QuickTime 7 features a state-of-the-art video codec called H.264, which delivers stunning quality at remarkably low data rates. Ratified as part of the MPEG-4 standard (MPEG-4 Part 10), this ultra-efficient technology gives you excellent results across a broad range of bandwidths, from 3G for mobile devices to iChat AV for video conferencing to HD for broadcast and DVD.

Massive Quality, Minimal Files

H.264 uses the latest innovations in video compression technology to provide incredible video quality from the smallest amount of video data. This means you see crisp, clear video in much smaller files, saving you bandwidth and storage costs over previous generations of video codecs. H.264 delivers the same quality as MPEG-2 at a third to half the data rate and up to four times the frame size of MPEG-4 Part 2 at the same data rate. H.264 is truly a sight to behold.

Scalable from 3G to HD and Beyond

H.264 achieves the best-ever compression efficiency for a broad range of applications, such as broadcast, DVD, video conferencing, video-on-demand, streaming and multimedia messaging. And true to its advanced design, H.264 delivers excellent quality across a wide operating range, from 3G to HD and everything in between. Whether you need high-quality video for your mobile phone, iChat, Internet, broadcast or satellite delivery, H.264 provides exceptional performance at impressively low data rates.

Use Scenario	Resolution & Frame Rate	Example Data Rates
Mobile Content	176x144, 10-15 fps	50-60 Kbps
Internet/Standard Definition	640x480, 24 fps	1-2 Mbps
High Definition	1280x720, 24p	5-6 Mbps
Full High Definition	1920x1080, 24p	7-8 Mbps

No Wait for HD

The impressive efficiency of H.264 makes state-of-the-art video more accessible to more people, enabling you to experience the full quality of HD video on today’s computers. With H.264, an Apple Cinema HD Display and an Intel-based Mac, you can turn your home office into a home theater, complete with gorgeous HD playback.

The New Industry Standard

Already ratified as part of the MPEG-4 standard — MPEG-4 Part 10 — and the ITU-T’s latest video-conferencing standard, H.264 is now mandatory for the HD-DVD and Blu-ray specifications (the two formats for high-definition DVDs) and ratified in the latest versions of the DVB (Digital Video Broadcasters) and 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) standards. Numerous broadcast, cable, videoconferencing and consumer electronics companies consider H.264 the video codec of choice for their new products and services. This adoption by a wide variety of open standards means that any company in the world can create devices — mobile phones, set-top boxes, DVD players and more — that will work seamlessly with QuickTime 7.

Built into QuickTime 7

Because H.264 is now an integral part of the QuickTime 7 architecture in Mac OS X, QuickTime-based applications — including iChat AV, Final Cut Pro HD and a litany of third-party applications — can take full advantage of this incredible new video codec.

Get ready for QuickTime 7 with H.264 to change the digital video universe. Experience this powerful addition to QuickTime 7 in Mac OS X.

H.264 in QuickTime 7: Under the Hood

H.264 in QuickTime 7 for Mac OS X implements a set of advanced technologies and patent-pending techniques to create pristine video at low data rates. The H.264 encoder features:

• Intelligent multi-pass encoding for the best possible results at the desired bit rate with the optimal number of compression passes.
• Time-saving single-pass encoding for creating draft encodes, meeting impending deadlines and live encoding with QuickTime Broadcaster.
• Peak-constrained VBR options for limited data-rate scenarios such as streaming and CD/DVD playback.
• Advanced frame reordering (B-frame) support to more efficiently represent movie data.
• 4x4 integer transform for reducing traditional blocking and ringing artifacts, especially in areas of fine detail.
• Improved intraframe prediction for more efficient compression of details and gradients in high-motion video.
• Increased precision in motion estimation for crisp reconstruction of objects in motion.
• Flexible block sizes in motion estimation for more efficient encoding of complicated motion in areas of fine detail.
• Adaptively tuned in-loop deblocking filter for eliminating blocking artifacts, resulting in a smooth, clean image.