Preparing media for streaming

Step 1. Make the movie self-contained

For prerecorded movies, you’ll need to decide whether you want to stream self-contained movies or movies that contain dependencies. Self-contained movies contain all the information for that movie within the movie file. Movies with dependencies contain references to the media tracks in other movies, which would also need to be on the server. Self-contained movies are easier to handle — there’s only one file to worry about.

 

Step 2. Hint the movie

Prerecorded and live QuickTime movies must be hinted for streaming. This means creating a hint track for each media track in the movie (except for QuickTime VR and Flash tracks, which cannot be streamed). The hint tracks, which are stored in the movie along with the video, audio, and other tracks, provide QuickTime Streaming Server software with information about the server, the transmission packet size, and the protocol to be used — in short, how to send the movie data over the network. How to make a hinted movie.

 

Step 3. Name the movie

For the greatest cross-platform compatibility, be sure to name your movie in a way that does not confuse the web server’s file system, the client computer’s file system, or the web browser.

  • Use filenames without spaces: "MyMovie.mov," not "My Movie.mov"
  • Some systems are case sensitive. Make sure you name the movie in exactly the same way as in the URL that links to it. Do not try to link "MyMovie.mov" to "mymovie.mov".
  • Always include .mov (QuickTime movie) or .mp4 or .3gp file extension with the movie filename.
 

Step 4. Save settings

Certain user settings are saved with the QuickTime movie. You can use these settings to control some aspects of the way a movie is displayed.

The following settings work in both QuickTime Player and QuickTime Plug-in:

  • Half-size.
  • Double-size. For movies compressed with the H.264, MPEG-4 or H.263 video codecs, this is a good way to increase the display size of the movie without increasing its data rate or file size.
  • Autoplay. Set this option from the Movie Properties window in QuickTime Pro. Choose the Movie from the Tracks list and Automatically Play Movie When Opened check box in the Presentation section.

The following settings work only when the movie is played in QuickTime Player.

  • Loop.
  • Loop back and forth.
  • Play Selection Only.
  • Play All Frames.