GPF's. What other suggestions do you have?
Some other causes have been identified under Windows 95. If the Media Player is not set up correctly, it can cause problems, including GPF's.
To correct this, do Start/Accessories/Media Player. A message will appear if Media Player is not set up correctly. Choose yes to fix the problem.
Some people have reported that having the swap file set too small (under 5 MB) can cause GPF's. To correct this, expand the swap file, although doing so under Win95 is a risky operation.
When I try to play a movie, I get an error message complaining about the version of "qtmovie.vbx" that is on my system. Now what?
This message comes from Visual Basic, which indicates that you are using a movie player like the GO EDRIVE Movie Viewer. The first thing to check is that you can play a movie using Apple's Movie Player application, which comes with QuickTime for Windows. If the movie plays correctly with Movie Player, then you know QuickTime is working and that the problem lies with the other application.
Next, use the Find command to locate all versions of qtmovie.vbx on your system. Determine which is the newest, and place that version into your \windows\system directory. Restart Windows and see if the problem persists.
If it does, then remove any copy of qtmovie.vbx from \windows\system, and instead place the version that each application wants in the same directory as the application. This will allow each application to load its own private copy.
When I play the movie, the video image spills out of the window, appears only in bands, or has the color all messed up. Why?
While QuickTime for Windows is compatible with most all VGA cards, there are a few that it cannot support properly, either because of hardware limitations with the card, or more frequently, because of problems with the drivers supplied by the card manufacturer.
If you have symptoms like the ones described above, first check with the VGA card manufacturer to see if a more up-to-date driver is available. You can also try modifying your \windows\system\qtw.ini file to include the following line in the [video] section:
Optimize=driver
This will sometime help, and is required when using boards in 8514/A mode.
In more extreme cases, you may need to completely bypass the driver because of the severity of the bug. To do this, add the following line in the [video] section of qtw.ini:
Optimize=BMP
There are certain VGA boards that are known to have problems. You can find a list of these, along with a list of boards that are known to work well, in the readme.wri file that is installed as part of QuickTime for Windows.
Boards known to have problems include Packard Bell, Sigma WinStorm, ImiCorp Texan, ATG CatsEye/X. The ATI VGA Wonder XL24 and Diamond SpeedStar 24 have problems in 24-bit mode, but do work in other modes.
When I play the movie, the sound "sticks" on one sound. What can I do?
The 8-bit SoundBlaster boards are known to have problems with the kind of "short" sounds that multimedia programs like QTW use. To keep the sound and video in sync, QTW outputs sound in short, half-second, bursts. The driver that comes with SoundBlaster (and other clone boards) cannot handle this well.
A list of boards that are known to work (and not work) can be found in the readme.wri file that is installed as part of QuickTime for Windows.
When playing a movie, the sound and video start in sync, but the longer it plays it gets further and further out of sync. Why?
If the movie is being played back from a CD-ROM, make sure that the CD- ROM is properly configured. Tests shows that most CD-ROM titles benefit from having a CD-ROM cache of between 1 and 1.5 MB. Increasing the cache size beyond 1.5 MB may actually slow things down.
Also, under Windows 95, make sure that your CD-ROM has been configured for the proper speed. Some installation programs that pre-date Win95 do not set this correctly. To check it, go to Start/Control Panel/System. Choose the File System tab, then CD-ROM. Make sure that the drive speed is set to match the speed of your CD-ROM drive.
After I installed QuickTime for Windows 2.0, when I go to use previously installed software_ such as Myst_ I get an "invalid dynalink" error. How do I fix it?
The "dynalink" error is caused by having mixed versions of QuickTime on your system. The software gets confused, and when trying to transfer control from one module to another--which end up being different versions--it gets a "dynalink" error. (The "dynalink" error message is a standard Windows error message--you just won't find it in any common manuals!) QuickTime 2.0 is upwardly compatible, but you can't have mixed versions without getting these errors.
The mixed versions end up on your system because the various CD-ROM and game developers all had their own ideas on where and how to install QuickTime. Starting with QTW 2.0, Apple has started enforcing how QuickTime should be installed. Eventually, this will make things much better for developers and users alike.
QTW 2.03 incorporates fixes that make it more tolerant of mixed versions of QuickTime. If you are running QTW 2.0, you should update to the later version.
If you continue to get "dynalink" errors after installing the 2.03, you probably deleted some QuickTime files which your CD-ROM needs when you were trying to fix the problem. Reinstall the CD-ROM and the "dynalinks" should go away.
In the future, when you install a new CD-ROM which contains QuickTime 2.0 or later, do not let it delete the older versions of QuickTime found in the other directories, or the "dynalinks" will return.
I have the latest version of QTW, and I don't have mixed versions. What other causes of "invalid dynalink" errors are there?
Under Win95, there are conflicts with some versions of the Ziff-Davis Benchmarks. You will need to remove those benchmark programs, or check to see if newer versions have been released which correct the problem.
Under Win95, dynalink errors can occur if the Media Player is not set up correctly. To correct this, do Start/Accessories/Media Player. A message will appear if Media Player is not set up correctly. Choose yes to fix the problem.
Also under Win95, dynalink errors can be caused by having an old MCI driver on the system. Yes, the QuickTime installer is supposed to take care of this, but apparently it doesn't always do it right. To correct this problem, go to Start/Settings/Control Panel/Multimedia. Click on the Advanced tab, then on Media Control Devices. Click on the [MCI] QuickTime for Windows, select properties button. Choose Remove or "Do not use this media...". Restart Windows and re-install QuickTime.
Is it possible to convert between QuickTime (.MOV) and VIdeo for Windows (.AVI) formats?
There are several ways to convert between AVI and QuickTime, on both the Mac and PC:
1) Microsoft makes a tool for doing this on the Mac. On Compuserve, you can get it in the WINMM Forum, Library 4 (Video for Windows) as QTAVI.SIT.
2) You can use Adobe Premiere for Windows.
3) If you get a copy of Nels Johnson's "How to Digitize Video" book (ISBN 0-471-01440-0), it comes with a nifty CD-ROM which contains trmoov.exe, a PC program which will convert between AVI and QT. You can also find trmoov.exe on San Francisco Canyon Company's Web page http://www.sfcanyon.com.
4) Intel has a program, SmartVid, which will convert files without regard to the codec used, unlike their old "Indeo-only" program. It can be downloaded from the GO INTELA forum, Multimedia Library, as smartv.exe.
Now, that said, don't expect perfection with any of these. Because of basic differences between the way that the video is laid down, what you get will be a compromise, at best. There was a nifty article by Nels Johnson on this whole subject in the June 1995 issue of DV magazine. If you are going to be doing a lot of this conversion, it is certainly worth looking up. Back issues of DV can be ordered by calling +1 603 924-0100. You can also contact them via their Web site http://galileo.dv.com/Home.html.
My own experience says that Premiere and TRMOOV give the best results. TRMOOV is certainly cheaper, and the book makes a good addition to your library. Intel's SmartVid looks good, but I haven't had a lot of experience with it beyond seeing that, yup, it works. The Microsoft tool seems to give an empty file about 50% of the time as it makes some silly assumptions about the file content, not bothering to actually look. You also need a patch for it to handle Indeo files.
Where can I get more information or ask more questions?
A good place to go is GO MACMEDIA on CompuServe. Post a message with your question and someone will usually answer it fairly quickly. Don't be afraid to ask questions, as that is how we all get things done!