Apple QuickTime

By Apple Free Editors' Rating

Key Details of Apple QuickTime

  • Play MPEG-4 movies with AAC sound with latest version of Apple's premier media player
  • Last updated on 01/11/16
  • There have been 0 updates within the past 6 months
  • Also available on Mac
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Editors' Review

Download.com Staff Feb 27, 2015

Apple QuickTime lets you play videos stored on your hard drive as well as stream content by supplying the URL of the video source. The app shows its age, but is still usable as long as you install several codecs in order to play a wider variety of movie formats; there is also a small number of free plug-ins that can extend the app's functionality.

Pros

Easy to use: Apple QuickTime adheres to a familiar media player layout that we're all used to, the only difference being that movies don't start automatically when opened. On the plus side, this default option can be changed in the software's settings.

Streaming support: You can feed the app a video URL, and it will play it as long as the URL's destination is a video in a supported format. You can even stream live feeds in the same manner.

Plug-in support: There are 11 plug-ins available for the software that can extend its capabilities. The plug-ins range from basic codec packs and audio visualizers to apps that will enable you to view and interact with 3D objects rather than playing a movie.

Cons

Limited functionality: As you browse through the app's menus, you will notice that the majority of features are labeled as "Pro" and are inaccessible in the free version of the software. Some of those features include the ability to loop a section of a video, trim a movie, or combine movies.

Third-party codecs required: If you attempt to play a video in a format, which is not natively supported, such as an AVI file, you'll be taken to a Web page to download additional codec software. In our tests, we had trouble playing AVI files, even after installing the suggested codecs.

Resource-hungry: Apple QuickTime uses more resources to play videos than some other video players. When we compared it with Media Player Classic by playing the same HD movie in both apps, we noticed that this app needed on average 15 percent more CPU cycles.

Bottom Line

Apple QuickTime 7 used to be state of the art about a decade ago, but ever since then it has stood still, at least on the Windows side. If you want to enjoy a good movie without worrying if your media player supports it, we would recommend a program like VLC, KM Player, or Media Player Classic.

Full Specifications

What's new in version 7.7.9

  • QuickTime 7.7.9 improves security and is recommended for all QuickTime 7 users on Windows. For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222.
  • The QuickTime web browser plug-in is no longer installed by default and is removed if you have a previous version of QuickTime on your PC. If you still need this legacy plug-in, you can add it back using the custom setup option in the installer.

General

Release January 11, 2016
Date Added January 11, 2016
Version 7.7.9

Operating Systems

Operating Systems Windows, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
Additional Requirements None

Popularity

Total Downloads 27,440,609
Downloads Last Week 152
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Developer's Description

QuickTime features advanced video compression technology called H.264 to deliver brilliant, crisp HD video using less bandwidth and storage. Just launch QuickTime Player, and there's no telling where you're likely to land. The Player may whisk you to the Moon or perhaps to an exotic location on this planet. Take you on a virtual field trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Or treat you to the latest news, movie trailers, music videos, HBO series or PBS specials. That's because QuickTime 7 Player takes advantage of the latest video compression technology. It's called H.264, and it's an important new industry standard that's quickly garnered widespread support. Chosen as the industry-standard codec for 3GPP (mobile multimedia), MPEG-4 HD-DVD and Blu-ray, H.264 represents the next generation of video for everything from mobile multimedia to high-definition playback. H.264 icon.

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