Fast Start

Topic: Knowledge Base / File Encoding / Uploading

Fast Start: This refers to a movie file where the movie resource is stored (a) in the data fork and (b) as the first atom in the data fork. Because of the condition that the movie resource be stored in the data fork, every Fast Start movie is by definition a single fork movie. In order for a movie to be streamed on the Internet, i.e. to be able to start playing before the entire movie is downloaded, it is necessary for the movie to be stored in Fast Start format.

QuickTime supports progressive downloads of movies, which allow part of a movie to be displayed before all of its data has been received over a network or other slow link. QuickTime is able to instantiate the movie and start playing it before the entire file has arrived. This is known as Fast-Start movie playback.

A Fast-Start download is a simple file transfer. Any QuickTime movie saved using the Fast-Start option can be played before all of its data has been received.

Reference: http://developer.apple.com/quicktime/index.html

Preparing a movie for Fast Start
With QuickTime Pro, you can set up a movie to start playing from a web server before the movie has completely downloaded to the user's hard disk. This is called a "Fast Start" movie. Set the Fast Start setting using the steps below just before you distribute your movie; making other changes and resaving may undo the Fast Start setting.

Reference: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2438

tags: Fast Start, Encoding
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