Contents
- <a href="#security">Quicktime Security Alert</a>
- <a href="#intro">Introduction</a>
- <a href="#download">Download</a>
- <a href="#install">Installation</a>
- <a href="#qtsetup">Setup</a>
- <a href="#test">Plug-in Verification</a>
- <a href="#trouble">Troubleshooting</a>
- <a href="http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=206216">Return to the Embedded Media Guide for Windows</a>
Quicktime 7.0.3 and earlier versions contain a number of critical security vulnerabilities. Apple has issued an advisory here. Windows 2000 and Windows XP users should download and install the latest QuickTime standalone which will replace your earlier version with the updated version, currently Quicktime 7.0.4.
I do not know if Quicktime Alternative is also vulnerable, but the latest version of Quicktime Alternative (1.68) is based on Quicktime 7.0.4 and so should include the fixes for this security issue.
Introduction
Many sites that you may visit will have embedded media that requires the use of the Quicktime plug-in. Whether a Quicktime movie file or an embedded midi, Quicktime is useful for playing these file types from within the browser.
One of the most common questions on this forum is about background music and other embedded media not playing, even despite the fact that Quicktime has been installed. This is an attempt to address that and other common problems in a straightforward manner.
You should copy or print the following instructions so you will have them handy as it is necessary to close Firefox during the installation and setup of Quicktime.
<a id="download"></a>Download
The first step is to download the latest version of Quicktime. Actually, you have two choices: The standard Quicktime player from Apple or Quicktime Alternative.
<a id="install"></a>Installation
Once you have downloaded your player of choice, close Firefox and and other unnecessary programs. Remove any older versions of Quicktime or Quicktime Alternative through Control Panel > Add/Remove programs. Also, manually delete any Quicktime folders which may have not been removed.
Examples:
- C:\Program Files\Quicktime
- C:\Program Files\Quicktime Alternative
Run the Quicktime setup program and follow the instructions.
If you are installing Quicktime Alternative, make sure that the "Firefox/Mozilla/Netscape/Opera Plugin" is checked when selecting which components to install.
<a id="qtsetup"></a>Setup
Once installed, it is necessary to make a few minor adjustments in the Quicktime Control Panel. The steps vary depending on whether you have the Standard Quicktime player or Quicktime Alternative:
- Quicktime 6.5
- Close all instances of Firefox
- Launch Quicktime
- Go to Edit > Preferences > Quicktime Preferences
- Select "Browser Plug-in" from the Drop-down Menu
- Click "Mime Settings"
- Enable the file types you wish Quicktime to handle. Do not enable Flash.
- Click "OK"
- Select "Connection Speed" in the Drop-down Menu
- Choose the connection that best matches your current Internet connection speed
- Click OK
- Quicktime Alternative <1> Quicktime Alternative > Quicktime Settings
- Select "Browser Plug-in" from the Drop-down Menu
- Click "Mime Settings"
- Enable the file types you wish Quicktime to handle. Do not enable Flash.
- Click "OK"
- Select "Music" from the Drop-down menu
- Select "General Midi"*
- Select "Connection Speed" in the Drop-down Menu
- Choose the connection that best matches your current Internet connection speed
- Click OK
- Close all instances of Firefox
- Go to Start > Control Panel > Quicktime 7
- Go to the Audio Tab
- If using Alternative, select "General Midi" under "Music Synthesizer"
- Go to the Browser tab and click "Mime Settings"
- Enable the file types you wish Quicktime to handle. Do not enable Flash.
- Click OK
- Go to the Streaming tab
- Choose the connection that best matches your current Internet connection speed
- Click OK
- Video
- Video for Windows (AVI) file
- Audio
- Wave audio file
- AIFF audio file
- uLaw/AU audio file
- Midi file
- MPEG
- MPEG media file
- MPEG Audio File
- MPEG-4 Media File
- MP3
- Images
- Mac Paint image file
- PICT image file
- Quicktime image file
- TGA image file
- TIFF image file
Note: These do not determine which file types are handled within Windows.
That is determined by going to Edit > Preferences > Quicktime Preferences > File Type Association. Refer to this post for more details: http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic ... 25#1247425
After the above settings have been made, close the Quicktime Control Panel.
<a id="test"></a>Plug-in Verification and Testing
The next step is to verify that the plug-ins have been installed and function correctly.
Launch Firefox and enter about:plugins in the location bar (address bar). You should see one or more entries for Quicktime with the file types listed that correspond to your mime settings. Here's an example of one entry:
If you do not see the Quicktime Plug-ins and\or the correct file types listed, ensure that Quicktime was installed correctly and repeat the steps for the <a href="#qtsetup">Setup</a> section.
The following link is for a test page which contains an embedded midi, mp3 and wav file:
Quicktime Plug-in Test
You should see three Quicktime players for each file type. After the media loads, click the play button on the Player for the Midi file. If it plays, press stop and try the other players one at a time.
Here are other pages you can use to test the plugins:
http://home.att.net/~cherokee67/mediatests.html
http://www.apple.com/trailers/
If you are prompted to install a "Missing Plugin", more than likely, one or all of the file types were not correctly set in the Quicktime control panel. Repeat the instructions for the <a href="#qtsetup">Setup</a> Section.
A note about bgsound
If you have successfully installed and setup Quicktime and passed the above test, you may still run into a problem with embedded media on some pages or your own page for that matter. The most common reason is that the page in question is using the non-standard <bgsound> element to embed audio. Firefox does not support the bgsound element. If this is the case, there is an extension available which enables Firefox to play audio embedded with the bgsound element:
BGM Conductor
<a id="trouble"></a>Troubleshooting
If you are still having problems, go over the steps again to ensure that they have been followed correctly.
If you use Firefox 1.5 and are finding that you can hear the audio but not see the video, this can be caused by Adblock's OBJ_TABS setting - Adblock does not function properly in Firefox 1.5. Try disabling OBJ_TABS or swtiching to Adblock Plus.
If you are having a problem with Quicktime taking over Flash media despite disabling Flash in the Mime Settings, refer to this:
http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/faqs/flash. ... -quicktime -- See Step 7
If the problem persists, follow these instructions to remove and reset the plugins:
<a id="killplugins"></a>
- Close Firefox
- Navigate to C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Plugins\
- Delete all of the npqtplugin.dll files: npqtplugin.dll, npqtplugin2.dll, etc.
- Navigate to C:\Program Files\Quicktime\Plugins\
- Delete all of the npqtplugin.dll files
- Reset your Quicktime mime settings
If you are still experiencing problems with Quicktime, follow these additional steps:
- Ensure that the proper <a href="#qtsetup">Mime Settings</a> have been enabled.
- Try playing a local Quicktime file on your system.
- Test a website with embedded Quicktime Media using Internet Explorer.
- Download and reinstall Quicktime if it does not function correctly with local files or with Internet Explorer.
- Windows Version
- Firefox Version
- Difficulties with any of the above steps
- A link to problem websites
- Any other relevant information
Updated Jun 25, 2005
keywords: Quicktime stream streaming embed embedded embedding video audio midi mov mp3 mpeg mpg avi plugin plug-in firefox
Thanks to Vectorspace for his support and maintenance of this guide and everyone at Mozillazine Forums who take the time to help support Firefox.
