Creating Reference Movies for QuickTime

Most reference movies are created using QuickTime Pro. QuickTime Pro costs about $30 and can be purchased online from Apple here. (Can't buy it?)

Follow these steps to create a reference movie:

1. Open Quicktime Pro.
2. Select File > Open URL.
3. Type in the path to your QuickTime movie.
4. While the movie is playing, select File > Save As.
5. Type in a name for your reference movie. We recommend the same name as the movie itself with the addition of "_ref" at the end of the filename.
   Example: servertest_ref.mov
6. Click Save as a reference movie.
7. If you give the ref movie a .qtl extension (as opposed to .mov), when a user clicks on the link the video will open directly in QuickTime Player, rather than in a Web page with a white background.

You must upload your finished reference movie to a Web server instead of the streaming folder where your media files reside. Once there, simply create a regular HTTP-style link to the reference movie. When a user clicks on this link, it will call up and stream the media file via its location on OIT's QuickTime server.

Can't buy it?

If you cannot purchase QuickTime Pro, you can create a reference movie using a text editor.

1. Open your text editor.
2. Type RTSPtextRTSP://quicktime.oit.duke.edu/yourfoldername/yourfilename.mov
3. Save this file with the extension .mov, and upload it following the instructions above.