Apple announced the preview release of QuickTime 6 today (see our full story for details on this release). The new technology includes a wealth of new features, the most important of which is full support for MPEG-4. MPEG-4 is the future of digitized media and Internet streaming media, though the world may not know that yet.

Apple has been working on QuickTime 6 for some time, officially previewing it in February of this year. One of the issues holding up release of QuickTime 6 is a bruhaha over royalties for MPEG-4. Apple, one of the patent holders for technologies included in MPEG-4, is wanting the technology to be royalty-free. Some of the rest of the patent holders, however, want to see MPEG-4 turn into a revenue stream. With the release of QuickTime 6 as a preview release, it is possible that negotiations on this issue are progressing. Apple spokespersons were not available for comment on the issue.

Another very interesting aspect of QuickTime 6 is the inclusion of Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), one of the MPEG-4 associated technologies. AAC is a digital music compression technology that is sort of like MP3 on steroids. Apple says "AAC is the next-generation professional-quality audio format that delivers vastly superior sound quality at drastically reduced file sizes -- better than MP3 and better than Windows Media Player (WMA)." That's quite the aggressive statement for Apple to make, one of many more aggressive stances taken towards Microsoft's technologies of late.

Microsoft has been working very hard to make Windows Media Player (WMA) into a digital music technology that is very palatable to the recording industry. There are all sorts of controls, locks, and other hooks included in WMA that allows for "Digital Rights Management" (DRM). DRM is a code phrase used by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). What it means is that when DRM is in place, you can not do anything with any form of content that they don't OK ahead of time, whether or not you purchased it legally.

From our understanding of AAC, it's a technology that is more focused on providing a better listening and storage experience for the user than it is in making the RIAA happy. That is a typical example of the difference in business approach between Microsoft and Apple. Just take a look at how Apple's AAC Web page is all about sound quality differences. A cursory exploration of the AAC Web site finds nary a mention of Digital Rights Management either (any Observers well versed in AAC are asked to comment on this issue).

Microsoft, on the other hand, offers a whole slew of Web pages touting DRM to consumers and industry alike. We also noted that most of Microsoft's pitch for WMP and WMA is centered on the idea that it holds market share, and not that it offers the best solution for users or providers. That too is typical of the company's approach to business, but is probably best reserved for another editorial.

Lastly, as we said when Apple first previewed QuickTime 6, this technology could really help Apple take command of the digital media and internet streaming content markets. It helps from a market and mind share standpoint, but on the server side, QuickTime 6 will be a powerful tool for Apple as well. Note that QuickTime 6 will allow content providers to stream content "to all MPEG-4 compliant players," host and serve on Mac OS X and stream to any platform.

If Microsoft were to license MPEG-4 for instance, assuming the company didn't pull its usual embrace and extend strategy, that means that Windows users could seamlessly enjoy QuickTime 6 streaming content from within their own comfy and tied-to-the-OS WMP. They need never even know the content is being served from a Mac. Serve to the masses without having to host on Windows. Sounds good, no?

QuickTime 6 is one of the most important technologies to come out of Cupertino in years, and could seriously help propel Apple and the Mac platform forward. Apple is making both providing and viewing content easier, as well as offering a richer experience. That's something that neither Apple, Microsoft, Real, or any of a score of other contenders has so far been able to do. It's also something the RIAA and the MPAA fear more than anything else. It will be very interesting to see how this develops.