Reference Movies

What is a Reference Movie?

Basically, a Reference Movie is a file that plays and is handled like any normal video file by compatible media applications but does not itself actually contain the data being processed. Since the file merely points to the location of a file that actually contains the data, these files are themselves very small and, therefore, much easier to store or transport. The file actually containing the media is usually referred to as a Standalone Movie file and is usually very large by comparison but is functionally independent of the Reference Movie file. Unfortunately, the reverse is not true. If the Standalone Movie is deleted or moved, the Reference Movie becomes useless for all intents and purposes.

For What is a Reference Movie Used?

Reference Movies are most often used for the playback of media stored at a remote location. In addition, they can be keyed to match specific data for playback at a specific data rate, to specific devices or to specific versions of classic QuickTime. Functionally, they are much like a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) but are usually handled by different of applications. While a URL can be used by most modern web browsers  and media players for the playback of a remote video file, a Reference Movie would only play directly in a media player on MacOS or iOS devices or an email client app like Mail. And, although Safari still supports direct playback of such files, most other modern web browsers no longer do so. I use these files to email playing holiday videos, video greetings, video recipes and family video updates. It is too bad that with demise of QT 7 Pro and the MakeRefMovie app, I may no longer be able to easily create such files. It's the main reason I am exploring alternative ways of playing movies remotely. If interested in my tests along these lines, try visiting my iTest website.