| Before you start watching and editing movies, you need to do some configuration of QuickTime so you get the best results on your system. Configuring QuickTime You'll need to do some basic configuration of QuickTime to customize it for your system. This configuration is done with the QuickTime pane of the System Preferences application. Open the System Preferences application and click the QuickTime icon to open the QuickTime pane. Across the top of the pane, you will see the following tabs: Register, Browser, Update, Streaming, and Advanced. Registering QuickTime You need to use the Register pane of the QuickTime pane only when you upgrade to QuickTime Pro.  To learn how to register QuickTime Pro, p. 688.
Configuring QuickTime for Web Browsing One of the most useful things about QuickTime is that you can view QuickTime movies on the Web. Because QuickTime is a framework, web browsers such as Safari can use its tools to present content to you. To configure how QuickTime is used when you view web movies, perform the following steps: 1. | Open the Browser tab of the QuickTime preferences pane (see Figure 23.1).
Figure 23.1. Use the Browser tab to configure how your web browser handles QuickTime movies. 
| 2. | If you don't want QuickTime movies to automatically play in your web browser for some reason, uncheck the "Play movies automatically" check box. In most cases, you will want them to play automatically. However, if you use a very slow Internet connection, you might want to disable this feature.
| 3. | Uncheck the "Save movies in disk cache" check box if you don't want movies you view on the Web to be saved in your browser's disk cache. In most cases, this is a useful option, especially if you like to view a movie more than once during a single browsing session; subsequent viewings are much faster because the movie is read from your disk rather than being downloaded from the Web again. Most users should check this box.
| 4. | Use the slider to set the amount of cache you want to be used for storing downloaded content.
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TIP To empty your download cache, click the Empty Download Cache button.
Updating QuickTime The Update pane enables you to control how updates to QuickTime are handled and to update third-party QuickTime software installed on your system (see Figure 23.2). Open the pane and click the Update Now button to have your Mac check for updates to the QuickTime software. Check the "Check for updates automatically" box if you want your Mac to automatically check for QuickTime updates when you use QuickTime. If you click the Install button, your Mac checks for updates to non-Apple QuickTime software. Figure 23.2. You can use the Update pane to check for QuickTime updates, but it is part of the Software Update tool, so you don't really need to do so. 
TIP You don't really need to use the QuickTime Update pane because the Mac OS X Software Update will take care of QuickTime updates for you.
Configuring QuickTime Streaming The Streaming pane enables you to configure how your Mac works with streaming content. Streaming content is that which plays on your Mac as it is being downloaded from the Internet or from other networks to which you are connected. Configure streaming for your system with the following steps: 1. | Open the Streaming tab of the QuickTime preferences pane (see Figure 23.3).
Figure 23.3. Use the Streaming tab to configure how your Mac handles content that is played while it is downloaded to your Mac. 
| 2. | Use the Streaming Speed pop-up menu to set the speed at which your Mac is connected to the Internet. The Automatic option enables your Mac to determine the connection speed automatically. Or, you can use the menu to set a specific speed, such as Intranet/LAN if your Mac is connected to a local network that provides your Internet access.
| 3. | Check the Instant-On button if you want streaming content to start "instantly." This feature enables streamed content to play as soon as it starts to download to your Mac.
| 4. | If you enable the Instant-On feature, you can set the amount of delay that occurs before a movie starts playing using the Play slider. With a shorter delay, movies start playing faster but less buffered data is stored on your Mac. Thus, should some network congestion occur and the download process be slowed, interruptions in movie playback will be more likely. If this happens, move the slider to the right to increase the amount of time content is downloaded before it starts to play.
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Setting Advanced QuickTime Options The Advanced tab enables you to configure some specialized aspects of how QuickTime works (see Figure 23.4). Figure 23.4. You probably won't need to use QuickTime's Advanced settings, but you should know where they are just in case. 
Following is a brief description of the Advanced settings: Default Synthesizer QuickTime can play music using different synthesizers (a synthesizer transforms digital or other signals into specific musical notes, tones, and so on). This pop-up menu is useful if you work with a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) device. By default, the standard QuickTime Music Synthesizer is used. However, you can install various synthesizers and use them to produce the music that is part of QuickTime movie files. If you are involved in creating MIDI files or using a MIDI instrument, you can use this pop-up menu to select the default synthesizer that should be used. Transport Setup The Transport Setup pop-up menu enables you to change the protocol and port QuickTime uses to download QuickTime streams from the Internet. In almost all cases, the Automatic option will be the setting you need. However, if you choose Custom on the pop-up menu, your can choose to use User Datagram Protocol (UDP) or Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and configure the port used for the protocol you select. You won't likely ever need to change this unless you are connected to a network that requires specific settings. Kiosk mode[en]If you check the "Enable kiosk mode" check box, the QuickTime interface is hidden when you play QuickTime content from within your web browser. MIME settings[en]The "MIME settings" button enables you to choose the types of files handled by QuickTime when you encounter them on the Internet. Click the MIME settings button, and you will see the MIME settings sheet. In that sheet, you will see a listing of various groups of file formats, such as Streaming, Video, and so on. Click the expansion triangle next to each group to see the file formats it contains. Check the box next to each file format you want to be handled in QuickTime; to have QuickTime handle all the formats in a group, check the group's check box. Click OK to save the settings you select. NOTE MIME is the acronym for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. As you might guess, MIME was originally developed as a means of exchanging files via email. Now, the term refers to the general encoding schemes used to encode files transferred over the Internet.
Media keys Media keys enable you to manage your access to protected data files. If you need to get to QuickTime files that are sensitive, you need to use a password (called a key) to access the files. Individual tracks can also be secured with a key. If you use such secured QuickTime files, you can enter the keys needed to play them by using the Media Keys button.
Upgrading to QuickTime Pro Upgrading to QuickTime Pro does not require any additional software installation. All you need is a registration code, which unlocks the additional features of QuickTime Pro. There are several ways to obtain your QuickTime Pro registration code, but the easiest ways are to use the Web: Go to www.apple.com/quicktime/upgrade and click the Upgrade Now link. Open the System Preferences application, open the QuickTime pane, click the Register tab, and then click Buy QuickTime Pro. You will move to the registration website.
Using the website to upgrade is quite simplejust follow the onscreen instructions. You will receive your registration code via the order confirmation web page or via the phone, depending on how you order the upgrade. Save this code because you will need it each time you have to configure QuickTime Pro. The QuickTime Pro upgrade costs $29.99. Whether it is worth it depends on how much you need the specialized features it provides. If you have the iLife applications, you probably don't need to upgrade. However, being able to download QuickTime content from the Web might just be worth the upgrade cost because you can incorporate that content into your projects. After you have obtained your QuickTime Pro registration code, you use the Register pane of the QuickTime pane of the System Preferences application to upgrade. Enter your name and QuickTime Pro registration code to upgrade to the Pro version.  | If you weren't able to upgrade successfully, see "My Attempt to Upgrade to QuickTime Pro Failed" in the "Troubleshooting" section at the end of this chapter. |
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