Embedded content gets new look with Apple's QuickTime X

***AppleInsider*** · 08-03-2009, 03:07 PM

Apple is reportedly exploring a new design interface for Web-embedded content in QuickTime X, eschewing the current gray palette and adopting a sleek, black look for the controls while viewing media.

According to information from an AppleInsider reader, the new QuickTime X interface for embedded media is similar to a design tweak reportedly given to the QuickTime player for content accessed locally. Much like the proposed tweaks to the QuickTime X standalone player, the cosmetic changes for embedded content controls would signal a shift from the program's longstanding traditional look.

QuickTime X is the latest iteration of Apple's media software. It is due to ship with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard this September. Apple has described the update as an application that "optimizes support for modern audio and video formats resulting in extremely efficient media playback."

The new QuickTime X design for embedded content adopts a black theme.

Earlier this year, AppleInsider unveiled the proposed new look of the QuickTime X Player. Unlike the current version of QuickTime Player 7.6 -- which reserves considerable real estate for sizable, platinum-themed video controls at the base of the each player window -- QuickTime X Player is said to forgo all traditional interface controls in favor of video overlay controls (like those that appear when you mouse over video in full-screen mode of the current Player software).

An artist's mockup of the minimal QuickTime X Player window interface in Snow Leopard.

The only window-based interface element in the QuickTime X Player is reportedly the title bar, which is reminiscent of the iPhone's semi-transparent black glass interface while also adopting hues from the video frames playing beneath it. However, this too fades away and disappears with the new overlay controls so videos appear to float on the screen with nothing more than a deep shadow surrounding all four sides.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

Virgil-TB2 · 08-03-2009, 03:14 PM

I wish they would just make it play flash movies or open them in the quicktime desktop app in h264 like on the iPhone so we could dump flash altogether.

It's so lame that I can browse the web without flash on my phone and have no problems at all, but on the desktop computer this can't be done for some stupid reason?

Phizz · 08-03-2009, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

I wish they would just make it play flash movies or open them in the quicktime desktop app in h264 like on the iPhone so we could dump flash altogether.

That only works for YouTube movies doesn't it?

But yeah, looking forward to browsers using real hardware accelerated platform independent video as standard.

bryanhauer · 08-03-2009, 03:35 PM

I'm looking forward to the day when I can easily copy n paste code from a quicktime video into a webpage. I know it can currently be done, but it's a pain in the ass since it's not nearly as easy and a YouTube video.

I couldn't tell from the article if this might be a feature that is planned, but I'd switch to that in a second on any of my sites as the quality tends to be much higher.

Cougar · 08-03-2009, 03:35 PM

That looks nice, but I fail to see the point of the giant 30 sec rewind button.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

I wish they would just make it play flash movies or open them in the quicktime desktop app in h264 like on the iPhone so we could dump flash altogether.

It's so lame that I can browse the web without flash on my phone and have no problems at all, but on the desktop computer this can't be done for some stupid reason?

If you want to disable flash, you should check out the free ClickToFlash plugin. Does what it says.

Logisticaldron · 08-03-2009, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cougar

If you want to disable flash, you should check out the free ClickToFlash plugin. Does what it says.

That solution also has the added benefit of being to load any Flash video that uses the H.264 codec in Quicktime, which will then allow you to download the video from sites like YouTube.

Inkling · 08-03-2009, 03:42 PM

30-second rewind. That's great for those times when a distraction interrupts viewing or listening. It's one of the reason's I'm thinking of replacing my aging but still functional iPod mini.

iCarbon · 08-03-2009, 03:43 PM

I'd like to see the box given rounded corners like all the buttons in the display -- it seems like a sharp contrast and ends up coming caross like a cheap IKEA desk.

PG4G · 08-03-2009, 04:05 PM

Is it just me that's wondering why AppleInsider is still using that "artist's impression" when Apple's actually shown the interface on their website?

Oh, and just letting everyone know... Apple's changed the look of QuickTime X's interface again in the last few betas... Its funny watching them muck around with this new interface considering everyone thought they'd got mighty stuck already on "marble" - seems they aren't as set on their new interface ideas as they seemed to be.

m01ety · 08-03-2009, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cougar

That looks nice, but I fail to see the point of the giant 30 sec rewind button.

That's because it's not a 30-sec rewind button. Instead, it's telling you that it needs to buffer for thirty more seconds before the content can play. It's not new; the current QuickTime also has it.

DimMok · 08-03-2009, 04:12 PM

Enough with that same Ratat image....isnt there something else in the arsenal.

I like it....though hopefully its a system wide look. not just for qx

JupiterOne · 08-03-2009, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m01ety

That's because it's not a 30-sec rewind button. Instead, it's telling you that it needs to buffer for thirty more seconds before the content can play. It's not new; the current QuickTime also has it.

Are you sure? Because it looks identical to the 30 second rewind button that appeared on the iPhone with the 3.0 software. It would be confusing if this was something other than that.

PG4G · 08-03-2009, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DimMok

Enough with that same Ratat image....isnt there something else in the arsenal.

Like this???

http://www.apple.com/macosx/refineme...3_20090608.jpg

m01ety · 08-03-2009, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JupiterOne

Are you sure? Because it looks identical to the 30 second rewind button that appeared on the iPhone with the 3.0 software. It would be confusing if this was something other than that.

Well, I distinctly remember QT7 having a little spinny thingy showing a number that was counting down until the buffer was full whenever I tried to stream the WWDC keynote... But I'm on SL so I can't check how it was in the olden days.

If you're sure it's identical to what the iPhone offers, then it must be because they're basing QT X on the QT in iPhone OS...

JupiterOne · 08-03-2009, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m01ety

Well, I distinctly remember QT7 having a little spinny thingy showing a number that was counting down until the buffer was full whenever I tried to stream the WWDC keynote... But I'm on SL so I can't check how it was in the olden days.

If you're sure it's identical to what the iPhone offers, then it must be because they're basing QT X on the QT in iPhone OS...

This is what it looks like on the iPhone. When you hit it, it rewinds 30 seconds.

DimMok · 08-03-2009, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PG4G

Like this???

http://www.apple.com/macosx/refineme...3_20090608.jpg

got any with hot chicks....

TenoBell · 08-03-2009, 04:31 PM

If Quicktime played flash, that would reinforce the use of flash not end it's use.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

I wish they would just make it play flash movies or open them in the quicktime desktop app in h264 like on the iPhone so we could dump flash altogether.

It's so lame that I can browse the web without flash on my phone and have no problems at all, but on the desktop computer this can't be done for some stupid reason?

TenoBell · 08-03-2009, 04:33 PM

It is a 30 second rewind button. It is useful for times when you miss something that is said or you want to re-hear a statement.

Quote:

Originally Posted by m01ety

That's because it's not a 30-sec rewind button. Instead, it's telling you that it needs to buffer for thirty more seconds before the content can play. It's not new; the current QuickTime also has it.

elliots11 · 08-03-2009, 04:44 PM

I hope Quicktime X allows a fullscreen button like many flash players do.

PG4G · 08-03-2009, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DimMok

got any with hot chicks....

Lol... no... but I can try and play some porn on it if you like lol... and the new quicktime Icon has changed since they made that screenshot - its now blue, not purple... sitting next to the iTunes icon it makes me want them to update that one somehow too... iTunes icon fails in comparison to the new quicktime one

Trajectory · 08-03-2009, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m01ety

That's because it's not a 30-sec rewind button. Instead, it's telling you that it needs to buffer for thirty more seconds before the content can play. It's not new; the current QuickTime also has it.

No, it's a 30-second rewind button. That's why it's always there and always says 30 sec.

Virgil-TB2 · 08-03-2009, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cougar

... If you want to disable flash, you should check out the free ClickToFlash plugin. Does what it says.

I just disable Flash the easy way by disabling Flash.

It just seems silly to me that literally the *only* Flash I want to look at are movies, which literally 99 times out of a hundred are YouTube movies, which if I was on the iPhone would be no problem at all.

I'm no coder, but it seems like the same snippet of code that does this on the iPhone would also work on regular Safari. I don't see why the regular Safari can't similarly just throw up a tiny Quicktime window and play the content in there if it's a YouTube h264 video stream, which pretty much every time it is.

It would go a long way towards getting Flash off the internet forever.

Logisticaldron · 08-03-2009, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PG4G

Lol... no... but I can try and play some porn on it if you like lol... and the new quicktime Icon has changed since they made that screenshot - its now blue, not purple... sitting next to the iTunes icon it makes me want them to update that one somehow too... iTunes icon fails in comparison to the new quicktime one

The new icon is cool, but it looks so out of place compared to the rest of the icons. They really should modernize the rest of the app icons to match it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

I just disable Flash the easy way by disabling Flash.

It just seems silly to me that literally the *only* Flash I want to look at are movies, which literally 99 times out of a hundred are YouTube movies, which if I was on the iPhone would be no problem at all.

I'm no coder, but it seems like the same snippet of code that does this on the iPhone would also work on regular Safari. I don't see why the regular Safari can't similarly just throw up a tiny Quicktime window and play the content in there if it's a YouTube h264 video stream, which pretty much every time it is.

It would go a long way towards getting Flash off the internet forever.

ClickToFlash really is slick. I think you are not understanding the benefits of using it and how QuickTime compatible video gets loaded on the iPhone.

With ClickToFlash you can have Flash disabled for every site or add a particular site, like Hulu to a whiteboard so that Flash will automatically load on that site. You can also just click on a window so that no other flash sites, such as ads are loaded. This is quite different from the rigamarole of turning flash on or off for the entire browser.

You can also choose to load video in H.264 if that is an option, like with YouTube. This means that when I go to YouTube it loads in an embedded QT window, which also allows me to DL the video as source. Your issue with video defaulting to Flash on the desktop and using QT on the iPhone is not from the iPhone, it’s the site determining the content you can play and then streaming it in a compatible format. Sometimes this is just a simple UserAgent change, which you can do in the desktop browser, but usually they code it better to prevent you from circumventing and stealing the videos, but ClickToFlash is the answer to that.

PG4G · 08-03-2009, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logisticaldron

The new icon is cool, but it looks so out of place compared to the rest of the icons. They really should modernize the rest of the app icons to match it.

Yes, I totally agree.

TenoBell · 08-03-2009, 05:50 PM

Full screen for most of the low resolution poor quality video on the net is mostly useless. Otherwise the person providing the Quicktime movie can enable full screen if the quality is sufficient.

Quote:

Originally Posted by elliots11

I hope Quicktime X allows a fullscreen button like many flash players do.

TenoBell · 08-03-2009, 05:52 PM

Youtube (Google) is already looking at moving away from flash and using HTML video tags.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

I'm no coder, but it seems like the same snippet of code that does this on the iPhone would also work on regular Safari. I don't see why the regular Safari can't similarly just throw up a tiny Quicktime window and play the content in there if it's a YouTube h264 video stream, which pretty much every time it is.

It would go a long way towards getting Flash off the internet forever.

SinisterJoe · 08-03-2009, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

It just seems silly to me that literally the *only* Flash I want to look at are movies, which literally 99 times out of a hundred are YouTube movies, which if I was on the iPhone would be no problem at all.

I think you could use http://m.youtube.com/ I tried a few videos and they open in QuickTime.

**JeffDM** · 08-03-2009, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elliots11

I hope Quicktime X allows a fullscreen button like many flash players do.

That's what I was thinking about. One way to help get rid of flash is to try to give it fewer reasons to exist. I watch embedded video full screen whenever I can, the small photograph-size frame for most video is too small for comfort.

One thing I'd really like to see is embedded players supporting 2x size too, so I can watch a little more comfortably and still keep track of other things on the computer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

I just disable Flash the easy way by disabling Flash.

It just seems silly to me that literally the *only* Flash I want to look at are movies, which literally 99 times out of a hundred are YouTube movies, which if I was on the iPhone would be no problem at all.

Unfortunately, the sledgehammer approach isn't so useful for me. YouTube isn't the only useful video site out there, Apple doesn't offer app substitutes any other site other than YouTube. Flashblock offers a way to selectively autoplay flash from certain sites.

TenoBell · 08-03-2009, 07:01 PM

It may be personal taste but I don't see the point of enlarging poor quality video. To me it looks soft mush with bleeding colors.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffDM

That's what I was thinking about. One way to help get rid of flash is to try to give it fewer reasons to exist. I watch embedded video full screen whenever I can, the small photograph-size frame for most video is too small for comfort.

**JeffDM** · 08-03-2009, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TenoBell

It may be personal taste but I don't see the point of enlarging poor quality video. To me it looks soft mush with bleeding colors.

Of course it's mushy, but that's not the point. Well, I don't think it always is or has to be mushy, but point taken, it is too often. But I'm not going to focus my attention onto such a tiny little window if I can avoid it. Playing a tiny window looks especially stupid on a 24" or 30" screen. I think a 2x scale would be a good compromise. Using the system's control+scroll scaling to do same isn't very good, can't do much else with the computer when it's playing.

nagromme · 08-03-2009, 09:27 PM

EyeTV got me hooked on 30-second skip-back. (And forward--in the case of commercials!) I might prefer 15 seconds (hit twice for 30) but whatever--it would be great to have it in every media player.

Virgil-TB2 · 08-03-2009, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logisticaldron

... ClickToFlash really is slick. I think you are not understanding the benefits of using it and how QuickTime compatible video gets loaded on the iPhone.

With ClickToFlash you can have Flash disabled for every site or add a particular site, like Hulu to a whiteboard so that Flash will automatically load on that site. You can also just click on a window so that no other flash sites, such as ads are loaded. This is quite different from the rigamarole of turning flash on or off for the entire browser.

But I don't want to click on things to make them load or not load, that was part of my point. I already have all ads blocked with adblocker, it works perfectly and I never see any flash content other than the movies, which as I said are almost exclusively YouTube.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logisticaldron

... You can also choose to load video in H.264 if that is an option, like with YouTube. This means that when I go to YouTube it loads in an embedded QT window, which also allows me to DL the video as source. Your issue with video defaulting to Flash on the desktop and using QT on the iPhone is not from the iPhone, it’s the site determining the content you can play and then streaming it in a compatible format. ...

I know all this. This was also part of my point.

If you are saying that ClickToFlash incorporates this functionality I am asking for, then that's great. I don't know why someone didn't just say that earlier, or why the clicktoflash people don't advertise that fact more.

The main reason I don't want or need ClickToFlash is that it was described in several articles I read as a method of displaying or not displaying flash content based on clicking on placeholders. That's not what I want at all. If in fact I can set it to instead always display a quicktime window when there is a video, then that's exactly the thing I am looking for.

I'm betting there is a downside though (possibly a lot of clicking and set-up), or everyone would use this.

pondosinatra · 08-04-2009, 01:32 AM

Wow the number of different interfaces present in OS X just keeps growing with each new release.

Last time I checked Quicktime was an application therefore it should have the same interface as any other application.

This is one area that Microsoft consistently outperforms Apple.

MacGregor · 08-04-2009, 03:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nagromme

EyeTV got me hooked on 30-second skip-back. (And forward--in the case of commercials!) I might prefer 15 seconds (hit twice for 30) but whatever--it would be great to have it in every media player.

It's on the iPhone OS for podcasts and videos and is GREAT.

knightlie · 08-04-2009, 03:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pondosinatra

Wow the number of different interfaces present in OS X just keeps growing with each new release.

Last time I checked Quicktime was an application therefore it should have the same interface as any other application.

This is one area that Microsoft consistently outperforms Apple.

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001126.html

talksense101 · 08-04-2009, 04:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knightlie

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001126.html

Well...

Microsoft is no excuse for Apple to ignore their own HUI guidelines.

bigdaddyp · 08-04-2009, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pondosinatra

Wow the number of different interfaces present in OS X just keeps growing with each new release.

Last time I checked Quicktime was an application therefore it should have the same interface as any other application.

This is one area that Microsoft consistently outperforms Apple.

But it is also a Apple media app. Isn't the darker hud look more in keeping with the look of itunes?

Ireland · 08-04-2009, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacGregor

It's on the iPhone OS for podcasts and videos and is GREAT.

I guess. But I can see why it's being questioned why it's necessary on the desktop.

**JeffDM** · 08-04-2009, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacGregor

It's on the iPhone OS for podcasts and videos and is GREAT.

Not just any video though, maybe just podcast videos? It doesn't work with any non-podcast media that I've found.

pondosinatra · 08-04-2009, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knightlie

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001126.html

Gee, you're right. That one well known example completely invalidates my point. Silly me.

At least they fixed it in their latest release.

08-03-2009, 03:07 PM	#1
*AppleInsider* Kasper's Automated Slave Join Date: Nov 1997 Posts: 6,165	Embedded content gets new look with Apple's QuickTime X Apple is reportedly exploring a new design interface for Web-embedded content in QuickTime X, eschewing the current gray palette and adopting a sleek, black look for the controls while viewing media. According to information from an AppleInsider reader, the new QuickTime X interface for embedded media is similar to a design tweak reportedly given to the QuickTime player for content accessed locally. Much like the proposed tweaks to the QuickTime X standalone player, the cosmetic changes for embedded content controls would signal a shift from the program's longstanding traditional look. QuickTime X is the latest iteration of Apple's media software. It is due to ship with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard this September. Apple has described the update as an application that "optimizes support for modern audio and video formats resulting in extremely efficient media playback." The new QuickTime X design for embedded content adopts a black theme. Earlier this year, AppleInsider unveiled the proposed new look of the QuickTime X Player. Unlike the current version of QuickTime Player 7.6 -- which reserves considerable real estate for sizable, platinum-themed video controls at the base of the each player window -- QuickTime X Player is said to forgo all traditional interface controls in favor of video overlay controls (like those that appear when you mouse over video in full-screen mode of the current Player software). An artist's mockup of the minimal QuickTime X Player window interface in Snow Leopard. The only window-based interface element in the QuickTime X Player is reportedly the title bar, which is reminiscent of the iPhone's semi-transparent black glass interface while also adopting hues from the video frames playing beneath it. However, this too fades away and disappears with the new overlay controls so videos appear to float on the screen with nothing more than a deep shadow surrounding all four sides. [ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

08-03-2009, 03:14 PM	#2
Virgil-TB2 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 1,415	I wish they would just make it play flash movies or open them in the quicktime desktop app in h264 like on the iPhone so we could dump flash altogether. It's so lame that I can browse the web without flash on my phone and have no problems at all, but on the desktop computer this can't be done for some stupid reason? In Windows, a window can be a document, it can be an application, or it can be a window that contains other documents or applications. There’s just no consistency. It’s just a big grab bag of monkey poop. Last edited by Virgil-TB2; 08-03-2009 at 03:22 PM..

08-03-2009, 03:35 PM	#4
bryanhauer Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 46	Easy Embedding I'm looking forward to the day when I can easily copy n paste code from a quicktime video into a webpage. I know it can currently be done, but it's a pain in the ass since it's not nearly as easy and a YouTube video. I couldn't tell from the article if this might be a feature that is planned, but I'd switch to that in a second on any of my sites as the quality tends to be much higher. Visit my Blog @ BryanHauer.com Follow me on twitter @ twitter.com/bryanhauer

08-03-2009, 09:27 PM	#31
nagromme Registered User Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: No GPS signal. Posts: 1,169	EyeTV got me hooked on 30-second skip-back. (And forward--in the case of commercials!) I might prefer 15 seconds (hit twice for 30) but whatever--it would be great to have it in every media player. nagromme Would you like a treatment?

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08-03-2009, 03:42 PM	#7
Inkling Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Seattle Posts: 58	30-second rewind. That's great for those times when a distraction interrupts viewing or listening. It's one of the reason's I'm thinking of replacing my aging but still functional iPod mini.

08-03-2009, 03:43 PM	#8
iCarbon Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 104	I'd like to see the box given rounded corners like all the buttons in the display -- it seems like a sharp contrast and ends up coming caross like a cheap IKEA desk.

08-03-2009, 04:05 PM	#9
PG4G Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 333	Is it just me that's wondering why AppleInsider is still using that "artist's impression" when Apple's actually shown the interface on their website? Oh, and just letting everyone know... Apple's changed the look of QuickTime X's interface again in the last few betas... Its funny watching them muck around with this new interface considering everyone thought they'd got mighty stuck already on "marble" - seems they aren't as set on their new interface ideas as they seemed to be.

08-03-2009, 04:12 PM	#11
DimMok Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 171	Enough with that same Ratat image....isnt there something else in the arsenal. I like it....though hopefully its a system wide look. not just for qx

08-03-2009, 04:44 PM	#19
elliots11 Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 71	I hope Quicktime X allows a fullscreen button like many flash players do.

08-04-2009, 01:32 AM	#33
pondosinatra Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 44	Wow the number of different interfaces present in OS X just keeps growing with each new release. Last time I checked Quicktime was an application therefore it should have the same interface as any other application. This is one area that Microsoft consistently outperforms Apple.

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