QuickTime for Windows Frequently Asked Questions Draft 1.0 (May 31, 1995) 'Go Graphics' Group on CompuServe This document is intended to provide information on using Apple's QuickTime for Windows (QTW) to play .MOV files on a PC with Windows. 1. What are the system requirements for playing QT movies on my PC? You need a reasonably fast PC (386 33mHz) and 8Mb RAM or more with Windows 3.1 or higher installed. A VGA monitor with a SVGA card is required for 256 colors, but the movies can be viewed in 16 color mode. A Windows-accelerated SVGA card that supports Hi-color 16-bit mode is preferred. An optional sound card is required for audio playback. 2. Where do I download QTW runtime on Compuserve? The QTW runtime is avaliable for download in a special Apple download area of CompuServe, 'GO QTW'. This area is free of connect charges, but there is a flat $9.95 download fee for the QTW runtime. 3. How do I install QTW on my PC? QTWIN.EXE is a self-extracting archive, and must be executed with the '-d' parameter to build the required directory tree: QTWIN -d The runtime may also be extracted to a 1.44 diskette: QTWIN -d A: or extracted in a directory on the fixed disk. After the files are extracted, run SETUP.EXE (one of the QTWIN files) from Windows to complete the installation. It includes the Apple QT player. 4. Do I have to have Video for Windows (VFW) installed to view QT movies? No. VFW runtime is not required for viewing QT movies. 5. I have QTW 1.1 installed. Do I need to upgrade? Yes. QTWIN 2.0 runtime is required to view some of the more recent QT movies. 6. How do I view a QT movie with a .SIT extension? QT movies with the .SIT extension have been compressed with the Mac StuffIt utility. An unarchiver for the PC, UNSITI.EXE (freeware from Aladdin Systems, Inc.) should be in the forum library where the stuffed file was downloaded. 7. How do I view a QT movie with a .BIN extension? QT movies with the .BIN extension are usually uncompressed MOV files. Rename the file to have a .MOV extension for play with Windows. 8. What are 'flattened' QT movies? Flattened QT movies will play on both the PC and Apple Macs. In the native Apple mode on a Mac, the QT movies are saved in 'forked' format. Most Mac uploaders know to save the QT movies in flattened format, so they are usable by both PC and Mac users. Occasionally, a 'forked' QT movie may be downloaded. If so, request help from the forum sysop. 9. Why are QT movie files so big? QT movie files require a lot of data, and usually have a frame rate of 15 fps. A typical 15 second clip will have about 225 frames. The data is compressed, but will usually be a megabyte or more. 10. Why do QT movies look dark on my PC? Apple Mac monitors us a different 'gamma' than PCs, so the movies created on a Mac often look dark on a PC. Use the brightness and contrast controls on the monitor to get a better picture. 11. Why won't the sound from QT movies play through the PC speaker driver? The Windows PC speaker driver is disabled for use with QT movies because it requires the full resources of the CPU when sound is played. A sound card is required to play the audio track of QT movies. 12. Why do the colors look wrong when I play QT movies? QT movies display directly to the video card driver for maximum speed. If the colors do not look right, you may need to update the video driver for your card. The latest drivers for many cards may be found in the 'Go Graphics' Vendor forums: GO GRVENA, GO GRVENB, and GO GRVENC. 13. Where can I go for more help? More help on playing QT movies and other motion video formats is avaliable in the Computer Animation (GO COMANIM) forum on CompuServe. 14. Where can I find more movies on CompuServe? Movies in both QTW and VFW formats covering almost all subjects can be found in the following forums on CompuServe: Archive Films (GO ARCFILM) Timescape Library (GO TIMESCAPE) Graphics Plus (GO GRAPHPLUS) Graphics Corner (GO CORNER) Computer Animation (GO COMANIM)