video

Today in Apple history: QuickTime 5 takes the world by storm

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QuickTime 5 was being downloaded 1 million times every three days.
QuickTime 5 was being downloaded 1 million times every three days.
Photo: Apple

Nov. 28: Today in Apple history: QuickTime 5 downloads fuel web video revolution November 28, 2001: Apple says QuickTime 5 is being downloaded for Mac and PC a million times every three days, putting the multimedia software on track to exceed 100 million downloads in its first year of distribution. The announcement comes as websites adopt the MPEG-4 format, and online video begins to take off in a big way.

In particular, Apple’s movie trailer website proves a massive success. Millions of people download previews of upcoming blockbusters like Spider-Man and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Online trailer releases for films like The Lord of the Rings become buzz-worthy events.

In a pre-YouTube world, Apple has everything to gain!

Today in Apple history: iTunes video takes world by storm

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Kanye West
Artists like Kanye West helped drive music video downloads past 1 million in less than 20 days.
Photo: Rodrigo Ferrari/Flickr CC

October 31: Today in Apple history: iTunes video takes world by storm October 31, 2005: Less than three weeks after launching video downloads with iTunes 6, Apple reveals that it has already sold more than 1 million music videos.

Apple’s dive into the online digital video market — with 2,000 music videos, Pixar short films and a selection of hit TV shows for $1.99 — looks like the logical next step after selling individual songs on iTunes. Passing the 1 million download benchmark so quickly suggests the plan is a roaring success.

Up your streaming game with affordable new teleprompter

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Maintain natural eye contact while your read from a script with Elgato Prompter.
Maintain natural eye contact while your read from a script with Elgato Prompter.
Photo: Elgato

Video streamers with a lot to say know that working without a script can be challenging, and most teleprompters TV hosts use to read while maintaining eye contact are pricey. But the new Elgato Prompter brings the technology to the masses for $280, the company said Tuesday.

So you can look like a pro on your YouTube video or Zoom call. And Promter’s screen serves as an extra monitor for Mac or PC, too.

Røde’s tiny new mic system goes for ultimate ease-of-use

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The compact system is great for use with small cameras and smartphones.
The compact system is great for use with small cameras and smartphone cameras.
Photo: Rode

The new Røde Wireless ME Compact Wireless Microphone System, with clip-on transmitter and receiver, tries to make pro-level audio recording effortless — not to mention inexpensive.

With the new release, content creators who want to hit the ground running with quality audio have another option.

New ‘Shot on iPhone’ video touts super-stable Action Mode

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Normally this shot would be shaky enough to turn your stomach. But Action Mode makes it smoothe.
Normally this shot would be shaky enough to turn your stomach. But Action Mode makes it smoothe.
Photo: Apple

A new YouTube video commissioned by Apple demonstrates how well Action Mode in iPhone 14 stabilizes tricky, action-packed video shots without any special equipment.

And every handset in the iPhone 14 series has the feature, so you, too, can be an action movie director.

Moment’s new Filmmaker Cage for iPhone puts pro tools at your fingertips

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You'll look like a real filmmaker carrying this thing around.
You'll look like a real filmmaker carrying this thing around.
Photo: Moment

Moment added to its lineup of MagSafe-compatible accessories for iPhone Tuesday with three new products and two product updates. The marquee event is the rollout of the Mobile Filmmaker Cage to enhance your iPhone video shooting.

The cage co-stars with the new Moment Strap Anywhere Mount and the new Stick-on Adapter, which can help mount your smartphone in a variety of situations.

Canon unveils ‘true hybrid’ full-frame camera for stills and video

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The new Canon EOS R5 C keeps the R5's still-photo chops but adds unlimited video recording.
The new Canon EOS R5 C keeps the R5's still-photo chops but adds unlimited video recording.
Photo: Canon

On Tuesday Canon rolled out its new EOS R5 C camera. It called the device a “true hybrid” full-frame mirrorless camera for still photography as well as unlimited video recording. The camera combines the company’s stills-focused EOS technology with Cinema EOS into one thick, actively-cooled camera body.

High-end Zorachka Homam camera ups your HomeKit video quality

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Mount this space-helmet-looking cam in your house and the burglars will know you mean business.
Mount this space-helmet-looking cam in your house and the burglars will know you mean business.
Photo: Zorachka

Not too long ago you didn’t have a whole lot of choices for high-quality cameras to run with Apple’s HomeKit system, but that’s changing all the time. For example, Zorachka has released its new, high-end Homam 64GB camera. It joins recent offerings from the likes of Aquara, Eufy, Eve and others.

Transfer iPhone videos, music and photos to and from your Mac with MacX MediaTrans [Giveaway]

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Digiarty offers a free giveaway of MacX MediaTrans.
Digiarty Software offers a free giveaway of MacX MediaTrans.
Photo: Digiarty Software

This media transfer post is presented by Digiarty Software.

If you ever found iTunes a bit clunky or too restrictive, you might want to try an alternative for transferring media files between your Mac and your iPad and iPhone, like Digiarty Software’s MacX MediaTrans. It’s an effective option.

Currently, Digiarty is offering an exclusive MacX MediaTrans giveaway for Cult of Mac readers.

Or you can get a lifetime license with free upgrades. It’s currently available at a 62% discount, but you save less the longer you wait to buy. (The giveaway version lets you use all the MacX MediaTrans features except for the free upgrade service, which is reserved for users of the full version of the software.)

Amazing Darkroom photo app now does video

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Darkroom, the amazing iOS photo-editing app, now edits video
Darkroom, the amazing iOS photo-editing app, now edits video
Photo: Darkroom

Darkroom, one of the best photo library and editing apps on iOS, is now also one of the best video library and editing apps on iOS. In today’s update, Darkroom adds support for editing your videos. Not cutting and chopping them up, like iMove, but changing how they look, as if you were applying filters and edits to a still photograph. And the along thing is, it’s instant, just as fast as editing a still image.

Lustworthy iPhone 12 Pro concept will hold you over until the real thing launches

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iphone12
So many camera lenses.
Photo: Donel Bagrov

An all-new iPhone 12 Pro concept is out this week, hot on the heels of the latest report that Apple plans to introduce four 5G iPhones this fall.

The beautiful new video concept created by Donel Bagrov and Anton Panton envisions the most drop-dead-gorgeous iPhone we’ve ever seen, with a slick new body design, haptic volume slider, 120Hz refresh rate display and so much more.

We sure hope the 2020 iPhone looks something like this:

Action-packed iOS 14 concept crams tons of new features on iPhone

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iOS-14
We hope Apple adds this much new stuff to iOS 14.
Photo: Stijn van Oosterwijk

With all the iOS 14 leaks dropping ahead of WWDC 2020 we already have a pretty solid idea which new features will make the cut, but concept designer Stijn van Oosterwijk has a couple dozen other ideas that would make iOS 14 the biggest iPhone update ever.

Oosterwijk’s new iOS 14 concept video is jammed with new features. The video starts with a new incoming call screen and keeps pouring on other goodies. There’s lock screen widgets, a completely new Tools app, a translate app, an AR experience within the Maps app and so much more.

How many new features can you count?

Apple goes behind the scenes of the human connections in Amazing Stories

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amazing-stories
Amazing Stories is now available on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple

The last episode of Amazing Stories season 1 already aired last week, and if you haven’t binged the Steven Spielberg-led series yet, Apple’s new behind-the-scenes look at the show will have you ready to dive in.

Apple published an inside look of Amazing Stories today on YouTube with interviews from executive producers Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz. The duo, along with cast members from each episode, discuss their drive to create fantasy and sci-fi stories that still resonate with the complexities of human reality. To be honest, I always thought the show looked kind of boring but this new featurette has me pretty intrigued.

Take a look:

Realistic iPhone 12 concept shows what to expect from Apple this fall

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iphone 12 without notch
Will this be the year Apple finally ditches the notch?
Photo: ConceptsiPhone

The grand unveiling of Apple’s 2020 iPhone lineup is still nearly half a year away, but you can already get a solid look at what to expect with the newest concept trailer from ConceptsiPhone.

Created in cooperation with reliable iPhone-leaker Ben Geskin, this iPhone concept video avoids fanciful features like a holographic display or embedded Touch ID scanner in favor of a no-frills design that looks more like a mix between the iPhone X and iPhone 4, only without a notch.

Take a look:

ViDL is a great free YouTube and video downloader for Mac

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movie theater seats vidl
Download almost any video with ViDL.
Photo: Denise Jans/Unsplash

ViDL is a YouTube download app for Mac. It comes from Ole Moritz, developer of the amazing Pythonista and Editorial iOS apps. ViDL is a simple wrapper for the youtube-dl command-line tool, so if you already use that, you don’t need this. But the app is far easier to use than a command-line tools. Plus, it offers a built-in browser, in case you need to log in to a site to get access to the target videos. There’s even a ViDL Safari extension.

Central Park villain reveals destructive plot in series’ first trailer

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central-park
Central Park is unlike any cartoon you've seen.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s first original cartoon series, Central Park finally got the official trailer treatment today ahead of its debut on Apple TV+ in May.

Central Park‘s first trailer gives a quick glimpse into the zany musical comedy that follows a family of caretakers that live in New York City’s famous Central Park. A dog-wearing old lady villain comes up with a tyrannical plan to destroy the park in the name of capitalism which unleashes a whole bunch of chaos.

Watch the two-minute trailer here:

Apple woos new generation of storytellers with anime ad for Japan

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anime
"Hey Siri, WTF are they saying?"
Photo: Apple

Apple created a special new ad for customers in Japan that highlights the different ways the Mac has been showcased on some of the most popular anime shows in the country.

Cut together with scenes from shows like Mr. Osomatsu, NEW GAME!!, your name., Weathering with You and more, the brilliant ad encourages anime fans to embrace their creativity and create a new generation of anime stories.

You’ve never seen an Apple ad like this:

Filmmaking app brings vintage vibes to your iPhone flicks

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Rtro video app for iPhone by Moment
Give your iPhone videos that retro look with Rtro.
Photo: Moment

Sometimes the story is best told with a home movie vibe straight out of a vintage 8 mm movie camera. That’s just not practical in the age of TikTok and Instagram, but there are plenty of smartphone apps to add a retro feel to your flicks.

The latest is actually called Rtro and it made its small-screen debut today when it became available for download in the App Store.

Yes, you can still take photo bursts with iPhone 11. Here’s how.

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balloons photo burst mode
Any one of these balloons could burst at any time.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Before the iPhone 11, holding down the shutter button in the camera app would capture a burst of photos. That was great for capturing action, or for making sure you get a group photo where everyone has their eyes open (and is grimace-free). But press and hold the shutter on the iPhone 11, and you get a QuickTake video.

Fortunately, burst mode is still there. It’s just hidden behind a secret gesture.

Finally — a YouTube download shortcut for iOS that actually works

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download youtube shortcut
In the olden days, we had to download videos through our eyes, and we couldn't even save them.
Photo: Sven Scheuermeier/Unsplash

I’ve made several attempts at creating/repurposing iOS shortcuts that download YouTube videos and save them for offline viewing. The problem is, most of the shortcuts broke after a while, or proved so unreliable that I gave up on them. And, judging by the responses I get via Twitter, you folks are also very interested in downloading YouTube videos.

Well, this weekend I finally found a way to make it work reliably. And because it uses a third-party service to locate the downloadable video link, it means that someone else is making sure that it all keeps working. Hopefully. For now. Fingers crossed.

Apple shows how Little America‘s heartwarming immigrant stories come alive

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Little America was rejected from multiple networks being Apple snapped it up
All 8 episodes of Little America now streaming on Apple TV+
Photo: Apple

I canceled my Apple TV+ subscription just over a month after the service launch, but the company’s latest batch of behind-the-scenes videos is making consider giving it a second chance.

Following up on yesterday’s preview of Mythic Quest, Apple dropped three more featurettes that give an in-depth look at episodes of Little America. Boasting a Rotten Tomatoes score of 94%, Little America has been one of the most well-reviewed shows on Apple TV+ and it’s not hard to see why in the new videos.

Glitch Clip makes music-video art on the iPad

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Glitch Clip
Glitch Clip glitches clips
Photo: Jerôme Gangneux

Glitch Clip is an iPad app for VJs. That is, Glitch Clip lets you combine video clips with in-app effects and visuals, and sync them to music. Thus, you can create live video performances, or you can just make killer music videos for when you put your own songs up on YouTube.

Previously this kind of power was found in apps like Isadora for the Mac, which costs over $500. And while Glitch Clip is no Isadora, it’s only 1/100th the price.