In 1991, Apple cracked open the future of multimedia with QuickTime — groundbreaking software that let Mac users play full-motion video without needing expensive hardware. At its core, QuickTime was a digital container: It compressed audio and video into manageable files, then played them back through a streamlined interface that felt almost magical at the time.
QuickTime debuted as a beta at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference that year, surprising the crowd with a then-groundbreaking feat: playing a video in a tiny window on a standard Macintosh. The software officially launched on December 2, 1991, and quickly evolved to support a range of formats, codecs and interactive content.
How Apple’s QuickTime software handled video
QuickTime didn’t just play video. It redefined what computers could be at a time when comparable Windows PCs still struggled, and often failed, to provide a standardized audio playback option (without video).
One of the most revolutionary things about QuickTime wasn’t simply that it let you play videos, but how it let you do so. Its name emphasized a time-based component for video playback. The QuickTime player juggled audio, video, text, time codes and other time-related information. And the software kept it all in sync with the limited hardware of 1991-era Macs.
If a computer’s CPU couldn’t handle a high frame rate, QuickTime skipped over some video frames in order to keep up with the soundtrack. On a then-current Mac IIci or Mac IIcx system, for example, you could expect to play QuickTime movies of around 160×120 pixels at approximately 10 frames per second.
A multimedia revolution in the making
At a point in computing when machines often ran slowly, with far more noticeable time differences for even the most basic programs, this notion of software that could unify time across all different types of hardware proved very exciting.
Over the years, QuickTime became the backbone for everything from CD-ROM games to early web video, eventually powering iTunes and even serving as the architecture for early versions of Apple’s video editing software Final Cut Pro.
May 24, 2013: Apple begins phasing out the option to download movie trailers from its once enormously popular iTunes Movie Trailers website.
The move signals a major change in the way people consume digital content as the internet evolves. Downloads will continue to decline, as streaming services like YouTube and Netflix pick up steam.
February 14, 1995: Apple Computer extends a lawsuit against developer San Francisco Canyon Company to include Microsoft and Intel. The lawsuit concerns allegedly stolen Apple code that’s used to improve Microsoft’s Video for Windows technology.
The lawsuit comes to a head with Apple threatening a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against Microsoft. Meanwhile, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates threatens to cancel Office for Mac.
QuickTime brought multimedia to Macs -- and the masses. Photo illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
December 2, 1991: Apple ships its first public version of the QuickTime player, bringing video to Mac users running System 7.
Containing codecs for graphics, animation and video, QuickTime confirms Apple’s status as a leading multimedia tech company. The software also starts us on the path to playing video on our computers. This fundamental transformation of Macs into media machines eventually leads to iTunes Movies, YouTube and more.
QuickTime 5 was being downloaded 1 million times every three days. Photo: Apple
November 28, 2001: Apple says users download QuickTime 5 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 Ringsbecome buzz-worthy events.
In a pre-YouTube world, Apple has everything to gain!
Send DRM or other audio up the USB cable, and record it. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Did you know that you can record the music playing on your iPhone, to your Mac, straight up the USB cable? Just hook your Mac up to your iPhone (or iPad), using the Lighting cable that came in the box, and you can record anything. Additionally, if you’re looking to play music while recording video iPhone, this guide will show you how.
It’s just like taping off the radio when you were a kid — or maybe when your dad was a kid — only better quality.
QuickTime Player can record all kinds of things. Photo: Cult of Mac
Today we’re going to learn how to record a movie that’s playing on your Apple TV direct to your Mac, with no wires required, no weird hacks, and not even any third-party software. The tools are all built into every Mac that ships. To record a movie off the “screen” of your Apple TV, you’re going to use Apple’s QuickTime app, and one of its lesser-known but super-powerful features.
Will Carpool Karaoke: The Series be Apple's first hit? Photo: Apple
This coming Tuesday Apple is set to debut its newest original TV show Carpool Karaoke: The Series, but with Planet of the Apps being such a dud, some of us at Cult of Mac are questioning whether Apple has anything to gain by making mediocre TV shows.
During Apple’s Q3 earnings call this week, Tim Cook said Apple will continue to explore original content for Apple Music. Can Apple actually make great TV shows, or is it losing focus on what’s more important?
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we discuss Apple’s media ambitions:
The best gesture in iOS 11 isn't just for iPad. Photo: Apple
Developers just got an early preview of Apple’s upcoming iOS 11 update for iPhones and iPads today during the company’s WWDC 2017 keynote in San Jose.
The new update packs some huge new features that make iOS more powerful and easier-to-use than ever. Apple’s update is so jam packed that some of the best new additions didn’t even get some stage time at WWDC.
WWDC has been home to some seismic announcements over the years. Photo: Daniel Spiess/Flickr CC
As Apple’s longest-running annual keynote event, it’s no surprise that WWDC has played host to some absolutely enormous announcements over the years.
From strategies that changed the company’s course to the debut of astonishing new products, here are our picks for the most important ones. Check out the list below.
If you lost an audio file due to the dreaded QuickTime crash, this tip could save the day. Image: PSD.Graphics/Ste Smith
When you’re recording audio in QuickTime, there’s nothing more frustrating than a crash before you’ve had time to click Save. But all is not lost: This handy trick can help you recover lost recordings in the QuickTime app.
It might just save you a whole lot of effort. Here’s how to use it.
You might want to put tape over your webcam. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Security researchers discovered a new way to hack the Mac’s built-in webcam this week, and the method is undetectable by users.
Apple built a green LED light into every Mac with firmware-level protection that turns on anytime the sensor is tripped by unauthorized access. The security feature has become increasingly difficult for hackers to beat, but former NSA staffer Patrick Wardle found a way to piggyback on outgoing feeds and record them.
QuickTime was a breakthrough for Macs. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
July 8, 1991: The first QuickTime beta arrives, making it possible for people to play movies on their Macs for the first time, with no extra hardware needed.
The innovative software showcased Apple’s commitment to pushing technological boundaries and set the stage for the seamless integration of video into everyday computing.
Start capturing your iOS gaming with this handy trick! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
There are many reasons you may want to record your iPhone screen: demonstrations, tutorials, gaming and much more.
Sure, there are apps out there that can do this for you, but the only downside is that they use up valuable storage space on your iPhone or iPad. In this week’s Quick Tips video, I’m going to show you how to record your iOS device to your Mac in under a minute.
Although he gets most of the blame for it, skeuomorphism wasn’t really Scott Forstall’s fault. He was just following the orders of his boss and mentor, Steve Jobs. The man who gave the world the first skeumorphic consumer operating system, the Macintosh, loved computer interfaces with gaudy textures that made them look more like real-world things.
In fact, if it were not for Steve Jobs’s love of skeuomorphism, Apple’s design language might have been a lot flatter a lot earlier. When Steve Jobs came back to Apple in 1999, the company was moving away from skeuomorphic design… but Jobs bought it back, with the famous brushed metal texture in the Quicktime app.
It seems like a strange thing, but people who write about iOS apps on the web are often ashamed of their status bars. When they post screenshots of an app, they feel embarrassed by the fact that they don’t have a full signal from their cellular carrier, or a clear connection to WiFi, or 100% battery life. It’s an expression of the pursuit of perfection that marks Apple and its fans as a whole.
You wouldn’t think this is a pathology that Apple would really care about. But apparently, it does. And in OS X Yosemite and iOS 8, they’ve figured out a way to fix it.
Steve Jobs was known for his incredible presentation and keynote skills. The man could sell anything, but he needed a proper tool to do so. That tool was Keynote, which would eventually become part of the iWork suite. But how was keynote created?
(Um die Details dieser Abmachung in deutscher Sprache zu lesen, klicken Sie hier.)
A bundle that contains 8 tremendous Mac apps at a ridiculously low price is rare, but one that contains those apps in German is nearly unheard of. Well, that’s what you’ll get with The German Mac Bundle – 8 killer apps (including apps like TextExpander, Soulver, and the ever-popular Parellels Desktop 8) in the German language for only €49.99 (that’s $65 USD)!
Our last “name your own price bundle” performed so well that we’re bringing a second one to our Cult of Mac readers. And once again we’ve delivered 10 top Mac Apps for a price that only you can name with The Name Your Own Price Bundle 2.0!
That’s right. You pay what you want for 3 different Mac Apps that will make you faster and more efficient on your Mac including: HoudahSpot, Elmedia Player Pro, and PhotoBulk. And, if you pay more than the average price, you’ll also receive Snapz Pro X, CrossOver XI, DiskTools Pro, Gemini, Mac Blu-Ray Player, Musictube, and Paperless.
We’ve chosen three charities, Child’s Play, World Wildlife Fund, and Creative Commons, that we believe make a significant positive impact across the globe. 10% of your entire purchase will go to help one of those charities – whichever one you choose!
Want to easily create interactive 3D objects on your Mac for the web? Want something so simple that no Flash or QuickTime plugins are required to run them – which means the objects will even work on your iPhone or iPad as well? Want to save 51% on such a software solution in the process?
Well, now you can with Boxshot VR and Cult of Mac Deals.
In today’s world it can be really difficult to set a website apart from the rest. BoxshotVR is here to help bring a unique UX to any page by making it easy for you to create interactive 3D objects that you can add to any site. Not only will it help a website stand out but it will also help you put a new twist on anyone’s website. Cult of Mac Deals is offering you an opportunity to pick up Boxshot VR for only $23.99 – but only for a limited time.
Sometimes Cult of Mac Deals is able to offer you a deal on something that you might not need to use all the time, but could come in handy when you want to stretch your creativity on a project – or simply do something fun for family and friends. This is one of those offers.
CrazyTalk7 Pro for Mac is the most popular facial animation tool that uses sound and text to vividly animate facial images. With this groundbreaking Auto Motion technology, you just need to import images, specify the facial feature points and record your own voice to automatically generate lip-syncs to create 3D life-like, talking videos. And we’ve got CrazyTalk7 Pro for Mac for 33% off the regular price – just $99.99 – for a limited time!
Our last “name your own price bundle” performed so well that we’re bringing a second one to our Cult of Mac readers. And once again we’ve delivered 10 top Mac Apps for a price that only you can name with The Name Your Own Price Bundle 2.0!
That’s right. You pay what you want for 3 different Mac Apps that will make you faster and more efficient on your Mac including: HoudahSpot, Elmedia Player Pro, and PhotoBulk. And, if you pay more than the average price, you’ll also receive Snapz Pro X, CrossOver XI, DiskTools Pro, Gemini, Mac Blu-Ray Player, Musictube, and Paperless.
We’ve chosen three charities, Child’s Play, World Wildlife Fund, and Creative Commons, that we believe make a significant positive impact across the globe. 10% of your entire purchase will go to help one of those charities – whichever one you choose!
Our last “name your own price bundle” performed so well that we’re bringing a second one to our Cult of Mac readers. And once again we’ve delivered 10 top Mac Apps for a price that only you can name with The Name Your Own Price Bundle 2.0!
That’s right. You pay what you want for 3 different Mac Apps that will make you faster and more efficient on your Mac including: HoudahSpot, Elmedia Player Pro, and PhotoBulk. And, if you pay more than the average price, you’ll also receive Snapz Pro X, CrossOver XI, DiskTools Pro, Gemini, Mac Blu-Ray Player, Musictube, and Paperless.
We’ve chosen three charities, Child’s Play, World Wildlife Fund, and Creative Commons, that we believe make a significant positive impact across the globe. 10% of your entire purchase will go to help one of those charities – whichever one you choose!
So you got a new Mac over the holidays. (Or your old Mac makes you wish that you did.)
Well, this Cult of Mac Deals offer will keep that newly-minted Mac running like the day it was unboxed and get your old Mac running like new again. With this exclusive promotion you’ll get the CleanMyMac Double Pack which will keep two of your Macs clean and free of clutter – for life – and for only $25!
So you got a new Mac over the holidays. (Or your old Mac makes you wish that you did.)
Well today’s Cult of Mac Deals offer will keep that newly-minted Mac running like the day it was unboxed and get your old Mac running like new again. With this exclusive promotion you’ll get the CleanMyMac Double Pack which will keep two of your Macs clean and free of clutter – for life – and for only $25!