Quicktime

[Shelly]

Is it possible to have a .mov file on a site and have it played in a browser
where the user does not have Quicktime installed? I googled, but all I saw
was about embedding Quicktime in a web page.

 

[rf]

Is it possible to have a .mov file on a site and have it played in a
browser where the user does not have Quicktime installed? I googled, but
all I saw was about embedding Quicktime in a web page.

Metaphor:

Is it possible to watch a TV movie when I don't have a TV?

No.

 

[Dylan Parry]

Is it possible to watch a TV movie when I don't have a TV?

Yes, using a receiver and a projector Likewise, one can view
Quicktime files if one has suitable codecs installed or an alternative
media player - for example, I don't have Quicktime installed, but I do
have codecs that let me view such files in Windows Media Player.

--
Dylan Parry
http://electricfreedom.org | http://webpageworkshop.co.uk

The opinions stated above are not necessarily representative of
those of my cats. All opinions expressed are entirely your own.

 

[Shelly]

Yes, using a receiver and a projector Likewise, one can view
Quicktime files if one has suitable codecs installed or an alternative
media player - for example, I don't have Quicktime installed, but I do
have codecs that let me view such files in Windows Media Player.

I phrased it badly. What I meant to ask was "Is there something **I can
install on the server** so that .mov files on the server that are included
in a web page will play on the user's browser even if he doesn't have
Quicktime on his machine.

 

[Dylan Parry]

I phrased it badly. What I meant to ask was "Is there something **I can
install on the server** so that .mov files on the server that are included
in a web page will play on the user's browser even if he doesn't have
Quicktime on his machine.

Heh! In which case, I'd go with Richard's answer: no

--
Dylan Parry
http://electricfreedom.org | http://webpageworkshop.co.uk

The opinions stated above are not necessarily representative of
those of my cats. All opinions expressed are entirely your own.

 

[Jonathan N. Little]

I have QuicktimeAlternative open source...

I phrased it badly. What I meant to ask was "Is there something **I can
install on the server** so that .mov files on the server that are included
in a web page will play on the user's browser even if he doesn't have
Quicktime on his machine.

No. The client must be configured to view ".mov" in some way such as
with any other proprietary file format...

 

[Ben C]

I have QuicktimeAlternative open source...

No. The client must be configured to view ".mov" in some way such as
with any other proprietary file format...

Can't you do something with content negotiation?

If the client doesn't say it accepts whatever media type .mov files are,
then the server can perhaps be set up to give it the same movie but as
another kind of file instead (.avi, .mpeg, etc.)?

 

[Jonathan N. Little]

Can't you do something with content negotiation?

If the client doesn't say it accepts whatever media type .mov files are,
then the server can perhaps be set up to give it the same movie but as
another kind of file instead (.avi, .mpeg, etc.)?

That would have to be done client side, the server does not know nor
should it, what you have installed on your computer. Maybe Ajax. But
anyway whether it is MOV, AVI, MPEG the client is going to have to have
some type of application or plugin in order to view the file...

 

[dorayme]

Can't you do something with content negotiation?

If the client doesn't say it accepts whatever media type .mov files are,
then the server can perhaps be set up to give it the same movie but as
another kind of file instead (.avi, .mpeg, etc.)?

Indeed this is good advice. So many folks on Windows simply
cannot see .mov movies, I had a case of a woman the other day
saying she heard the soundtrack but not the visual of some film I
made. She was half way there in her "content-negotiation"!

The other thing I have done is give an explicit link with some
blah about QT being free, to download and install the QT player.

 

[dorayme]

Indeed this is good advice.

I did not read this right, it suggested (to me) providing another
formatted film as alternative (I read JL's comment on this and
realised)... know nothing about this technical server business...

 

[Ben C]

Shelly wrote: [...]
I phrased it badly. What I meant to ask was "Is there something **I can
install on the server** so that .mov files on the server that are included
in a web page will play on the user's browser even if he doesn't have
Quicktime on his machine.
No. The client must be configured to view ".mov" in some way such as
with any other proprietary file format...

Can't you do something with content negotiation?

If the client doesn't say it accepts whatever media type .mov files are,
then the server can perhaps be set up to give it the same movie but as
another kind of file instead (.avi, .mpeg, etc.)?

That would have to be done client side, the server does not know nor
should it, what you have installed on your computer.

The idea is the computer sends in its request headers the types of files
it would prefer.

So if the server sees Accept: video/quicktime then it gives the client
the .mov file. If it doesn't, but it does see Accept: video/avi, then
it delivers an avi instead, and that kind of thing.

But I don't know if anyone uses this for videos or if browsers reliably
send Accept headers for the plugins they have installed.

anyway whether it is MOV, AVI, MPEG the client is going to have to have
some type of application or plugin in order to view the file...

Of course.

 

[cwdjrxyz]

Is it possible to have a .mov file on a site and have it played in a browser
where the user does not have Quicktime installed? I googled, but all I saw
was about embedding Quicktime in a web page.

You can play .mov files on some other players than QT. Often the other
player must have a codec installed to play a format it does not
support out of the box. Both my WMP 11 and Real 11 beta players will
play .mov. As delivered, WMP does not play many formats belonging to
other player makers. However, there are many codecs you can download
to make it play .flac, .ape, assorted mp4 formats, etc. Real will play
several Microsoft formats as delivered as well as Real formats.
However I am not for sure that the average casual computer user will
even know about how to find codecs and install them to extend what a
player will do on their computer. By searching Google with something
like "WMP flac codec" you often can find a free codec to download
fairly fast. But be careful what you download and read the fine print.
A few free download sites are not so free when you find what "gifts"
they will give you in addition to the one you want. It is safer to go
to a group concerning the player of interest and asking there for a
source of a good codec.