Saturday, December 19, 2009

How to Fast Start an Embedded QuickTime MOV file

I encountered this problem last week:

After embedding a QuickTime(MOV) file into your web page, it takes an eternity to start. The

reason is because the http request will ask the server to download the whole clip onto the client's

drive, then start the playback.

The solution is simple, and is called FAST START. Fast Start is a QuickTimefeature that enables

users to watch the movie as it's being downloaded (long before the whole movie has been downloaded)

from a standard web server. Fast Start works well for short-form movies where file size is limited.

It ensures high-quality playback regardless of the users' Internet connection speeds, though those

with slower connections will wait longer before media starts to play (
href="http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2438" >Apple QuickTime, 2009
).

Check the instructions on the QuickTime website here. It also explains how to optimize your video for online streaming.

1 comment:

  1. I realised that the main problem resided in the fact that I used a video convertor (WMV to MOV), which did not allow for fast start. Another simpler solution in that case would be to save the file again using QuickTime player under a different name.

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