Seems like only yesterday that QuickTime was at version 7. Oh wait, that was yesterday. Among the many announcements surrounding Snow Leopard we saw a little more of QuickTime X, Apple's next-generation version of the venerable media player/technology/doohickey. While the interface has been totally overhauled, the changes are more than skin deep.

QuickTime X is a significant update. For consumers, there won't be a Pro version. Any version will allow simple editing, video/audio capture, and allow you to "publish your media to MobileMe or YouTube -- without worrying about codec formats or resolutions." We're not sure if you'll be able to save as a QuickTime movie or source file as before, but the removal of some previous limits will make QuickTime the snappy iMovie substitute it could be. Plus, QuickTime X will allow you to use any web server to stream live video over HTTP. Can't wait to see what people do with that.

In addition to the visible changes, QuickTime X looks like a fundamental rewrite of the application and its underpinnings. Support for Core Audio, Core Video and Core Animation could mean some really interesting things for the future of media playback (not that we weren't promised as much a few years ago, of course). All of this comes wrapped up in Snow Leopard, and takes full advantage of the speed-tuning tech therein.

On Monday, Perian 1.1.3 was released. Perian is a Preference Pane that provides QuickTime with a ton of extra codec support, including: AVI, DivX, and FLV. Version 1.1.3 updates the following aspects of Perian:

• Enabled Indeo 2/3 decodecs
• Added external idx/sub (VobSub) support
• Added support for H.264 and H.263 in FLV containers
• Apple's decoder now handles Baseline/Main Profile H.264
• Fix inconsistent importing for multi-channel audio
• Reduced memory usage for packed streams
• Added sanity checks on all preferences
• Enabled hack to show subtitles in Front Row
• Fixed negative values in SSA \frz tag
• Fixed VSFilter bug-compatibility for \an

You can learn more about Perian, and download the new update, by visiting the Perian.org website.

Silicon Alley Insider is offering "pure speculation" based on a tip that Apple's Fall future product transition is a video upgrade to Apple products that includes a QuickTime encoder/decoder on a chip.

As cool as this would be, I don't personally think it's a significant-enough development to warn investors about. Unless, of course, it's part and parcel of more substantial changes to Apple's product lines.

Having video playback functions handled by a separate microprocessor capable of dealing with the variety of media formats that QuickTime handles could yield performance increases for lower-end Macs (with less-powerful video cards) and battery life savings for handheld devices.

Also, depending on what codecs are included on-board, it could mean an end to countless hours converting video specifically for your iPhone, iPod touch, or Apple TV. Additionally, MacRumors' Arnold Kim notes that it could be of some use for encoding Blu-Ray video.

All I want is DivX AVI playback on my iPod touch. Pretty please?

Many of Apple's media apps rely on QuickTime in one way or another, so it probably comes as no surprise that a Final Cut Studio 2 announcement means we'll see at least a slight QT update to bring everything up to speed. Sure enough, eagle-eyed TUAW readers have caught QuickTime 7.1.6 listed on the System Requirements page for FCS2. Though a minor upgrade that is probably filled with compatibility updates, it is also likely to include that fancy new Apple ProRes 422 codec (who names this stuff?) which supposedly offers uncompressed HD quality footage with SD file sizes. That's a pretty tall claim to fill, but we'll have to wait for the reports to roll in on whether Apple delivers on the promise.

Regardless, it's a pretty obvious bet that QuickTime 7.1.6 will soon be coming to a Software Update near you.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

VersionTracker has announced a new bundle offer included with purchases of VersionTracker Pro subscriptions. For the first 350 who purchase, renew or extend a VersionTracker Pro subscription, they will receive a free license to the new DivX Pro (a $19.99 value), which we blogged last month. DivX, as you might remember, is a fairly popular video codec used on the internet and compatible with other devices such as DVD players and PDAs. VersionTracker Pro, if you need a refresher, is "an automated, simple and cost-effective way to inventory and keep all your software current and secure". It is a service and software package (also a widget, of course) that allows you to view new versions of just the software you use, manage the downloading and install of new packages, and more. VersionTracker Pro costs $49.99/year for up to three Macs.

If you're interested, we recommend you run (don't walk!) as they only have 350 DivX licenses to hand out on a first-come, first-serve basis.

For Intel Mac users who either love or hate WMV but have to deal with it one way or another, Flip4Mac has just begun beta testing the long-awaited Universal Binary version of their WMV QuickTime components. Announced in their forums today, it is more or less an invite-yourself program, as I had to contact them weeks ago to get on their email announcement list.

After briefly testing on my MacBook Pro, it seems like everything is working just fine. I'm able to play embedded WMV files with no problem, but I unfortunately don't have any locally saved WMV's to try at the moment. So far, the beta seems like a success, and while I hate the WMV format just as much as the next Mac user, it's nice to no longer receive that 'plug-in not found' error.

DivX has released what Macworld is calling their first official player for Mac OS X (though I could have sworn I've used DivX software in the past in a pinch). In case you aren't familiar: DivX is an independent video codec that has quite a strong following, and it isn't just for computers; many portable devices and even some DVD players support the DivX codec, offering a useful alternative to the sometimes difficult and clunky DVD burning standard.

The company didn't short us on options either - this 6.5 Universal Binary release includes a stand-alone Converter application, as well as DivX 6 codec software for QuickTime so users can convert their video from within any QuickTime-compatible video software. A 15-day free trial of DivX 6.5 is available, at which point you must register for $19.99 to continue using the conversion software; the player, as always, remains free.

John Gruber pointed to a post at the Ars Technica journals by Ken Fisher (their editor-in-chief) in which he reminds everyone that AAC isn't 'Apple's format'. This is in response to all the recent buzz and speculation of Sony's announcement of AAC support; it appears that many took this as some sort of a bow to Apple's dominance.

Ken was refuting this speculation because he doesn't see it as enabling Sony to get a one-up on Apple - after all, their devices still can't play DRM'ed music from the iTMS. I think he's only partially right though. To be clear: I don't think supporting AAC will help Sony to dethrone Apple's dominance in the digital music player market anytime this millenia, but it certainly could boost their sales to all sorts of individuals who who might prefer the iTunes experience, or want to own more than one device, share libraries - you get the idea.

iTunes, the iTMS and the iPod are such a huge hit because they're all incredibly well designed and so darn easy to use. Apple's controversial philosophy of controlling both the hardware and the software has hit one out of the park - and then some. However, plenty of statistics on the number of iTMS songs per iPod can be found everywhere, and the numbers aren't amazing. I've seen everything from 5 on the low end up to 25 on the high, and I'd bet that, on average, even the newest of new iPod owners easily has far more music stuffed into their iPod by day two. Granted, a lot of people are illegally downloading a lot of their music, but they're also making that music themselves by ripping CDs from their own collection and their friends'. And what format do you suppose is the default for ripping music in iTunes? Hint: it isn't MP3. Sure, AAC isn't 'Apple's format', but the company sure is AAC's biggest pimp.

This is the music that Sony is going after. They're betting that by (finally) supporting MP3 and now AAC, their devices can play what is arguably *most* of the music that users have cataloged in iTunes. While I love the iTMS as much as the next customer (I've purchased over 520 songs from it), Sony simply doesn't need to care about not being able to play FairPlay tracks because, by comparison, there just aren't that many of them. Apple doesn't want to open their system to other manufacturers, and they don't have to - other manufacturers are (legally) coming to play in Apple's sandbox, which is mostly made up of music that is not from the iTMS.

With moves like this from major companies like Sony, I'm wondering how soon we can start declaring this market a win for Apple, but also a win for companies who can become big niche players. My Sony Ericsson Walkman phone, for example, can play AAC music and hold more than a 1 GB nano (yes - oddly, other Sony-related devices, like some of their phones, have supported AAC for a while now). And it can make phone calls. And take 2 megapixel pictures. Sure, its interface makes me want to cry, but that's why I mainly use its music abilities when I work out so I don't have to risk bouncing around the hard drive in my iPod like a pinball machine when I run.

Sony's support of AAC sure won't replace a lot of iPods, but it can offer many consumers a choice in devices for some of the other uses in their life.