Apple on Tuesday released QuickTime 7.0.1, the latest release of their core multimedia technology for Mac OS X. An installer is available for Mac OS X v10.3.9 "Panther" and Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger," and the software is also available for download through the Software Update system preference pane. Apple recommends the update for all QuickTime 7 users.

Apple said that QuickTime 7.0.1 provides "several important bug fixes" and improved compatibility with Apple's own Final Cut Studio software. As explained on Apple's Web site, QuickTime 7.0.1 also contains a security enhancement for the QuickTime Quartz Composer plug-in. The updated plug-in prevents a problem that could cause a Quartz Composer object to leak data to an arbitrary Web location.

Apple notes that installing QuickTime 7 will disable the QuickTime Pro functionality in prior versions of QuickTime, such as QuickTime 5 or QuickTime 6. If you already have a QuickTime 7 Pro key, this does not apply.

QuickTime 7, available for Mac OS X v10.3.9 and later, adds support for H.264 video, incorporates a "live resize" feature, enables zero-configuration streaming, supports up to 24 channels of surround sound audio and adds other new features. New features of QuickTime 7 Pro include the ability to share movies, floating controls in full-screen movies, H.264 movie creation and more.

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