Marianna, please try to make someone officially react as Adobe's answer (= description of problem with what works or not) is out there :

http://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/quicktime-on-windows/

on a side note...my prefered  editing platform since, hum..., a long time is still media comp on mac. But I hear persistent whispering in the editing facilties saying : windows....premiere....

 

Joseki:

please try to make someone officially react as Adobe's answer (= description of problem with what works or not) is out there :

http://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/quicktime-on-windows/

 

Looks to me like the only difference between what Avid is doing and what Adobe is doing is that Adobe wrote a letter.  Both have been easing Quicktime out of the workflow for some time.

 

Does anyone know the origins of this, is it useful at all or does it just offer the worst of both worlds?

 

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/quicktime_alternative.htm

Wow, I haven't thought about Quicktime Alternative in years!

It's just a small helper to allow windows media player (and clones) to play quicktime files as well -- functions that are now built-in.  Even quicktime haters stopped using it in favor of the real thing years ago.  Since it hasn't been developed since 2009, I doubt it's any more secure.

Keep calm and block quicktime player (and itunes) in you firewall/internet security app...

and remove/turn off APSDeamon.exe in startup - because no more updates from Apple...

that's all

TT

Still no official response from Avid on this?  Given apple's reputation for treating windows users with disdain, I can't say I'm all that surprised that they're completely silent on the issue even though the story has exploded across the internet.  I'm kind of surprised, however, that Avid has not yet addressed this (at least not that I've seen.)

I see various posts from people saying that all you have to do is this or that, but until I see some sort of "official" word from the actual companies that create software that's effected by this, I can't just assume that any given statement is correct.

Quicktime Reference, Quicktime Same as Source, and Quicktime .mov wrappers for DNxHD files are crucial to a lot of people's pipelines, so it's not so easy to just "user something else" as many on the web are suggesting.

Avid -- if you're listenning, we could really use some official feedback on this.

Thanks,

L

lalittle:

we could really use some official feedback on this.

They have been asked to provide this. With the the timing coinciding with the weekend and NAB they were probably caught out the same as we were so the answer may not be as quick as some would like it to be.

lalittle:

 

Avid -- if you're listenning, we could really use some official feedback on this.

 

An offical response won't fix the QT issue. It needs Avid to change MC to not need QT and I don;t imagine that's just round the corner.

The position is that QT is vunerable. To remove the risk you need to remove QT and that will impact MC operations.

The various suggested short term solutions reduce the risk and allow continued operation.

It makes far more sense to take those suggested steps ASAP than wait. Unless the plan is to leave the Avid systems off till the announcement is made?

The suggested changes are simple to do and low impact on functionality. I expect Avids offical response to be very much along the lines already suggested.

Uninstall QT.

Associate all QT file assocaitions with an altenrative media player (VLC or other)

Remove any browser QT plugins

Install QT but select just the core component. untick the QT player and optional components.

Add QT to your firewall for blocking.

or wait till we have an offical procedure but I'd advice not using you system while vunerable.

Pat Horridge:

An offical response won't fix the QT issue. It needs Avid to change MC to not need QT and I don;t imagine that's just round the corner.

and why not? Pat you predicted the demise of QT ages ago. Shouldn't Avid and Adobe already have been working towards this day? At least Adobe has done some ground work - their own QT Server for decode for a lot of QT codecs and native Cineform encoding. Avid have done squat. At the very least Avid owe users an explanation and workflow recommendations and probably discounts and refunds.

I would gladly use any frameserver apart from QT but Avid haven't given us an MXF frameserver (except AAF which none of the commercially available encoders accept AFAIK). Adobe's encoding tools don't give us a compatible  MXF wrapper and sadly Avid can't even work out how to link to an OP1 MXF DNx file.. 

 

Mondo:

At least Adobe has done some ground work - their own QT Server for decode for a lot of QT codecs and native Cineform encoding

 

Can you elaborate on this? I thought they moved to the 64 bit version of QTserver not necessarily write their own.

 

Avid as a company cant really move away from QT (at least the platform). Many camera and field recorder manufacturers (Arri, Blackmagic, Pix, Atomos, etc.) utilize the platform.

Quicktime wrappers and the various codecs need to be supported going forwards but its needed Avid A<dobe etc to make their own software to handle that. Relying on Apple has always been risky and time and time again Apple prove just how poor trusting them can be as a business descision.

 

Dom Q. Silverio:

Avid as a company cant really move away from QT (at least the platform) since every many camera and field recorder manufacturers (Arri, Blackmagic, Pix, Atomos, etc.) utilize the platform.

Dom,

Respectfully (nothing personal), that is total nonsense. All the de-/enc-/trans- coders that use ffmpeg as their internal engines, like VLC, have been able to decode .mov files with many codecs including prores for quit some time now. Encoding is of course a different story. Not in the last place thanks to Apple.

Of course it has always been a game where Apple and other manufacturer decided to come up with a new flavor of long, longer, extra long, super extra log GOP Mpeg, 420, 422, 4444 , 8888, 1616161616 whatever... formats where it took time for support to be added to, for example, VLC. The thing is that this became a market where companies like Drastic (mediareactor), mainconcept, calibrated software, Root6, Telestream Vantage, Harmonic Carbon coder, and I'm sure I'm forgetting many (besides a sh1tload of free spyware invested convertion tools), make a living.

The whole market was never able to sit around a table, specifically with the EBU and SMPTE, to decide on common open file standards. Especially Apple was the party that NEVER took part in any standardization because, in their arrogance (which is part of their succes to be honest), they believed they are and set the standard.

IMHO 'we' the professionals, broadcasters and manufacturers should have worked on improving this situation over a decade ago, and Avid should have had a leading role is this. Now Apple pulls the plug on the profesional video market for the second time I find the 'Avid, what are we going to do now?' questions logical but also proof of the pathetic situation a large part of industry is in.

So when you write:

Dom Q. Silverio:

Avid as a company can't

... what you are actually saying IMHO is "Avid as a company never cared..." since all other manufacturers also 'never cared' while we all knew or should have known what Apple's role in professional and broadcast video WAS.

 

 

Hi, Pat,

As a forum moderator, and with your expertise as a trainer, I take your posts as a next-best-thing to an official announcement or recommendation.

I have a project with a near-final version deadline in mid-May, and a picture lock in June.  I can't wait very long for a solution, and have to be working, now, without interruption. I need to implement a stop-gap immediately to minimize this QT vulnerability threat.

So, I have a question.

In a previous post by smrpix it was suggested to only X out the optional components on the QT re-install.

However, you suggest, in your post above, to untick the QT player, as well.

If we don't install the QT player, how do we enter our product key to unlock the QT Pro components needed for functionality in Avid?

Best regards,
Will

On a PC, you enter your key via the Control Panel applet, not the QT player.

Curious - I have the QT Pro license and didn't realize that it buys you functionality in MC - what exactly does it give you, if you don't mind me asking?

Hi, Steve (BarkinMadd),

I only own Windows PCs.  I've always entered the product key using the registration function in the QT player after a clean install.  I didn't know about entering it in the Windows Control Panel applet. I never noticed the option to enter the key during the installation process.  Could you give me more details?

In my understanding, QT must be in the Pro version to unlock any import, edit or export capabilities on a Windows machine. So, again, in my understanding, QT Pro must be installed for it to provide any of its services within MC. Thus, importing ProRes footage, exporting any QT movie, self-contained or reference, and so on, any of the services QT provides to the functionality of MC, as others have mentioned above, would require the QT Pro product key to be entered somewhere where QT can recognize it.

Best regards,
Will