Embedding QuickTime MOV

Publishing QuickTime MOV files for people to view takes one of several forms. The simplest way to share a QuickTime movie is to simply upload the file to your hosting provider and create a link to the file. People clicking the link will either save your movie to their computer or wait for QuickTime to open and play the movie back. While this is the easiest way to share a QuickTime movie, it's not the most elegant way to do it because some viewers still don't understand how to watch a movie on the Web without play controls right their helping them out.

A better alternative is to embed the MOV file in you Web page. This is possible whether you are linking to the file from a blog or from a corporate video site. The process of embedding the movie is the same for virtually every circumstance. There are a few optional configurations, but the basics will get you started.

Every embedded QuickTime movie should include the minimum code listed below. This code is pasted in the <body> of your page or blog post so it displays properly when you serve the video.

<object classid="clsid:02BF25D5-8C17-4B23-BC80-D3488ABDDC6B" codebase="http://www.apple.com/qtactivex/qtplugin.cab" height="256" width="320">

<param name="src" value="http://www.yourdomain/your.mov">
<param name="autoplay" value="true">
<param name="type" value="video/quicktime" height="256" width="320">

<embed src="http://www.yourdomain/your.mov" height="256" width="320" autoplay="true" type="video/quicktime" pluginspage="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/">

</object>

Make note of the height attribute of the video. The video I'm embedding is 320x240. Because the QuickTime play controls take up 16 pixels of screen space, the height is defined as 256, which is the 240 pixels of video height plus the 16 pixels of play control height.

If your video is 320x240, you could simply copy the code listed above into your Web page, replacing the two links to the MOV file with the link to your MOV file. If your video is a different size, make appropriate changes to the height and width for proper video display.

The classid and codebase information in the object parameter are required for compatibility with Internet Explorer and must be included for most viewers to see your video.

In addition to the parameters used here, Apple offers a great list of optional features for embedded QuickTime movies, along with use cases and code samples.

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