A QuickTime file can contain up to 32 tracks of audio video, MIDI or other time-based control information. Apple also provides a QuickTime for Windows version for Windows-based PCs. The runtime material is created by the author. Examples of runtime applications are presentations are training, where the material cannot be edited but only viewed. The runtime software could be a slide show viewer, a software-only video playback application, or a hypermedia runtime document.
Compression can reduce the massive video stream to manageable proportions.
Video compression and decompression can take place in hardware or software. The content provider may perform the compression, or the user may do it. Decompression takes place at the workstation. Software, decompression usually limits playing rates to less than 15fps. But 20fps 25fps, or even 30fps speeds are not impossible with the right client hardware, such as a fast graphics card and video bus.