Apple's QuickTime Architecture Enhanced for Professional Video Production

Apple's QuickTime to Support Common M-JPEG File Format; Multiprocessor
Systems; 3D Graphics

LAS VEGAS, Nevada--April 15, 1996--Apple Computer, Inc. today announced
enhancements to QuickTime that provide significant benefits to the
professional video production process. These enhancements will be part of
QuickTime, version 2.5, which is expected to ship later this Spring.

QuickTime is the multi-platform standard architecture used by multimedia
software tool vendors, content creators, and production professionals to
store, edit and play synchronized video, sound, graphics, text and music
through not only traditional broadcasting means, but a wide range of media
such as CD-ROM and the Internet.

"As creative professionals continue to move toward desktop technology in
the video production process, Apple is committed to providing the very
best enabling-software technology and hardware platforms to our digital
video solution partners," said Dr. David Nagel, senior vice president of
Apple's worldwide research and development. "Today's announcement is
another example of Apple's commitment to migrate QuickTime into the
professional video and broadcast industry."

"The demands of video professionals consistently out pace the curve that
drives traditional computing technology," said Randy Ubillos, vice
president of video products at Macromedia. "By enhancing QuickTime
specifically for the video professional, Apple is delivering an
outstanding enabling technology that allows Macromedia to build truly
professional video solutions."

"We have seen QuickTime deliver 15MB/s data throughput," said Lou Doctor,
president and CEO of Truevision. "This enhancement in QuickTime 2.5 is
crucial for us to be able to develop products such as the Targa 2000 RTX
which delivers in real-time, multiple streams of high-data rate video to
meet the demands for our broadcast video customers using off-the-shelf
software applications."

INTERCHANGEABLE M-JPEG FILE FORMAT

Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) is a compression standard for video professionals that
is implemented in a distinct way by each different video capture product.
Files created in one system typically cannot be played back or edited by
another system. Through a QuickTime Open Forum working group, Apple and
leading digital video solution vendors including Adobe Systems, Inc.; Avid
Technology, Inc.; Data Translation, Inc.; Radius, Inc.; Truevision, and
others have agreed to a fully interchangeable M-JPEG file format. Apple
has implemented this new format in QuickTime 2.5, allowing video
professionals and editors to work with M-JPEG files independent of the
hardware solution originally used to capture the media. QuickTime will
also include a software interchangeable M-JPEG codec, allowing editors,
and others involved in the creative process to view M-JPEG compressed
files on any Power Macintosh with no additional hardware required.

"Enhancing QuickTime with a standard M-JPEG format allows easy exchange of
files between different M-JPEG boards on any Macintosh system," said John
Kunze, Adobe's vice president of graphics and publishing. "This gives
video professionals using Premiere and After Effects the flexibility to
take full advantage of the open systems approach to computing."

MULTIPROCESSOR SUPPORT

For power-hungry video professionals needing real-time editing capabilities
and requiring faster media compression, Apple has also enhanced QuickTime
to support multiprocessing hardware such as the Genesis MP from DayStar
Digital.

"With the release of this version of QuickTime and the multiprocessing
power from DayStar's Genesis MP, video professionals have a powerful new
video editing platform," said Andrew Lewis, president and CEO of DayStar
Digital. "Now they can blast through frames with the speed and results
normally associated with proprietary systems costing tens-of-thousands of
dollars more."

QUICKTIME TO SUPPORT 3D OBJECTS

Apple has enhanced QuickTime to use Apple's QuickDraw 3D engine for
rendering 3D objects in real time within a QuickTime movie. Now video
professionals can synchronize, composite, and animate workstation-class 3D
objects with other media types such as video, audio and music.

"By integrating support for 3D Animations within QuickTime, Apple has
created a compelling bridge between the worlds of 3D production and video
production. Using Infini-D, Specular's award- winning 3D modeling,
animation, and rendering product, customers will soon be able to take
advantage of the integration of QuickDraw 3D and QuickTime, " said Chris
Johnston, director of product management at Specular. "The feedback loop
for professionals who combine 3D rendered animations with digital video
will now be significantly shortened, thereby enabling greater creative
freedom and flexibility throughout the entire production process."

"We are excited about the possibilities opened up by QuickTime's support
for QuickDraw 3D. StudioPro has always been able to render high-quality 3D
animations into QuickTime format and already supports 3DMF," said Heidi
Rosnberg, Strata, Inc. product marketing manager. Now with the ability to
include 3D objects directly into QuickTime movies and even texture map
QuickTime movies onto existing 3D objects, working with 3D and QuickTime
becomes highly interactive and productive. This is exciting news for 3D
and video professionals."

AVAILABILITY/PRICING

All of the features mentioned above are a subset of QuickTime 2.5, which is
expected to be available in Spring 1996. Developer seeding is already in
progress. Developers can license QuickTime software free of charge for
redistribution with applications, multimedia titles and media clip
libraries through Apple Software Licensing. QuickTime 2.5 is expected to
be free of charge to customers through Apple's home page on the World Wide
Web and various online services.

Apple Computer, Inc., a recognized innovator in the information industry
and leader in multimedia technologies, creates powerful solutions based on
easy-to-use personal computers, servers, peripherals, software, and
personal digital assistants. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple
(NASDAQ: AAPL) develops, manufactures, licenses and markets products,
technologies and services for the business, education, consumer,
entertainment, scientific & engineering and government customers in over
140 countries.

If you are considering the purchase of an Apple product and would like to
have product information faxed to you, please call 1-800-462-4396 in the
U.S. or 1-800-263- 3394 in Canada. If you do not have a fax machine or
would like to locate an Apple authorized reseller near you, please call
1-800- 538-9696. Customers outside the U.S. should contact their local
Apple representatives for information.

Apple's home page on the World Wide Web: http://www.apple.com/
 
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