Section Two: Video Encoding Standards
Proprietary Formats

MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 were developed for reliable moderate to high-bandwidth transport. Neither standard successfully supports streaming over the Internet, particularly at the common modem speeds of 28.8 to 56 Kbit/s available for personal Internet use. Encoding formats proprietary either to a microcomputer platform or a specific manufacturer arose to provide streaming digital video to Internet users at low-bandwidth ranges. MPEG-4 is expected, over time, to displace many proprietary formats but at present, proprietary "de facto" standards are well-established on the Internet.

QuickTime began as a Mac-based video encoding, file management and playback system but with version 3.0 became a cross-platform encoding format, supporting digital video on Mac and Windows. QuickTime video files have the file extension .mov. QuickTime is a versatile digital video encoding format, supported by a range of commercial and shareware software products, including encoding, editing, and client plug-ins. The QuickTime digital video file format was selected as the basis for MPEG-4. Although the multi-track, object-based MPEG-4 goes beyond QuickTime functionality, the QuickTime wrapper will be supported by MPEG-4-based service and streaming, making this a safe interim choice for low-bandwidth videos over Internet.