
Preparing Movies for Internet Delivery
You can create movies so that they can be delivered over the Internet. You can deliver a movie over the Internet in two ways:
- With HTTP download, the movie is downloaded to the client's hard disk. Fast Start is a QuickTime feature that enables users to watch or listen to media as it is being downloaded (long before the whole movie has been downloaded) from a standard web server to their hard disks. Fast Start works well for short-form movies where file size is limited. It ensures high-quality playback regardless of users' Internet connection speeds, although those with slower connections will wait longer before media starts to play.
- Real-time streaming provided by QuickTime Streaming Server (QTSS) delivers media in real time over the Internet, from modem rates to broadband. No file is ever downloaded to a viewer's hard disk. Media is played, but not stored, by the client software as it is delivered. You would choose real-time streaming rather than Fast Start for webcasts of live events in real time, delivery of long-form video, 24/7 Internet radio and TV channels, and other cases in which you don't files stored on a user's hard disk. QTSS uses the RTSP protocol.
For more information, see these topics: