November 28, 2001: Apple says customers obtain QuickTime 5 for Mac and PC one million occasions each three days, placing the multimedia software program on observe to exceed 100 million downloads in its first 12 months of distribution. The announcement comes as web sites undertake the MPEG-4 format, and on-line video begins to take off in an enormous method.
Particularly, Apple’s film trailer web site proves a large success. Tens of millions of individuals obtain previews of upcoming blockbusters like Spider-Man and Star Wars Episode II: Assault of the Clones. On-line trailer releases for movies like The Lord of the Rings turn out to be buzz-worthy occasions.
In a pre-YouTube world, Apple has every thing to realize!
Apple film trailer website drives development in QuickTime 5 downloads
Launched a pair years earlier, by this level, Apple’s film trailer web site had turn out to be the largest of its day (and an ideal commercial for QuickTime). It got here into being after Apple staffers have been appalled by the low-quality encoding of trailers put up by film studios, most particularly the Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace trailer hosted by Lucasfilm.
After a gathering with the movie Lucasfilm, Apple began internet hosting QuickTime trailers. They seemed much better than the RealVideo different of the time. Apple didn’t pay for the content material, however did host the trailers and pay for the bandwidth.
Just like the profit-sharing offers that Steve Jobs labored out with iTunes quickly after, the association labored in each events’ favor. Apple obtained to indicate off its expertise and push QuickTime downloads. Film studios obtained free promoting.
New options in QuickTime 5
“QuickTime has been lengthy established because the digital media commonplace for capturing, encoding and delivering content material on the web,” stated Phil Schiller, Apple’s vp of worldwide product advertising, in a press launch in regards to the software program’s launch in April 2001. “QuickTime 5 affords unimaginable new capabilities for everybody who creates or views multimedia content material.”
The brand new model of the software program provided a slicker consumer interface with upgraded audio controls. A brand new “Scorching Picks” information and QuickTime TV channels made it simpler for viewers to seek out content material. And a brand new DV codec boosted the velocity and high quality of streaming video.
QuickTime 5 additionally introduced new instruments for content material creators, in addition to help for MPEG-1, Macromedia Flash 4 and Cubic VR. In the meantime, Apple’s QuickTime Streaming Server 3 added a patented function known as Skip Safety to make web video much less glitchy.
Downloads surge as on-line video takes maintain
All these advances, and the recognition of Apple’s film trailers website, spurred the fast development of QuickTime. This additionally presaged the growth in on-line video that continues to this present day. By November 28, 2001, Apple noticed such a surge in QuickTime 5 downloads that the corporate issued one other press launch to crow about its success.
“Greater than 300,000 individuals obtain QuickTime 5 to their Macs and PCs daily,” stated Schiller in a press launch on this present day in 2001. “The unimaginable high quality of QuickTime content material delivered by standard film trailers reminiscent of Star Wars Episode II and Lord of the Rings, and nonstop information protection from prime organizations like CNN and NPR are driving this report setting obtain price.”
Barely greater than a decade later, with streaming video all the fad, Apple began to section out film trailer downloads. Nevertheless it was enjoyable whereas it lasted!
Do you bear in mind downloading film trailers utilizing QuickTime again in 2001? Depart your QuickTime recollections beneath.
