The QuickTime Movie File Format
The QuickTime movie file format, often abbreviated to QuickTime file, is a special file
format that contains multiple tracks for storing different kinds of media. Don’t confuse
this special movie file format with other files that are simply QuickTime-compatible
formats. Examples of QuickTime-compatible file formats include AIFF, MP3, MPEG, WAVE,
JPEG, and TIFF, just to name a few. A QuickTime movie file uses a .mov file extension.
Important:
Because QuickTime recognizes so many media file formats, you may notice
that a lot of media files in the Finder have a QuickTime icon, or the QuickTime Player
application may launch when you double-click the icons. To be accurate, these files are
called QuickTime-compatible files, but they are not necessarily QuickTime movie files.
For example, an AIFF file is a QuickTime-compatible audio file format; it is not a
QuickTime movie file.
Chapter 16
Learning About QuickTime
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